He almost felt guilty as he dug his fingers through the blades, grabbed the roots, and pulled. As he’d hoped, a large chunk of grass came free in a single piece. He set it aside and began removing more and more grass, creating a lane about two feet wide and three long all the way to the gate. Once the grass was out of the way, he began digging through a layer of sand that came out a lot easier than he’d expected.
“How’s it going?” The half-whispered question came from behind him.
He looked back and spotted Preston standing a dozen feet away, facing the side so he wasn’t looking at him.
“Faster than I thought,” he replied.
“It’s going to work?”
“I think so.”
A foot down would probably be enough, but he went farther just in case. They certainly didn’t want anyone getting stuck trying to get out. After about two feet, he hit a layer of black plastic that he realized must be part of the irrigation system. That was fine. The trench was more than deep enough.
After he had it cleared all the way to the gate, he stopped. They would dig out the other side when it was time to go.
Though the sand he’d removed was all in the shadows, he covered it with the pieces of grass to cut down any chance the lighter colored material would be noticed. After examining his handiwork and determining there was nothing else he needed to do, he retraced his path along the fence and returned to the dorm.
Those who were with Ben on trying to escape were gathered around one of the bunks near the door. The others were in the seating area, unaware what Ben had been doing.
“So?” Jilly asked.
“All done. Five minutes to clear the other side and we’re out.”
“Except for the center-field fence, and the guards, and who knows what else,” Valerie said. She had reluctantly joined their escape plan, but still wasn’t above pointing out at every opportunity why it wouldn’t work.
“Yeah, except for that,” Ben replied, choosing not to engage.
“How long should we wait?” Preston asked.
Ben shot a look toward the back of the building. “Until the others fall asleep, and then we go.”
“What the hell is he doing?” Nyla said.
“Who?” Pax asked.
“In the special holding area.”
Pax had been studying the guards in the stadium bleachers. He refocused his binoculars on the area within the tarp-covered fence. “I don’t see anyone.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” she said. “He came out of the building and walked over to the fence, then I lost him.”
“You sure he didn’t go back inside?”
“Yes, sir. One hundred percent.”
Pax scanned the fence all the way to the gate, searching for a tear in the tarp that might give him a view inside, but found none.
“Could be he just needed some time away from the others,” he suggested.
“I guess.”
“Keep an eye out for him. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He crawled backward from the crest of the hill and made his way to where the others were waiting.
When Martina saw him, she stood up. “Are they still there? Please tell me they’re still there.”
“The lights are on in the building, and Nyla saw at least one guy,” Pax said. “So someone is.”
She frowned. “A guy? Not any of the girls?”
Gabriel stepped over. “They usually stay inside after dinner, so that’s probably where they are.”
“‘Probably’ doesn’t mean they are.”
“Martina,” Pax said. “I understand what you—”
“No, you don’t. You don’t understand. I should be—”
“We have all lost people. Many, many people. So when there’s someone close to us still here, still breathing, we want to do anything we can to keep them alive. I get it. More than you can ever comprehend.” He paused. “My aim here isn’t to sound mean, but if you want to help us free your friends or whoever it is being held over there, then you need to get your head on straight and focus. If you can’t, if you’ll run off on your own and not follow directions, then I can’t have you coming along. And worse, I’ll have to task someone to stay here with you to make sure you don’t do anything rash.”
She hugged her arms across her chest and looked away. After a moment, she nodded. “I get it. You’re right.”
“So are you in or out?”
“I’m in,” she said, looking at him again. “Definitely.”
“And I can trust you won’t do anything stupid?”
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
He held her gaze for a second before he smiled. “Never doubted you would. Wanted to make sure you didn’t doubt, either.” He turned to Gabriel. “The others?”
“Second team’s in place,” Gabriel said. “Team three’s hiking in, but should be in position within thirty minutes.”
“Good.”
“Do we have a plan yet?”
“I got an inkling of something. It’ll be a little risky.”
“At this point, what wouldn’t be?”
“You’re right about that.” He glanced sideways at Martina, who was still standing nearby. To Gabriel, he said, “Walk me back.”
They headed up the slope toward the lookout point.
After they were out of range of the others, Pax said, “I’m going to need two people. Preferably a man and a woman. Gotta be people who are willing to act without hesitating. You got anybody like that in your squad?”
“Sure. Nyla and I.”
The same as Pax had been thinking, but no way would he risk them both on what he had in mind. “I’ll give it a little more thought and let you know what I decide.”
“I’ll be ready for whatever you need.”
“Thanks.”
Gabriel turned back when they reached the point where Pax had to drop to a crawl.
After Pax rejoined Nyla, he whispered, “Your guy show up again?”
Still looking through her binoculars, she nodded. “A moment ago. Popped up same place where he disappeared, then walked inside the building.”
“Just getting air, I guess.”
“Not sure about that. Take a look at the gate.”
He raised his binoculars. “What am I looking for?”
“On the ground right outside.”
He adjusted his angle.
“You looking?” she asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“Just off center to the right.”
He looked where she directed. “What the hell is that?”
“I’m not sure. But it slid out from under the fence a few minutes before I saw him again.”
“Is that…dirt?”
“Could be.”
“So he scooted a handful of dirt under the fence? Why?”
“No idea.”
Pax searched the area around the dirt, but there was nothing else to see but grass. Whatever the kid was doing, they couldn’t figure it out from where they were.
Putting it out of his mind, he refocused on the bleachers. “Let’s take another count of the guards to make sure we haven’t missed anyone.”
31
Ash looked out the Gulfstream’s window at the world below. During the flight, he had seen lights on the ground in a few places, small pockets of false hope where the electricity had yet to fail. But as they descended toward Albany, New York, all lights were off.
Behind him, Ash could hear the others stirring in their seats, everyone awake and nervous about the unknown barreling toward them.
As the plane continued downward, Ash tried to get a sense of how much farther they had to go, but the darkness made it nearly impossible to judge. An exclamation of triumph from one of the pilots drew his attention to the cockpit. He leaned into the aisle to get a better look, and smiled when he saw what all the excitement was about. Out the front window were two rows of dim lights marking the runway.