Ever Hayes - Redemption

The second shot missed by a few more inches. Now I was sweating it. That time I was sure it was the wind. I tried to ignore Danny putting his head down, but it conveyed what he was thinking. He was starting to doubt I could do this. Heck, I was starting to doubt I could do this. “Come on, Hayley, you’ve hit harder targets than this before,” I whispered. Maybe not in three shots with lives on the line . My body was aching and the current around my feet was so powerful. Block it out… come on. The wind under the bridge had to be different than the wind around it. This was almost pure luck. No, it’s not. Luck has nothing to do with it. This is pure skill. You’ve got this.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to envision the arrow striking its target. Come on. Come on. One more deep breath and I opened my eyes. I glanced at the arrow as I loaded it into the bow. I was careful to make sure the vanes were perfectly aligned. One more deep breath and I let the third arrow fly. It seemed to travel in slow motion as it twirled toward the target. It looked perfect, and then I felt the wind kick up something fierce—then I heard Danny curse. He felt it too. The wind distinctly pushed the arrow a full foot to the right, almost the exact distance it missed the target by. I know I would have hit the cube indoors with that shot. But I didn’t hit it out here. Three shots. Three misses. So much for all those accuracy awards and records in Minnesota . When it counted, I had failed.

I sank down into the water with tears in my eyes and glanced over at Danny. He was looking back at me, but he wasn’t angry. He didn’t look upset at all. A little disappointed—maybe—but he actually had a small smile curving the corners of his lips. “I swear that last one was perfect.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“If you had one more arrow…”

“I’d have missed four times.”

“That’s not what I was—”

“I know.” I slapped the water. “I’m just disappointed.”

“This isn’t over.”

“What are you going to do?” I could see the wheels spinning in his head.

“There’s another dam-slash-waterfall about five hundred yards downstream. I want you to get on the other side of it, reverse the ghost suit to the all black, and get painted up. Ditch the bow and make sure your Springfield is loaded. When I get to you, we’re going to need to run. If I don’t make it to you in fifteen minutes, you’re going to have to run. There’s a map in your pack. You get your ass to Disneyland, with or without me. Understood?” He splashed water in my face and shoved my arm. “Hey.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, a million thoughts racing through my mind. “I understand. But you’d better be there.”

“I plan to be.”

“Fifteen minutes?”

“Not a second more.” He pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. “Now get going.”

“Danny.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. You know that, right?”

He nodded. “I do.”

“All that stuff with Ava—”

“Water under the bridge.” He smiled. “You were doing what you’re supposed to do.”

I didn’t know what else to say. I sank completely down into the water. “Fifteen minutes?”

He nodded. “Not a second more.”

I pushed away and began floating down the river again. I lost sight of Danny after he climbed over the small dam wall. He was heading back to the bridge.

I reached the other small waterfall or dam—five hundred yards downstream—about seven minutes later. There was a gap in the middle of it where water was rushing through, but it was also coming around the sides of the debris pile. I slipped over the gap in the middle and quickly inverted the ghost suit from the desert pattern to the all-black. I opened my pack, loaded the Springfield XDM-9 I’d taken from the plane, and applied black hunting paint to my face to match the ghost suit. I had barely snapped the cap shut on the face paint when I heard several quick gunshots and a gigantic explosion.

I could see smoke billowing in the air and could hear screams, engines, and gunshots galore immediately after the explosion. Danny did it! He blew up the bridge . A five-foot wall of water—caused by the explosion and falling bridge—rushed downstream toward me, and I moved quickly away from the river as it surged over the falls. If Danny had triggered that explosion with those three initial gunshots, he must have been close to the bridge—close to the impact zone. He only had a handgun. How close could you be to such a blast and still survive? I waited frantically for any sign of him, but I saw nothing. Still, a steady stream of gunshots told me someone was shooting at someone. So the soldiers could see someone. But who? Danny? Blake?

Suddenly there was an explosion up the south side of the dam . What the hell? A minute later I saw a helicopter lift off from the general area of the last explosion. It was coming down the valley towards us. Shit!

I glanced at my watch. I had exactly one minute until Danny was supposed to meet me. I knew he wouldn’t be there. But I also knew I wasn’t going anywhere until I found him. The helicopter was hovering over the destroyed bridge. Probably looking for Danny too . Six minutes later, I saw a pile of sticks float up against the falls, and then a body tumbled over the rocks in the gap I’d come through. Danny!

I ran down to the water and flipped him over. He was breathing, but barely. He must have been floating face up most of the time. How did the helicopter not see him? He had been shot at least two times. I pulled him out of the water and tried to get him to talk to me. I could see his mouth moving but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “What?” I put my ear down next to his mouth.

“You should be gone,” he whispered.

“Screw that. No way I was leaving you.”

He mouthed something else, but I didn’t listen this time. Another large explosion up by the former bridge had caught my attention. I stood up and peered over the wall of debris. I could see a half dozen soldiers coming down the river fully armed and carefully searching the water. They’d be here in a minute. I had to move Danny, but I couldn’t pull him out of the water without being seen. There was only one option. I glanced at the waterfall pouring over the gap in the dam, and I dragged Danny under that waterfall with me. I lowered him as deep as I could into the water to where his face was still above the surface, flattening myself against the rock wall—underwater—as recessed as I could. With my left arm I held the Springfield—safety off—ready to fire if needed.

I watched through a tiny gap in the waterfall as two men passed by on my left. I couldn’t afford to turn my head to the right, but I assumed a couple more were on that side. I could hear the soldiers talking to each other across the river—confirming my assumption—but I didn’t understand a word. I heard another voice coming from above the falls. My body ached, and Danny was shaking terribly, but I fought to stay still. “Come on, Danny,” I whispered in his ear. “Keep fighting, but stay calm. Please.”

Suddenly there was a gunshot and a giant splash in front of us as a man fell off the dam into the water. He pretty much landed directly in Danny’s lap. Another gunshot followed immediately, and there was another large splash to my right. I tried to get a glimpse of what was going on but could only tell that someone was firing at these Qi Jia soldiers.

The two men to my left were now crouching down a few feet from me, peering over the wall of debris toward the gunfire. Surely the two men to my right were doing the same. Another gunshot was followed by a scream to my right. One of the men to my right fired several shots back this time. As did the men on my left. I wanted to help whoever was attacking these men. I wanted to take out the guys I could see on my left, but I knew a single shot from me would draw fire from my blind spot on the right. That would be certain death for us. I had to stay patient. I squeezed Danny tightly and waited.