Chapter Sixty-Five
Ridge Manor, Florida
"No, No, No!!"
Joanna had watched everything, standing behind Wayne, and now she rushed towards him and grabbed him as he fell to his knees. He was begging Major General Li Xiaoyan to not hurt his daughter, pleading with the woman who wouldn't even look at him.
"You can't do that. You can't…kill her, not my daughter. Have you no heart? Have you no heart, woman?"
Joanna held him in her arms as he yelled at Major General Li Xiaoyan. She pulled him away from the hole and back onto the porch, where she sat him down in a rocker. She looked him in the eyes, locked with his, making sure he was listening to her. He was sobbing, his body shaking.
"I don't think she does have a heart. Not a human one at least."
Wayne was looking at Joanna, a look of desperation in his eyes like he wanted, maybe even expected her to somehow solve this, to make it go away. She remembered the look from Jack when he had learned about the cancer. He had screamed and cried in their apartment, his eyes begging her to make the pain stop, to drive the fear away. But she couldn't. Just like she couldn't do it for Wayne right now.
"I can't lose her…not again, not all over again," he cried, rocking back and forth in the chair.
Joanna knelt down and hugged him. He cried in her arms. Joanna felt a flood of guilt rush in over her. Wayne had done this for her sake; he had told them about the hole to save her life. Now, he risked losing his daughter because of it. Because of her. How could she ever live with herself?
You've got to do something.
Wayne looked up and grabbed her hands in his. It felt like he needed to convince her. Like it was all her doing and only she could undo it.
"She's all I have left, Joanna. Her phone calls at night are what keep me going. Her mother has left me. There is only her. I can't see my daughter or touch her or smell her hair. I don't even get to tuck her in at night. But I can talk to her, every night. I can't lose that; I can't let them hurt her."
"I know. I'm sorry. I am sorry, terribly sorry, Wayne."
Joanna felt devastated. How could these people be so cruel? How could they do this to Wayne, who had been nothing but a help to them?
Because they aren't people and you know it. These creatures don't have a drop of human blood in them. They don't know emotions, they have no souls, they don't know about love.
"What am I going to do?" Wayne asked.
"I…I…"
Joanna stopped. She realized she had no answer for him. His eyes expected one from her, but she couldn't say anything to make him feel better. She had learned that when taking care of Jack. She could never make the pain or the fear go away, but she could be there for him while he went through it. When he panicked because he couldn't breathe, she could help him get his oxygen mask on. When he cried, those deep agonizing sobs because he was in pain, or because he woke up at night realizing he wasn't going to see his daughter graduate high school, she could hold his hand or kiss him till he calmed down. When he screamed because she went to the bathroom and he feared he might die while she was in there, she could rush to him and hold him tight till he stopped shaking.
And she had done all that. She had even held his hand as he unexpectedly looked up towards the sky, took in a small sip of air, and then just didn't take any more. Even though he had been sick, it felt like he died out of the blue. It was so definitive. Like a snap of the fingers. Just like that, there were no more breaths left. The doctor had given him several months more and Joanna had expected him to fight for even longer than that. She had read so many stories about people living even several years more than the doctors predicted. But not Jack. He just left.
You couldn't do anything then, but you can do something now, Joanna. You know you can. It's not too late.
Joanna rose to her feet. Wayne sniffled and looked up at her. "What are you doing?"
He wiped his nose on his arm while staring at her. "I don't like that look in your eyes, Joanna. You're up to something. What are you doing?"
Joanna smiled and let go of his hand. "I'm gonna jump in."
She gave him a look, then turned and stormed into the yard so fast he couldn't stop her. Before any of the Chinese could react, she stretched out her arms in front of her body, and dove in.
Head first.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Cape Canaveral, Florida
They were walking, going west on 528, when they spotted a black truck that had stalled in the middle of the road. The door was open and there was the body of a big guy in a flannel shirt, still clinging to his gun, hanging out of it.
Martha spotted him and turned her head away first, then decided to look. Carl, still limping because of his bad hip, walked closer.
"Is he dead?"
Carl looked down at the man. "Looks very dead to me."
"Oh, dear God," Martha said and put a hand to her chest. They had seen so many dead bodies on the side of the road just while walking for the past twenty minutes. How many had these people killed?
"Doesn't look like he was shot, though."
"How did he die, then?"
"From the marks on his throat, it looks like he was strangled."
Martha felt sick to her stomach. She had a strange feeling about these Chinese people. Something was definitely off about them.
"The keys are still in the ignition," Carl said.
"Well, turn it on," she said and pulled the body away from the truck, making a grimace in disgust. She placed him on the side of the road, then looked at him. "I'm sorry, sir. We would give you a proper burial if we had the time, but I need to get back to my son and grandchild and we're kind of in a hurry to see if they're still alive. So, I hope you'll forgive us for…"
The sound of the engine roaring drowned out her last words. Carl cheered from inside the car.
"Martha. Stop talking to the dead guy and get in!"
She looked down at the man. "Anyway, I hope you'll forgive us. I’m sure you're in a nice place now."
