Chapter 309
[ 495 words ]
Chapter 309:
Her knees buckled completely. She slid slowly down the length of the wet fence. The flashlight flickered, its beam weakening as the cold drained the last of the battery’s power, before finally dying, plunging her into darkness.
She collapsed into the freezing mud. She curled her body into a tight fetal position, instinctively trying to conserve whatever body heat she had left.
The absolute darkness was total and unforgiving.
Caroline’s eyelids fluttered shut. The deafening roar of the storm faded into a dull, distant hum as consciousness finally slipped away.
Ten minutes later, the low, powerful rumble of a military Humvee engine approached from the interior patrol road inside the fence.
The vehicle’s heavy-duty tires crunched loudly on the gravel. The driver slowed down as the vehicle approached Sector 4 of the perimeter.
The Humvee’s roof-mounted searchlight swept across the fence line. The brilliant beam cut easily through the heavy rain and darkness.
The blinding white beam passed over the mud. It suddenly illuminated the small, unmoving figure huddled against the base of the chain-link fence.
The Humvee screeched to a halt. Its tactical headlights locked directly onto Caroline’s unconscious, mud-soaked body.
𝗙𝗼𝗅𝗅𝗼w 𝘶𝘴 on 𝘨𝖺𝘭𝗻𝘰vе𝗹ѕ.𝘤𝗈𝘮
The heavy armored doors of the Humvee swung open into the driving rain. Captain Zachary Hayes stepped out onto the gravel, his assault rifle raised and pressed firmly against his shoulder.
Corporal Evan Riley exited the passenger side. He flanked his captain, moving with tactical precision. He pushed his night-vision goggles up onto the rim of his Kevlar helmet.
They approached the huddled figure on the other side of the fence with extreme caution. They were highly trained to suspect ambushes or hidden traps at the perimeter line.
Hayes barked a loud command over the roar of the storm. He ordered the individual to stand up and show their hands immediately.
Caroline remained completely motionless in the thick mud. She was entirely unresponsive to the verbal command, her breathing shallow and erratic.
Riley signaled to Hayes to cover him. He stepped closer to the fence. He kicked Caroline’s discarded duffel bag away with his boot to ensure it wasn’t wired with explosives.
He knelt in the freezing mud. He kept his sidearm drawn and aimed. He reached through a gap in the gate and rolled the figure onto her back.
The Humvee’s bright headlights illuminated Caroline’s pale, mud-streaked face and blue-tinged lips. Riley realized instantly it was a young woman, not a combatant.
Riley quickly checked her neck for a carotid pulse. He shouted back to Hayes that she was an unarmed civilian. He reported she was freezing to the touch and had a very weak pulse.
Hayes frowned deeply. He lowered his rifle slightly. He was baffled as to how a civilian managed to hike up the treacherous, restricted mountain road in this massive storm.
He stepped closer and noticed the object in her hand. He saw the encrypted satellite phone clutched in her rigid grip. He instantly recognized the thick, military-grade hardware.
Hayes immediately upgraded the situation from a random trespasser to a potential high-level security anomaly.
.
.
.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.