by B. C. CHASE
Doctor Kaufman jogged up to Bridges and inspected the ground, “There is actually a good reason for that. This is obsidian. Volcanic glass.”
“Well, I'm afraid my usefulness on this little expedition has worn itself out,” Adriaan said. “Without tracks, there's no need for a tracker.”
Bridges said, “Andrews' beacon isn't showing up, so we have no other alternative. Why don't we proceed on straight and hope we can find softer ground ahead?”
Doctor Kaufmann shook his head, “Obsidian flows can cover hundreds of kilometers. The chances we could—“
“No one's asking for your input,” Bridges said. “Let's proceed east until we reach the rim. Then we'll search for the track to pick up, and we'll search until we find it. We didn't come all this way to be stopped by some volcanic—” he stopped at the sound of a beep. Slipping his pack off his shoulders and dropping it to the ground, he pulled a screen out from one of the side pockets. Frowning over it, he shook his head. “It's Andrews. He's a mile in range.” He motioned, “This way!”
They walked cautiously through the mist and reached the edge of a forest where the obsidian flow ended. Bridges said, “Let's pick up the pace, he's heading east, fast.”
They were now going back down a slope into jungle, this one populated by gigantic ficuses with huge roots that spread out into a labyrinth of archways. Abruptly, Bridges stopped.
“What's the trouble?” Adriaan asked, peering over his shoulder at the screen.
“He's gone. His beacon just disappeared.”
Adriaan pushed past Bridges, “Well it doesn't much matter.” He knelt to the ground, “Fresh spoor is right here. Come along.”
They started to proceed, but Nimitz said, “Guys, wait.”
Everyone stopped and turned to face him. Looking suddenly nervous at all the faces staring him down, Nimitz timidly said, “Couldn't this be a trap?”
“How is that?” Bridges asked.
“Well, it just seems odd to me that he would suddenly show up so close, and now he disappears as soon as we find his trail.”
Bridges took a deep breath, “We didn't come down here to tuck tail and run at any sign of danger. We came down here because it's dangerous. If it wasn't, Andrews wouldn't be in any trouble. Isn’t that right?”
Nimitz looked down, “Yes.”
Doctor Kaufmann stepped toward Bridges, “This is foolishness. Let's go back to base and regroup.” He came very close, reaching out a hand toward Bridges' shoulder, “We shouldn't just charge blindly without using our brains.”
Bridges raised his gun, “You'd better step back right now or your brains will be plastered all over the place.”
Doctor Kaufmann backed away. “Certainly, Mr. Bridges. But at some point some of us are going to weary of tyranny through threat of violence.”
Bridges eyed Doctor Kaufmann closely for a moment. Then he said, “Since you hate guns so much, did you want me to tie you to a tree and leave you with a white peace flag, instead?”
Doctor Kaufmann smiled anxiously, “No.”
“Good. Now let's get on the move.”
The ground became spongy with mosses and the air gradually more thick with moisture. They heard the sound of rushing water ahead.
Just through the roots far in the distance, Aubrey could see a rising steam or mist. Like a waterfall in reverse, it was cascading up along a rock wall to the ceiling high, high above them, where it fanned out. The mist was illuminated from below, as if a gigantic flashlight was shining into it.
They reached a circular clearing. Craning their necks to look up above the trees on the rim, they beheld the wall of mist stretching off as far as they could see in either direction.
Suddenly, Nimitz asked, “What are those?”
“Whats?” Adriaan inquired.
“Those animals,” he said, pointing to the tree tops. There, dangling by long arms ending in huge, hook-like claws, were giant creatures with long, algae-covered fur, two squat legs, and round faces with fur that covered them like a shawls.
“They look like sloths,” Adriaan said. “They're usually no bigger than a little monkey, but those look like bloom'n elephants!”
Doctor Pearce said, “Amazing.”
Adriaan resumed the track. He suddenly stopped dead because, as he pushed aside a huge leaf, the shining, scaled reptilian skin of a monstrous animal was revealed.
