John O'Brien - Reckoning

Turning south, they enter between steep mountain walls rising directly from the highway. The hills aren’t as tall as those they came through earlier, but it’s still rough terrain. Snow hasn’t settled on any of the peaks as yet, but if the cold mountain air is any indication, that time isn’t far away. As the mammoth tires of the Stryker roll over the pavement, Greg is thankful they don’t have to deal with icy conditions in addition to being pursued by an armored force.

The crossroads behind are quickly lost from sight as the road meanders through the gap in the highlands. Before rounding a corner in the highway, which pushed the intersection out of sight, Greg wasn’t able to verify if the pursuit continued in their direction. For now, he can only assume that it does and continue their flight.

His plan is to run south through the night toward Santa Fe and Albuquerque. If they haven’t heard from Jack by that time, they will turn west, fleeing to the northwest and safety. He regrets not turning to the northwest when they had the initial choice. Every mile they drive south is taking them farther away from the compound. Greg knows there is only a small chance of linking up with Jack in the morning. And even then, the odds are remote that they’ll be able to create enough separation so that the 130 can land and pick them up. And that’s if there is a good place to land should they come into contact with Jack.

Yeah, I should have turned north , Greg thinks as they race between the hills.

The fuel situation will have to work itself out. Those behind will have to stop and refuel as well. Having more vehicles, it will take them longer to accomplish which is one advantage Greg and the others have. They escaped the trap with almost a full load of fuel, so they won’t have to worry about that until somewhere near Santa Fe. The others, having the same type of vehicle, will have to stop before then. Stopping for fuel where they did has given him the advantage fuel-wise.

Greg feels his head drooping and his eyes involuntarily closing as weariness sets in. They are all tired and he tells the others to rest as well as they can. They’re going to need it in the coming days. Greg knows the driver has to be exhausted and the last thing they need is to run off the road. He has another soldier switch places with the driver. The things they can control, they will.

“Sir?” one solider says, getting Greg’s attention.

Having almost fallen asleep, Greg snaps his head up. “Yeah, what is it?”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” the soldier asks.

Others in the compartment nod, the same question running through their minds. Hearing the question, Greg can’t imagine how the ones they rescued must be feeling. To be rescued from the caves, and almost certain death, only to be thrown into this wild chase must be traumatic for them.

“No…no, I do not,” Greg answers wearily.

“Any guesses, sir?”

“Well, we obviously pissed someone off pretty bad. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was my ex. In lieu of that, your guess is as good as mine.”

“How long do you think they’ll come after us?” another soldier asks.

“They don’t seem to like us much, so I’m thinking they mean to chase us to the ends of the earth. If they were merely safeguarding a base camp, they would have stopped their pursuit long ago. The fact that they’ve chased us so hard and for so long gives me the impression that they’ll continue to do so. Sorry, but that’s the straight skinny as far as I see it.”

“What are we going to do, sir?”

“We’ll run south, to Albuquerque if necessary, then turn west and make our way back to the compound. We’ll fuel up whenever the opportunity arises. They’ll have to do the same, so we’re at least even with that. If Jack makes contact with us, we’ll find a place for him to land and haul our sorry asses out of here. Until then, we keep our heads on our shoulders and conduct a strategic withdrawal…at high speed,” Greg replies.

The last draws a few chuckles from the soldiers. Strategic withdrawal means retreat. It’s the military vernacular for ‘get the fuck out of Dodge’. The expressions of those they rescued ease to a degree. There are still lines of tension etched around the eyes, but there is some relaxation knowing there is at least a semblance of a plan, and that Greg isn’t entirely making it up as they go. Of course, there really isn’t anything to plan, or make up for that matter. It’s just run and try to stay far enough ahead. Kind of like a deadly form of tag…but in this game, there are no tag backs.

There is one thing that Greg has kept in a corner of his mind, which he doesn’t mention and has him worried. There is the second group that split off from their pursuers, the one that went south at Pueblo. They are unaccounted for, and he hopes they took that direction to cover the possible avenues Greg could have taken. If there is communication between those behind and that group, well, that wouldn’t bode well.

After the initial twists and turns, the mountain pass levels out and they are able to make good speed, even with having to drive on thermal imaging. The trip through the passage is a short one and they soon find themselves driving past lower hills, eventually spilling out into a long, gradually widening valley. So far, Greg hasn’t seen any sign of their pursuit, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there as the winding road prevents any distant view.

They drive out onto the flat plain of the valley and the road runs straight for miles. Greg looks back and is dismayed to see their pursuit emerge from behind the hills. The chase so far hasn’t enabled him to gain any separation, but the others still haven’t been able to close the distance either. Greg reasons that the armored column following them must have had to refuel by this time.

Perhaps they’re doing it in a series, refueling some while the others pursue , Greg thinks, feeling his eyes begin to close again. That way they can leap frog each other and continue the chase .

Greg, knowing he’ll need his wits with the coming day, trades places with a soldier. With instructions to wake him should the situation change, he gets as comfortable as possible and closes his eyes. He is soon fast asleep.

Carrying its crew of very tired people, the Stryker continues its journey south. Any apprehensions they have about the dangers are lost in the blur of exhaustion, especially among those who were rescued. They’ve been through a lot…and it shows.

Through the night, the Stryker maintains its flight toward Santa Fe, passing through the small townships of Villa Grove, Moffat, Hooper, Alamosa, and others that flash by in the blink of an eye, barely noticed before they fade from view. The tall peaks edging the long valley are darker shades against the night sky. The seemingly abandoned small towns, the twinkling stars above, and the faint lights sporadically visible behind are the only company as they race under the velvet of the nighttime sky.

The eastern sky above the peaks lightens with the impending arrival of the dawn, gradually turning a lighter shade of blue, outlining the dark shapes of the mountain tops. Somewhere in their run through the night, they passed the sign welcoming them to New Mexico.

Greg feels his shoulder being shaken and, as if from a distance, he hears someone calling him. He opens his eyes as consciousness slowly rises from the depths of his exhausted sleep. Across from him, on the opposite bench seat, soldiers and those rescued rest their heads on each other, trying to sleep while constantly being jostled from the motion of the Stryker.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m awake. What is it?” Greg asks, gazing blurry-eyed at the soldier who awakened him.