Evasion Tactics: End of the World, #2

By James Loscombe

Strangers in a strange land

They were lied to. The virus was not contained.Evan, Harriet and Michelle find themselves in a place they don't understand, amongst people who may be loyal friends or deadly enemies. Evan finds himself the unexpected leader of the group as they search for safety, while a soldier called Bushe dogs their progress. The wrong decision now could cost him, and everyone he cares about, their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Loscombe
• Release date: Mar 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386103042

James Loscombe

James Loscombe has been publishing under various pen names for the last five years. He lives in England with his wife Tamzin and their sons Jude and Oscar.

Book preview

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Chapter 1

I don’t know how long I am asleep before the shaking wakes me. For a moment I think it is an earthquake, before my memory catches up with me an I realise where I am.

The shaking continues and I turn to look at Harriet. Somehow she is still asleep, but no one else is.

A woman shrieks as another violent shake passes through the helicopter. I see people’s belongings slide across the floor. Bags fall open and scatter clothes everywhere.

What’s going on? I say.

Michelle shakes her head and I can see fear in her eyes. She didn’t look this scared when we took on Cortez.

I grip the hand rests as the helicopter continues to shake. It feels as if it is going to fall apart.

Daddy?

I turn to Harriet. She is awake now and scared.

What’s happening? she says.

For a moment all I can do is shake my head with wild eyed fear. When I see the effect that has on her I force myself to stop.

I take her hand. It’s okay, I say. Everything’s going to be okay.

She nods, but I can see that she doesn’t believe me. Why should she?

Static fills the craft and everyone goes quiet.

A distant voice talks over the speaker but it is too quiet for any of us to hear. For a moment we all strain to make out some of the words, but then they stop and we are none the wiser. A moment passes and then the panic starts.

Hold onto something, I say. I am still gripping the armrests enough to turn my knuckles white. I am not sure what is going on but I know it isn’t good.

The floor seems to fall out from beneath me and for a moment we are plummeting towards the ground. I think this is the end but a moment later we are flying again, a little lower, but still in the air.

Harriet starts to cry and I do my best to comfort her, but I can’t move from my seat. I take her left hand and Michelle takes her right. The helicopter continues to shake itself apart.

To gain some control of the situation I try to work out what might be happening. Although I have never flown in a helicopter before, I am sure that this isn’t normal. Which leaves two possibilities; either there is a mechanical fault, or we are under attack.

This could be the work of Cortez’s men.

The idea that, even dead, Cortez could still win, makes me sick.

When I glance at the window I see the ocean, which means we are a long way from London. If this is Cortez’s doing, then he must have had weapons far more powerful than the rocket launchers.

I shake my head. No, this can’t be Cortez’s work, if we are under attack then it is by someone else.

I don’t have time to come up with another possibilities before everything seems to stop. The steady thudding noise stops. My stomach feels as if it is going to come out of my mouth and I realise that we are falling again.

There isn’t enough air to scream.

It feels as if I am on the worlds worst rollercoaster.

I grip Harriet’s hand and try to believe that everything is going to be okay, but it doesn’t work. I don’t know how high up we were but now we are a metal box full of people plummeting towards the ground.

No one can survive this.

The best any of us can hope for is that the impact will kill us, because the alternative seems to be drowning.

I want to tell Harriet that I love her and that I’m sorry, but I can no longer draw air into my lungs.

I don’t want to die and I especially don’t want my daughter to die. We were so close to making it to a new life. It might never have been what we wanted but at least we would have been together.

Daddy? Harriet says.

I turn to her, I smile. I love you, I say.

I love you too, she says, her voice shaking because she realises what is happening as well.

I catch sight of Michelle and wonder if this is easier or more difficult for her. She and I could have made a life together, but we never got a chance to find out. Right here and right now we are strangers and, regardless of what is going to happen, we can’t bridge that gap. She is alone and there is nothing I can do to change that.

