Page 82 of Raven's Curse
Kash picked up the pace, edged ahead, Nyx leading the way as they bounded down the trail toward the spillway. They hit the staging area moving in perfect sync, boots pounding the muddy ground, drifting no more than ten feet apart. Chase left his medic bag on the bank as Kash motioned for Nyx to stay before they jumped over the barrier and onto the rocky shore.
A slimy layer of algae covered the stones, the rocks giving way to brackish water as they waded into the center. The ebb and flow worked against them as they swam to the grate baring off the culvert tunneling into the hillside. Buck coughed, spat out water, each roll hitting his chin. A blue tinge colored his lips, deep tremors racking his body.
Buck grunted as they neared, motioned toward the bridge. “No, no, no… This isn’t right.” He shook his head, looking like he wanted to bang it against the grate. “What are you doing? Save Greer.”
Chase shoulder up beside him, cursing when a similar collar around Buck’s neck blinked on. “She’s got a bit of time. You don’t.”
He chewed on his bottom lip, closing his eyes for a moment before sucking in a breath — looking Chase dead in the eyes. “The bastard shot her. She needs you more than I do.”
“Even if that’s true, we just armed that collar around your neck. You heard Carver. No going back, now. Not that we would have left you here, regardless.” Chase grunted. “He’s got a flack jacket with C4, and chains with a lock around his wrists. I packed some cutters in my medic bag, but I can’t tell if the jacket’s wired to the restraints.”
Buck’s teeth chattered, but he shook his head, again. “It’s not. That asshole doesn’t how to wire bombs properly. I could disarm it if my hands weren’t bound.”
Zain huffed. “If you can disarm the bomb, how come you didn’t know you had live grenades the last time we faced a threat together?”
Buck shrugged. “I forgot. Things get… mixed up inside my head. I see patterns and threats, and I get so focused, I can’t always remember who I really am.” He looked around as if checking if someone else was listening. “Atticus knows.”
“Knows what?”
“It’s what I used to do.”
Zain grinned. “You were an ordinance man?”
“Once, before the Raiders, and I got blown up.”
“A Marine? Looks like our luck just changed. Hang tight, we’ll be back.”
They headed toward the river, Zain and Kash stopping twenty feet back while Chase continued to the bank. He grabbed some supplies, then returned, handing Zain the cutters while Kash did his best to lift Buck a bit higher — give Zain more time as he plunged beneath the water.
Chase held up some tubing with a mouthpiece attached to one end. “If the water rises to your chin before we get you out of here, you can breathe through this.”
Kash sighed. “Five minutes already.”
Chase looked up at the rail line, judged how far the damn freight car had already traveled, the scant distance easing a bit of the tension. Though, once it hit the steeper incline, it would pick up speed. Cut their available time down exponentially.
Buck cursed when the next wave covered his head before retreating. “This is all wrong. You need to go.”
Chase shook his head. “You know we can’t do that, even if we weren’t all linked together. Greer would never forgive herself. You know the code. No one left behind, brother.”
Buck’s jaw flexed as he narrowed his eyes, looking oddly calm. Nothing like the other encounters, where he’d cowered or tried to run off. This version seemed focused. Determined, as if the past few hours had given him a glimpse of his former self.
Buck nodded, breathing through that mouthpiece as Zain resurfaced for a moment, then went back down. Time ticked away, each second drawing them closer to failure until Zain crested the water, nodding at Buck.
Zain coughed a few times. “We’re good. Just the jacket. Buck’s right. It wasn’t connected to the chains or the grate.”
Buck freed his arms, then they started swimming, dragging their assess out of the spillway and onto the shore. The gusting wind sliced through their wet clothes, the rain now falling in sheets.
Buck waved them off when Zain tried to examine the jacket. “I told you… He didn’t do it right. I’ll fix it later. Greer, first.”
Chase looked the man dead in the eyes. “You know you have to stay with us, right? Or…”
Buck shoved Chase toward the trail. “I know I’m not generally… together. That I don’t always know what’s real. And I know for a fact that asshole ain’t human, but… I won’t run. I swear.”
Chase glanced at his buddies, then took off, hoofing it up the embankment. His legs burned as they climbed the steep slope, finally cresting the tracks at the top. A distant rumble shook through the wooden structure, the metal rails singing as the freight car inched along, slowly picking up speed.
The trestle snaked across the river, the narrow bridge standing tall against the sky. No railings, just a small signal platform halfway across — the only glimmer of refuge along the expanse.
They jumped onto the track, headlamps lighting up the slick ties as they took off down the line. The wind howled across the open space, tunneling along the river and shoving them sideways every other step. The ground gave way to air, the rippling water staring up at them through the gaps. The creosote-soaked ties gleamed in the yellow light, the rain-drenched surface slick beneath their boots.
