“Not to mention the snoring Senor Higgins,” added Alfonso, a large grin revealing his even, white teeth. “The sound alone could bring the enemy down upon us!”
The four men chuckled softly in unison.
An hour passed and then another, before they heard the clamor of soldiers making their way through the forest. The sound of snow and pine needles crunching under boots, along with the occasional clicking of metal on metal, sent shivers down their spines. With their guns held ready to fire, the men from Clearview waited apprehensively, as the noise grew louder and closer.
Suddenly a Chinese soldier came crashing through the brush with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. A moment later another soldier appeared, and then another and another, until there were more than a dozen enemy troops within twenty yards of their hiding place.
The men from Clearview held their breath, as the soldiers stomped by them, scanning the ground for tracks. Shiloh felt Ian’s hand on his shoulder and turned to look at his friend. Staring up at the tree house Ian pointed towards the front door, which was now partly open. In the moonlight, Shiloh could see the silhouettes of two men standing on the porch, looking down at the soldiers below. When the soldiers were finally gone, the men turned and headed back inside. It wasn’t until they opened the door, momentarily illuminating their faces with the warm glow from within, that Shiloh realized one of the men was the American pilot.
“It’s him!” he whispered, as the door closed behind the two men.
“Who?” Asked Cole, looking from left to right.
“The American pilot,” answered Shiloh, “he’s up there in the tree house!”
“How can you be sure?” asked Alfonso.
“Because I saw the jumpsuit he’s wearing,” explained Shiloh.
“Should we climb up there and get him?” suggested Ian.
“I think that we should…” Before Shiloh could finish his sentence the Chinese soldiers returned, crashing through the forest of trees. Only this time their guns were held ready to fire. He watched silently as they clustered together, looking at something on the ground and speaking in Chinese.
Where’s Mason when we need him?
Shiloh wanted desperately to know what the soldiers were saying and what had caused them to return, yet he soon discovered without the help of a translator. After a moment of hushed commands the soldiers began to fan out in every direction, their guns held ready to fire.
“They’ve figured out that the tracks end here,” whispered Ian.
“Yes they have,” agreed Shiloh. “I think we should…”
When Shiloh didn’t finish the sentence, Ian looked at his friend to see what had caused him to fall silent.
“Look!” said Shiloh, pointing to the tree house directly above the Chinese soldiers.
Dangling over the railing of the porch was a man with a brown sack. As the men from Clearview watched, the mystery man emptied the sack’s contents onto the unsuspecting soldiers below. The Chinese soldier bending over the tracks and looking for additional sign, screamed out in horror when several poisonous snakes landed on his head and shoulders. Other soldiers rushed to his aid, but from the sounds of his screams it was too late.
Machine-gun fire erupted in the dark, silent night, as the Chinese soldiers fired into the ground, hoping to kill the slithering reptiles which surrounded them. Every now and again a man’s scream could be heard through the barrage of bullets, as a snake’s fangs found its target. The forest turned into a chaotic scene, with enemy soldiers fleeing in every direction. Several of them stopped long enough to retrieve their wounded and dying comrades, before fading into the forest. When they were all gone, the forest once again fell silent and the only sign of the enemy was their flashlights bobbing up and down in the darkness, as they fled the scene.
“Let’s wait for those snakes to clear out of the area before we go down there,” suggested Shiloh.
“Totally dude!” agreed Cole, whose face appeared several shades whiter than normal.
*******
Several miles to the southwest, Mason was slowly making his way through the forest. He’d lost vision of the convoy awhile back, but stayed close enough to the highway so as to not lose sight of their tracks. As the sun disappeared over the mountains, a flurry of snow began to fall and Mason was glad that he’d brought a pair of snowshoes. With fresh falling snow covering the convoy’s tracks, he realized it wouldn’t be long before the trail would vanish altogether.
Walking around a bend in the road, Mason stopped dead in his tracks. Less than one hundred yards away were four Chinese soldiers and two trucks, engines running. He quickly dove behind a tree before the soldiers saw him.
Using the scope on his rifle, Mason peered down at the enemy soldiers. He knew very well that he could eliminate all four men by himself, but if he did he wouldn’t be any closer to finding the location of their base camp. The four soldiers were in the process of changing a tire, undoubtedly the reason why they’d separated from the main convoy. If Mason was going to make a move he had to do it soon.
Quickly and quietly, Mason began making his way towards the four Chinese soldiers, moving from tree to tree. As he descended the mountainside a plan began to formulate and Mason approached the trucks from behind. When he was only a few feet away, he silently dropped to his belly and rolled under the truck closest to him. He quickly removed his belt and used it as a small rope, wrapping it through the axel of the truck and back around his body. He then found two places where he could wedge his feet and grabbed hold of the truck’s undercarriage, lifting his body up and off of the ground.
Mason had just finished securing himself when he heard voices coming from the forest. He dare not look for fear of exposing himself. So instead, he tightened his grip and pulled himself up closer, hugging the truck’s underbelly. Mason listened intently to what the soldiers were saying, as they emerged from the tree line. They were discussing what had happened in the forest and how they’d lost the American pilot. When Mason heard about the trucks being destroyed and how several soldiers had succumbed to snake bites, he couldn’t help but grin. From what the soldiers were saying, he was able to deduce that his friends had not been captured. Mason breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that his friends were safe.
All of a sudden, a stretcher with a wounded soldier was laid down on the ground less than three feet from where Mason was hiding. Mason held his breath and waited, praying to a God that he wasn’t sure existed. He silently prayed that the soldier didn’t turn his head to the left because if he did, he’d definitely see Mason hiding beneath the truck.
