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Ami screamed a third time before Rachael and Josh reached her. She had collapsed on the floor in front of the toilet door marked ‘Ladies.’
Her hand was against the closed door. She was about to scream again when Rachael placed her hands gently on her shoulders.
“What happened?” Josh yelled at her side.
Ami pointed at the door.
“What’s in there?” Rachael brushed Ami’s hair back with her hand and wiped tears of fear from her face.
Ami pushed away from Rachael and on hands and knees, she moved as far from the toilet door as she could. Near the exit, her back hit the wall and she stopped.
Rachael looked at Josh and he smiled, then said, “Okay, I’ll go.” He motioned to her to get with Ami and be ready to run if danger showed itself. He waited until she was crouched by Ami’s side and then gingerly pushed open the door.
The smell hit him first and it instantly reminded him of Peter’s place, only much worse. The door made an unbelievably large sound when it closed behind him. Josh knew it was only his nerves making everything ten times louder.
He was in a very short entranceway, which opened on the left. There was a large wall mirror facing him and below it were three washbasins. He could see the entire restroom reflected in that mirror. There were five stalls in a row with closed doors and the rest of the area was empty.
What had made Ami scream?
He moved up from the entrance. From here he could clearly see inside the basins. Thick black fluid had solidified around the hole. On closer inspection, Josh discovered the color wasn’t black. It was dark red with small clumps of black hair protruding.
His stomach churned and he felt bile rise up his throat. He swallowed it back down the best he could.
Behind him one of the stall doors creaked open. The sudden break in silence shocked Josh. He spun around so fast he almost lost balance. The third stall door hung open.
The pounding of his heart hurt his chest and finding air seemed an impossible task, yet he found himself slowly moving closer to the third stall. He pushed himself against the far wall to be as far away as possible.
Sidestepping most the way, he stared into the stall, but this time he could not stop the tangy vomit. He doubled over as the bile exploded out. It splattered his shoes and the floor. He inhaled as much air as he could, feeling the second rush of bile rising. He squatted down and released it. He spat several times to clean out his mouth and throat.
With watery eyes he looked back up and saw the decapitated head of a N.Z army officer. Large white bulging eyes stared blankly at him. The skin was a grayish purple color. The body was sitting on the toilet with pants around his ankles and the officer’s hands were positioned in his lap as if he had been holding something. The head was lying against the door.
Josh thought the head had somehow rolled off the body and knocked the door open. The thought brought an image and it caused him to vomit a third time.
Collecting himself, he found the courage or curiosity to move forward to the next stall. With a shaking hand he pulled the door open.
And found it empty.
Swallowing hard, he pulled open the third door. It was also empty. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
As he turned, his head bumped something hard and cold. He looked up into the face of a bearded man wearing a black uniform with three white V marks on the shirt and holding a machine gun at close range to Josh’s head.
He stumbled back from the shock. He fell to the floor. From there he noticed the first stall’s once closed toilet door was now open.
The man yelled at him in a foreign language Josh did not recognize. The man jabbed the machine gun at him. When Josh didn’t move, the man grabbed a small protruding bar on the side of his machine gun, and pulled it back hard and fast. It made a shick sound. A sound Josh knew from many movies he had seen. A sound that meant the chamber was loaded and ready and the safety was in the off position.
He’d had never seen a machine gun with a slide bar. And it was also the first time he had ever seen a weapon of any style in real life. This one had no power bar, which could only mean one thing. It used bullets.
Josh sat up and raised his hands.
The man motioned with his gun to stand up. Josh obeyed. The man spoke softer this time and Josh shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t understand you. Can you speak English?”
The man watched him closely. Seemed to come to a decision and said, “Who are you?”
“I’m a student.” Josh’s voice was shaky.
“You lie.” The man raised the machine gun to his shoulder and took aim.
“No, I’m not lying.” Tears welled but did not fall.
“Why you come here in war time?”
“War?”
“I hear car. How many people?”
War?
“How many people?” the man repeated.
“Five.”
“All students?” The man’s voice was suspicious.
“How long has there been a war?”
The man smiled. “I ask questions,” he said.
Josh nodded.
“Move,” the man said. He took a step back and waited for Josh to pass him. He pushed the barrel of the machine gun into the small of his back. “Time to meet your friends,” he said. “You lead way. Put down arms.”
Josh did as commanded. The man pushed the machine gun hard into his back. He watched the man in the mirror as he rounded the wall into the entrance. He slowed to a stop as he reached the door.
“Who are you?” Josh asked.
The man gave a short grunt of a laugh. “I enemy,” he said. “Now move.”
Josh opened the door. From there he could see Ami and Rachael, their arms around each other. Through the window, Eric stared straight ahead at the roadblock. Sitting next to Eric in the passenger seat was Penny. Had she had one of her brief waking moments and moved seats?
“What was it?” Rachael said releasing Ami. She moved forward, but stopped when she saw the man.
The man pushed Josh toward the two girls. He stumbled and would have fallen if Rachael hadn’t moved forward to catch him.
“All you, move away from door.” The man looked out the window. “Who that?” he asked, pointing to Eric with his machine gun.
“Our friend,” Ami said, backing away.
In his native language, the man spoke loudly and looked towards the curtained off area. He waited a moment before calling out again. A look of worry crossed his face but was instantly transferred into a smile when the curtain opened and another man emerged. Beyond the curtain lay at least a dozen dead bodies. Many were stacked on top of each other and all of them wore an army uniform.
The new man’s face was covered in drying blood. His nose was bent at a strange angle and a thick bandage was wrapped around his head and tied under his chin. A blood soaked section covered his ear. His right arm was in a sling. He carried a black handgun with a power pack attached to the top and walked with a limp. He was much darker than the man who had found Josh.
