3zekiel_First Contact by Peter Cawdron

Author:Peter Cawdron [Cawdron, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

First Contact

My arm aches.

Pretzel retrieves what’s left of the Fentanyl stick, rinsing it with water and giving it to me, but it seems to have lost its mojo.

“We need to get out of here,” Jana says, and I know what’s coming next. These should be the words of Pretzel or Garcia, but they’re not, and that has me on edge. “I should go.”

“No,” I say almost instantly. “We stick together.”

“Josh,” Pretzel says. “She’s right. She’s the only one of us that can make good time out there. She knows the lay of the land.”

“She doesn’t stand a chance alone.” I don’t know that. It’s not logical, but it’s what I feel.

Pretzel says, “She’s more likely to slip past unnoticed alone. Jana can travel farther and faster than any of us.”

Garcia’s quiet. He’s thinking, but doesn’t say anything. Pretzel elaborates. “She can tell the others where we are. Jana is our only hope of getting out of here alive.”

“Jana,” I say, lost for anything more.

Garcia leans forward, pulling a handgun from the small of his back.

“It’s Russian,” he says, holding it on the flat of his hand before her. I never even saw him retrieve it from one of the fallen soldiers. He points. “There’s a round chambered. This is the safety. Flick it up with your thumb and it is good to fire. It holds ten to twelve rounds.”

Jana takes the gun from him, running her fingers over the handle, examining the safety.

“Don’t aim.” At first, I’m confused, but Garcia’s serious. “Just point and squeeze, then run. Remember that, point and squeeze, and run. You don’t need to hit anyone, just keep them at bay. The less you fire, the better. Save your ammo. Stay on the move. If you come under fire, shoot back and go, go, go. Don’t stay in any one place for more than a second or two or they will pin you down. Moving targets are hard to hit. Distance is your only ally.”

She nods. Even though he can’t see, Garcia seems to realize she’s acknowledged him. “Bullets need line-of-sight. If they can’t see you, they can’t hit you. Rocks are better than trees. Trees are better than buildings. Buildings are better than nothing at all. Whatever happens, keep moving.”

Pretzel says, “God speed.”

Jana looks at me for barely a second and then disappears over the fallen branch we’re sheltering beside. I was expecting her to say something. I wanted to say something to her, to tell her to be careful, to tell her that I love her—however crazy that may be for a teen still learning about life—but she’s gone. I turn, leaning over an upturned root, watching as she darts between the dead standing trees devoid of leaves and branches.

“She’ll be back,” Pretzel says.

“Liar,” Garcia replies, and I’m glad he said that. He’s right. Even if she makes it, she won’t be back—not her. At best, the US Army will dispatch someone to get us, but even that’s wishful thinking. We all saw what happened to the Russian plane.

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