One by one the soldiers began climbing into the trucks, loading their wounded and dead. The wounded soldier on the stretcher gradually turned his head to the left and looked directly at Mason. Mason could see shock and realization in the man’s eyes, as he opened his mouth to scream. For a split second, Mason thought that he was dead for sure. But then miraculously the man’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, as his last breath of air slowly escaped from his parted lips. Mason sighed in relief, as two soldiers bent down and lifted the stretcher, putting the dead soldier into the back of the truck.
Perhaps Shiloh and Rupert were onto something with all of their prayers and talk of God? More likely it was just a coincidence and nothing more. When the last soldier had climbed aboard, the trucks pulled out onto the highway and headed west towards Lake Tahoe. Mason tightened his grip and held on for dear life, as the ice on the road crunched beneath the truck’s tires. Once again he found himself praying for protection, as the truck carried him away. It couldn’t hurt, coincidence or not.
It was a cold, wet and slippery ride with Mason clinging to the underbelly of the truck like his life depended on it, because indeed it did. Luckily he didn’t have to hang on for very long. About twenty minutes later the trucks came to a stop in the small town of South Lake Tahoe. By the time they’d arrived in town and began unloading the trucks, Mason was drenched with slush and covered in mud.
He waited until the trucks were empty and no one was around, before climbing out from under the truck and sprinting into the nearest cluster of pine trees. He then worked his way back up the mountainside through the deep snow, avoiding roads and people as he went. Using the tree line north of the Heavenly ski run for concealment he continued to ascend the mountain, every now and then stopping to watch his trail and ensure that no one was following. Although the weather was ideal for skiing, he appeared to be the only person on the mountain. The entire town seemed to have been taken over and occupied by the enemy, and there was no telling who was friend or foe. This was purely a reconnaissance mission and the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself.
When Mason finally reached a point that was high enough for him to see the entire town below, he stopped and hunkered down next to a large tree. He was freezing from head to toe and his body was shaking violently. The temperature up here was at least twenty degrees colder than down in the valley where Clearview was located, and his frozen clothes were not helping the situation.
Using a small shovel from inside his pack, Mason quickly dug a hole in the deep snow. He then climbed into the hole and covered the opening except for a hole to breath. He removed his frozen clothes and placed them in a plastic bag, which he slid into his pack. Naked and shivering, he quickly changed into the extra set of clothes he’d brought along just in case.
When he was fully clothed, Mason took out a couple of pocket warmers from inside his bag and slid one into each of his socks and both gloves. He sighed with relief, as feeling slowly returned to his frozen hands and feet. He sat there for a while, rehydrating and ensuring that his body temperature had returned to normal. He’d been well trained and having spent a winter in Antarctica, knew how to survive in extreme climates. Knowing that he was out of immediate danger, he climbed out of his shelter.
Using his scope, he began to scout the town. It was obvious that the town had surrendered without much of a fight. Some of the town’s citizens could be seen walking down the street, side-by-side with enemy soldiers, going about their business as if nothing had happened. Mason was amazed at how quickly some people had adapted to the change. Those who refused to conform had been rounded up and were being held in what looked like a large school auditorium.
He spent several hours scouting the town and the enemy’s forward base camp from multiple positions. Most of all he wanted to get an accurate count of how many soldiers were stationed there. But he also took a tally of the number of tanks, artillery, trucks, jeeps, pretty much anything and everything. His goal was to acquire as much intelligence on the enemy’s strength as possible, before returning to Clearview.
What worried Mason the most was not the size of the enemy, but the proximity. Although the Chinese forces were located on the other side of the mountain they were only about twenty miles away from Clearview, less than an hour’s drive. Although Mason and his wife Savannah had a house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, they now considered Clearview their home. They’d fought side by side with the townsfolk and protected their town from the notorious gang of outlaws, known as the Enlightened Ones.
It now appeared as though they may have to defend the town once more. Only this time the enemy was much larger, stronger, more disciplined and better equipped. Could the small town withstand another assault? Mason needed to get back as soon as possible and warn everyone. He glanced up at the sky, it was already getting dark. Knowing that it would take him a couple of days to get back, he decided it would be better to dig in for the night and head out at first light. He returned to his shelter and fell asleep almost instantly.
*******
Followed closely by Ian, Alfonso and Cole, Shiloh set off towards the tree house. His eyes rotating between scanning the tree line around him and the ground beneath his feet. Although he believed the enemy soldiers to be gone, there was no telling when they might return. As for the poisonous snakes, they were most likely too frozen to be dangerous but he wasn’t taking any chances.
When they reached the area where the snakes had been dropped onto the Chinese soldiers, the men slowed their pace and aimed their guns at the ground, ready to fire at the first sign of movement. Despite the darkness, they could see moonlight reflecting off of spent cartridges scattered on the ground. The soil around them was chewed up by machinegun fire from the frightened Chinese soldiers before fleeing the scene.
“Keep an eye on the ground,” cautioned Shiloh, as he looked for a way up to the tree house.
It took several minutes of searching, before he found wooden steps carved into the side of the tree trunk. “Here it is,” he whispered, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He began to climb and was about a third of the way up, when he heard a stifled shriek from Cole below. Surprised, Shiloh lost his footing and almost fell to the ground. After regaining his foot hold, he looked down towards his friends to see what had happened.
Ten yards below, Cole held his rifle pointed towards the ground beneath his feet. Although Shiloh couldn’t tell for sure in the darkness, he surmised that Cole had found a snake. Or rather the snake had found Cole. Before the frightened young man could fire his gun and arouse anyone within earshot, Ian quickly reached down and grabbed the snake by its tail. He swung the snake through the air, smacking its head with a soft thud against a nearby tree trunk, before tossing it into the bushes twenty feet away.