Ennis caught up with them, firing his own rifle. The men who were still able to do so looked to be retreating. These soldiers hadn’t seen much resistance, and it showed—they weren’t near ready to see their friends fall or stand up to automatic weapons, let alone grenades and a small force with a real cause to die for.

  Leading the way, Austin ran across the wide runway, heading for the building where Wendell had told them Sarah could be held. He believed nothing the man had said, however. He’d chosen his side.

  “Let’s get in there,” Austin said, firing a few more rounds at the retreating soldiers.

  They rushed inside the massive hangar, finding a jet of some type parked inside, useless after the EMP. Austin looked for another obvious entrance to an underground bunker. Nothing announced itself.

  “Let’s check the back,” Ennis ordered, running the length of the hangar.

  Unlike the first bunker, there was nothing there. No doors in the floor, and not even any furniture that might have hid one. “It isn’t here,” Ennis declared after they’d searched the full length of the building.

  “The recruiting center!” Austin shouted, already running towards the door. And those soldiers who’d run had gone in the opposite direction, he now realized—heading away from the danger and the heart of the fight.

  He heard Harlen and Ennis behind him, but didn’t turn to check on their progress. Austin was furious with himself. He’d been played. Wendell had known he would go for the computer center first. It had been a red herring, meant to throw him off. He was going to shoot him when he saw him.

  The recruiting center looked abandoned, and there was nowhere to take cover. If soldiers were waiting, they’d see them coming. There was little he could do about that, though. He wasn’t going to give up. He kicked open the door to the recruiting center, finding that the lobby empty. There were two closed doors on the right and another one along the back wall.

  His gut told him that the back door was the way to go. He pointed. Ennis and Harlen nodded, all three of them aimed forward. Austin walked to the door, turned the handle, and pushed it open. It looked like a typical stock room, with lots of leaflets and paperwork along with various items used for recruiting, but it was a shelf about a foot away from the wall that was the giveaway.

  Ennis jerked his head to indicate he understood and followed Austin. He pulled the shelf forward several feet, revealing a secret door. Excitement pumped through Austin’s veins. It had to be the entrance to the bunker. He pushed the door open, darkness greeting them once again. Unlike with the other bunker, the entrance into this one was through a low door. Austin didn’t hesitate, instead jogging downward, following the tunnel as it led underground.

  Gunfire greeted him, slamming into the walls and the ground in front of him. A ricochet slammed into his chest, but the bullet was effectively stopped by the Kevlar vest he had picked up off one of the soldiers. The round only knocked him backwards into Ennis, who kept him from falling all the way to the ground. He quickly reached under the vest, touching the tender area with his fingertips to check for blood. The Kevlar had done its job. He had no doubt in his mind that Wendell had alerted the NWO forces they were coming. They’d been lying in wait, essentially trapped. They’d walked right into it, though there hadn’t been much choice, he felt even now.

  “What do we do?” Ennis asked.

  Austin hated to say it, but they had to retreat. They had to draw them out and fight them on more even ground. “Go back—we’ll bring them to us.”

  Ennis turned and ran back up the steep incline to the exit. Austin looked behind him to see if they were being followed, and it was only when he slammed into his brother’s back that he realized where the real trap was.

  “Oh, I’ve missed you,” he heard Zander say.

  Austin groaned. They’d come so far, he couldn’t believe it was all over. And yet, again, he stood next to his brother, facing the man he’d come to hate more than any person he had ever met in his life. Pure evil stared back at him.

  34

  Amanda’s heart raced thinking about how deeply she was trusting these people she’d trained to be her small army. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it was all she had. They had no weapons—not really—which meant they had to rely on stealth alone. They had to try to break into the missile launch facility, hope no one was still manning the launch systems, and enter the codes Sarah had given Amanda. Then, they had to wait for the signal from Austin, hoping against hope that Austin had been able to disable the satellite control systems. That was a lot of hope and a lot of luck, all needing to go in their favor if they were to succeed. Or, at least, that’s how it felt.

