Page 26 of Zero Visibility

“Keep going,” Ben yelled over the noise to her. “Whatever you do don’t stop.” Another fireball drowned out his words. It blew them off their feet. Jen hit the ground hard. Her head slammed against the ground and snapped back. The world around her disappeared like a door slamming shut.

Someone shook her hard. Her eyes slowly opened.

“Oh, thank God.” Ben. He slowly came into focus. She became aware of him lifting her in his arms. He ran into the trees, then sank down to the ground with her still in his arms.

“Is everyone okay?” she asked and tried not to worry about herself.

“We’re all fine. What about you? You hit pretty hard.”

She slowly sat up. “I think I’m okay. What do we do now? They know we’re here.”

“We stay hidden. We’ve taken away their means of tracking us. They’re firing those missiles from a remote location.”

Even so, Legion would disburse men to their last known location. “They’ll send people to finish us off,” she said.

“Probably. But right now, we have to wait for Lincoln.” He brushed hair from her face. “Here.” He handed her the weapon she’d lost. “Stay still. I’m going to check on the others.” His eyes lingered on her face a moment longer before he moved away.

Jen clutched her stomach and prayed with all her heart that God would protect their baby from those men who were determined to kill them all.

A whining noise could be heard above the trees. Another missile attack was coming. She stumbled to her feet and found Ben tending to Tegan. “There’s another one coming.”

He stopped to listen. “This one’s different.” He latched onto her eyes. “That’s Lincoln.” A smile creased his face. “Everybody get ready to evacuate.”

Ben helped Tegan to his feet and moved to the clearing. Jen couldn’t stop shaking. They’d have only a few minutes to get onboard before another attack.

The plane began its descent.

“Will he be able to land with the fire blazing around the field?”

“I sure hope so,” Ben told her.

Jen reached for his hand and clutched it. She needed his support now more than ever. The plane touched down hard, shot back in the air, then dipped down again. The pilot kept the plane on the ground this time and taxied down the field to a jarring stop.

“Let’s go, people,” Ben yelled.

Peter grabbed one of Tegan’s arms while Will took the other. Together they hurried toward the plane.

Ben clutched Jen’s hand tight. “Ready to get out of here?”

She was. More than ready.

The plane’s hatch door opened. Jordyn appeared on the stairs. “Hurry, there’s people in the woods moving this way.”

The Simpsons cleared the top step, while Jordyn ushered them inside. Peter and Will helped Tegan up the steps.

She and Ben were almost to the steps when a round of gunfire lit up the woods. Something struck Jen’s side. She screamed in pain as the hot lead pierced her flesh dropping her to the ground.

“Jen!”

She barely registered the panic in Ben’s voice. He lifted her once more. She felt as if she were floating through the air.

“Stay with me, Jen.” He sounded so far away.

“I’m sorry,” she said but wasn’t sure she’d voiced the words aloud.

“Don’t go. Stay with me, Jen.”

But she was going. His face blurred. A tear slipped from her eye.Let the baby be okay.Please let the baby be okay.

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