The Nephilim Protocol

Breakout

"We were headed back when we saw you jump in." Ball Buster drapes another blanket around my shivering form. "You're some sort of crazy, dude."

"If he doesn't catch hypothermia, it'll be a miracle," Heather calls, coming back in with another load of blankets. "And those clothes are soaked.... You know that I can't buy stuff in your size from the store, right? That'd bring up all sorts of questions."

I wave, teeth chattering. "R-r-r-right. D-d-d-d-don't w-w-wor-r-r-r-ry ab-b-b-b-bout it-t-t-t-t-t-t." My teeth descend into a rapid set of clicks. I'm trying very hard not to think about how naked I am under the blankets, with Heather in the room.

"The boat," Sidewinder says, coming up. "It's one of those fancy Navy Seal boats, right? Like what special ops use for beach landings?"

"Yes," Heather says. "The inflated frame is what made it rise when Square knocked off the weights. Simple enough to operate, fast, and good in weather. It looks like there's a flood curtain we can raise, too, so that should make it hard to capsize. But they guzzle up gas. They're not meant for long sea journeys." She frowns anxiously at it.

"W-w-w-will th-that-t-t-t get-t-t us to Bering I-i-i-i-i-island?" I ask.

"There's enough fuel. With good seas, we should make it," Heather says. "Maybe."

"Maybe we can ..." Ball Buster stops.

We hear the rumble of helicopter blades. Far away, but already getting louder. It's impossible to see that high in the dark, but we all know what's coming.

"Wolfe's back," Sue observes, rousing himself from his hunched pose. "We need to go."

"Right," Ball Buster says, slapping me on the back. "Get nice and dry, Square. We'll be back around 2 a.m."

The guys run off.

"Make sure you have blankets under and over you," Heather tells me. "Use the heater in the boat. You need to stay warm."

"Right." I can't just let this go. "Heather, are you sure you want—"

"Trust me on this. I think you guys don't ... quite get what it's like to be completely powerless." She swallows. "I've been trying to get off this rock for years. You guys are the first time I've had a chance."

I head back down to the boat and follow her instructions. Before I know it, I'm asleep.

#

I wake up to someone shaking me. It's Heather. "Square! Square, get up! Something's wrong!"

I sit up, groggy. "Heather? ... What's wrong?"

"The guys! They're not back! It's nearly 3!"

"Um." I'm remembering now that I'm still naked under the blankets. "Are you sure?"

"That's not all. There've been lights and shouts and all sorts of things coming from the camp all day. Something's seriously wrong."

Shit.

"I'll go check it out," I say, grabbing the samurai sword. "Can you check to see if that military gear is all dry yet?"

#

The WWII gear is white-ish and warm-ish but not much of either. I wonder how guys fought in this as I inch, shivering and way too visible, towards the compound. Heather was right: the camp's more full of soldiers than I've ever seen it. The towers are dark but fully manned, bristling with machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles. There's snow trucks driving all around.

And red parkas everywhere.

It looks like a mix of boys and girls, mostly standing around watching the snow trucks, talking. But I'm not sure how they'll react if they see me. I really didn't expect this many people around at 3 a.m.