by John Koloen
“What’s taking him so long?” Cooper asked.
“I don’t know,” Boyd said as he got up, brushed himself off, moving slowly toward the opening, which reminded him of the entrance to a cave, except instead of rock and earth, the aperture was surrounded by trees and undergrowth with slender shafts of sunlight pricking holes through the canopy.
“You’re not gonna go after him, are you?” Cooper shouted.
Boyd felt the humidity as soon as he stepped into the forest, the air still, warm and thick and saturated with the smell of decay.
“Howard,” Boyd shouted several times, his hands cupped around his mouth, pausing to listen for a response. He shouted again, and again while advancing into the shadowy interior, leaving Cooper behind.
“Cody,” Cooper yelled, “where are you going?”
“I’m just gonna look around,” Boyd shouted. “You stay there. I won’t go far.”
The forest floor was covered with moss, vines, ferns and leafy debris. Someone at one time had done a lot of hacking to turn it into a path. The route he followed, which he assumed Josias and Duncan had followed, meandered through the trees and was indistinguishable from much of the surrounding forest except that it was somewhat lower, somewhat flatter and looked to have been a natural drainage channel before the drought hit. Every time he stopped to shout, monkeys and birds would erupt as if deliberately trying to drown him out. Despite his concern for his former boss, he paid close attention to his whereabouts, becoming more cautious as the forest opening, which looked like a tunnel from a distance, disappeared behind him. He was acutely aware that no one would come looking for him if he became lost. At a certain point, he stopped, shouted several times and then gave in to misgivings about the venture. How ironic it would be if he failed to return because of a misguided attempt to help the person who had come to rescue him. He couldn’t let that happen, not since he’d told his wife, who would never forgive him if he didn’t keep his promise, he’d meet her in Manaus.
He should have said something when Duncan left. It seemed like such an impetuous thing to do, especially when they had everything to look forward to. All they had to do was wait for a few hours and they’d be celebrating. Why was it so important for Duncan to do this, to throw this wrench into the works? The more Boyd thought about it, the more disappointed he became. Duncan should have known better. He wouldn’t have expected Boyd to put his future on the line to go after him, but why was it so important that Duncan go after someone he didn’t know to give him something he didn’t expect to get? He was mystified by what drove his former mentor, whether he acted on impulse or some inscrutable personal code or simply couldn’t sit still. It wasn’t the first time Duncan did something that puzzled his former protégé. Boyd hoped it wasn’t the last, but he’d gone as far as he would allow himself to go, the pull of his future and wife being too much to resist.
Heading back, he paused for a perfunctory shout, which he realized was probably lost in the bedlam of screeching and squawking from above. Stepping into the sunlight, drenched with sweat, his shoulders slumped, he rejoined his companion, who had reclaimed his seat in the shade of the palm, facing the forest.
“I thought for a minute there you weren’t coming back,” Cooper said, as they fist-bumped.
“I just wish I could’ve found him,” he said, disheartened, taking a seat next to Cooper, his head lowered in defeat.
“Don’t worry,” Cooper said. “There’s still time. He’ll come back.”
123
The nearer the time that they expected the helicopter to arrive, the more conflicted Boyd became. He was torn between wanting to return to his wife as soon as possible and wanting to delay their rescue until Duncan returned. Cooper did his best to get Boyd’s mind off of Duncan and onto something else.
“Did you know Brett very well?” Cooper asked.
“Hadn’t met him before this trip.”
“Me either.”
“Was he married?”
“Not that he said. ’Course, mostly we talked about the job and then everything went to shit. I didn’t really get to know him.”
“Me either. It was all about the job.”
“I guess he’s got family somewhere. Do you think anyone’s gonna tell them about what happened?”
“Not the company, that’s for sure.”
“I was thinking maybe one of us should, you know, contact them. Give ’em some closure. I mean, if it happened to me I’d want my family to know. Wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose,” Boyd said wistfully.
“I’d leave out the ugly parts, though.”
124
By late afternoon Cooper was getting antsy. Four hours had passed and now five and still no sight of the chopper. Boyd had checked on his specimens several times, added water once, and found them to still be embedded in Harden’s decomposing flesh. It was something he didn’t want to think about and every time he looked at it, it filled him with disgust. The sooner he turned them over to Biodynamism the better. He resolved to never again have anything to do with Reptilus blaberus. Even though he had a love-hate relationship with his work in the reality TV business, he’d either embrace it when he got back to California or do something else entirely. He decided he would never tell Carolyn the full story of what had happened. The money he would make had lost its importance. It just wasn’t worth it.
Cooper was the first to hear the helicopter. He was on his feet in an instant, cupping his hands around his eyes, staring into the northwest though uncertain where the sound was coming from.
“There it is,” he shouted excitedly, pointing at a dot in the distant sky. “Holy fuck, there it is.”
Boyd joined him for a moment, scanning the sky, the two moving into the open, waving their arms as the chopper drew nearer. Neither could take his eyes off it, Cooper dancing like a child in the sand. Unlike his companion, Boyd was conflicted and couldn’t join the celebration until he turned around and saw Duncan emerge from the forest, waving his hat. Hot tears streamed down Boyd’s cheeks as he sniffled, struggling to choke back what turned out to be uncontrollable relief and joy. The stress, the uncertainty, the struggle to maintain self-control came to a head at that cathartic moment when he could let go of the tension.
“Howard,” he shouted, running toward him, breathless when he reached him, unable to form words, hugging him unabashedly.
“I’m glad to see you, too,” Duncan said, though he had no idea as to why the younger man was so emotional.
“I was worried about you. I thought we’d lost you,” Boyd said, regaining his composure as they joined Cooper, who was waving to the chopper.
“I took a wrong turn, but I found them. You should’ve seen the guy when I gave him the nuggets. At first he didn’t know what was going on but when he realized I was giving him the gold he fell to his knees and cried. Makes me wish my Portuguese was better.”
“So you weren’t lost? Did you hear me shouting?”
“I wasn’t lost, not exactly. They got a lot farther than I thought they would.”
“So, you didn’t hear me?”
“You came after me, huh?”
“Of course,” Boyd said.
“Well, that’s nice but I had things under control. Looks like I got here just in time. By the way, can I have the sat phone? I need to call Maggie,” Duncan said, putting his hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “Just so you know, this is the last time you and I are going to do anything together. I’ve had time to think about it and—”
“Don’t worry,” Boyd said. “I will never do anything like this again.”
In addition to the pilot, two Biodynamism employees were on board the helicopter. Boyd handed one of them his specimen container, which he gently emptied into a portable incubator.
“What’s that stuff they’re feeding on?” he asked loudly, to be heard above the noise of the rotors, as the passengers strapped in.
Boyd glanced at Cooper knowingly.
“You don’t want to
know.”
THE END
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About the Author
John Koloen, a native of Wisconsin, has been a longshoreman, construction worker, newspaperman, magazine publisher and bureaucrat. He lives in Galveston, TX, with his wife Laura.
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Also by John Koloen
THE INSECTS SERIES
Insects
Insects: The Hunted
Insects: Specimen
Insects: Braga’s Gold
Insects: Books 1, 2 & 3
STANDALONE NOVELS
Griswold’s Op
The Cabin
For more information, please visit watchfirepress.com/jk.