Parchman, стр. 39
Still alive he looked up, his eyes rolling back into his head. He watched asmall tank driving towards him in the direction of the other vehicles. Andthen as he tried to move, unsuccessfully, the tank drove over him.
Then for him there was nothing.CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Xander had come good and managed to get the small artillery tank up andrunning in Mendez’s garage. He looked up at the cannon on the turret.Driving this thing was one thing but working the gun at the same time wasanother matter altogether.
Something clattered on the floor behind him making him jump and hequickly turned around startled.
‘Max!’ he exclaimed, running to the man leaning on the side of the walland clutching his ribs. ‘I thought,’ he said, not finishing his sentence.
‘So didI,’ grimaced Max and attempted a smile, which only made the painworse. ‘They pushed me off the side of the staircase when they were tryingto get a piece of me. Cut me up pretty bad though,’ he said, and moved hishand allowing blood to flow from a deep wound beneath it.
Xander rushed to a first aid kit on the wall and started hunting for bandagesas Max lay down onto the floor. He started packing the open wound andwrapping bandage after bandage around his body. Xander looked Max upand down. His clothes were torn and the whole rest of his body and legswere covered in deep bite marks.
‘I’m sorry man,’ said Xander.
‘Don’t be. I was dead. I’ve been to Hell and back, but I’m still breathing.’
Xander continued unravelling more bandages but not knowing whichwound to go for next, such were the extent ofMax’s injuries. We need toget you inside with the rest of the injured and get these wounds seen toproperly.
‘Before you do I have a question,’ said Max. ‘You know how to use oneof those things?’ he nodded towards the tank already knowing the answer.
‘You’re in no fit state to help,’ said Xander shaking his head from side toside in defiance.
‘Got any other ideas?’ replied Max. ‘A long time ago Nathaniel Mathersshook my hand. Before that I thought he had hung me and my Moms outto dry. He hadn’t. He saved me and I promised that I would save thismessed up world, not for me, but for the people he put himself on the linefor. I’ve seen him fight for people like me. The people who don’t matterand now it’s time I repaid that debt.’
‘Can you even stand?’ said Xander.
‘Just get me in that tank and I’ll do the rest,’ he replied.
Xander realized that this may just be the last wish of a dying man and itwasn’t his place to deny him that. He nodded, choosing to say nothing andhelped Max to his feet steadying him to the tank. Max pulled himself upthe side of the tank with Xander’s help and both men got into the tank.
‘So how do I drive this thing?’ said Xander.
Max chuckled. ‘Forward, back,’ he said motioning to the leavers in frontof Xander. ‘Left, right. Can’t go wrong. I’ll do the rest.’ Max slumpedback into the seat below the turret and prepared the canon. ‘Let’s go.’
As they rounded the corner of the prison they came to a stop where thetwo armies faced off. The tank was surprisingly quiet and from thedistance they were at no-onehad spotted them. ‘Over to you,’ said Xander.
Max lined up the cannon, loaded a shell, then braced himself. The tankshuddered as the artillery exited the tank.
‘Direct hit Xander,’ said Max, as the infantry vehicle flew into the air likeit was nothing and landed upside down onthe ground. ‘Forward, forward,’he shouted, as Xander went full throttle towards the soldiers who werenow rampaging past their own vehicles towards Logan and company.
Xander felt the tank go over something like a speed hump in the road andswallowed down some vomit knowing exactly what it was.
Max steadied the canon and aimed towards another of the vehicles.“Boom!” The cannon recoiled and another of the Lieutenant’s armoredcars was turned into scrap metal. The soldiers driving the IMV’s werethrowing themselves clear from the vehicles to save themselves.
Outside of the tank it was pandemonium. The soldiers had forgotten allaspects of their training and were running in all directions, every man forhimself. Some continued forward fighting, whilst dozens simply ran awayfrom the conflict and would never be seen again.
The armor vehicles were evacuated now in the knowledge that they wouldsoon be turned into trash by the tank. The tank swung around towards athird IMV and another explosion lit it up into one large flame, sending itten yards backwards and narrowly missing more soldiers.
Logan stood still taking aim at each man that was still coming towards himand watching each one drop as the bullets passed through their bodies. With Tallulah to one side of him and Chuck to the other they continued tocut down every man that came at them.
Slowly but surely the soldiers realized that they were beaten and started tostop coming at the prison group, instead dropping their weapons to the floor until eventually the battlefield was silent again. Logan and the othersheld the few dozen soldiers left at bay with their hands in the air and on their knees on the ground.
‘What do we do next?’ said McGregor. McGregor’s usual response wouldhave been to execute the few remaining men, but he knew that Logan andTallulah would be opposed to it, and he had finally learned that there wasalways another alternative than death in these situations.
‘Get up,’ said Logan to the men. ‘Turn