Chapter 8:
Road to Seattle
The past several days had gone from normal to insane. Link now found himself in a S.W.A.T. vehicle, being driven to Barksdale Airforce Base. He would be taken to a new, state-of-the art national guard base in Seattle. Link told them everything that had happened, from hearing things on the radio, to the gas-station encounter, and the near-death experience. They had rushed him off in this vehicle in response.
He was surrounded by men in camouflague, holding machine guns and staring blankly at each other. It was the kind of thing he had read about, happening to him. They were passing the Quachita River which stood between two small towns. They still had a good few hours to go until they reached Shreveport on the western part of Louisiana.
"You know the muck killer?" a young man asked him.
"Yeah." Link responded nervously.
"What was that like?" he inquired.
"Aw, c'mon, Rich, give the poor kid a break. He's probably been through a lot."
"Yes, mom." 'Rich' replied.
A couple of the men laughed.
"Shut up, y'all! This is serious stuff." the Major snapped.
"Yes, sir!" they all cried, going back to their silent stares.
Link was glad they had shut up finally. He just wanted to get to Seattle. Hopefully the military could end this all soon. At least he hoped so. The military could beat the shadow, Link just knew it.
A few hours later, they arrived at Barksdale. In a very short time, the helicopter had landing and positioned itself at a parking spot. The soldiers hopped out, helping him out, too. They hurried into the building. Through a lobby and a series of other rooms, they came out onto the area full of planes and fighter-jets. Link was in awe of the size of the fighters. It was the first time he had seen an F-22 up close.
A man in a suit and tie shot ot of the door, carrying a newspaper.
"Major, a news reporter found out was was going on! This mission is now in the news! They gave our location away!"
"Oh shit; everyone, hurry up and get in the plane! We've been compromised!" he barked.
Everyone loaded into a massive cargo helicopter followed by Link. They all strapped down, and in a few short minutes, they were in the air. To Link, it was just like playing army as a kid, under the rules of your friend. Nothing seemed to make sense, it was happening very fast, and it was exciting. Link had flown only a few times in his life, so he had to get used to flying again. He did after several minutes.
"Now, when we get to Seattle, we're going to get out fast, and run fast. This kid is never left out in the open, got it?" the pilot ordered over the loud-speaker.
Link's heart was beating rapidly. This kind of stuff did not happen every day. He used to want to be a soldier when he was a kid for the excitement. This sure was exciting, but he wasn't sure if it was good or not like he had always imagined.
He sat there all throughout the flight. A kind soldier had given him a candy bar to hold his hunger a bit. He was grateful for it, even though he was still hungry.
A few minutes later, the helicopter came in and landed. The back opened, and everyone piled out. They got Link's head down and made a circle around him and sprinted to the door. Even though Link was in shape, he had a hard time keeping up with these men. They entered a massive brick building and rushed through a lobby.
They moved through several rooms with computers, men, and all sorts of things. They came to an elevator and went down to the basement. They came out into a white room and proceeded through a door. Link had no idea where he was going, but the soldiers showed him the way. They finally stopped in an office, where a large, burly man sat drinking coffee.
"Ah, you must be Link, have a seat." he greeted calmly. He motioned for the soldiers to leave.
"First time in Seattle?" he asked.
"Yes sir." Link replied in a cracked voice, taking a seat. The sudden calm was quite strange.
"Oh, are you thirsty?" he asked, motioning to a mini-fridge.
Link wanted to be polite, but instead, he nodded eagerly.
The man opened it up and showed him the contents.
"Red Drink." Link informed him, seeing a bottle near the back.
"Sure." he said, handing it to him and shutting the fridge.
The boy popped it open and drank the contents down. He felt so much better afterwards. The Red Drink was famous for making people feel better and giving them energy.
"I have those for my grandson, he really likes them." the general informed him.
Link nodded, taking another sip.
"Well, I guess it's down to business, huh? You can sit there an enjoy your pop, still."
'Pop'? What the heck was that? It took Link a second to remember up here, cokes were called 'pops'.
"So you say you encountered the muck-killer up close and personal?" he asked.
Link nodded, "He said stuff about me being warm and full of determination and being 'a hero' or whatever it was. He tried to kill me saying he had killed innocents just to creep me out before he killed me. Now he's killing them to draw me out. He also showed me something on the back of my hand I have never seen before."
Link showed him the three glowing triangles.
The man nodded," I see. Okay, so I'm thinking here he's probably got you mixed up with another man, right? But we'll protect you nonetheless. And about those triangles, I know a guy with a little antique store not far from here who has a book on three glowing triangles and things. I met him when I was a kid. He said it was a real historical document. He knows all about that kind of stuff. Now, I don't know if he was joking or not, but we'll let you talk to him tomorrow. In the mean time, we'll show you a room where you can get some rest."
Link nodded, getting up. He was led out and given his room. A few minutes later after lying on a bed some, a short young man came in with some food. Soup, bread, and more of The Red Drink. Link ate it quickly and placed it on the table by the bed. He fell back onto the mattress and was out in a few minutes.
Finally, rest.
A/N: Long time, no update, huh? I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far, and yes, I plan to finish it. So, I guess reviews are welcome, and uh, well, I guess that's it! And yes, the whole 'pop' thing has happened to me before. It took me a second to tell the waitress what I wanted.
-Sam.
