The Rescue Read online

  Tomorrow’s Past:

  The Rescue

  By Everette Morgan

  Copyright 2013

  All rights reserved

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious and figments of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Proofread and edited by Janice Morgan

  Cover photo by Savannah Morgan

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  About the Author

  Tomorrow’s Past: The Rescue

  Episode 2

  Chapter 1

  Marcus cleaned up the dirty dishes and went into the bedroom to change. Quickly, he changed into his full camouflage gear, even down to applying camouflage face paint. From under his bed, he pulled out his spotting scope. The last time Marcus had used the spotting scope was when some of his chickens had wandered out of the canopy and several were killed and eaten. He should have had Jocelyn stop them with the canopy but he had let it slip his mind. Mad at himself, Marcus had tracked down the coyotes that did it and eliminated them. Maybe not so much out of necessity but more than likely it was for revenge. He took the scope outside and loaded it onto his four-wheeler and strapped it down to the back rack, careful to make sure that it was cushioned against any vibration. He went back into the house grabbed his ZF7 sniper rifle and some ammunition. He grabbed his backpack and filled it with some supplies and one of the meals he had scavenged and loaded them onto the four-wheeler also.

  This week had been nerve wracking. He could do without all these problems. The close call with the saber-tooth had scared him enough that he was seriously reconsidering what chances he was willing to take in this lonely world. He had been a split second away from being lunch for an overgrown eating machine. It had almost scared him enough to decide that he wouldn’t leave the canopy unless it was completely and absolutely necessary. With everything that he had in place under the canopy, he had enough to sustain him for a lifetime and there really wasn’t any cause to leave. Sure, finding the food was a bonus, but after thinking about it some more, even killing the saber-tooth wasn’t absolutely necessary. After mulling this over for a while, he finally decided that just because he was afraid of being eaten, he shouldn’t be afraid to live. Although he was basically a hermit already, becoming a total hermit wouldn’t enhance his life any… and now… with whatever was coming through the valley, there was even more incentive.

  After he finished loading up everything he needed he went back into the house. Sitting back on the couch, he tapped his foot nervously. As he watched the screen, he was growing more and more impatient; he thought that whatever had triggered the sensor would never actually make it past it. Maybe it had veered off the road and went another way. If it hadn’t, it must have slowed to a crawl. There was probably some kind of obstruction on the highway. Finally, some vehicles came into view. It was two military M35 transports. The first vehicle had the standard green canvas cover and Marcus could only guess that it was probably carrying passengers. The second vehicle had a short canvas top that was covering some sort of cage. The trucks were painted the old standard military issue green. The only difference was that the doors had a crude skull and crossbones painted on them. Marcus recognized the emblem immediately. They were with a group called the Jackals.

  Chapter 2

  Within a year or so after the virus, certain groups began to emerge. It seemed that some people who survived couldn’t handle the dire situation and went totally stark-raving mad. Some congregated and started little towns or villages and stayed together to try and remain safe. In his travels, Marcus had seen some of this but most of his information came from monitoring the radio frequencies. Other people took another darker path. There were loners out there like Marcus but most didn’t make it. Then there were the thieves, bandits, and cutthroats that traveled in bands killing, stealing, and destroying everything. He had even heard several reports of slave camps and military style compounds that were involved in every kind of mayhem possible.

  The trucks that rolled by his camera were some of those. Although he usually didn’t hear much on the radio, it normally had something to do with the Jackals and it was never good. It seemed that their main purpose was to capture or kill whatever survivors they came across. They were a nasty group of the worst kind. This could definitely be trouble for Marcus. Normally Marcus did everything in his power not to get involved with anything going on. It was too risky but people were another matter… His dad had made it a priority to teach him the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Marcus knew that if he was in a similar fix he would want someone to try to help him. Of course, right now he was hoping that they didn’t have a prisoner and if that was the case… then that would be awesome. He would just track them out of the valley and leave them alone. If they did have a prisoner… then number one… he was going to be ticked off. Then number two… as God was his witness… they would have to deal with him.

  Marcus had videoed the vehicles as they rolled past and had watched the video several times to see if he could see what the second vehicle was carrying but the camera angle just wasn’t good enough to tell. Although he couldn’t see what it was carrying, he was almost positive what it held. He had seen and heard of this type of situation many, many times. As he sat contemplating this, he knew it would be another forty-five minutes before they rolled through the valley where he would be able to see them from his vantage point on the rocky ledge at the northeastern point of the mountain. Not in any hurry, Marcus loaded up on the ATV and headed out toward his lookout.

  Still taking his time, Marcus drove out to his favorite vantage point and stopped about fifty yards short of his destination. He took his rifle and scope, walked several more yards, dropped to his knees and crawled the last few yards to the edge of the rocky cliff. Prostrate on the rock outcropping, Marcus laid his rifle aside and set up his spotting scope. It took a few minutes but he was finally able to spot them with the scope. It would be another twenty minutes before they were in range well enough for a decent detailed look. Some of the larger dinosaurs had made havoc with a few of the trees near the road and the little convoy would have to stop and clear the way. Finally, they made it in range close enough to get a good look at them. As the trucks slowed and rolled to a stop at a large downed oak tree blocking the road, Marcus focused in on them.

