They pulled a tire from beside the bench Veronica and I had been seated on, and made quick work of the swap. Once the jack was lowered, the skinny man whispered something to Hasin and walked off, whistling while his two companions shuffled after him. Haja returned to the driver’s seat and waited while the two vehicles drove by us with a honk of the horn.
“How close was that?” I asked Hasin as he sat across from me.
“You never know with him. But he’s interested in money, and we give him good business.” That was the end of it, and the truck started up. We continued on, toward the ever-thickening jungle ahead.
____________
By five o’clock, the sun was behind the canopy of trees, and we drove on for another hour, until it was almost impossible to make out the rough jungle passing. I wondered if this trail had been physically cut by local poachers over the years, or if some part of it was natural.
Lemurs called out everywhere, and they were an eerie soundtrack to the journey. I’d never seen so many as they sat in treetops, nimbly moving between branches with ease. Their voices intermingled with bird songs, and I searched the surroundings for the source, unable to spot any feathered friends in the dark.
Marcus stared at the lemurs, his interest in the exotic animals waning after hours seated on the uncomfortable wooden bench. I felt his pain and banged a palm against the truck as Haja began pulling off the road. “What’s the plan? I thought we were getting there today.”
“No. We cannot go on without light. Too dangerous.”
“Great,” Marcus mumbled.
“Buck up. A night in the jungle never killed…” Tripp stopped. “Well, that’s not true, but if you’re stuck outside, there are worse places in the world to be. I was in Mosquitia twenty years ago, looking for the White City with some foolhardy intellectual type.”
“And what happened?”
“Damn snake killed our doctor. Can you believe it?” Tripp grinned, and Marcus glanced at the nearby bushes.
We hauled out of the truck, retrieving our supplies. The trees opened up to a clearing, and I stared at the darkening sky, watching the pinpricks of light blink to life.
“What happened after the snake bite?” Veronica asked him.
“I never did reach the city. Only a complete lunatic would bother—” Tripp glanced at a skittering sound from the trees.
“You have to be slightly mad to scour a jungle in search of a lost city, don’t you?” Veronica prodded.
“Sure, I’d agree with that.”
“And the expedition?”
“The man that hired us died two weeks in. We warned him to wear his snake gaiters, but he whined that they chafed his ankles.” Tripp didn’t have to finish the story. I glanced at my feet and into the jungle, and hurried after the two locals as they led us into the clearing.
“We stay here. Put the tents close together,” Hasin said.
“Can we have a fire?” Marcus asked.
“Yes. There are predators, but we don’t have much to worry from the fossa.” Haja started to unroll a tarp.
“What’s a fossa?”
Hunter surprised me by answering, “Kind of a cross between a cat and a hyena. They mainly eat lemurs, which means they’re in direct competition with our guides, aren’t they?”
It was a passive-aggressive dig at their choice of career paths, but he was the one who’d hired them knowing that.
“And snakes?” Veronica asked as she built her pup tent.
“There are lots, but don’t fear, pretty lady,” Haja said. “They don’t like people much.”
“Good, because I don’t like them,” Marcus replied.
We were experienced with our equipment, and camp was erected within minutes. Hasin had the fire going soon after, and we rolled a set of fallen logs over, making seats as the flames licked the sky. It was peaceful, with the sounds of the region shifting from daytime to those of night. It was a different world in the dark, like a shift change on a factory floor.
Tripp brought out a supply of dried meat and nuts, and we ate. Hasin left, and I eyed him suspiciously, but he returned in a few minutes with the cooler from the back of the truck. He’d refilled it with more beer from somewhere, and now I accepted his offering. The nights were cooler, and I was thankful for the heat of the fire as I sipped the bitter brew.
“Tomorrow.” Hunter’s gaze was affixed to the sky. “How far?”
“The edge of the forest is near. Two hours, maybe,” Haja answered as he poked the burning logs with a stick. Ashes shot into the air, and the fire crackled. “From there… that depends on the location.”
