"Thanks. How many times is that now?"

Kane smiles and shrugs, "Too many to count. I'm getting really sick of having to save your sorry-"

BOOM!.

He's interrupted by another explosion. As the concussive force subsides, we hear shouts coming from the cave entrance.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Kane asks. "Who?"

I hear them and act.

"Go! Now!" I yell and shove Kane towards the left stair case. "They're here, hurry!"

Kane stumbles and sways as I shove him harder. I draw my gun and aim it back towards the stone that was blocking our path.

"Get them out of here! Lead them to the pyramid. I'll cover our rears."

"Not a chance, Hank! This is my job, get the others out of here, now!"

His look gets sterner and I can tell he's about to order me again, but Dad answers him for me.

"Do what he says Son, Go!"

Begrudgingly, I grab my bag and turn to Nicole, about to tell her to do the same. Her eyes ask the question for her.

"The voices, they're in Arabic. It's Zero. They've found us!" I say turning towards the left staircase.

We fly down the steps, two at a time, and into the stone forest and who-knows-what else.

Hopefully the visions in my dream were a figment of my subconscious and not anything that we will have to deal with head on because, if it is...well for our sake...let's just hope it isn't.

31.

"Where's Omar!" Dad yells running for his life.

We hit the stone steps at full speed and are lucky to reach the bottom without anyone tripping and breaking their necks. That would have slowed us down a little. Everyone runs with their weapons drawn, which again probably isn't a good idea, but hey...we're in a rush!

We enter the stone jungle at a sprint and follow the trail of broken and splintered debris. It's a likely path to those who are following us, but we need to pour on the speed. If they get too close we can always hide and try to defend ourselves.

"No idea where he is," Kane replies from thirty feet behind us, glancing back, watching our b.u.t.ts. "He must have bolted when the first explosion went off. Probably p.i.s.sed himself too!"

We scramble up and over a fallen stone tree losing precious speed and seconds. I chance a look back just in time to see Kane leap over the stone obstruction blocking his path like an Olympic hurdler. I almost trip and fall seeing him execute the move so flawlessly. The rest of us aren't as big or as surprisingly agile as him, which proves the kind of shape he's in.

"Hank, hold up! Don't get too far ahead!" Kane yells.

I stop and turn, just as a bullet sizzles over my head. I fall to the ground and roll to the right, behind one of the bigger trees.

Geez, that's the second time that's happened since landing in Algiers, I think silently thanking myself for not being an inch taller.

More bullets fly, this time at Kane. He ducks and rolls just as he gets to another felled obstacle. Mid-roll, he does a fancy action star move, leaping to his feet. He continues his forward momentum over the downed tree and lands on his feet and keeps on running. It's like he rolled over the hood of a car in some cheesy cop movie.

"Never mind, Keep going!" He yells waving his hand, shooing us on. He's now twenty feet from us and about to beckon us forward again-when a bullet zips past his head and slams into my cover, right near mine.

s.h.i.t.

"No can do, Kane!" I yell, firing my Glock back up towards the cavern entrance. "Switch spots with me and lead them on! I'll hold them off!"

He shrugs off my suggestion and stops, taking cover beside me. We look back over our stone shield and see men pouring out of the newly formed hole.

d.a.m.n.

I glance back to Kane.

He draws his second Desert Eagle and smiles.

"I got this."

"Like h.e.l.l you do!" Interjects our female companion.

We both snap over to see Nicole hiding behind another tree, weapon at the ready.

"There must be a dozen of them and only one of you. We're staying!"

She shoots me a look saying, I know you're staying and so am I, so drop it!

I lean around and see Dad tucked in next to Nicole shaking like a cold, wet dog.

Great.

"Dad, you can't be here."

"No, he can't," Nicole continues. "William, you need to run. We will cover you."

He looks up at the three of us and nods.

Another barrage of lead a.s.sault our position, forcing us to duck back down.

"Dad," I say firmly, peeking back over our bullet ridden cover. "Find Omar and don't stop until we find you."

He nods again and turns to flee, but stops, "Kane? Nicole?" They look at him. "Keep my son alive."

It's not a question, it's a demand. He's not asking them to keep me alive, he's expecting it.

He then gives me a final look that could break anyone's heart. A look of fear and loss and...doubt. Doubt that'll we'll ever see each other again.

"I'm right behind you old man."

He gives me a half-smile and gets set.

"Okay," I say. "On three...one, two, three...Now!"

