Read Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Book 4): Walking In The Shadow Of Death for Free Online Page B

more than
to distance himself from the mob behind them.
    Sean had allowed the primals to
close to within two hundred yards. Every time Brad looked back he could see the
expanse of the mob. Occasionally one would break out of the mass and move at
them quicker than the others. The first time this happened, Parker let out a
frightened yelp. They all stopped to look back. A previously young male had
broken away from the pack. He still wasn’t running but his stagger was less
pronounced and was definitely faster than the others.
    Sean watched the thing with concern
for a moment or two before raising his scoped rifle and knocking it down with a
single shot.
    “Nothing to worry about guys, fast
ones seem to be the exception today and not the rule. But keep an eye on our
six, Parker,” Sean said as he slapped the young soldier on the back.
    They had moved a good five miles
into the woods when the terrain began to change. The ground got rougher and
started to slope up. As they struggled to work their way up the incline their
pace began to slow. Brad noticed that the primals didn’t seem to be bothered as
much by the extra effort in moving uphill. Even though they were clumsy and
awkward they didn’t tire out, and the mass had an efficient fluid motion. The
things in the back would push the others forward. Yes, they would sometimes
fall, but they would get right back to their feet, or another would replace its
spot in the formation. It was like a wall closing on them at a constant speed.
    Brad started to worry about what
would happen if they couldn’t lose the pursuing mob. He thought back to his
time in the desert, when the nearly mile-wide mob had surprised them on the
Hairatan road. That time they’d taken shelter and hid in the MRAP until they
had passed. That wouldn’t work today. There was no MRAP, and they would have to
break contact with them before their pace fell below what they needed to keep
their distance.
    The men were growing tired. The
pace was slow but it was still a long time to constantly keep moving, not being
able to stop for more than a few moments before the mob would close on them.
They had to eat and drink on their feet, always moving forward, even finding it
necessary to relieve themselves on the move. They were all professional
military men and long ruck marches were nothing new, but combined with the
stress of the closing enemy they began to quickly feel the fatigue.
    Sean finally decided enough was
enough. He ordered them all to get ready to make a break at the next natural
opportunity they came across. It didn’t take long. Soon the terrain turned to
broken shale and began to quickly slope away from them. The trees thinned out
and they saw a long gravel road at the bottom of the hill.  Sean
instructed the Villegas to quicken their pace.
    They moved down the slope at a fast
walk, losing visual on the mob behind them. They moved as quickly as they dared
without risking a fall on the loose ground. When they reached the road, Sean
ordered them to follow it north and move up to a jog.  They ran down the
road, moving parallel to the face of the mass. Brad looked to his right up into
the forest where he knew they would be. He couldn’t see them but the sounds of
the primals crashing through the woods was frightening. 
    They continued their jog down the
road until it began to curve back towards where they knew the mob would be.
Again Sean directed them back into the woods on the left side of the road. They
continued the quick pace for another mile or so until they could no longer hear
the mob. Sean signaled for the Villegases to move northwest and at an angle away
from where he projected the primals to be.  They continued to move until
they started to lose the light.
    Brad checked his watch. It was
approaching 1700, or was it? He didn’t really know what time zone they were in,
but 1700 still felt correct. Either way, they had been on the move for over
eight hours. He couldn’t locate the sun. When