Chapter 87 The Formidable Eight
1975words
"Sergeant, I want two soldiers on both sides of each cab with their eyes on the bushes. Hopefully, we are far away enough from the area of the monsters but we can't be sure. They must warn us if they see something but they must not open fire except when a crowd of them storms us. Come, Leo, you know how we do it, brother. As in the old days. I lift and you change. Much quicker than using a jack."
They jump out while Tania gives instructions over the radio but Leo stops at the cab behind them. "Joss, wait! We have another flat tyre with a slow leak. The tip of a spear broke off in it. We must rather fix this one and Delta can fix their own."
Joss stops. "Damn! Okay, go and warn Tania quickly while I get everything ready here."
Leo runs back and enlightens Tania while Joss opens the door at the back of Bravo. "Get out, people. You have a flat tyre that we must change quickly. Also gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs. We want to spare time. I lift and Leo change but I don't want to lift you with the cab. It is unnecessary, so climb down."
Lesley climbs out first and Joss frowns. "Why are you only four? The sergeant told me there should be six of you here in the back!"
Lesley explains: "The two young ones were too slow and jumped into the last cab when we departed in haste while the monsters stormed us."
Aggressively Joss yells: "What the fuck have you just said? They were in the last cab?"
"Yes, I saw them jumping in there …" She looks back to where the sixth cab should have been but only sees the fifth. "Where is Foxtrot?"
Jack, Emilie, and Rene anxiously look at them. Jack asks: "Yes, where is the last cab? She saw our children jump in there?"
Joss doesn't reply, but shoots around, bumps Leo out of the way so that he nearly loses his balance, and then plucks Tania's door open, grabs her violently, and throws her like a bag of potatoes through the air so that she falls down amongst the bushes.
Frightened Tania looks up to the mad giant who yells at her like a maniac: "I asked you, are you sure we have all our guests with us!"
Appalled she answers unsurely: "But they are!"
He grabs her and lifts her like a rag doll and walks with her to Jack and his group and dumps her so that she must get to her feet herself.
"Now explain to these people where their loving children are! Explain!
Tania gets her balance and frightened looks at them. "I told them: you five, jump in here. Where are they?"
Jack answers: "For some reason, they were too slow for this cab and jumped into Foxtrot. Where is Foxtrot now?"
Joss screams in Tania's ear like a furious RSM to a bewildered troop on the parade ground with a furious, red face and swollen neck arteries: "Yes, tell us where the hell the last fucking cab is, fucking sergeant. You fucking cunt!"
Tania is out of her wits when she realizes what had happened. "Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, hell!"
Joss just wants to grab her again but then he turns around abruptly and walks away with long strides while he swears profusely. For some time he stands still while swear words are rolling from his lips. He remains standing there and screams until his fury eventually subsides.
The moment Joss has turned away, Jack grabs Tania and now also screams like an RSM in her face: "Where is that damn sixth cab? Tell us now, Sergeant!"
Guiltily she looks him in the eyes while she answers: "Sorry, I was sure they were with you. I sent that last cab back to lead the monsters away from us. We don't know where they are. Maybe they have, in the meantime, found another bush path that connects with this road further on. Maybe they are waiting for us. Let's hope so …"
Jack yells: "Let us hope!"
Rene and Emilie see Joss has calmed down and is on his way back and they worriedly pull Jack from Tania to prevent the monster from tearing him form her. Jack let go of her and stands back unwillingly.
Joss is dead calm as if nothing is bothering him. "Come, Leo, let us get the tyre changed as quickly as possible." He looks back and screams at the driver of Delta who is watching them: "Fuck, I have thought you were already busy with changing your tyre, you fucker. Move your stinking ass!"
Leo gets the spanner to loosen the nuts and Joss wants to get the spare out when Jack stops him. "What about our kids? We are going nowhere without them!"
Joss answers politely: "I fucking don't know, but let us change the tyre, my mate. Then we can tackle that problem because I haven't really expected it."
They now see movement in the canopy of Alfa and the back door opens. The soldier calls: "These people insist that this man urgently wants to have a word with you, Joss. He says he knows something very important that is crucial to you and that man over there." He points at Jack.
"Let him out. He can come and talk here while we change the tyre."
Michael joins them when Leo says loudly: "I've loosened all the nuts. Bring the tyre, Joss."
