The Cold Road (Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Five

James could see absolutely nothing as he rolled down the stairs, arms tucked to his body and chin against his chest. He hit the floor, uncurled, wincing at the pain of the impact, and ran.

His mouth filled with sawdust as he moved between the machines. His clothes were covered. The machines rumbled in his ears, their gears turning through empty logs. How long would they run before Belberra turned them off or they ran out of power? They had not been used in years, would they continue to hide him until he got outside?

He moved around in the dark, one hand outstretched ahead of him, the other to his side. Where was the exit? Where was his gun? He recalled with a grimace how Belberra had it.

Behind him came the sound of scraping feet as someone shuffled in the dark. Moving slow and cautiously.

James turned a corner and found he had done a loop. He now stood at the beginning of the stairs to the catwalk. He hurried up them and dropped to the floor. His walkie-talkie was somewhere. His hands slid across the floor, frantically searching.

James found the radio and turned it on low. 'Franks!' he hissed. 'The rest of the group are moving Catherine White's body. They killed her too. If you find them we can wrap this all up tonight. I'm stuck with Belberra in the mill. He's got my gun.' James turned the radio off, stuffing it into his pocket as he turned back to the door. An even darker shadow crossed the frame and James froze. Turning, he rushed out to the catwalk. A loud crack! rocked the factory and James dropped, his ears ringing. There was another crack and a zing as a bullet ricocheted against the rails. James pushed himself to his feet and ran, ducking low as Belberra continued to fire.

Reaching the end of the catwalk, he rushed down the stairs into the far end of the factory. This room contained, from what he could remember, the machines that turned the scraps of wood into kindling so that there was not as much wastage.

The machines continued to run. Not as loud as the others and James was grateful for that. He looked around. There were plenty of places to hide, but how many bullets did Belberra have left?

'Jim!' Belberra's scratchy throat roared behind him. James ducked. The door to the room opened and Belberra stood silhouetted in the middle of it. Peeking out from under the machine James watched Belberra's feet shuffling along the floor. He moved to the end of the factory and James found himself blinking in the sudden light that blinded him.

'I'm going to find you, James, and then I'm going to pull your intestines out through your mouth,' threatened Belberra.

James moved quietly from his position around the edge of his hiding place. He could no longer see Belberra. The voice came from all over. He came to the foot of the stairs to the walkway and dashed past them. A bullet zinged on the stairs and James swore.

Loud footsteps showed him where Belberra was and he continued to run. Past machines, jumping across discarded logs. Belberra continued to scream behind him. James ducked behind a covering as two more bullets zinged overhead. There was a click that was barely discernible in the noise of the room. James stumbled as his ears caught it. The gun was empty. With a roar, he caught himself and spun around the corner of the machine. He barrelled straight into Belberra who was running on the other side.

They collided, hitting the corner of another machine and spinning off to the right. James tightened his hold around Belberra's waist and continued to drive the man back. He smelt of sweat and blood.

Belberra hammered on James's back. The Glock in his hand adding extra weight. James groaned and pulled himself short, pushing away on Belberra and letting the momentum propel the man backwards. Rico Belberra's feet caught on a log and he half flew through the air. His back hit the escalator that carried the wood into the mulcher. His eyes widened as his body was pulled back. With a scream, he tried pulling himself away.

James rushed forwards again, aiming a right hook that landed on the cleft of Belberra's chin. The man stumbled back, his feet lifting up and carrying his body on to the escalator.

Belberra's eyes widened again in horror as his arms flailed for a hold of something to pull him off. On his back, his feet kicked out and James narrowly avoided a boot to the face. He grabbed the boot and pushed, his face a contortion of rage as he attempted to rush Belberra towards the claws of the machine.

Belberra screamed out as his head tilted back and he saw the claws turning and clamping on thin air. His hands thundered as fists on the escalator and he shuffled into his side. His boot kicking out and loosening itself from James's hold. James fell back and Belberra shuffled onto his stomach, and then his hands and knees and began crawling as fast as he could to the end.

James looked up from the floor as Belberra crawled to the edge and glared down at him. His face red and bruised, he spat at James. 'I'll fuck you up!'

'No!' answered James, rising to his feet and planting another punch to Belberra's cheek. The force rocked the man's hold and he fell to his face. With his hold released on the edge of the machine, the escalator carried him back. James climbed up onto the treadmill and kicked Belberra.

'Fuck you,' he snarled. 'For Cindy's dad, for the White family, for every other poor sod whose life you ruined.' He continued to kick out at the prone man on the floor as they were carried forwards to the jaws of the machine. 'And for Lindsey!' With one last kick, James's foot connected with Belberra's chest. As he made to move it back, Belberra grabbed it and pulled. James fell backwards, the wind knocked out of his lungs with the impact. Then his ears rang as Belberra screamed.

The jaws of the machine grabbed Belberra's legs and tore through them, propelling the rest of his body slowly through. James kicked out at the hand holding his foot and managed to roll back, so that he faced Belberra. Rico Belberra's face was white as the jaws pulled and stripped his body. He was up to his waist, then to his chest. Blood dripped and bubbled out of his mouth. His eyes wide with shock and pain. With his free hands, he lashed out at James. James dodged. Aware of how close he was to also being swallowed up. He tried to shuffle back, but every inch he made the treadmill shuffled him forwards the same.

He dodged another of Belberra's swings, lashing out with his own hands. Belberra caught his hand and gripped it tightly as the jaws ground through his chest. What was left of his body spasmed and his hand clamped down on James's, the muscles forced into the movement. The jaws of the machine rolled up Belberra's neck, crushed his head, moved along the arms and then James screamed as his own hand was swallowed up. He tucked his head as close to his chest as he could to keep it from the claws. He continued to scream even as he lost his breath. The pain was excruciating. He tried to release his hand but it was caught too tightly in the chipper.

His vision blurred from lack of air and the pain as he tucked his head to his chest. He could not see where the jaws were but he felt it moving up his arm, past the elbow, towards the biceps. And then he felt nothing else as white light flashed across his vision before it was consumed by darkness.