Slowly, he released the leaf and looked back at Bridges to make a slithering motion with his arm and mouthed, “Snake.”
Bridges indicated they should back track, and then put a finger to his lips.
As everyone was beginning to turn around and step away as quietly as possible, they all stopped when a head the size of a car appeared from behind the body and slowly ascended to thirty feet above them, the yellow eyes twitching and a giant forked tongue flipping out to taste the air.
Aubrey was almost directly underneath it, just behind Adriaan. But its gaze was fixed on the men farther back in the clearing. For a moment, nobody seemed to know what to do. But when the snake parted its lips and released a long, loud hiss, one of the men took off with a panicked scream.
The head swooped down in a terrifyingly quick strike, and everyone jumped away in all directions. Adriaan took Aubrey's hand and pulled her into the foliage. They dove behind a massive trunk and cautiously peered back from behind it. The serpent's head was now high above the clearing again. Nimitz dropped to one knee behind a root and fired his machine gun straight up at the head.
At the sound of the gunfire, the other men stopped and took aim. The snake hissed and catapulted down toward Nimitz, who sprung backwards to evade it. The giant mouth snapped shut on one of his feet and it reared its head high up in the air with Nimitz dangling upside down like a rag doll. He screamed, “DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT!” as he swung wildly around.
“Hold your fire!” Bridges voice echoed over the clearing, watching with interest. “No guns!”
Aubrey watched with horror as the snake swung Nimitz up and the mouth opened wide to engulf him whole. The beast swallowed, though no lump was visible traveling down the length of its neck. The tongue flicked once, and the eyes twitched greedily as they surveyed the clearing for another morsel.
Adriaan jumped up to run at the serpent's belly, his long blade held high. With a powerful shout, he slashed straight down into its flesh. The huge body instantly recoiled, and the head swung around to stare straight at him and hiss menacingly.
Aubrey cried out, “Adriaan!” as the giant head lunged for him. He leaped out of the way just in time as the teeth snapped shut where he had been. Rolling underneath a root, he scrambled across the ground to evade another strike.
From across the clearing, Bridges commanded, “Move so we can shoot!”
The snake rose up to taste the air. Its head twitched back and forth as it searched for its prey, and Aubrey held her breath when its gaze fixed directly at her. She was mostly hidden. How did it know she was there? Slowly, the head steadily lowered toward her, its tongue flicking repeatedly. Aubrey found herself frozen in place, unable to move. As the head drew close and the neck folded back for a strike, she stopped breathing.
The serpent launched toward her. But it swept just above her head. She jumped out of the way to the side and rolled over to see what had happened. The snake had its mouth firmly planted on the arm of a giant sloth. The rest of the snake's length was rapidly moving in, coiling around the body of the huge beast, which let loose a hooting cry of desperation. To avoid getting crushed by the snake's flaying coils, Aubrey ran as fast as she could.
Adriaan moved in toward the snake, knife in hand. He had seen Aubrey run away and called to her, but she had not seemed to notice. Now, the snake was crushing the giant sloth within its coils. From the opposite side, the others fired their weapons at it, and the snake began to thrash around wildly, freeing the sloth. The beast lumbered away as quickly as it could in the same direction Aubrey had run.
The snake rolled over to expose it
s underbelly, and Adriaan rushed in to slash an opening across a bulging area. In a wash of mucus, Nimitz’s body rolled out onto the ground, and it was evident he was still living because he rapidly wiped his face and took in a gasping breath. Adriaan dragged him to safety, but the snake was still struggling, so he rushed in again and made deep, long cuts down its underbelly.
“Throw me a grenade!” he shouted. “I need a grenade!”
“You can’t kill it!” Bridges shouted.
“One bloody grenade! That’s all I want!” Adriaan shot back.
Bridges shrugged and tossed one. Adriaan caught it and shoved it into the snake, thrusting his entire arm up to the shoulder into its belly. Then he dove away behind a tree root and covered his ears. A blast that sent flesh spewing in all directions almost succeeded in splitting the beast into two pieces. Adriaan jumped back up to slice through the remaining sliver of flesh.