“Marcus, I think we can share that with them now, don’t you?” Hunter asked my sidekick.
Only the two of us held the actual coordinates, as part of our deal, and when Marcus looked to me for leadership, I nodded.
He pulled his phone out and handed it to Haja beside him on the log. “This is in a restricted region.”
“We already assumed that. We can make it, right?” Hunter asked, finally breaking his game of chicken with the stars.
“It’s accessible,” Hasin chimed in after peering over his friend’s shoulder. “There is nothing, though. Why would this thing you seek be out in the forest?”
“Someone left it there by accident,” I lied.
Haja nodded, but his stare didn’t waver from my face. I sipped my beer. A mutual understanding.
“I think it’s time to check out for the night, Hunter,” Tripp said. He was sharing a tent with our financer and helped him to his feet. Hunter groaned and clutched at his stomach. I didn’t expect Hunter to be along for the entire duration of our expedition around the world, not after he realized he was too old and too sick to sleep outdoors and sweat in foreign countries. He wore matching white linen pants and a short-sleeved shirt. I’d never known anyone to use a handkerchief, but Hunter’s hadn’t left his grip in hours. He dabbed his face with it and finally shoved it away.
Tripp nodded to me before entering the tent after Hunter. I imagined he slept lightly, with one or maybe both eyes open.
Haja and Hasin did the same, retiring to their canvas tent, and Marcus yawned, finishing his beer. “I’m going to call it too, Rex.”
I noticed Veronica was still up, and I decided to keep her company for the time being. “I’ll be there shortly.” It was early, but we had a long day ahead of us, and I was beat after the last few days of travel.
“He’s a good kid,” she said, indicating Marcus.
“Smart too. One of the best students I’ve had.”
“He was your student?” she asked.
“Yep, until he decided he couldn’t make a career in the field. He transferred to something more… sensible.”
“Are you saying archaeology isn’t as romantic as it’s cracked up to be?” Veronica asked, shifting closer to the fire. We sat inches apart, and she wiggled her knees, bumping my leg every few seconds.
“I wouldn’t say that. There are times. Entering a site for the first time, brushing the cobwebs from the stone archways, and carefully treading on the floor, hoping you’re not about to set off some ancient burial guardian system. Then there’s the bats…”
She laughed, her blue eyes bright in the firelight. It was a nice sound amidst the jungle noises. “Bats? You’re scared of them?”
“What’s there not to be afraid of? Wings… those little faces. Not to mention the movies,” I said, feeling a little foolish.
“Don’t tell me you believe in vampires,” she said.
“No. I wouldn’t go that far.”
“How about aliens?” Her voice dipped lower, and I saw her glance toward Hunter’s tent.
“Aliens?”
“You know… beings from another planet.”
“I don’t know what to believe. I do think it’s awfully arrogant of us to assume we’re the only world with intelligent life.”
“Are you certain we’re speaking of the same planet? In my experience, the aliens would keep fl
ying by… we’re waving a sign… nothing to see here.” She smiled again, making me join her.
“Why do you ask?” She wasn’t privy to our mission details yet, but she wasn’t naive. She knew more than she was letting on.
“Everyone’s heard about Madison the billionaire’s obsession with the unknown. I heard he has quite the collection.” Her lips were close to my ear, her voice barely a whisper.
“It is impressive.”
“You’ve seen it?” she asked too loudly, and slid a palm to her mouth.
“I have. Briefly, at least.” I thought of the last time Marcus and I had been in Hunter’s study, and the threat of violence from Tripp and Francois.
“That’s the real reason, isn’t it?” she asked me.
“I’m not—”
“Don’t lie, just tell me. I have a right to know if I’m going to be part of the team,” she said, sitting up straighter.
“Someone spread out these artifacts years ago. Hunter wants to gather them. It will complete a collection of his,” I said. It was only a half-truth, but that would have to be enough for tonight.
