Читать книгу Wake-Up Call - Joaquin De Torres - Страница 4

The troops ran up the hill with frantic urgency, following the orders of their general who yelled at the top of his lungs.

“GET TO THE TOP! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”

The men didn’t know why they were there as they entered the forest. Nor did they know why they were awoken in the middle of the night, ordered to get into the trucks fully armed, travel more than 23 kilometers, and then ordered to ascend a hill once the trucks could go no further. Was it a training exercise? If so, why didn’t the garrison commanders know anything about it? They sat in the trucks with the same dumbfounded looks as their men. And if this was an exercise, why was it led by the region’s top commander, General Mikhail Kirolovka? Such a man of his distinction and power would never waste his time leading a garrison of 80 men in the middle of the Russian winter.

“HURRY! GET TO THE TOP OR I’LL SHOOT YOU MYSELF!”

The slope was steep and rocky, the trees were dense and the snow was up to their knees. The hill seemed endless as they struggled up, seeing their labored breath crystallize before their faces. Spurred on by the bellowing man they trudged on, cursing to themselves, damning the general. Near the top, they saw the radiating glow of a light which further guided them.

The general himself was one of the first to reach the top. He stood at the lip of a ridge that opened to a tree-less clearing, a flat area roughly 400 meters in diameter where a large bonfire was burning. When the rest of the garrison emerged at the lip, he sent half of them to the left ridge, the other half to the right, and told them to wait. Around the fire were perhaps 100 people. They stood in the cold; silent, unmoving with their arms stretched to the stars. The moon was full and huge; the entire forest was illuminated in a soft blue glow. The general searched the night sky and turned his eyes to the moon.

Then he saw it.

“SHOULDER ARMS! PREPARE TO FIRE!” he yelled. The men dropped to one knee and raised their AK-47 rifles. Although their training brought them to their ready positions quickly and efficiently, the men didn’t know who or what they were aiming at. The bonfire and the people were just 50 yards away, but none of them were holding any weapons. One of the garrison’s commanders, a young captain, turned his head up to the general.

“Comrade General, who are we shooting?”

“All of them!” he answered still looking at the moon.

“But General, they’re just peasants.” Suddenly the starry night above them disappeared, replaced by solid black. Something huge slid over them at a height of several hundred feet and remained hovering in place. A loud hum filled their ears, and grew louder as the blackness widened across the sky. The pressure on their ears was crushing, as if a gigantic invisible vent was blowing down air on the entire plateau. The men shrank even lower in their stances.

“HOLD FAST! SHOULDER YOUR ARMS!” the general yelled through the deafening hum. Then from that void of solid black an intense light bathed the plateau, covering all of the hill and surrounding forest. The light was so intense that the men covered their eyes or looked away. The general was prepared and quickly brought up his night vision goggles. He noticed that the people directly under the light did not turn away. Nor were they affected by the downdraft of air pummeling his men. They remained calm with welcoming arms still outstretched. The young captain turned his head and his eyes were able to glimpse at the large full moon.

“GENERAL! LOOK AT THE MOON! SOMETHING’S COMING!”

“FIRE! FIRE ON THE CROWD!” the general yelled. The men struggled to remain stationary and fired into the crowd, daring not to question the order. The general noticed that the people didn’t run or scream as they were gunned down. They didn’t even turn around; they just fell where they stood.

“ADVANCE FORWARD! LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!” No one else saw the source of the glowing light except the general whose skin turned to ice beneath his uniform and heavy winter coat.

As the men moved forward towards the crowd, he stood alone, eyes transfixed on the huge object above the forest. His head turned to the moon and an even larger object, perhaps the size of an entire city, was silhouetted and approaching. He couldn’t judge distance, or time, or reality then. He was terrified, shaking uncontrollably. But he bit down hard on his lip and strengthened his resolve. He had to stop it from coming.

As that last person fell dead from gunfire, the blinding overhead light suddenly turned off. The massive winged object pulled away from the forest, the force of its exodus washed over the hill knocking the men to the ground. The stars were again revealed overhead. The general dropped to his knees and watched the black angular shape disappear gradually into the night. His head turned to the moon again. The gigantic silhouette that looked so menacing as it drew closer, had pulled away and also disappeared into the night. The men, still clearing their eyes and shaking their heads, inspected the bodies using their flashlights. They were all dead.

“Captain, you will bring a detail back from the post and burn the bodies,” said the general, sounding winded.

“Comrade General, who were these people? And what was that light?” The general was expecting such questions and had his answers prepared.

“They were spies, Captain,” he replied. “Israeli and British agents disguised as commoners who were being picked up by helo transport. We intercepted them before they could escape.” The young officer looked confused.

“But sir, they’re just peasants. Men and women.”

“Come with me,” the general ordered as he walked toward the heap of bodies. When they arrived at its edge, he reached down and pulled up the left arm of one of the corpses. “Look here.” He put his own flashlight on the dead man’s wrist. Just below the palm was a metallic object resembling a coin embedded just under the skin.

“Look there. Another one, and another. They all have them.”

“What is it?”

“Information,” answered the general. “Computer chips filled with intelligence, our intelligence, Captain; surgically implanted. Look at their clothes. They’ve been living among us for years.”

“But how do they put information into-”

“That’s not for us to know, Captain.” The general was getting irritated at the questions now. “It’s a KGB issue and they’ve been hunting these people down for months.” The answer seemed to satisfy the young officer. He nodded his head as he looked around at the other bodies.

“Makes sense. That would eliminate the need to carry documents or equipment to get by any check post.” He turned his face to the general with a new question. “But that helo, General. The power and that sound! That light! I’ve never—”

“Enough questions for tonight, Captain.” The general turned away dismissively. “You will bring back a detail, burn the bodies, and-” He turned back to face the young man. “You will tell your men to mention nothing of this mission. Nothing. This is a matter of national security. If word does get out, Captain,” his voice lowered menacingly. “I’ll have you shot on sight.” The young man stood quickly at attention and saluted rigidly as the general walked off.

Letting out a long breath of relief, he knelt down to the body at his feet and inspected the wrist again. There were markings barely visible on the chips that were raised on the skin. They seemed to shimmer, as well. He turned the arm in different angles but couldn’t make out what the markings were. He looked around to make sure no one was watching or moving in his direction, then unclipped his six-inch survival knife. He quickly made an incision in the wrist and removed the chip. He dropped the arm, returned the knife to its sheath and cleaned the surface of the chip with snow. He inspected it closely, bringing the flashlight a few centimeters from its surface. The markings did not resemble any formal letters or numbers, but some sort of precise engravings, a diagram or schematic studded with crystals the size of pinheads.

“EVERYONE BACK DOWN THE HILL! BACK TO THE TRUCKS!” he heard the general yell in the distance. The captain quickly placed the chip inside his inner uniform breast pocket beneath his heavy winter coat. He stood up, looked around casually and merged along with the rest of his men back to the ridge and down to the trucks.