  “Keep your eyes open,” she whispered.

  It was the early morning, and sunlight highlighted the base sprawled out before them. They faced a daunting task, and that was all the more clear as she looked at the building they figured to house the launch facility… to the extent that she started to second-guess herself. For a breath, she froze, but apparently it was visible enough to those who’d come to know her so well.

  “We can do this,” Ezra said in a low voice.

  She let out her breath in surprise, and then offered him a half-smile. “Thanks. Do I look terrified?”

  He chuckled. “No, you don’t.”

  “Good, I’m hiding it well, then.”

  “Heads up!” Mike shouted, the warning coming just a few seconds before shots rang out.

  Gunfire rained down on them as Amanda dropped to her stomach, Ezra right beside her.

  “He’s hit,” Gretchen cried out, her hand reaching out and touching Mike’s shoulder. “Mike! Mike!”

  Amanda looked to her left, clasping a hand to her mouth when she saw Jordan’s lifeless body lying in an awkward pose.

  “Who’s hit?” she called out quietly.

  “I’m good,” Gretchen replied. “Mike’s dead,” she added, a sob tearing through her voice.

  “I’m okay,” Ezra said, his voice devoid of emotion.

  “Tonya?” Amanda asked, a second before more gunfire rang out. Amanda closed her eyes as she took stock of their situation, praying that the God the revivalists worshipped was up there watching over them.

  The gunfire stopped as quickly as it had started. She knew the tactic. They weren’t necessarily aiming to kill; they were spraying them with bullets to keep them pinned down until they could capture them. But being captured meant they would face Nash’s fate.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay.” Tonya was crying.

  “I’m hit, but I don’t think it’s bad,” Drew said in obvious pain.

  Amanda propped her chin on the dirt, her eyes scanning the area. There was a metal outbuilding not far from where they lay. If they could get there, they could gain some cover. Another building stood about ten feet away from the first. They could leapfrog. The idea blossomed in her mind. “We get to that building,” she said, pointing.

  “Is it the NWO shooting at us?” Ezra asked.

  “It has to be. They were sent here to guard the base,” she replied with disgust.

  “I don’t think I can walk,” Drew groaned.

  Amanda nodded, biting her lip. “I’ll get to the shed. Give me the rifle,” she ordered Ezra. They traded weapons, him taking her handgun.

  “What are you going to do?” Tonya whispered.

  “I’m going to the shed so that I can provide some cover while the rest of you get over there. Ezra, help Drew. Drew, I’m sorry, it’s probably going to hurt, but we have to get you over there. Maybe I’ll be lucky and find another weapon,” she joked.

  “Be careful,” Ezra said as she began to belly-crawl across the hard, dry ground, rocks scraping over her arms and belly.

  She kept moving, dropping flat to the ground when sporadic gunfire erupted. It felt like forever before she managed to get to the corner of the shed. She got to her knees, scrambling to the door and reaching up to tug it open. The door gave way, creaking open as she crawled inside. The shed was dark, making it difficult for her to see clearly, but she could see the outline of something large. She got to her feet, wiping off the pebbles and chunks of dirt stuck to her elbows before reaching out to feel what it was.

  “Oh please, please work,” she whispered, running to the driver’s side of the Humvee parked inside the garage.

  She had to hope it was one of the NWO’s vehicles that had been sheltered from the EMP. The keys were in the ignition—its cover had been how rundown the shed looked; the NWO’s forces never would have expected this shed to be searched for supplies. It was almost too easy. She hesitated, wondering for a moment if it was a trap. If she turned the key, it could set off a bomb. More gunfire erupted. She didn’t have a choice. She would die in a quick boom or die out there with her friends.

  She squeezed her eyes closed and turned the key. The sound of an engine filled her ears and she screamed in excitement. “Yes!”