“We are soldiers of the German/Arabian force. I am Captain Arkmed-Somme,” the soldier in the sling said, “and you have already met Private Caufman.
“Your World United Government sent an electronic bomb to the new land and you are now casualties of war.” He spoke in perfect English and raised his machine gun as he announced, “This area is now German/Arabian land.”
“What’s going on?” Ami whimpered with tears rimming her eyes.
“You’re going to die,” Captain Arkmed-Somme said in a flat voice. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile. Slowly and deliberately he pushed the charge button on the side of his handgun. A green light glowed on the side, a moment later it changed to a light orange. Soon it would be red and the handgun would be ready.
Josh acted on impulse.
“Rachael! Ami! Run!”
He spun around grabbed the machine gun and pointed it to the side. Somehow he managed to turn Private Caufman around so that he was protected from the captain.
Private Caufman was stronger than Josh and while struggling with the machine gun, managed to push him back towards the toilet.
The only thought racing through Josh was to keep the gun away from his friends until he saw them drive away. He saw Captain Arkmed-Somme try to reach for Rachael but she spun around and backhanded the handgun from his grip. Brilliantly she kicked it back to the curtained area. The captain chased after it.
Seeing his two friends fly out the door, Josh twisted the machine gun towards Caufman. He managed to turn and tilt it at the same time. Suddenly there was no resistance and he fell forward. Caufman slugged him hard in the chin. Josh fell against the wall and bounced back faster and harder, slamming punch after punch into the private. Two to the face and a third strike into the unprotected ribs.
Caufman dropped the machine gun, but attached with a strap, it dangled around his shoulders.
A quick glance outside showed the cruiser backing away fast.
Without thinking, Josh grabbed the machine gun, pushed the barrel under the chin of Private Caufman and squeezed the trigger. The machine gun sounded like a bunch of small firecrackers exploding and it jumped violently in his hand. But it had the desired effect.
The left side of Private Caufman’s head and face exploded outward. Blood, bone and brain splattered the floor and Josh. He released the machine gun and stepped back, watching the private drop lifeless to the floor. His entire body shook. He felt something ticklish sliding down his cheek and he wiped it way. It landed with a splat on the floor. He looked down and found a chunk of pinkish-grey matter shuddering next to his feet.
Slowly he looked up to see Captain Arkmed-Somme pointing the handgun at him. It was aimed at his head. And from the corner of his eye, he saw a German/Arabian R.W.V open-roofed tank speed past the window.
In slow motion, he saw the handgun jolt in the captain’s hand and felt the impact. Josh heard the sound and was then swallowed up in darkness, his life gone in a flash of steel.
––––––––
Rachael was moving as fast as she could, unable to stop herself quick enough to avoid hitting the cruiser. She slammed into the rear and felt the pain of her shin striking the bumper. The knock dropped her to the ground and she brought Ami down with her.
Dust spat up into her face, stinging her eyes, but she barely noticed. She pulled herself up while at the same time trying to run forward. Ami shrugged herself from Rachael’s grip and climbed into the back seat.
Rachael pulled open the front passenger door to find Penny sitting there, staring forward.
“Eric, we got to go now!” Rachael closed the door and climbed into the back. Her hand slid between the cushions. As she pulled her hand back, something cold and sharp slice open her finger. The pain was enormous but she held back the cry and screamed at Eric to get moving.
What’s happening? he asked.
“Just get us the hell out of here now! And do it fast!” She knew she was screaming and she knew it didn’t help matters to lose control, but she couldn’t help it.
But where’s Josh?
Calmly Rachael said, “Eric, please. Drive now. Back up and go around the blockade.”
He looked even more confused and watched her closely in the mirror as he reversed and spun the wheel around. A loud rumbling sound vibrated through the cruiser. He pushed the rear view button on the dashboard and a holographic image appeared. An image of a German/Arabian R.W.V open-roofed tank showed up. An image of quick death wrapped in steel.
“Go now, Eric!”
Eric put the cruiser into drive and hit the gas as hard as he could. The cruiser remained still a moment as the tires spun. Smoke and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.
The cruiser shot forward with the back wheels slipping the grip. It fishtailed, but Eric quickly got it under control. They left the dusty road of the guardhouse sideways. They hit the hard, bumpy ground at the side of the road. The rear end of the cruiser jumped across the uneven terrain.
Beside them, the ground exploded. A blanket of soil slammed into the side of the cruiser.
Rachael and Ami shrunk down into the back seat at the sound of bullets thudding into the rear. The window smashed, showering them in glass. The front window quickly followed.
The R.W.V was catching up fast.
Eric spun the wheel and the cruiser bumped up onto the tar-sealed road. They had a better chance here. He tried to get the cruiser into fly-mode without any luck. Within seconds the cruiser’s speed was up to 150km/h and rising.
Bullets bounced off the road in all directions.
Suddenly rising in the distance they saw hope in the form of a helicopter. Its nose was tilted down and it was heading straight at them.
It fired in their direction, but the bullets hit the road. A few ricocheted and hit the side of the cruiser. Eric cried out as squashed metal thundered into his arm. A spray of blood shot over the seat and splattered the right side of Ami’s face.
She gave no reaction as the helicopter flew over them. She turned to watch them out the back. The R.W.V had turned. Fire jumped out of the barrels.
The helicopter suddenly tilted and smoke billowed from the side. It tried to right its position and wobbled side to side.
The side door opened and a man balanced a large cylinder on his shoulder. Smoke shot from the back of it, and from the front, something was chased with fire.
The R.W.V exploded in a large ball of orange flame.