Helaine Becker - Trouble in the Hills

The whomp! whomp! whomp! of the choppers was deafening. They loomed overhead like giant man-eating insects, ready to pounce.

You are surrounded. Surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed, an amplified voice commanded. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere at once.

Cam instinctively held his breath so as not to betray his presence. Not that anyone could hear him amid the chaotic roar of the machines.

He crouched low, trying to flatten himself into the meadow. There was almost nowhere left to go; their only chance was the creek. Once there, they could make their way along its sheltered banks, hidden by the willows that lined its edge. Then, maybe, they could get to safety.

But where was Dakota? He should have been right behind them. Why couldnt that guy ever stick with the program, not even this once?

Samira leaned against him, trying to catch her breath. Her chin was digging into the hollow above his collarbone, but Cam didnt even let himself so much as twitch. He knew she needed rest. Shed been through ten times more than he had.

We have to go now, Cam whispered.

Her reply was just a ragged sigh.

Cam reached for her hand. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed them tight.

The searchlights, he pressed. Were not going to be able to avoid them much longer.

You dont need to do this for me, you know. You dont owe me anything, she said.

Maybe not, he replied. But Im not leaving you. Or Dakota. With the back of his hand, he brushed a wisp of damp hair off her forehead. Come on. We have to get down to the creek. Now.

He didnt wait for the next sweep of the lights. Keeping his body low to the ground, he started to run, pulling Samira along with him. He kept his mind firmly on his goal reaching the creek. He could hardly make it out; it was just a dark line against the even darker lines of hills and sky. Samira would never get there on her own.

The search lights cut another broad swath through the field. Cam deked to avoid them, but even so, this time they came scarily close.

The noise, the wind, and the blinding lights all made Cam dizzy and disoriented. He couldnt tell if the throb in his chest was the reverb from the relentless beat of the chopper blades, or from the hammering of his own heart. He glanced up to check his bearings and wound up looking right into a high-intensity beam. Bright pink spots flared in his vision. Everything else went black.

Cam? Those lights! I cant see a thing! Samira wailed.

Me neither. Hang in there. Were close. Just follow me and stay low!

Swearing softly to himself, Cam dropped to his knees. Now they would have to feel their way to the creek.

Tough grass slapped him in the face and filled his mouth with grime as he crawled commando style. He wouldnt have thought the world could hold even more terror when an ATV appeared out of nowhere. It swooped across the field at top speed.

Cam shrank into himself, willing himself to be invisible. The ATV seemed about to pass them by when it made a sharp turn. Suddenly, its intense headlights shone right on Cam and Samira. Theyd been caught!

Run! shouted Cam, knowing even as the words escaped his lips that it was too late. The ATV was bearing down on them. It was going to run them over!

There was nothing more to do. It was all over. Cam pulled Samira to him and covered her body with his own. He closed his eyes and waited for the huge wheels of the ATV to crush them like roadkill.

The ATV roared past.

What the ! Cam gasped. He had to have seen us! he thought. The wheels had missed them only by inches!

Squinting, Cam watched the ATV careen recklessly across the field, gears screaming as the engine was pushed to the max. The choppers swooped and dove overhead, their lights swinging crazily this way and that. Their furious blades battered Cam with blasts of hot wind. The gusts flattened the grass and flung stinging sand into Cams face.

Then, the search beams began to converge on the ATV.

As each searchlight latched onto it, the ATVs yellow paint seemed to glow brighter and brighter. To Cam, it looked like a chariot of fire against the night sky.

Standing tall on the machine, the driver was just an anonymous black shape silhouetted by the searchlights. He held his arms out to the sides like a crazy man.

One search beam caught the driver full on. His face was suddenly illuminated. Cam heard Samira gasp beside him. It was Dakota!

Dakotas eyes locked onto Cams. One nanosecond of perfect understanding passed between them. Dakota smiled that wacked-out smile of his. Then he flipped Cam the bird.

Cam heard Dakota gun the engine. The ATV roared off, away from the creek. The searchlights stayed with it, tracking Dakotas path across the pasture.

Run! Now! Cameron shouted. Samira and Cam both leapt to their feet. Shielded by the darkness, they sprinted toward the creek.

Cam had never run so hard in all his life. At last, the deep shadows ahead of them gained definition. They separated into individual shapes the trees and bushes at the creeks edge. With lungs burning and every muscle on fire, Cam crashed through the tangled shrubs. Samira was right behind him. The moist fragrance of the creek bed rose up to welcome them. Theyd made it!

Although the draping tree branches seemed to offer them shelter, the bank itself was treacherous. It was steep, pocked with exposed roots and wobbly stones, and slippery with ooze and mud. But there was no time to plan a careful descent. They were still far from safe.

Cam hurtled down the slope, sometimes running, sometimes sliding, sometimes flailing wildly. When he finally skittered to a stop at the bottom, winded and shaky with the effort, he was relieved to see Samira there, too. Shed slid on her bum down the slope.

He was just about to help Samira to her feet when a staccato burst of gunfire ripped through the night. There was a flash of white. A terrifying whoosh tore through the air, and a concussive wall of wind slammed into Cam, sending him staggering backwards.

Sudden comprehension coursed through him.

He cradled his head in his hands. No, he yelled. No! No!

Samira was instantly on her feet at his side. She gripped his arm.

No! Dont look! she begged.

Cam shrugged her hand away. Filled with dread, he scrambled back up the bank. He peered over the lip of the ravine. What he saw made him want to puke.

Cam fought down the screams that rose in his throat. Every instinct in his body urged him to run to Dakota, to save him.