The Golden Khan: An edge-of-the-seat epic adventure (Georgia Lee Book 2) by A. H. Wang

Author:A. H. Wang [Wang, A. H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BW Press
Published: 2020-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

33

Four years ago, Syria

Ben blinked with shock, unable to believe his own eyes. Bodies—hundreds of them—filled the streets. Men, women, young children lay dead, faces bloated, lifeless eyes staring, skin turned blue. Trails of blood emanated from their mouths and noses. The reek of vomit, urine, faeces, and rot permeated the air. The buzz of flies droned ceaselessly.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” one of the men behind Ben whispered.

Some others on his team retched, emptying half-digested breakfasts onto the dusty ground. Ben swallowed against the sudden dryness in his mouth, swiping at his lips as if the action could remove the sour, burning taste at the back of his throat. He lowered his rifle, wrestling with shock and powerless rage.

The intel was wrong. There were no enemies here. Just dead civilians. Innocent women and children among them.

“What in the goddamn hell happened here, Doc?” Williams asked, his voice startlingly loud in the eerie silence of the village.

Ben turned to his team leader. “Chemical weapon, Cap’n. Some kind of gas, I think.”

“Sarin?” Williams said, referring to the god-awful nerve agent.

“I hope not, or we’re all fucked,” Ben replied, now feeling alarmed as the initial shock wore off. “Let’s get the hell outta here. These people look like they’ve been dead a few days now, but we shouldn’t take any chances, in case there are still trace elements in the air.”

“Fuck.” Williams spat on the ground, yelling for the team to haul ass back to the truck.

From the corner of his eye, Ben spotted movement. Some of his teammates did too, and they jerked their weapons towards the door of the ramshackle building down the street.

“Hold your fire!” Ben yelled when he saw the young woman in the black hijab. He was already running towards her as she stumbled out onto the road.

He caught her just as her legs gave out. She was convulsing in his arms, wheezing and coughing as she fought to breathe. Foam oozed out of her mouth, and she spluttered as she tried to speak.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I got you,” Ben reassured her in Arabic.

The woman shook her head, frantic. “No. No,” she was saying in between heaving air into her lungs.

“Shhh. Try not to talk.” Ben checked her blood-shot eyes, noting the pinpoint pupils.

She thrashed in his arms again. Ben struggled to keep her on her side so she wouldn’t choke on her own tongue. Her face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

“Need some help here!” Ben yelled.

One of the men was by his side instantly. “What do you need, Doc?”

“Atropine. In my bag. The small compartment to your right. That needle, yes. Hurry.”

As he injected the antidote into her vein, the woman was still shaking her head, trying to talk to him. Ben’s entire body stilled as he read her lips, finally understanding her meaning.

“Save my baby, save my baby, save my baby,” she was saying in Arabic, over and over again.

Ben finally looked down and noticed the bulge under her shawl. He peeled the fabric back and saw the child swaddled against her body.

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