Kane, Nicole, and I turn and stand, just as Dad takes off running. We fire a short burst of rounds up the slope, towards the stairs. As we finish our a.s.sault we pivot and hustle away, always trying to keep a tree in between us and them. We follow the same path my father-and presumably Omar-did.

Heading straight towards the menacing monolith wouldn't have been my first choice, but we don't really have another one. So we charge onward and into whatever else this place decides to throw at us.

We make it 50 yards as more bullets ping off the stone all around us. I'm a.s.suming the fact they know where we are means they also have night vision equipment.

"Aww, screw this!" Kane shouts, sliding to a stop behind new cover. A half dozen or so rounds. .h.i.t it, but he doesn't so much as flinch.

"Cover me!" He yells diving into his Tac-Pac.

Nicole and I are about ten steps farther down the broken path and get into a firing stance. She meets me eye-to-eye, winks then draws her other Ruger. I give her an impressed nod and a smile. We pop up and fire a few shots back the way we came.

Pained shouts in Arabic can be heard...along with a few curses.

"Sounds like you hit one," Kane says not looking up from what he's doing.

"What are you...?" I begin to ask.

But its then I take a look at the curved plastic looking device he has staked into the dirt.

"Is that a-?" Nicole starts.

"Standard issue M18A1 Claymore mine, courtesy of some friends back home," he says robotically, concentrating on the task at hand. He points the ever poignant, FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY side down the path, readjusting his aim. Next, Kane attaches a trip wire to one end of the mine and then scurries across the trail to the other side and attaches the other end to one of the fallen trees.

"You're laying a trap?" I ask.

"d.a.m.n right I am, I'm sick of this c.r.a.p!"

"What...sick of being shot at and almost killed?" Nicole asks with a little sarcasm.

I laugh a little on the inside.

Maybe there's hope for her yet, I think.

"No, I can handle being shot at," he replies.

"Then what?" I ask.

"Running."

"Running?" Nicole asks confused.

"Yep," he says, putting his pack back on, drawing his gun again. "I HATE to run."

Both Nicole and I audibly laugh, releasing some of the built up stress the current situation has caused.

The more I'm around Kane the more I like the guy. In the hospital room he was just another suit, just another stuffed shirt that the government decided needed to pay me a visit and annoy the h.e.l.l out of me. But, now? Dare I say, he's quickly becoming a very good and trustworthy friend? Maybe.

And what about Nicole? Could she be anything more than my father's project leader? We've shared a few moments here and there, helping to break the awkward tension. We've confided in each other things that a lot of people would never dare tell someone they just met. How long have we known each other? Has it even been a day yet?

More automatic gun fire erupts, hitting some of the trees nearby, interrupting my thoughts.

"Perfect," Kane says.

"Perfect?" I ask.

He nods. "They are firing pot shots at an estimated spot. They don't know where we are exactly, gives us an advantage. It gives this little bad boy one too." He adds motioning to the Claymore. "Plus from the sound of it, they are firing with AK's, which are terrible long range weapons. We'll be fine as long as we can stay far enough ahead of them."

"We about ready?" Nicole asks looking down the path. "I think they are going to try and advance."

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

"Because they stopped shooting," she answers.

We fall silent and listen. The only noise in this ma.s.sive s.p.a.ce is a low rumble and hum from the ground and the pouring lava falling along the banks of the moat.

"Okay, quickly and quietly move out back towards the pyramid," Kane orders. "Let's try and not give away our exact position."

Nicole backs away first with me close behind her. Kane follows turned around, watching for any sign of our would-be attackers.

Ahhhhhh!

We get about 30 feet away from where we have the Claymore hidden-when a scream of pure terror echoes through the valley, coming from the direction we're heading.

I recognize the voice too.

Dad!

I launch myself forward down the half broken path as a burst of gunfire erupts all around me and the others. I turn and find Kane and Nicole hot on my heels, covering their heads with their hands as they run.

Nicole lifts both her guns and turns backwards, fires a few volleys of her own, and in one motion spins back forward, never losing her stride or any speed. Wow. If I tried that I'd be flat on my back with motion sickness and a concussion from the fall. I wonder if she's a good ice skater with moves like that.

POP. POP. POP.

ROAR!.

We hear gun fire and another scream, but this one doesn't belong to Dad. It almost sounds feral, animal-like, or like an angry, wild beast in excruciating pain. That must be what Dad was yelling about, I think. Whatever it is, he's under attack up ahead, maybe another 500 yards away.

We put the pedal to the metal and rush to save my father from an unimaginable horror.