The Bitter Chase: A Chase Fulton Novel (Chase Fulton Novels Book 14) by Cap Daniels

Author:Cap Daniels [Daniels, Cap]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anchor Watch Publishing, L.L.C.
Published: 2021-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

A Burning Ring of Fire

We remounted the vehicle, and Clark made quick work of turning it around. Hunter sat behind me, Singer was behind Clark, and Callaway rode the hump with his arms stretched over his head, gripping the roll bar.

With the risk of being seen no longer a concern, headlights made the trip back down the mountain only slightly less terrifying. The ravine still loomed only inches from the left-side tires, giving Clark a show of the scenery unlike what he’d seen on the ascent.

“Is this the way you guys came up the mountain?”

“Wondering why you didn’t see or hear us?” Hunter said.

“Yeah, a little.”

“We were blacked out, and the wind was in our face. The traffic noise from below drowned what little sound we made. These are the things you’d know if you’d been a real sniper.”

To Callaway’s credit, he showed no reaction to Hunter’s assault.

As we rounded the sharpest turn in the mountain trail, an assault of boulders big enough to wreck our Jeep cascaded down the slope and across the trail. Clark hit the brakes, barely missing a three-foot falling rock. Hunter and I instinctually pulled down our NODs, drew our pistols, and scanned the overhead slope. Singer followed suit with the muzzle of his rifle and night-vision scope.

Still scanning, I asked, “What do you see, Singer?”

“Nothing. Whatever it was, I don’t think it was human.”

Callaway said, “You guys are jumpy. There are rockslides on this mountain every ten minutes. Some of them are caused by big cats, some by bears, and others just happen. It scares the hell out of you the first time, but after three or four an hour, the noise just becomes part of the environment.”

A bowling-ball-sized rock came to rest on the trail a few feet in front of the Jeep, and Clark stood in the seat to survey the hazard. “If I can’t clear it, I can push it out of the way with the bumper.”

He carefully inched forward and eased the wheel ever so slightly to the left. The stone didn’t contact the bumper or the frame, so we continued at a snail’s pace until a second wave of falling rocks began their late-night careening down the slope. Simultaneously with the rockslide, the left side of the trail collapsed beneath the left front tire. A massive rock hit the top of the windshield, demolishing the glass, then came to rest on the steering column. The Jeep started rolling to the left as the trail crumbled beneath us. There was no possibility of saving the vehicle, so we lunged from our seats toward the right side of the Jeep and what remained of the trail.

I landed on the stony ground and finished the shoulder roll just in time to see Hunter’s body come to a stop a few feet away. My NODs were nowhere in sight, but Hunter’s skittered across the ground like a child’s toy. I scarfed them up and shoved them against my eyes just in time to see Singer exiting the rear of the Jeep with his rifle bound in his arms.

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