Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
Dan was roughly guiding Mike and Martha through the chaparral leading them "accidentally" into every cactus they came across while Warren carried Sarah. They had made arrangements to be picked up by a chopper. In the first clearing they came across, they were to make a fire to show their location.
                          
Warren could see the brush opening just ahead. Picking up his pace, he nimbly made his way across the uneven ground hoping Dan would catch up. Suddenly he heard the sound of brush snapping. Spinning around he saw Mike running towards him. Before he could maneuver Sarah around him and draw his gun he was tackled to the ground. The sudden impact expelling all the air from his lungs. Sarah yelped as her leg took the full force of the fall. He heard Dan shouting in the background but everything was a blur. His head pounded in a spot right on the crown of his head. He could feel hands wrestling with something at his belt. My gun! The thought ran through him like a bolt of electricity snapping him back into reality.
                          
Warren swung his hands trying to find whoever was grabbing him. They impacted with a hard surface. A man. He fought to twist himself around to face his attacker. It was Mike. Mike had just managed to undo the snap keeping the gun in the holster and ripped it out. Holding it with a shaking hand he leveled it at Warren. He drew back the hammer. A shot rang through the air sending birds flying wildly into the sky. 
                          
Warren lay still, unmoving. He stared at Mike who had dropped the gun and was holding his arm. Dan walked up behind him, gun drawn and leveled. 
                          
"You alright Warren?" He asked.
                          
Warren blinked. "I'm not dead?" He whispered hoarsely.
                          
"Not unless you think this is heaven and I'm God." Dan said with a smile.
                          
"Sarah." Warren got up throwing Mike to the ground. He spotted her lying by the side of the trail. She was staring at Warren with tears in her eyes.
                          
"Did I hurt you when I fell?" Warren asked scanning her legs for signs of broken bones.
                          
"No. It just jarred the knife wound. What about you? The gun... Mike had it and..." Her voice broke. The tears threatening to spill out, Warren laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Behind him, Dan was yanking Mike up roughly and throwing him on the ground next to Martha.
                          
"You make one wrong move and I'll kill you," Dan said fiercely before calling out to Warren, "She alright?"
                          
"She's fine." He said back, turning once more to look at Sarah, "I'll be right back." He stood up and walked over to Dan. 
                          
"You want me to start the fire?" Warren asked. 
                          
"Sure, I'll make sure these two stay right where they are. I hope they know I'll keep to my threat," he said glaring at them. Turning around Warren made for the center of the clearing picking up dead sticks on the way. He cleared an area of grass and small clumps of brush that was just beginning to grow. He piled it all up and lit a match. Within a matter of minutes the fire was a roaring mass of red and orange. Smoke from the grass rose into the sky. He kept adding to the flames until the sound of a helicopter could be heard.
                          
The clearing wasn't big enough for the chopper to land. Ropes would have to be lowered. Warren walked back to Dan. He was amusing himself by picking thorns off the cactus and throwing the like miniature spears at Mike who flinched every time one landed close to his face.
                          
"They're here. You ready?" Warren asked his friend with a smile.
                          
"Does that mean I lose my dart board?" Dan replied with a serious expression.
                          
"Yes Dan. Now get them up there." He said gesturing at the two, a hint of humor ghosting his face. "I'll get Sarah." Nodding Dan turned back around and yanked Mike up so hard he face planted into a thorny bush. Laughing in approval Dan jerked him back up before dragging him to the clearing. He threw him down and went back for Martha. 
                          
The helicopter had the markings of the U.S. Marines. The FBI must have called in a favor from the nearby base. Warren was holding Sarah as he watched two ropes fall from above. A soldier, a lieutenant from the marks on his sleeve, slid down to help get everyone aboard. He went to pick up Mike but stopped when he saw the thorns and blood on his arm.
                          
"What happened to him?" The soldier asked Warren.
                          
"He kept running into thorn bushes." Warren replied with a smile.
                          
"Ah. What'd they do? They didn't tell us anything, just told us to come out here, watch for smoke, then pick up whoever was at the bottom of it." The soldier told him as he watched Dan drag Martha into the clearing.
                          
"They're serial killers and cannibals. We don't know for sure how many but they probably killed hundreds. They disposed of the bodies by cooking them in their diner and then serving them." Warren replied, his stomach turned at the thought.
                          
"I'm not going to forget that for a while. Uh, let's get you out of here." The soldier yanked Mike to his feet. He tied the rope under his arms and made a signal to the man above. Mike rose into the sky as Martha was tied in the same way to the other rope.