Demon Chord - A MaxTul Supernatural Thriller

Chapter 25 - Torrent

Chapter Twenty- five

Torrent

"The sides of the arroyo are too steep for the cats" replied Knox, "according to infrared there is a shallower bank about 2 miles up the creek bed. Let's shoot for that. Follow close"

Knox slowly increased his speed with the cat as not to dig into the sand and become stuck. Being inexperienced with sand driving techniques, Max stomped on the accelerator causing all four tires to spin quickly, digging holes into the shifting sand, and bottoming out the cat.

"We're stuck" shouted Max into the headset.

"Coming round" responded Knox calmly as he turned his cat around and circled back.

Once Knox reached their cat, both Max and Tul climbed out to inspect how deeply they were stuck. Knox took one look and immediately returned to his cat and backed it up in order to attach the winch to the front of the stuck cat.

"I'll pull slowly. You push hard – but not too hard" he instructed Tul as he climbed back into his vehicle.

After a few tense minutes of pushing and pulling, and wheel re-positioning by Knox the stuck cat was freed, as Max and Tul climbed back into their cat, Max said, "Now I see why Vlad keeps Knox around."

Knox tapped the mic on his headset, "Max, you come up front, I'll follow behind in case you get stuck again, but steady is the key – no quick accelerations and you should be fine."

"10-4" replied Max as he slowly pulled ahead of Knox who flashed him a thumb's up. Tul glanced over to Max, "you good?" When Max nodded his response, Tul removed the headset and tossed onto the control panel.

After a few minutes, Max saw Tul frown as he glanced at the passenger side mirror and then turned around to peer over his shoulder into the darkness. Grabbing the headset from the control panel, he donned it and keyed the mic, "The water is coming fast, how much farther until we can get out of the arroyo?"

"We're not going to make it" replied Knox in a voice calmer than he felt, "we're going to have to breach the sides of the arroyo and hope the cats make it over. Max you go first, once I see that you're over without any issues, I will follow a little farther down."

Tul glanced over at Max who looked at him with fear in his eyes, "I don't think I can do it. What if I turn us over?"

It was Knox who answered, "You won't. Just keep the wheel tight and climb the bank at a forty-five-degree angle, don't go straight up and keep your speed steady. Watch your RPM's if they get too high back off on the gas just a bit. You will feel it. You have good instincts. Trust them."

Max began the climb and immediately felt the wheels begin to spin in the soft sand of the bank. "Easy does it" coached Knox, "relax your elbows, and give the wheel just a little more play."

Knox watched as the cat began a slow and steady climb and nodded his approval, "that's good Max. That's real good, keep it steady, you're almost to the top" he encouraged even as his heart began to beat faster as he now could hear the distant roar of the approaching flood waters.

Once he saw the cat reach the top of the arroyo and relative safety, Knox began to drive as fast as he could go down the arroyo in search of another good spot to try to breach the gully. In only a matter of minutes, he knew he wasn't going to find one in time.

There are two easy ways to die in the desert – thirst and drowning - and Knox began to consider that he might succumb to the latter. Not only could he hear the roar of the torrent as clamored down the gully, but now he could see the sweeping brown water as it rushed towards him with the speed and ferocity of a freight train. In the dimness of the headlights, he can make out rolling boulders and large tree trunks that the waters have swept from the mountains down through the arroyo. The noise becomes almost unbearable as it bears down on him like the hammer of God, smashing everything in its path. Knox braces himself for the impact as the water and debris rams the cat. He can feel himself roll under the waves, he doesn't know up from down and he can't find the air. His body uncoils in a panic, his arms flailing blindly – he reaches out in desperation for a hold on anything, but he feels the bones in his legs break as a large boulder catches him and pulls him along with the advancing waters – it is then that he knows he will die. He had always hoped that he would die in battle, a warrior's death – he has a flash of anger that his life's journey ends with such an ordinary death, but his thoughts soon turn to Whiskey and he wishes more than anything that had told her that he loved her one more time, then he closes his eyes and accepts his fate.