  The gunfire wasn’t stopping, so she didn’t have time to get out and open the doors. She’d seen it in the movies—she just hoped it worked in real life. She put her foot on the brake, put the massive vehicle into drive, and hoped for the best, slamming her foot onto the accelerator. The Humvee lurched forward, ramming the thin metal doors so that they burst open. She raced towards where she’d left her friends, doing her best to keep the rig between where the gunfire was coming from and the surviving members of her team.

  She hit the brakes, dirt flying up as Ezra yanked open the rear passenger door. Tonya and Gretchen jumped into the back. Drew maneuvered himself into the back door, Gretchen reaching out to help him inside. The gunfire was getting closer.

  “Hurry!” she shouted.

  Ezra slammed the back door and hopped into the front. Amanda hit the gas immediately, the vehicle’s back end sliding as she fought to regain control of the vehicle.

  “Rifle?” Ezra asked.

  She jerked her head towards the back. Ezra turned in his seat, grabbed the rifle, and rolled the window down before he started shooting. Gretchen did the same in the backseat, using the handgun to shoot as they passed soldiers who were now scattering.

  “Hold on!” Amanda shouted, veering to the right and heading directly at a group of soldiers. They tried to run, but she hit the gas, speeding towards them and knocking a few over like bowling pins. Bodies flew as the heavy vehicle slammed into them, bumping past like some technological monster.

  Tonya screamed, ducking down low as Amanda drove over bodies, then doubling back to race towards the base. She blocked out the images of what she’d just done, ignoring the blood on the windshield and speeding over the bumpy ground until they were at the launch facility. There, she put the Humvee in park and rested her head against the steering wheel.

  Her hands were shaking and her heart pounding. She couldn’t fall apart yet, though. Her mission wasn’t over. “Everyone okay?” she asked.

  “We’re good. Let’s get in there before the survivors make it over here,” Ezra said, jumping out of the vehicle.

  Amanda nodded, opening the door and getting out to stand on shaking legs. Tonya and Gretchen helped Drew inside the building.

  “It’s going to be through that steel door, and that door isn’t going to be easy to get past,” she said, pointing to the white door ahead of them.

  Before they could worry about how to open the door, however, it opened, a gun barrel poking out that was then followed by an Airmen in fatigues.

  “I’m going to ask you to leave. We don’t have food or water. There’s nothing for you here,” the young man said in a controlled voice.

  Amanda studied the uniform for a moment, recognizing it as the real thing. “I’m Amanda Patterson, former Airman First Class. I’m not here for water or food,” she told the man, praying he’d believe her. “We’re here because we know who’s been behind the EMP and how they’re operating, and we know how to stop them. We need to launch your missiles at satellites that are going to keep us in this perpetual state of darkness if we don’t.”

  The guy didn’t look convinced. “Right, because that sounds completely legit,” he replied with an eyebrow raised.

  Amanda sighed. “Look, I know it sounds far-fetched, but can we convince you inside the bunker? There’s an army of men out there that are intent on killing us, and we’ve traveled a long distance to get here. Please, we’ve come a long way to try and do this for a reason.”

  The man looked at each of them. “Give me your weapons first. Put them on the ground and kick them over here. I’m not alone in here. If you try anything, you will be shot and killed.”

  Amanda’s head bobbed up and down. “I get it. We won’t try anything.”

  They pushed the few guns they had over and the Airman kicked them out of the way. “Keep your hands up.”

  Amanda went first, entering a narrow hallway. The others crowded in behind her. They were met by another Airman and led down underground. “In there,” the second man ordered.

  They were pushed inside a very small lounge. They kept their hands in the air, doing their best to appear non-threatening.

  “Explain,” the first man ordered, keeping his gun trained on them.

  “There are satellites currently in space which have nuclear warheads that could cause another EMP. We can’t fix what’s wrong already, but we can ensure it can’t happen again, at least not by the controlling force,” Amanda explained. “We have every reason to believe that the NWO has plans to counteract any measures the government is taking to get the grid back up, and that they’re prepared to trigger another EMP at the worst moment possible if we don’t take action first.”