  The first truck had two people sitting in the front. The driver and, after watching them for a while, also a passenger that he decided was actually the leader of this band of lowlifes. They both got out of the truck, the leader started barking orders, and the passengers from the back began to unload. Marcus counted six passengers coming out of the back of the truck. Then the driver and passenger from the other truck got out and joined the group. Ten total. Even though he was almost positive now that they had prisoners, Marcus was really hoping that they actually didn’t have anyone in their cage. His mind was racing now thinking about the possibilities and he wasn’t sure there was any way he could handle ten people at once.

  As he continued watching, he still didn’t have a clear view of the cage on the second truck. Several trees and the truck sitting at a bad angle prevented
this. The group looked like a bunch of army rejects who hadn’t been seen a shower in a month of Sundays. Most were dressed in some kind of camouflage clothing although they were wearing different styles and most had modified them by ripping off the sleeves or something else to make them look different. The leader was a muscled-up thug wearing a black skull cap and an army green, dirty t-shirt with the arms missing covered by a camouflage hunting vest. He was big. From this distance, Marcus was estimating that the guy was more than six and a half feet tall and probably weighed close to three hundred pounds. He had a machine gun held in his right hand resting on his hip and it was pointing skyward.

  Using a chain saw and some axes, the group took about twenty minutes to clear the road. Marcus looked ahead and could see that they would only get to travel about another mile and then they would have to get out and do it again. Plus, by his estimation, Marcus could also see that this would probably give him an opportunity to see if anything was in that cage.

  Chapter 3

  As he watched, they loaded up and traveled on down the road until they reached the next obstruction. Marcus could tell that this one would probably take a little while longer. Three or four nice sized trees were blocking the road this time. The group unloaded and got to work. Turning the scope to the second truck, for just a second he was relieved. Taking his eye off the scope he glanced down again. Again Marcus thought that maybe the cage was empty but he hadn’t zoomed in good yet and so far all he could see was what looked like a small lump of clothes or possibly tarps lying inside the cage. As he kept trying to focus, the leader left the group and went to the second truck. He banged his fist down the side of the cage. About the same time, Marcus brought the spotting scope into full zoom and focus. He was shocked when the lump moved. Rising up in a sitting position, Marcus could fully see that it was a dirty, disheveled young lady with deep red hair. It was hard to tell from where he was sitting, but Marcus was guessing that she was maybe in her mid teens and she was very striking.

  Anger swelled up in him. No question now, he couldn’t just let this go. He wouldn’t let this go. He would have to do something. As he was assessing the situation and was in deep thought, the rest of the lump sat up. It was a small, grungy, little girl probably four or five years old. The young lady wrapped her arms around the little girl and pulled her close. Marcus could tell that the small girl was crying.

  Although he knew the sniper rifle could reach a mile easily, there were still too many obstacles for Marcus to take a shot. Even if he could take a shot, if he was extremely lucky, he would probably only get two or maybe three before they would find cover and then they would know where he was. With a radio they might be able to call in others. Marcus knew he had to decide on a better plan of action. Using the scope, he scanned the road ahead and estimated that they would reach the next city, which is Chattanooga, before nightfall and would probably camp there for the night. Marcus quickly figured that he could load up and make it to Chattanooga after midnight sometime or later. That would still give him time to get the lay of the land and decide what he was going to do before morning. He needed to get everything done tonight because he figured they would leave as soon as they woke up in the morning and he didn’t want to follow them any further than he had to.

  Gathering up his spotting scope and rifle, Marcus loaded back up and drove back to his compound. He put his rifle in the MAV and ran inside. He went downstairs to his secure room and loaded up with more weapons. He loaded up the Desert Eagle, an AR-15, grabbed some regular grenades, his night vision glasses, and some timer based explosives. He took these to the MAV and loaded them inside. He wasn’t sure how long all this would take so he went back inside and added a couple of meals to his backpack. As he went out the door he initiated the lockdown of the compound…

  “Jocelyn” he snapped.

  Instantly she replied through his earpiece, “Yes, Marcus”.

  “Initiate lockdown: Code Yellow. Also, upon re-entry, please be prepared for at least an additional two human companions. Potential threat analysis is unknown. Allow for entry but maintain internal surveillance for any possible issues or threats.”

  “Lockdown initiated. Will you be in contact with me during your absence Marcus?”

  Marcus paused for a second. “Of course. Maintain constant contact through my earpiece and the MAV.”

  “Confirmed. Good luck Markus.”

  “Thanks Jocelyn. I’ll need it” he said. Marcus thought he actually may have heard a genuine concern in the computer’s voice. He definitely had been alone for too long. He chuckled quietly.

  Chapter 4

  By now it was totally dark and after making his final preparations, Marcus climbed in the MAV and turned on all the internal and external systems. The external shield was functional. Sensors were all normal. Just under the light switch to the left of the steering column, he pressed the button that was marked “Silent Night”. Immediately, all the exterior illumination on the MAV was extinguished. The windows all changed colors and went into night vision mode. The interior panels all darkened to a less bright display. From checking it himself, Marcus knew that when the MAV was in this mode the windows prevented any and all interior lighting from being seen from the outside.

