Bill didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, anyway…
Henry tossed the antenna cable out the window. It unraveled down the side of the building, where David caught it two stories below. A hellacious wind and rain beat against David’s face as he grabbed the end of the cable. The rain was coming in bands now. One moment it would be a downpour, and the next moment it would be just wind. David kept thinking the storm was letting up when the next band of rain would pelt down on him.
Henry explained to him that the longer they made the antenna, the lower the frequency they could transmit and receive on. And the lower the frequency, the greater the range. That was the idea, anyway. David hoped it would work.
Henry yelled out the window of his second-floor barracks room, “Back! Step back about five feet! Okay. Stay there. I’m going to try and transmit.”
“Okay, let me know if—”
The wind was blowing so bad that David didn’t hear the noise at first.
It started off as a dull hum. Like millions of bees flying towards them. David looked up the mountain, its peak just barely visible in the storm. When the first of the large helicopters came into view, ducking under the low, thick clouds and hugging the green treetops of the island, David kept thinking how enormous it looked. It was a dark grey steel dragon, much bigger than the one that had landed on the runway the other night.
The closer the aircraft flew, the louder its rotors became, until the rapid chugging sound was so loud that it drowned out the storm’s wind. The giant machine flowed down the ridge with a grace and precision that both captivated and terrified him. Then two more helicopters appeared behind it, trailing the first as they dove down the curvature of the mountain like they were part of a giant roller coaster.
David looked up at the window. Henry appeared, staring at the helicopters, his mouth open. They looked at each other. They both knew what this meant. No time for an HF transmission. If any last shred of hope remained in David’s mind, it disappeared as a large red star came into view on the tail of the first helicopter.
David yelled, “Henry, bring down the pile of shower curtains. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the barracks.”
Glickstein nodded frantically, and his head disappeared from the window.
David ran around the building and huddled inside the entrance. He peered through the large vertical glass panel just to the right of the door that rose from the floor to the ceiling.
David could see everything from his vantage point. The barracks was uphill from the Classroom, which was uphill from the Communications building and dining hall. Below all of those buildings was the runway. He watched the three helicopters as they plowed through the rain and wind and banked left, getting ready to land on the runway. The nose of the three steel beasts pitched up dramatically, and they slowed until they came to a hover over the taxiway. As they did, they formed ferocious vortices of rainwater, spreading out in white sheets below.
David thought that it would take any troops in those helicopters at least ten minutes to get to their position. More, if they stopped at the Classroom first. Good. That would give Henry and him time. Maybe they could run down to the Classroom and gather some of the others while—
Down the gravel path, beyond the buffeting palm trees, he saw Natesh walk into view, standing alone in the open area between the Classroom building and the Communications building. What was he doing there? Why had he come from the Classroom? Then Lena walked up and stood beside him, unrestrained. She held Natesh’s shoulder and spoke into his ear. Lena looked toward the Communications building and made a large waving motion.
They came in droves. Dozens of armed men in black tactical gear ran past Lena and Natesh, towards the Classroom. These men weren’t coming from the helicopters. They were coming from the Communications building. David saw Natesh walk, unescorted, back toward the Communications building. Lena followed the soldiers into the Classroom.
David’s head was spinning. Natesh. He must have helped her. That was the only way to explain the way they were just talking with Chinese troops running beside them. David felt so stupid for trusting him. He had access to the computer room. Of course he was in on it. He just hadn’t seemed the type. David wanted to scream, but he didn’t have time for regrets.
Much farther down, toward the runway, David saw several dozen more troops running out of the helicopters. Two of the men were hunched over, vomiting near the runway. It must have been a bumpy ride. The rest ran full speed up the path and towards the buildings.
Henry hopped down the stairs, dragging the clunky plastic roll of shower curtains, duct tape, and metal rods.
“How bad is it?” Henry asked. He joined David, looking out the window.
David said, “Bad. We need to hurry. Henry, how good of a swimmer are you?”
Henry said, “I can do doggy paddle. Well… okay, not very well.”
David said, “Okay, here’s what I need you to do. Take no more than two minutes to try and gather any food or water that you can stuff into a pillowcase. Bring as much as you can. And any razors or something we might be able to fish with. Shit, I don’t know… think of something. We’re going to get out of here. I’m going to get us a boat. I don’t know how far we’ve got to go, but plan for the worst. I count at least forty armed men down there, and I’m not sure how long we’ve got until they come up this way. Don’t waste time. I’m going to the other side of the island. There were boats there. We’ve got a few more hours of daylight. I think we might be able to make a run for it with one of their motorboats at night. If we can get far enough away from this island, we can try to make a sail out of this tarp once we run out of gas.”
Henry laughed nervously. “MacGyver.” Then he looked back out at the buildings. He said, “What about the others?”
David said, “The best thing we can do for them now is make it out of here and get word out.”
Henry nodded and started running up the stairs, then looked back and said, “Hey — where should I meet you?”
“Follow the barbed wire fence east away from the buildings until it reaches the runway. Hide in the trees there until you see me come back. Just keep an eye out for me. I’m going to make one run up to land with the motorboat. When you see me, you need to run to the boat and get in. I’ll be vulnerable then, so I’ll only come to the beach once. If I don’t see you, I’m leaving.”
“How are you going to get the boat?”
David said, “I don’t know.”
“Oh. Good plan.”
“To be honest, with the waves from the storm, even if I can get us a boat there’s a good chance we’ll drown.”
Henry nodded, eyes wide, and said, “Oh. I see. Good, then. See you in a few.” He dashed away up the stairs.
David looked out the window and saw the Chinese troops with submachine guns pointed forward, getting ready to enter the Classroom over a hundred yards away. Lena and Natesh were both out of sight. No one was looking in David’s direction. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and bolted past the barracks toward the fence. He turned right and sprinted uphill on the long, narrow path in between the fence and the jungle.
He could feel his adrenaline pumping as his feet strode over the uneven terrain. A canopy of wet leaves reached out from above. He looked up as he ran, drops of water landing on his face. They felt cool in the warm air. There was less wind here. He was protected by tall rainforest on either side. The vegetation grew more dense the farther up the fence he got. Fine with him. Better for staying hidden. He ran as fast as he could, fighting the urge to stop and look back. It was only this morning that he’d swum halfway around the island. His muscles reminded him. His quads and hamstrings already ached and he hadn’t even gotten to the beach. David forced the pain out of his mind. He eventually made his way to the apex. It was the far corner of the barbed wire fence, where it turned a sharp right and went downhill towards the sea.