That seemed to slow her inquiries on the subject. “Was it hard growing up without a father?”
The question came out of nowhere, and I sat still, staring at the dwindling fire.
“I’m sorry, was that too far? I’ve read up on you, and I know that your father was Dirk Walker. A legend in certain fields, if my research was correct,” Veronica told me.
“My dad’s been gone a long time. It’s a wonder why I didn’t become a grocery store manager instead of this, but I’m not my father. I’m a professor.” Saying it didn’t make it real, because at this moment, I felt just like him, and I liked it. I was connected to a great puzzle, the same one he’d gone to great lengths to hide. Why had they paid Marta’s father to disperse the Tokens in these bizarre and remote areas? To what end? Had he been that afraid of someone following him? Had he really wanted to leave us behind, with no hopes of reconnecting?
“Molding the minds of the young. If Marcus is any proof of your skill set, you should be proud of your teachings.”
“Marcus was already a special kid. I can’t take any credit.”
“But he’s here with you now, on this wild adventure,” she said.
“He is, but I wish he’d stayed home. I feel like I’m bringing him into something he shouldn’t be part of,” I admitted.
Veronica rose, waving a fly away, and headed toward her tent. “He wants to be here. I only hope you find what you’re looking for, Rex.”
“And you?” I asked, watching her crouch near her tent’s entrance.
“I’m in it for the cash.”
4
The first sight of the stone forest was awe-inspiring. The rocky razor-edge tree-like formations were like nothing I’d ever witnessed before, and it took a while to comprehend what we were seeing. The trees were thick, the lemurs plentiful, but the wild species darted off at the sound of the trucks’ engine carrying through the dense forest.
“How did the forest come to be?” Hunter asked Hasin as we gathered our supplies. The Token’s coordinates were three miles away, and our guides suspected it might take us all day to traverse the distance.
Hasin shrugged. “God created it.”
The elevation increased beyond our location, rising with the stone trees. That was exactly what they looked like: rough gray trees, almost like a forest of spruce that had been frozen into stone by Medusa. It also appeared deadly and impossible to navigate.
“We should have brought a copter in,” Veronica said.
“Nowhere to land,” Haja told her.
“We don’t need to land. I could have lowered our buddy Tripp.” Veronica hefted her pack onto her shoulders and added an elastic to her long blonde hair, pulling it tightly into a tail.
“We’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Tripp said with a smirk. He was in a good mood today, and I guessed the layer of caution around him was lowering. We were becoming his squad, and now that we’d shared a meal around a fire and slept in tents on-site, he considered us more of a team than he had the night before.
“This area looks unique,” Marcus told me.
“Madagascar is much different. Islands often bring completely radical ecosystems with them,” Veronica said. “Deciduous trees here will give way to wet limestone slabs farther into the valleys.”
I glanced at Hasin, and he nodded his agreement. “She is right. This is Tsingy de Bemarah, and Tsingy means where one cannot walk barefoot.”
My boots were broken in; they’d been on numerous adventures with me, and I hoped they’d stand up to the harsh hike we were about to endure.
“Mr. Madison, you should stay with Haja,” Hasin said, leaning against the side of the truck.
Hunter looked at Tripp. “I think he might be right. I’ll only slow you down, and my lungs...”
“I know you want to reclaim this hidden article, but do you trust this man?” Tripp asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Hunter seemed older today, and I wondered just what was wrong with his health. His handkerchief was out again, and he wiped his brow with the embroidered cloth.
“Someone else should stay put,” Tripp said. “Keep you company.” It was obvious that he was thinking we would have safety in numbers, but the two local guides didn’t seem to care one way or the other. “I vote for Veronica.”
“No way.” She crossed her arms, stepping toward the ex-SEAL. “I’m fit and can do this hike in my sleep. My suggestion is the kid stays.”