  With the quietness of the engines and the night mode vision, the MAV was almost invisible on the darker nights. The loudest sound would be from the wheels rolling on the road or underbrush. He definitely didn’t want to attract any unnecessary attention from the marauders or possibly even a dinosaur. The external shield could handle most things on the MAV except for maybe the largest dinosaurs, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, they could be a real nuisance if he startled a herd or something of that nature.

  As he headed out he could see several dark shapes from the wooded area of his compound. Looks like a herd of deer may have moved in during the day, he thought. He travelled over the bridge and finally through the edge of the canopy. Driving at a normal pace, he worked his way to the main road and then headed toward to the edge of the mountain. It brought him comfort that along the way, the only animals he saw were a couple of raccoons, turkeys and several deer. No dinosaurs.

  As he reached the edge of the mountain where the road began the descent down, Marcus was starting to get a little more nervous. He knew it had probably been six months since he had been off the mountain. Six months can make a lot of difference. Heavy rains could have washed the road out. Trees could be down. Any of a hundred different things could have happened. He slowly began down the long meandering road off the mountain. Although there were some steep and tight places, the trip down was generally uneventful.

  At the bottom of the mountain was a small stream that made its way through this part of the valley. The small bridge that crossed it had long ago washed out but with it being the end of the summer, the creek was small and relatively easy to cross with the MAV. As he was crossing it he did notice, with the brightness of the moon, that in a large field next to it there were a small herd of the three-horn frilled triceratops and a larger herd of parasaurolophus. Some of the parasaurolophuses were down on four legs grazing and some were raised looking around for danger. Marcus admired their curved cranial crest that extended well above their forehead. He had seen some of these crests that were four and five feet tall. He had also seen them rise up on their back legs and take off like a shot. They were fast. Marcus didn’t know the names of all the different species of dinosaurs but generally they were in Jocelyn’s database and she could normally identify them easily. Usually the only problem she would have was with the ones that had been genetically transformed into a different creature altogether. Marcus kept watching them but they paid no attention to him so he continued on.

  He travelled on until he reached the entrance to the on-ramp of the freeway. A sign that read “I-59 North” was hanging upside down on the ramp as he eased onto the freeway. Being a remote rural freeway he knew he wouldn’t have too much trouble navigating the road until he got closer to C
hattanooga which he figured was their destination for the night. There were a few cars that littered the highway on I-59 but as he got on I-24, the highway that went through Chattanooga, he knew it was a lot worse. He still remembered the first time he made the trip through here. Within a couple miles of the Tennessee River, the cars were jammed bumper to bumper on Interstate 24 westbound. Everyone tried fleeing the cities but the gridlock that ensued had basically turned the city highways into parking lots. Driving in the median or emergency lane was normal. Of course that was going out of Chattanooga. This was going in and it was only tight in a couple of places. He had even stopped on an earlier trip and moved a couple of cars to make it easier. As he got closer he could tell that the big trucks driven by the Jackals had widened it even further.

  Chapter 5

  Even in a small metropolis like Chattanooga, with a virus that had a kill ratio of 97 to 98 percent, it meant that with a population of 200,000, at least 6,000 people had survived the virus. With that many people surviving you could assume they could have restarted a small settlement and been somewhat civilized. While the virus may have killed 98% of the people, the chaos that ensued all but obliterated the remaining population. At least in Chattanooga, the struggle for survival had almost completely and utterly destroyed the rest of the population. Marcus was sure that there were probably a few people scattered throughout the city but they were scarce and they generally hid from any contact. Plus the constant worry of becoming dinner for some overgrown lizards was always on their mind. He had been there on several trips and had never seen anyone.

  Chattanooga wasn’t small and finding the marauders could end up being impossible. Hopefully the sensors on the MAV would locate them but as of yet he wasn’t getting any readings. As he was nearing the intersection for interstate 27 and 24, the sensors began picking up a cluster of biological readings near the downtown area. On cue, he turned and headed down the off ramp to Interstate 27 and proceeded on to the first exit ramp to Main Street. Turning right on Main Street and weaving through some burned out cars clustered near the entrance, he travelled on to a divided highway called Riverfront Parkway. Judging by the data from the satellites, this would eventually take him close to where his readings were coming from. To his left were several large burned out buildings that were in total ruins. He wasn’t sure what had caused that but it would have taken a major fire to have taken them out. He travelled on for three or four miles and was getting closer to the river that ran by the downtown area. His sensors were showing that they were located at the top of a hill to his right. He slowed down and eased the MAV around several obstacles as he passed the wooded area that surrounded the hill. The hill was probably about two hundred feet high so Marcus figured his slipping by wouldn’t be a problem. He travelled a ways further then turned and parked in front of what used to be a large city aquarium. He was amazed at how well he could see. On the one night he could definitely use the cover of darkness, the moon was almost as bright as daylight. As light as it was, he really didn’t have any use for his night vision glasses.