Part 37
The helicopter hovered just above the tree line, its massive searchlight pinning us to the ground like insects under a microscope.
"Drop your weapon and step away from the child!" a distorted voice boomed from the chopper’s loudspeaker, barely audible over the roaring engine.
The wind from the rotors whipped the branches around us into a frenzy, blinding us with dust and dead leaves.
I knew that if I dropped the rifle, we were dead. Vanguard didn't take prisoners who knew their secrets.
I looked up at the helicopter, noticing the distinct emblem on its side—it wasn't a military or police aircraft. It belonged to Blackwood Security, a notorious private defense contractor owned by Vanguard.
They had replaced the federal response team with their own private army.
Thinking fast, I grabbed Elena and dove behind the massive, rotted trunk of a fallen oak tree just as a hail of heavy gunfire ripped through the dirt where we had been standing a second ago.
The wood splinters flew like shrapnel, cutting into my cheek, but I didn't flinch.
I raised the tactical rifle, aiming not at the armored body of the helicopter, but at the exposed, high-intensity searchlight beneath its nose.
I squeezed the trigger, firing a rapid succession of shots until the glass shattered with a brilliant spark, plunging the clearing back into darkness.
The pilot, disoriented by the sudden loss of visibility and the gunfire, swerved the chopper violently to the left, its tail rotor clipping the top of a massive pine tree.
May you like
The metal groaned and sparked as the aircraft began to lose altitude, spinning out of control toward the far side of the clearing.
"Run, Elena! Now!" I screamed, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the sound of the rushing river just as the helicopter crashed into the tree line behind us, exploding into a massive wall of fire.
