Chapter 14 - The Escape from Above
High above the dark forest, the massive black helicopter flew through the heavy rainstorm, battling violent gusts of wind.
Inside the dimly lit interior of the aircraft, Mark wrapped a warm emergency blanket tightly around small Lily.
Lily sat curled up against Mark's side, holding her father's hand with every ounce of strength in her small fingers.
Sarah sat near the open door frame, holding a medical kit and applying a tight bandage to Mark's bleeding shoulder wound.
"The bullet just grazed your flesh, Mark," Sarah said, tightening the white gauze band over the wound.
"You're lucky it didn't hit the bone or an artery," Sarah added, pulling the medical tape tight.
"I don't care about my shoulder, Sarah," Mark said, his face pale as he looked out the window at the distant asylum.
"Jax and Clara are still down in that basement," Mark said, his voice trembling with deep anxiety and guilt.
"We shouldn't have left them behind in that death trap," Mark added, gripping his knees tightly.
"Jax knows those underground tunnels better than anyone, Mark," Sarah assured him softly, placing a hand on his knee.
"He prepared three different escape routes from this facility six months ago when he first suspected Evelyn," Sarah explained.
"If anyone can get Clara out of that hellhole alive, it's Jax," Sarah stated with absolute confidence.
Suddenly, the pilot's urgent voice boomed through the helicopter cabin intercom speaker above them.
"We have a massive problem back there!" the pilot shouted over the loud roaring sound of the engine.
"Two state police helicopters just lifted off from the regional airfield!" the pilot warned rapidly.
"They are locked onto our radar signature and closing in fast from the north!" the pilot yelled.
Mark looked back through the rear window of the helicopter cabin with wide, terrified eyes.
Two bright searchlights cut through the rain clouds in the distance, speeding directly toward their position.
"They think we are armed kidnappers who abducted Lily," Mark gasped, realization hitting his mind like a physical blow.
"Detective Miller framed us completely on the police dispatch radio," Sarah growled, her jaw clenching in anger.
"He reported that an armed gang broke into a state medical facility and kidnapped a child," Sarah added.
"If those police choppers force us down, we will be arrested instantly without trial," Mark said, terror rising in his chest.
"Pilot, pull us down low into the river canyon!" Sarah shouted through her headset microphone.
"We need to fly below their radar line until we reach the safe house crossing!" Sarah commanded.
The pilot banked the helicopter hard to the left, diving sharply toward the dark, winding river valley below.
Lily screamed softly, clutching Mark's shirt as g-force pulled them sideways inside the spinning cabin.
Mark held his daughter tightly against his chest, praying they wouldn't crash into the dark trees below.
Outside the window, the state police searchlights swept across the clouds right above them, barely missing their tail rotor.
The helicopter leveled out just fifty feet above the rushing waters of the dark river, hidden by steep canyon walls.
"We lost their radar signal for now!" the pilot reported with a heavy sigh of relief over the intercom.
"Heading to the rendezvous point at the old timber mill!" the pilot added.
Mark breathed a long sigh of relief, but his heart stopped when his personal cell phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
The phone screen lit up with an unknown private number.
Mark answered the call immediately, pressing the device tightly against his ear.
"Mark..." a faint, blood-choked voice whispered weakly over the static speaker.
It was Jax.
"Jax! Where are you?! Is Clara with you?!" Mark yelled frantically into the phone.
"Mark... she... she took Clara..." Jax choked out, coughing heavily into the receiver.
"Evelyn... she blew up the drainage tunnel exit... we are buried alive under the rockslide..." Jax gasped.
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"And the water... the water is rising fast..."
The phone line went completely dead with a sharp burst of static noise.