She grabbed his gun, stepped over him, and rushed to the truck and jumped in. Carl floored the pedal and the truck roared once again as they took off, burning the tires as they went over the bridge to the mainland. She handed Carl the gun, but as he checked it, he said it was empty. It was useless.
Martha looked at the houses along the coast. They all seemed abandoned, but she had a feeling they weren't. They were approaching dusk and all of the houses lay in darkness.
"Do you think anyone's alive around here?" she asked. "I mean, Bob told us they had told them to stay inside their houses, but it all seems so empty, so vacant." Martha turned on the radio, but there was nothing but static. It felt like they were the only people left in the entire world.
"There’s no power," he answered and turned off the radio. "No streetlights are turning on. People could be in their houses waiting for the power to come back on. Like when there’s a hurricane."
Martha looked anxiously into the growing darkness ahead of her. She didn't really know what to expect when they got to Ridge Manor. Would the town still be there? Would their house? Would Josh and Irene? What about Marley? Was she okay? Martha had hardly dared to think about them since they’d been captured at the harbor, but now she did.
"I know what you're thinking," Carl said. "And we've got to just take one step at a time. First, we get to Ridge Manor, and then we'll worry about them, okay? Josh is strong, even though he doesn’t believe so himself. They're probably fine, all of them."
Carl tried to smile. Martha knew he was just trying to make her feel better and she appreciated the gesture, but it didn't work. The closer they got, the more she worried and pictured the worst scenarios in her head.
As they reached Orlando, Martha felt an eerie chill when realizing they were the only vehicle on the roads. By the time they got to the other side of the town, Carl suddenly hit the brakes, hard. So hard Martha fell forward.
"What's going on? Carl? Why do you look like that?"
br /> Carl pointed out the windshield. "Look. It's them. They're here."
Martha peeked out the window and saw them. Thousands she thought at first, but then realized she had to upscale it. Tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers had gathered here, covering all the fields and all the roads as far as she could see in the glow of the car's headlights.
"We can't continue," Carl said. He backed up, turned around, and drove back for a little while, then took the exit towards Lakeland.
"What are you doing?" Martha said, still looking out through the back window, not really sure she could believe what she had seen.
"Going around them," Carl said. "If we drive around the swamps and come in from the southwest side of town, then I think we can get in through that way." He drew in a deep breath before he added, "Maybe."
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Ridge Manor, Beneath
Joanna was falling. Falling so deep she didn't even know it was possible. But not only was she falling, she was being sucked at the same time, sucked forcefully towards what she believed had to be the center of the earth. Every second, she expected to reach the ground, the end of it, but she didn't. Instead, she kept going on and on, into the deep, deep darkness that soon surrounded her as she could no longer see the hole she had jumped into.
I am never going to see Ellie Mae again, am I?
Joanna soon lost all track of time and space and wondered what was up and what was down as she fell and fell but never reached the ground. The darkness felt claustrophobic and, for a brief second, she wondered if it would be possible to fall forever and never reach the end of this hole.
That was when she suddenly spotted something beneath her. A small light, a dot that soon grew bigger and bigger and, seconds later, she was spewed out of the tunnel, and landed on the - fortunately - very soft and moist ground, face first, a big lump of mud in her mouth.
Joanna groaned and stayed on the ground for a little while, trying to figure out if she was dead or alive. The pain in her chest and face told her she was very much still alive.
With much discomfort, she sat up in the mud, then looked around her. There wasn't much light in the place she was in, so she got quickly used to it and could see the surroundings.
It looked like she had landed in a swamp of some sort. Was it the Green Swamps that bordered Ridge Manor? It looked a lot like them, but how could it be? The air was chilly here and she was soon freezing.
Joanna got to her feet and looked at her jeans that were soaked, but decided it didn't matter. She wondered if it was nighttime since it was so dark, but as she looked between the trees, she realized the sun had just gotten up on the horizon.
It looks like it’s morning? Like the sun has just gotten up a few hours ago? But why is it still so dark?
It had been almost nighttime when she left Wayne's yard. She hadn't been in the tunnel for that long. This had to be the right place, she thought happily. It had to be the same place Arlene was in. It fit with the time difference.
Now, all I have to do is find her. That shouldn't be too hard, now should it?
Joanna walked out of the mud and up onto solid ground where the soil was less slushy. She looked around. Nothing but trees and waterways. Much like the swamps at home. Except for the bone-chilling cold.
"Now, which way do I go?" she said out loud, thinking she was alone.
But she wasn't.
"How about nowhere?" a voice said behind her.
Joanna turned to see Tang. He was standing behind her, his coat fluttering even though there was no wind. He was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling green. He was playing with his long tongue in the air in front of him.
"I figure one of you follow me when I jump in," he said.
"All I want is the girl," she said.
"Funny," he said, but he didn't laugh. "So do I."
