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Back 36 Righteous Men Save as PDF
Chapters (43)
  1. Cover
  2. BOOK ONE
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. BOOK TWO
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. BOOK THREE
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. BOOK FOUR
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. BOOK FIVE
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. BOOK SIX
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. BOOK SEVEN
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. BOOK EIGHT
  41. 32
  42. SPECIAL THANKS
  43. ALSO BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Instancer and Manning finish speaking. Instancer returns to his vehicle. Manning boards the Humvee. The pickup grinds forward, out of the two hubcap-deep tracks it had torn up in the earth. I hear the diesel growl as Instancer shifts up. The truck churns away.

ME

What direction is he going?

BEN-DAVID

Gehenna.

The Humvee’s engine starts. Two plumes bark from the stacks. The frame shudders slightly as Manning shifts into gear. The vehicle pulls clear of the dune and accelerates, turning in the same direction as Instancer’s Chinook.

BEN-DAVID

Dewey, get back here!

I clamber aboard Ben-David’s six-by. Giora has gotten us free of the summit. We take off after Manning and Instancer, keeping clear of the collapsed dune. Ben-David is on the comm channel to the other convoy vehicles, sending our location, warning them of the quicksand hazard, and ordering them to follow as fast as they can and to arm the tunnel weapons.

Later, replaying the audio from Manning’s Humvee, I catch the final verbal exchange between him and Instancer at the base of the dune.

INSTANCER

You weren’t surprised to see me.

MANNING

Did you expect me to be?

31

GEHENNA

I’M IN THE MIDDLE of the bench seat of Ben-David’s six-by, between Giora at the wheel and Ben-David against the passenger door, when the Chevy Chinook emerges from the murk at high speed.

Instancer slams into us, prow-first, directly below Ben-David’s door. The army truck skids sideways. The fuel tank on its right flank crushes against the frame. The Chevy brakes in a four-wheel power slide. Instancer’s boot propels his driver’s door open. So fast that none of us has time to react, Instancer leaps from his truck and flings himself onto the right side of ours.

Instancer hauls the passenger door open. His right hand clasps the frame; his left seizes Ben-David by the waist of his trousers.

Ahead in our headlights: Gehenna.

The dig and its floodlamps loom through the gale-driven grunge.

Ben-David twists violently in the seat, turning both boots, now kicking wildly, toward Instancer. I’m hanging on to Ben-David, right arm around him from behind, left hand clamped like a claw onto the steering column under the dash. Giora stomps the brakes and heaves the wheel hard left, trying to use centrifugal force to fling Instancer out.

No use.

With one hand on Ben-David’s belt buckle, Instancer hauls him feet-first out into the storm. I watch the Israeli’s body plummet, bang, bang, off the edge of the seat. His skull cracks violently into the running board. Instancer drags him clear. He pulls Ben-David by one ankle across the ground.

My earbud squalls:

MANNING

I’m here.

Through the open truck door I see Manning’s Humvee burst out of the gloom, hurtling straight toward Instancer and Ben-David. Manning sees them. He flattens the brakes.