  The two Airmen exchanged a look. “We can’t launch those missiles without direct orders.”

  “I have the launch codes,” Amanda said simply. “I think the President and all your other bosses will understand when they learn why you launched them. This could change everything. We have a chance to get back to normal once again,” Amanda begged them.

  The men exchanged a look. “We need to talk it over. Stay in here and don’t move.”

  The door slammed behind them. Amanda looked at her friends, seeing their grief and pain. Drew had already lowered himself to the floor, and Gretchen was doing her best to tend to his leg. Amanda closed her eyes and sent up another silent prayer, begging for the men to see the right path forward. If they didn’t, she would have to force them—and kill them if she had to.

  35

  Austin took a split second to evaluate his options. He wasn’t going down without a fight. He lunged, pushing Ennis out of the way and throwing himself at Zander, propelling the man into the plate-glass windows facing the runway. Zander’s body slammed against the window, giving him leverage to push back. The force of his weight nearly toppled Austin to the ground, but he managed to stay up, taking a swing and slamming his fist into Zander’s jaw. The sound of bone hitting bone, followed by a grunt from Zander, gave Austin the adrenaline rush he needed to keep fighting.

  He was about to swing again when Zander brought up a knee, connecting with Austin’s stomach and driving the breath from his lungs with a loud whooshing sound. Austin’s instinct was to bend over to protect his stomach, but just stopped himself from doing it—he knew that’s what Zander wanted. A knee to the face would take him down. He pushed past the pain and shoved hard, putting some space between himself and Zander before lunging at him again, swinging with his right and then his left fist, landing on Zander’s jaw and eye socket.

  Austin felt like he was getting the upper hand in the fight and began punching in earnest, his hands and wrists growing numb as he unleashed months of anger on his nemesis. His strength began to wane, though, his punches becoming weaker, giving Zander the opportunity he needed to push him away.

  Austin stood a few feet away struggling to draw in air as he stared at Zander’s bloodied face. It felt good to see the damage. He wanted to make him bleed more. He grinned, his own split lip causing him to wince in pain. Then, as if in slow motion, Zander reached behind him and produced a knife, holding it in his hand as if he was ready to throw it at him. Austin stared at the blade, calculating the damage it would do when it plunged into his body—and then he heard something behind him.

  “Down!” Ennis shouted.

  Austin tried to duck, but Zander saw the danger and lunged towards Austin, wrapping his arm around Austin’s neck before he had a chance to move away.

  “Get back!” Zander shouted.

  Austin pulled with all of his strength, kicking back and jerking himself out of Zander’s arms. The knife blade sliced his arm as he moved. Another soldier appeared and slammed into Ennis’s back, the blow knocking him forward.

  “Get them!” Zander screamed, lunging at Austin with the knife.

  Austin kicked high, knocking it from Zander’s hands and rushing at him again, slamming his body into the glass. Zander shoved hard, putting some space between them and allowing him to throw a punch that landed on Austin’s chin. Several gunshots erupted from somewhere to his right. Austin looked towards the new threat and saw that Ennis and Harlen were engaged in a gun battle. He couldn’t help. Zander was his focus.

  The two men continued to fight, punching and kicking as they tried to tackle one another to the ground, both knowing that would likely be the end, depending on who ended up on top. Their struggle took them back into the doorway that led down to the bunker, and Austin fought with all he had, his body growing more tired with every blow. The sound of gunfire continued to rage. As long as there was gunfire, he had to believe Ennis was still fighting.

  Zander delivered a powerful kick, throwing Austin through the door and into the massive bunker. He found himself on a catwalk of sorts with a steel grate under him, giving him a view of the computer center below. He jumped to his feet, knowing the stakes were raised. The narrow catwalk with the waist-high railing wasn’t a great place to fight. He could feel the structure shake as he lunged forward, knocking Zander to the steel surface.

 

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