With the last word, he opened his mouth wide, shot out his tongue like a projectile through the air, and wrapped it around Joanna's throat. He tightened his grip and soon Joanna was gasping for air. She grabbed the slimy tongue with her hands and tried to pull it off her, but it was too strong. She was gurgling and sputtering, gasping to breathe.
With much effort, she somehow managed to grab the tip of the tongue with her fingers and wiggle it loose, then she pulled it to her mouth and bit down as hard as she could, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the crunching sound as her teeth sunk into the soft yet strong material.
Tang let out a loud shrill sound that Joanna could only interpret as being pain, then pulled his tongue away as fast as it had been shot out.
Joanna then turned around on her heel and ran.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Somewhere deep inside the swamps of Florida
Josh was lying in the dark cabin, Irene sleeping next to him. His eyes were wide open while listening to her deep breaths and the sounds coming from the outside. He knew the swamps weren't a place to stay after the sun had gone down, and even though they had been in there for two days, he jumped at every animal sound he heard, every rustling in the bushes, every plunge in the water at nighttime. He knew gators and snakes didn't make any sounds as they approached their victims, but still, he couldn't stop listening, imagining them being right outside the cabin, ready to walk - or slither - inside the doorless entrance and get to him.
Irene, on the other hand, did better. She had easily slipped into a deep sleep after they had eaten the fish Josh had caught earlier and roasted on the bonfire he made outside. Josh had to admit, he kind of enjoyed this back to basics kind of life. He liked taking care of Irene the old-fashioned way, catching the food and making the fire and all that. It made him feel like a man for the first time in his life. A real man. And he felt like he had gained new respect from his wife in doing so as well. There had been something about the way she looked at him while he had shown her the fish he had caught, holding it out between his hands, a goofy smile of pride on his face.
It was a good moment in his life and he had enjoyed the fish more than he ever enjoyed a meal in his life. They had found a couple of beers in the back of Wayne's truck and drunk them with the fish. "A feast worthy of kings," he had called it.
But now that the sun had set, the feeling of manly pride had set with it. Fear had taken its place and, unlike Irene, once again he found no rest.
You've got to get some sleep, Josh.
Josh closed his eyes and tried to think about a field of flowers. It was his mother who had taught him to do that whenever he felt too anxious to fall asleep.
"Imagine yourself in a peaceful place, like a field of flowers, just running as fast as you can, falling down in a soft bed of daisies, laughing carelessly," she had said. "That'll help you relax and, before you know it, you'll be sound asleep."
It had never really worked, though. Because every time Josh tried, Josh would soon find himself in the flower field, running, but as soon as he got to the top of the hill, he'd find his sister and his mother yelling at each other, and soon that was all he could hear. The constant bickering and fighting. Next thing he knew, his heart rate would go up again and soon the flowers were gone and he found himself back in the darkness of his room, his heart racing and gasping for breath.
It didn't help now either. Josh heard a sound, like something plunging into the water close to the cabin, and opened his eyes. He sat up. There was a little moonlight outside now and he could see better.
Convinced that he had heard a big animal outside, he got up. He grabbed the wooden stick he had taken with him to bed earlier as a possible weapon. He walked to the open door, holding the stick like you would a baseball bat over your shoulder, ready to swing it at whatever came his way. But make sure you do it hard 'cause you only get that one shot.
"I will kill you if you get any closer," Josh whispered into the night.
Part of him wished it was actually a gator, just a small one, one he could easily beat, of course, but that part of him really wanted to beat the crap out of one. He longed to get out a
ll his rage.
Josh took a step outside and that was when he spotted it. Right there in front of him, in between two large tree trunks, stood a four-foot gator. It was staring at him, its jaws slid open as if it was already tasting him.
"There you are, you son of a gun," Josh said, feeling sweat trickle on his upper lip. He smelled terrible, but for once he didn't mind.
The gator moved a step closer to Josh.
"That's it, you're looking for a fight, aren't you? Well, you're in luck 'cause so am I. After what I’ve been through…"
Josh took a couple of steps closer, hoping he could find some cool one-liner to say, but not finding the right words. He started growling, while, for once in his life, letting all the rage, all the anger explode inside of him. Screaming like a madman, he stormed towards the gator, the stick lifted high in the air, ready to swing it at the beast, when something happened, something he would have a hard time explaining afterwards.
Just as he was about to let the stick fall on the gator, a bright light lit up the entire area around the cabin and blinded him. Josh stopped to cover his eyes, unable to see the gator anymore.
What the heck is that? A car?
The sound of an engine roaring gave him his answer. It seemed to be a big car and it was coming straight at him.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Ridge Manor, Beneath
She was running, but she wasn't fast enough. Tang was gaining on her, shooting his tongue at her. Every now and then, he would hit her with it, causing her to fall, and once he even managed to wrap it around her ankle and pull her backward, screaming, digging her nails deep into the swampy ground. She managed to kick the tongue with her other foot till he let go and then got up on her feet again and continued to run. But no matter how fast she was, he seemed to be faster, even though he was hardly running. She could hear him laughing behind her, sometimes really close, other times further away. It was like he was toying with her, letting her run herself tired before he finally struck.