The serpent's halves continued to convulse around, tearing up foliage as they flopped. Bridges and the others moved in, pouring ammunition into it until he finally raised his hand and said, “That's enough! It’s not happening.”
The snake roiled in death throws for the next moment or so until, finally, it was still. Adriaan rushed over to Nimitz who was laying on the ground propping his upper body up with his arm. Adriaan asked, “Are you all right?”
“I'm still alive,” he replied, apparently amazed at the fact, though also in pain. “Thanks.”
Bridges approached and nodded to Adriaan, “Quick thinking.”
Nimitz groaned, “I think my ankle is broken.”
Doctor Pearce knelt down to examine him. Nimitz flinched as Doctor Pearce felt around his swollen ankle. Standing up, Doctor Pearce said, “I can’t tell if it’s a fracture. We will have to go back.”
Doctor Kaufmann volunteered, “I'd be glad to help take him. I'm not feeling well myself.”
Bridges squinted at him, “You're not going anywhere.” Then he aimed his M16 at Nimtz’s and fired, causing the leg to explode in bloody pocks.
“What the—” Adriaan shouted, as Bridges aimed at the Nimitz as he struggled to claw away. Bridges fired again, blowing holes in Nimitz’s torso until he was still. Then he examined the body with eager intrigue. Suddenly spinning around to confront Doctor Kaufmann, he said, “You have some explaining to do, Kaufmann.”
“What is going on here? Have you lost your mind?”
Bridges dug the barrel of his M16 into Kaufmann’s gut, “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I came down here with big expectations and now I’m disappointed. You have twenty seconds to make me a happy camper again.”
Beijing
A cool wind fluttered the white tablecloth. Glass skyscrapers surrounded the rooftop where Gary sat, the exquisite china topped by beautifully folded napkins seeming very out of place in his life, given how he felt. He knew it was time. He had to tell her the truth.
“I have to tell you the truth.”
He blinked in surprise. She had to tell him the truth? “What?” he said.
She reached for his hands across the table and said, “Gary, Jeffery is not…”
His heart started pounding.
“Do you remember when I came home from the Christmas party and went to bed with you? I did it just in case I was pregnant, and I was. But Jeffery isn’t yours.”
He took a moment to digest her words. Then he spoke indignantly, “Now it all makes sense. You changed. You were so distant. It was like living with a stranger. So you were having an affair.”
“No, I didn’t have an affair! I wanted a child so badly. I couldn’t wait for you anymore! I went to a clinic. It was a sperm donor I never met.”
Gary was dumbfounded, and angry. How could she go to a clinic behind his back and make a child that she expected him to care for? This almost struck him as worse than an affair.
Stacy said, “I’m sorry. I pushed you away.”
“He doesn’t look a thing like me. And yet I never doubted. It never occurred to me that he wasn’t mine.” He gazed at Stacy, whose face was illuminated by candlelight across from him, and said sadly, “Now it’s my turn. The truth is, it was my fault. That Jeffery was taken.”
She shook her head.
“Stacy, listen. The night…” he hesitated. “The night he disappeared, I was in my office. But I wasn’t working.”
Her eyes searched his.
He looked down. “I was having an affair.”
She pulled away, her eyes dimming.
“With Miranda.”
Stacy simply stared ahead, expressionless, cold.
He shook his head in shame. “I’m sorry. That’s why I didn’t hear him being taken. I know this is unforgiveable.”
Silence. A server arrived and took the napkins from the plates and lay them on their laps. He then filled their glasses with ice water. When he left, Stacy said in a dead tone, “When did it start?”
He looked at her pleadingly, “It was only that night. She came to the door … and I let her in. I never should have let her in.” He covered his face with his hand.
“My best friend, Gary!” she exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. “Of all the people! I would rather you’d gone to a—” she shook her head in disgust. “Whatever.”
He was speechless.