There is a deep choking sound and the engine starts again. I hear a few people cry out with relief but I realise we are still falling. The only thing that has changed is that we are spinning as well.

There is a sound like metal tearing and the helicopter lurches like a drunk at Christmas. I glance at the window behind Michelle and I can see how low we are.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. His voice is loud and crisp and I dare to hope that means they have the situation under control. He doesn’t sound as panicked as I would expect someone in his situation to feel. As you may have noticed we are experiencing some difficulties. The helicopter was damaged during the attack at the heliport. It has suffered some critical system failures. Unfortunately this means we are not going to make it to the quarantine ships.

A few people cry out with disappointment, but I am not among them. If we were going to crash, then he wouldn’t have told us. Although my heart is racing from what has happened, there is still a chance that we will survive.

We are near the coast of France and will be attempting an emergency landing shortly. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, so please make sure your seat belts are on and your belongings are secure.

I wait for further information but then the radio cuts out and all I can hear are other voices in the cabin.

I squeeze Harriet’s hand but I don’t want to look at her. If we are going to land in France then I know what she will be thinking and I also know that it will be impossible. We will be in a French quarantine centre. There will be no way for us to reach Cassie, and even if we could, it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Are you okay? Michelle says.

I turn to look at her and see that she is talking to Harriet, which is good because it means I don’t have to be the bad guy. By the time we have landed and are under French protection, she will know that we can’t go to her mother.

It’s going to be fine, Michelle says.

Hold on tight, I say as the helicopter lurches to the right. I am pulled up in my seat and experience a moment of weightlessness. Then I come crashing back down with what feels like three times my original weight.

I hope that Michelle is right. I hope that the pilot can land this thing.

The movements are erratic and sickening. No on talks. When I glance around the cabin I see lots of people gritting their teeth and staring straight ahead.

Out the window I see nothing but land now. We are coming down quick but at the moment it feels controlled.

Harriet squeezes my hand and I smile at her. If this is the last thing I see then at least I will die with my daughter beside me. I try not to think about the fact that she will be dying as well.

The engine cuts in an out with sickening irregularity. For long moments we seem to hang in the air. Weightless, suspended by nothing more than our own hopes that we make it through this. We have all been through so much already, it would seem anticlimactic to die in such a mundane way now.

There is nothing left to say to one another. Only our hopes and fears go with us to the ground. The engine cuts out for a final time. I have no idea how far above the ground we currently are, but I know that we won’t stay there for long. Then we are falling.

Chapter 2

The sound is so loud that it blocks out everything else. I am no longer aware of other people screaming. I open my eyes for brief moments at a time. I wait to see the fireball which will consume us, racing through the cabin, but I don’t. Instead I see metal support beams falling and the sides of the helicopter peeling away like a tin can. I feel the full force of the helicopter meeting the ground.

I pass out for a moment, but not for long enough to make a difference.

We hit the ground and the helicopter continues to move, carving a scar into the solid rock. I understand that the pilot has attempted to save us by using forward momentum to absorb some of the impact. I won’t find out if it doesn’t work.

The sound begins to abate and I become aware of Harriet crying. I turn to look at her, squeezing her hand and trying to reassure her that we are going to be okay.

It is minutes before we finally stop. My body wants to continue going forwards and I press against the harness that is keeping me in place. Then that settles as well.

Nobody moves.

I wait for three or four seconds before I decide that we aren’t going to wait for someone to tell us what to do. For all we know they are already dead and the helicopter could start burning at any second. There is no time to lose.

While I unbuckle myself I shout at Harriet to do the same. She stares back at me with dull eyes and for a moment I fear that she is dead. Then Michelle is out of her seat and helping her. Harriet blinks but doesn’t say anything, but she is alive and it is my job to make sure she stays that way.

There are other people standing up now. A surprising number are still in their seats, showing no sign of being aware. I can smell smoke and hurry us along, shouting at everyone who we pass that they need to get up and go.

The impact wedged the door closed. Enough of the