All eyes fell on Marcus, and he visibly relaxed. “I’ll hang here with Hunter, Rex. You guys get what we came for, and I’ll see you soon.”
I reached into the back of Tripp’s pack and pulled out a handgun, giving it to Marcus. I stared at Haja to see his reaction, but he just shrugged.
“There will be no one to shoot with that, but if it helps you feel better, go for it.” Haja lit a thin, brown-papered cigar and smiled at me as he puffed it.
“Then it’s settled. Time to go.” Hasin was the thinner of the two, but his size betrayed a certain evident strength. He pulled out an assortment of climbing gear and tossed shin guards at Tripp, Veronica, and me. “Put these on. A slip and your leg will be mangled.”
We did as ordered, and I patted Marcus on the shoulder before taking the GPS.
“Good luck, team,” Hunter said from the tailgate. His eyes were haunted, his posture rigid. There was so much riding on our mission, perhaps even farther-reaching than my initial speculations. Selfishly, I wanted to see what had happened to my father, and the rest were invested for financial reasons. Hunter, on the other hand, wanted to see if his life’s passion was real. Did aliens exist, and if so, did we really have the means on Earth to travel to another place to meet them?
We might find out in a couple of weeks, if everything went according to plan. The only issue was the last location that we’d found in the locker at the Caracas airport. Hunter’s team was working on analyzing the skewed digits from the photograph, and while he was optimistic, I was more doubtful.
With my backpack secured, and my legs already warmer with the shin protection wrapped around my calves, I headed after Tripp and Hasin, who’d taken the lead.
“I’ve always wanted to come to this region of the forest,” Veronica said from beside me. Her cheeks were red from the heat, her forehead locked in a frown. “I even went so far as to request a private tour from a local, but it was definitely not in his comfort zone. No one wants to be caught trespassing out here.”
“Neither do I. It’s funny. I’ve seen a lot of sites, mostly digs and previously explored ancient cultures’ civilizations, but there’s something special about places like the stone forest. Mysteries that seem to be created by the majestic Mother Earth. But in the long run, it’s just lots of water, time, and erosion.” I shielded my eyes from the sun as I stared toward the valley beyond. We could view some of the region ahead, but a few minutes later, once we crested the
coverage of the forest around us, the area spread out beyond, wowing my every sense.
“I see what you mean. Where are we going next?” Veronica asked casually. She’d taken the job without anyone sharing the details of the entire mission with her, and I assumed there was no real harm in revealing the location.
“Japan,” I said.
“Where?” Her voice lifted in excitement. “I miss good sushi.”
“I don’t think there’ll be time for that. But we’ll finally get to see your helicopter skills in action,” I told her, and she walked faster, trying to bridge the gap between Hasin and us.
The ground began to grow exceedingly uneven as we started our descent into the park. This area was off limits, and there were none of the permanent steel rock-climbing ropes present. There would be no suspension bridges helping us across dangerous areas. The three-mile hike looked like a hundred from here. I saw the destination on the GPS and peered west to the target zone. A hundred-foot-tall limestone cliff stood between us and it, but Hasin didn’t seem to care.
There were still a few trees, most holding a lemur or two watching us cautiously with their big eyes, occasionally calling a warning to their nearby friends. The entire area was dark gray, and as we lowered into the stone forest, the rocky ground became slicker with moisture. Veronica almost slipped as we rounded a bend, but I was there to catch her.
“My hero,” she muttered sarcastically.
“Hurry up,” Tripp shouted from ahead.
We found them stopped at the end of a flat walkway ten minutes later, and Hasin muttered something in French that I didn’t understand.
“What’s the issue?” Veronica asked.
“The wall. There’s an entrance up to the right, but the climb is steep, and the locals are picky about who they let inside,” Hasin told us.
“The locals?” I asked.
One of the ring-tailed lemurs stood at the entrance, running away as Tripp walked closer to it. They were rarely a threat to harm a human, unless given cause.
Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One) Page 16