Another server arrived, this one with a pad and pen. He faltered, “I return later?”
Stacy wiped her eyes, nodded. The server slumped away. She sniffled and took a sip of water, “I think it’s fair to say we both took missteps here. I will try to forgive you. But it’s going to take time. A long time.”
“I understand. I’ll wait. And I forgive you, too.”
“Now let’s talk about something else. Why are they taking us to Antarctica? What do they get out of it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think it’s true?”
“What?”
“What they said: that it is where the dead go. That Jeffery could be there.”
“I doubt it. But I’m willing to try anything,” he replied. “Anything.”
Savannah Lodge
Gonzales and Henry opened a door to reveal the lobby of the Savannah Lodge. It was shaped like a beehive, with sixty-foot beams of wood that arched up toward the center at the top,and round, horizontal beams at intervals all the way down. Glass covered the entire structure. Rustic furniture was arranged in the center of the floor around a fire pit. African art was displayed prominently everywhere. People milled around, and children happily chased each other. A giant safari vehicle was hanging on the wall above an entrance to a bustling restaurant. Painted words on the vehicle read, “Serengeti Sizzle.”
Gonzales led the way to an elevator bay. The doors opened, revealing a beehive-shaped glass chamber. They entered, Gonzales punched the buttons 302 on the pad, the doors closed, and, with a whining sound from above, the chamber began to move. But it didn’t go straight up, instead, it traveled across the ground and up, raising higher into the air toward a gigantic tree with dozens of pods hanging off of it. Henry could see that the elevator was following a cable that hung from the air and was raising and moving toward the right at the end where it was attached to the tree. The cable stopped moving when it aligned with one of the pods, but the elevator continued to travel up its length. People on the ground below were strolling about, following paths illuminated by torches on sticks.
The elevator slowed as it neared the pod. There was a mild bump, then the doors opened revealing an African-themed room with a panoramic view of the savannah. Gonzales entered, saying, “Now if I were him, I’d keep my rifles right here.” He swung open a closet door to reveal an assortment of rifles.
“I’d say these should be just the ticket. Which ones shall we take?” Henry asked. But when he looked at Gonzales, the man was immobilized, staring vacantly into space.
“What’s wrong?”
Gonzales was stuck in another world, unmoved.
Henry nudged him and he blinked back to reality.
Slowly, he explained, “I was in the marines during the war. When we got home, they called us baby killers. I told myself I’d never hold a gun again.”
Henry quickly reached for one of the rifles and handed it to Gonzales, “Look. I don’t care what they called you. Right now I need to utilize your armaments expertise.”
“No, they were right. I am a baby killer. We were searching a building, she jumped in front of me, and I shot her. A pregnant mother.” He looked at Henry with an agonized expression, “She died in her little daughter’s arms, probably five years old. Tell me how that isn’t murder.” He looked Henry dimly in the eyes, “Two for the price of one.”
Henry struggled to find the words for an adequate reply. Ultimately, he said, “Marco, war is a bloody mess. You don’t need me to tell you that. Being sent there is like being sent to hell and then expected to come back to earth and forget what you saw and did. If you didn’t pull the trigger when something jumped, how many of the soldiers that were with you could be dead now? And right now my aunt could be dead if we don’t help her. You are the only person qualified to handle these weapons, and I need your help. Please, help me.”
Gonzales slowly grasped the single shot gun. “Okay, but I’d choose a different rifle if I were you.”
Everyone fearfully cleared out of Henry and Gonzales’s way as they strode through the lobby with the rifles. “It’s all right. We are Paradeisia Security!” Gonzales shouted. Then, aside to Henry, he said, “I wish we weren’t drawing this much attention to ourselves.”
“Certainly it would be better if we weren’t,” Henry said, struggling to keep one of the many rifles he grasped from slipping.
“We’ll take the tunnels again,” Gonzales nodded to a door.
Gonzales was driving a maintenance cart through the dark tunnel, Henry sitting beside him. Gonzales tapped an indicator on the dash, “The batteries are running low.”