Omega Pathogen: Despair by J. G. Hicks Jr, Scarlett Algee Read Free Book Online Page B

asked.
    “Yeah, Royce,” Jim said and looked up at him sitting in the airboat’s operator chair.
    “Why didn’t we just corner these assholes and try to get them to surrender? We didn’t have a lot of ammo but we may have forced them to quit and walk away,” Royce said.
    Jim looked around at the bodies and then out at the MRAP in the distance stuck in the mud. He thought of his wounded brother that had been shot in the back by one of the now dead group, “I don’t know that they would have walked away, Royce. And I did it for revenge,” Jim answered and stepped into the airboat.
    Royce watched Jim look at the coil of large diameter cable in the boat. “I’ll be going slow out to the MRAP, you’ll need to pay out that towing cable as we go,” he said.
    Jim nodded. “Is this going to be strong enough?” he asked. Royce shrugged. “It should be, they use it for pulling fully-loaded tractor trailers.”
    Royce handed Jim a pair of noise-reducing earmuffs and pointed to a pair of thick leather gloves at Jim’s feet. As soon as Jim had donned the ear protection, Royce started the engine. After about a minute of letting the airboat engine idle, Royce fed it more throttle and they slid forward on the dirt toward the wet marsh and mud where the MRAP sat.
    Jim watched the distance between the airboat and his family shrink as they slowly approached. As Royce had instructed, Jim let out coils of the thick cable as they moved over a mixture of dry earth, marsh, and mud. The rear double doors of the MRAP were open. He could see his children Chris, Jeremy, Berk, and Kayra gathered at the rear doors. He searched for Arzu but couldn’t find her. Then he saw his wife up in the turret, her hand covering her mouth as she shook her head.
    Jim found it required more exertion than it should have when he waved to his family. They returned the gesture. They all looked exhausted. Even from a distance, Jim noticed the expressions of sadness through their smiles as they greeted him. Although he had no doubt they had been under tremendous stress, something restrained their expressions of joy.
    Everyone covered their ears to protect against the noise from the airboat. Jim looked for the tow hooks on the rear bumper of the MRAP and found they were buried in the mud. He realized he hadn’t thought of bringing a shovel. He then spotted two on the deck of the boat near the bow. Royce had thought to bring some.
    Royce maneuvered the boat with skill and closed the last few feet and then kissed the top of the rear bumper steps with the aluminum bow of the airboat before he cut the engine. Jim welcomed the silence. Even with the ear protection it had been excruciatingly painful to his already aching head.
    Jim found it odd that his family and friends' moods seemed somber. They appeared glad to see him but not as joyful as he felt. He smiled and looked at each of his family members' faces. “God, it’s so good to see you all,” Jim said, awkwardly trying to balance himself as he made his way off the bow of the boat to the rear of the MRAP. His older sons Chris and Jeremy, and his wife Arzu surrounded Jim in a group hug. His younger children hugged him around his waist. Jim bent down to hug them back and his head pounded in protest. He fought off the vertigo and nausea and squeezed Berk and Kayra in a hug. He kissed Kayra on her forehead and received a kiss in return on his cheek. He then kissed Berk who, as he normally did, wiped the spot where he had been kissed.
    Jim stood upright and nearly fell as he lost his balance from the dizziness. He half hugged and half used Arzu as support. Jim then took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips.
    “I love you,” Arzu said as she tried to hold back her tears.
    “I love you too, hon,” Jim answered and looked around the MRAP.
    “Dad,” Chris said as Jim looked to where he’d last seen his brother John. Lying in the same spot on the seats in the MRAP’s rear compartment was a