Joss drops the tyre next to Leo and takes his position in the middle at the back of the cab, drops down on his haunches, gets a secure grip and the next moment with a yelp straightens. Both back wheels lift off the ground and Leo spins the nuts loose, drops both the nuts and the spanner, and pulls the wheel off. Jack takes initiative and grabs the spare, gets it in place, and quickly turns two bolts in with his hands and then stands back so that Leo with the spanner quickly tightens all the nuts.
Leo is satisfied the wheel is fastened. "Okay, put down!"
Joss lowers the cab, looks at his hands, and rubs them together while asking Michael: "Okay, what is your story, my mate?"
"I know where the children are."
Joss frowns: "What?"
"We have a special connection but it is a long story. He can confirm it." He points at Jack.
Jack excitedly grabs Michael by his shoulder. "Where are they, Michael? Have you again had the same dream as in the past?"
Michael nods. "They have gone along the stream over big, white, and brown rocks and they reached a beautiful pool surrounded by vertical cliffs and the only way they could pass was to strip naked and swim across to more gorges on the other side."
Joss's eyes widen. "It sounds like that place where the helicopter fuckers evade us. He has described the place precisely."
Recce in the meantime has quietly joined them and suddenly speaks behind Joss: "You see, Joss. That sixth sense of mine! I knew it was important to catch that helicopter fuckers."
Michael again speaks: "You are talking about the guys in the helicopter. One's ankle was badly broken and two soldiers had to take turns to carry him. With them is a man in civilian clothing. They call him 'captain'."
Astounded Joss and Recce look at each other. Recce asks Jack: "Who is this oke? How does he know all this?"
Tania dares to come in: "This is the guy that predicted that the monsters would become more intelligent and dangerous, Joss."
Jack ignores Recce's question. He's got something more important on his mind. "I don't understand, Michael. You say the children swam across the pool but now you are talking of more people?"
Michael explains: "Relax, Jack, while we have waited in the cab in the heat of the sun, I slept and had another dream. The prophet showed me they will all be there tomorrow safely in a shelter. Seven of them each wearing a wooden crucifix as a token of their camaraderie."
Recce asks again: "Who is this guy? Is he nuts?"
Jack grabs Recce by the arm. "He might seem crazy, but we need his talents very much. What do you say, why don't we go there and get them out?"
Recce looks at Joss: "He's talking sense, Joss. Our arrangement with those Saviors who hired us is that all ten guests we are taking care of must be in our camp when they come and visit us for the first time. Give me Spyker and the last cab, Joss, and I take Jack and that nutty one with me to help to track them down."
Joss frowns. "There are seven crucifix wearing comrades, Recce, surrounded by hundreds of contagious, man-eating monsters. You need more muscle. But you are right. We must get them out of the gorges before the Saviors come or we are not delivering on our contract."
He looks at Jack. "What is your name, pappa?"
"My name is Jack."
Joss continues: "I owe pappa Jack his children and you need this mad geezer, thus I give you Tania and Lesley to correct what they so beautifully had fucked up, with another two soldiers. Then you are eight. You get two cabs. I will feel better when you have a back-up vehicle, just for in case. But how are you going to get to them past the monsters?"
Michael speaks again: "We are going just further on this road and turn into a bush path and from there we go to a farm. There are no monsters because it is an open plain that starts at the end of one of the gorge's branches. The monsters keep to the shade of the dense woods because they can't endure the sharp sunlight on the plains. We are going to reach them from that farm. It is a long story, but I have a good plan."
Recce grins and taps Michael on his shoulder. "I like this loony one a million. Okay now, I'm the leader and you will dance to my tune and this one …" He looks at Michael: "What is your name?"
"Michael."
"Michael is my right hand and my fucking third eye."
Jack speaks up: "The other two must be Nico and Francois. They are operational soldiers and I also have operational experience. We will make a formidable eightsome with the two ladies who must redeem themselves and repair what they had damaged. We are then equal. Four of your guys and four of us."
Joss nods and holds his hand out for Jack. "Okay, I like your plan. Let it be so. We take the rest of our guests through to our camp and give you until the end of next week to join us there or else we will go and search for you beginning at that farm. Remember the women … So Jack, if you want to see your loving wife again, you will have to accept Recce and Spyker as your leaders and obey their orders. They will bring you safely back to our camp to join your families. Okay Jack, does it mean we have a peace agreement, pappa?"
Jack nods and shakes the mad giant's hand. "You are not that bad, big fellow. Maybe we can co-operate very well in the future, old critter!"
Joss bursts into laughter. "Must say, you are a very weird lot of guests. Full of surprises. Just don't try to double-cross me. It would be the beginning of the end of your sudden short lives."
