Path of Jen: Bloodborne (34 page)

“Jen,” he said in an urgent voice.

She looked at him with concern, wondering
what was wrong.

“Jen,” he said again. While she looked at
him, his face changed. The SUV and surrounding countryside melted
away into darkness, and the man calling her name was no longer
Dustin. Sergeant Lynch gently shook her arm and called her name
again, “Jen! Wake up!”

She was back on the boat with Sergeant Lynch
and Lance Corporal O’Bryan, but the noises she had become
accustomed to were different somehow. Angry voices topside,
filtered down to the berthing area they occupied. Jen raised her
head quickly and felt a sharp, jarring pain. The pipes and conduit
above her bunk were hung too low for her to sit up. “Ouch!” she
said, rubbing her sore head with one hand while carefully sliding
out of her bunk sideways.

“What’s going on?” she asked Sergeant Lynch
when she was on her feet. “Is something wrong?" She ducked down and
looked at the bottom bunk. Nathan was gone. “Matt! Where is Nathan?
Is he okay?”

Sergeant Lynch grabbed her by the shoulders
and gave her a hard, level look. “Nathan is topside. He’s in
custody already.”

Jen’s heart seemed to stop and she shook her
head, “No!”

“Jen, there’s nothing we can do for him.
Heck, at least this way, he’ll get treatment for his injuries." His
hands were still on her shoulders, and he held her firmly but
gently. “We have to get you off this boat, Jen. So far, they don’t
know you’re here.”

“But how will we get away? Who is up there?”
she asked nearing panic.

Sergeant Lynch stared into her eyes and said,
“I’m going to get you out of here Jen, but you have to trust me."
To her surprise, he pulled her close and wrapped her in a warm hug.
She didn’t pull away.

Jen waited at the bottom of the ladder-well
anxiously as Sergeant Lynch peeked his head out the top. He had his
service pistol in one hand. He held his other hand behind his back
and gave her a thumbs up as he pushed up and through. Jen scrambled
up the steps behind him and stayed low in the darkness as they ran
to the starboard railing. She crouched in the shadows behind
Sergeant Lynch, wedged between a welded steel box and a coil of
braided cable. Mounted on the railing above them hung a reinforced
steel arm and pulley. Jen leaned into him, and felt grateful for
the comforting warmth of his body against the uncertainty of the
moment and the chilly night air.

Beams of light criss-crossed the deck as
silhouettes of men searched with flashlights. The powerful lights
mounted atop the wheel house switched on and Jen could see the bow
and foredeck lit up as bright as day. She counted three men
searching the top-side of the vessel. They were all dressed in
black tactical gear, and armed with short barreled assault
rifles.

Sergeant Lynch leaned his head back and
whispered over his shoulder to her, “We’re going over the side.
Don’t worry about the water; I’ll help you. Just cross your arms
and legs and try to go in feet first. Once you hit the water start
kicking and make your way to the surface."

Jen wanted to scream.
“Jump overboard? How
high up are we? How far do we have to swim?"
She gripped his
shoulder and squeezed tightly.

“I’m a Marine, remember? Trust me, Jen,” he
said softly and he placed his hand over his shoulder, on top of
hers.

Jen leaned her head against his back and
nodded. Her eyes were closed tightly and she prayed,
“Dear Lord,
please, help us! I don’t know if I can do this, but I trust you. I
trust this Marine you sent to me.”

Sergeant Lynch tapped her hand and they stood
up, slowly, into the light. He pointed at the railing and
whispered, “Just crawl over and fall in, Jen. I’m right behind
you."

Jen swung her leg up and laid lengthways
across the rail. She saw the dark water below and turned her head
away, frightened. As her gaze settled on the deck of the boat, she
saw the nearest man in black raising his rifle toward them. Before
she could shout a warning, the muzzle flashed and Sergeant Lynch
grunted. He tipped forward and fell over the railing, just missing
the hoist boom behind them. His hand snagged her leg and pulled her
along with him. As she was pulled overboard, her eyes found the
camouflaged face of the man who shot her protector. He was bigger
than the others, and his head was uncovered. It was his eyes that
struck her. They were an intense gray, and instead of angry or
vicious, they looked tortured.

“
Oh my God…why?”
Jen thought as she
fell. The fall seemed to take hours. Her arms and legs hung limp.
She didn’t think about the water, just the face she glimpsed before
falling. When she hit the water, the air was knocked from her
lungs. Pain exploded throughout her body, but her mind didn’t put
any of it together. She simply sank, eyes open and lifeless, as her
heart broke into a thousand pieces.

A strong hand grasped her wrist and pulled
her to the surface. “I…I got you…Jen,” Sergeant Lynch said through
short, methodical breaths. He positioned himself behind her and
wrapped an arm around her torso, dragging her backward through the
water with powerful leg kicks and one arm strokes. Jen could hear
his voice, and see lights searching the surface of the water, but
she was cold and disconnected from all of it. Her eyes fixed on the
tall figure standing at the starboard railing and getting slowly
smaller as they swam away.

Once they were far enough from the boats,
Sergeant Lynch turned them toward shore. Jen could tell he was
struggling. Her feelings gave way to the reality surrounding them,
and she said, “Matt, I’m okay, let me swim. You’re working too hard
carrying both of us."

He let go of her and she turned over onto her
stomach. They swam in fits and starts for what seemed like hours.
Jen rotated between swimming on her back and swimming on her
stomach. At times they rested by holding their breath and floating
still in the water, face down with arms and legs spread wide.
Finally, the rocky beach was looming in front of them and Jen felt
like crying with relief.

She crawled up onto the rocky shore beside
him and they collapsed next to each other.

“We made it, Jen. We’re going to be okay,” he
said.

She was exhausted in every way. His arm
slipped over her and she buried her face against his chest. A deep
sadness enveloped her and she began to cry. His arm pulled her
closer and she sobbed uncontrollably. Everything hit her at once.
She cried for her parents and the loss of her best friend, the
girls she was imprisoned with and the innocents who died from the
deadly pathogen she still carried, and for the heartbreaking
betrayal by a man she thought she was falling in love with.

After a few moments, Jen felt him touching
his side gingerly, and she raised her head. Blood soaked his shirt,
and a finger-size hole pierced his side. Jen pushed away from him,
afraid to be near the open wound.

“Oh no! Matt, are you okay?” she asked with
worry. Jen checked her hands and arms for any scratches or cuts.
The smallest transfer of fluid could be life threatening to
him.

“I’ll be okay,” he said with a grimace. “We
need to get moving, Jen. They know we’re close, so they’ll keep
looking.

“I know,” she said softly. The tears came
again, and intense sadness crashed over her. “Matt,” she said
choking back sobs. The man that shot you…It was Dustin.”

To Be Continued…

Thank you for reading my book. If
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’
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Thanks!

Sidney Wood, Author

Sidney Wood is a career military and law
enforcement professional with a degree in business and a background
in engineering. He lives in Alaska’s scenic Mat-Su Valley with his
beautiful wife, Nat, and their many children.

Thicker than Blood
Series:

Book 1 - Stronger than Bone

Path of Jen Series:

Book 1 - Bloodborne

Short Stories:

The Well

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