by Casey Knight
“What in the hell? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Look at the tree over there on your right. See that anaconda? You nearly had a boa constricting your neck.”
“Very funny. I think we’ve seen enough of this place. Let’s see how Traygen and Tokem are doing.”
We moved up through a gap in the treetops until we arrived once again high above the rainforest. Fortunately for us, the storm moved off and the rain stopped. We flew over the forest and enjoyed the scenery as we moved over it. I noticed a number of small lakes and decided to check them out. The area immediately surrounding the lake was mainly free from the dense vegetation and forest. The few trees near the lake fanned thinly out along the lake’s shore. The soil resembled red Georgia clay. When I looked more closely, I spied alligators lounging in the shallow water along the edges of the lake. I circled closer, descending to land. I found a small clearing near the lake and headed for it. Corbin followed and landed his hovercraft beside mine.
“Keep an eye out, I saw alligators near the shore.”
“Yeah, I saw them. and before you decide to wade, remember there are piranhas in this jungle.”
“Thanks, but you know me. I won’t stick my toe in any water where I can’t see the bottom. Especially since I am now the leading expert explorer of the vampire island sewers. Kinda catchy if you ask me, perhaps Jake should advertise it as a cruise.”
“Sewer aquatics are overrated if you ask me. And I know for a fact they won’t be in the summer games. Ouch, what the heck was that?”
“Corbin, what is it?”
“I brushed against this tree and now my arm is on fire.”
“Let me look at it. You have a welt there and it is red. We better find the others and get your arm looked at.”
We moved back toward our hovercrafts when we heard a large boom. We looked around and didn’t see anything, but something definitely moved through the brush. I waited for Corbin before I ran for my hovercraft. I spotted Corbin out of the corner of my eye and he’d beaten me to his machine. We revved our crafts and pulled them up into a steep climb. I’d gotten approximately six feet in the air when something hit the side of my hovercraft. It startled me and I nearly fell off my machine. But I continued to climb and when we shot up above the trees, I looked down to see what slammed into my hovercraft. A large brightly colored bird paced below us. Its head and neck shone brightly, covered in radiantly highlighted shades of blue and yellow. I’ll be damned. Our culprit was an unhappy looking cassowary. I vaguely remembered they jumped approximately seven feet into the air. I looked at the side of my hovercraft and saw a dent just below my knee. They weren’t kidding. Now if they learned to dunk I am sure someone would draft them.
We found Traygen and Tokem working their grid. They told me they needed to make one more pass and then they’d be ready. I radioed for our security team to enter. When they arrived, I told them what Corbin and I observed and warned them to keep themselves alert and in the air. When I finished, Traygen and Tokem briefed them. We finished up and transported back to the Four-Courts.
“So, did you two find any evidence of hacking or magic?”
“Yes and no. Tokem and I found signatures where someone tried to tamper with the entrance. Actually, Tokem spotted it. I’ll let him explain.”
“After you all went inside the universe, I waited. I inspected the outer entryway and found someone tried to enter, which means they’ve obtained the coordinates. Then I went inside and checked the inside of the door, but found no residual magic or forced entry. Fortunately, they don’t have the codes, but my guess is they won’t quit trying. So I’ve left surveillance cameras on the inside and outside of the door.”
“This confirms our worst fears someone stole the coordinates or they wouldn’t have tried to force their way in. I think it is time to lock the design team in and allow the World Council wizards to begin the job of moving the universes.”
“Tokem, good job. I agree with you and Traygen regarding locking up the project team. It’s time we had a chat with them. I want to see what they make of this. Shall we?”
We moved down to the design team’s floor and asked them all to assemble. It took roughly twenty minutes to assemble everyone. I asked for spouses and partners to attend. I assigned a council guard to watch the children. When everyone found a seat I told them what we’d found in the first universe. I saved the part concerning the door being tampered with for last. The longer I talked, the redder in the face Posin became. Finally, he interrupted me.
“Lauren, are you suggesting someone on this team gave the first universe’s coordinates away. This is an outrage, no one would. I trust these men.”
“Can you think of any other way someone knew where the universe was located?”
“No, and I assure you my team is above reproach. I will take this to the council.”
“Posin, you are free to do so. Still, we both know the group in charge of security owns the ultimate authority. It’s not my intention to offend anyone. However, it is my job to keep everyone safe and I intend to do my job. So to ensure your safety and the integrity of these games, the design team will remain isolated on this floor under a twenty-four hour guard until the games are finished.”
“You can’t be serious,” Posin yelled.
“Oh, she is as serious as a heart attack,” Tokem added.
“Enough, Posin, if you don’t like it you can file a report, because we’ve other business to attend to.”
Traygen tapped me on the shoulder and motioned me over to where the others stood. I walked over and Tokem pointed to something on the security screen.
“What’s up?”
“Lauren, look at the feed we just received from our first universe. Someone or something tried once again to enter. Now it doesn’t look like they succeeded, but someone definitely left the universe.”
“Are you sure?”
He replayed the two sections of the video feed. It was impossible to tell who or what tried to break in. They smartly kept their back to the camera.
“Traygen, let’s send the picture to our security team to see if they can get any better resolution on the picture. Let’s look at the interior footage. Again, someone or something was clearly visible exiting the universe.” Before I could tell him to order its analysis, Traygen interrupted.
“I’ll send the second tape along with the first. Did our crew hear or see anything? ”
“I am way ahead of you. I’ve tracked them on the screen but neither is answering their radios. I don’t like this. They are supposed to check in on the hour and neither did. And neither man has moved in the last twenty minutes.”
“I think we need to go back in there. They could’ve been ambushed or injured. Either way we’ll need to check it out. Suit up and let’s meet at the transport in twenty minutes.”
Traygen and I headed to our room to arm ourselves. We reassembled back in the elevator heading to the transport in less than five minutes. Traygen hadn’t said a word since we left to don our equipment and arms.
“What’s bothering you? You haven’t said anything since Tokem’s report.”
“I don’t like this. We’re missing something, and from what you’ve said, the place is too densely covered to find everything, especially with the predatory flora and fauna. At least we placed tracking beacons on our security team. Once we find them and assuming of course they are alive. We need to rethink our approach.”
“Agreed, that universe was sealed off. This means unless someone was already in there, security has already been compromised.” Traygen added.
“Tokem, have you found our security guards?”
“Yes, and neither of them is moving. One is north of here and the other is on the southern border. We asked them to patrol in a grid pattern starting at opposite ends. So, if they were following protocol - wait, one of the beacons is moving.”
“Good let’s start with that one. Maybe he can tell us what is going on. We’ll stay together u
ntil we figure this out.”
We decided to use two hovercraft - Traygen and I on one - Corbin and Tokem on another. We honed in on the man’s signal from above. I didn’t think it safe to approach the area from below the treetops. When we got in position just above the signal, Tokem went down to check it out. He was small enough not to draw attention to himself and he moved easily through the thick dense growth. I was starting to worry when he flew back into view. He motioned for us to follow, and we did. I radioed over our headsets to ask what he’d found.
“The man is dead. I found his body in a clearing near the water.”
“Can you tell what killed him?”
“Ummmm, I am not sure. Follow me and I’ll guide us down.”
I leaned close to Traygen and whispered in his ear. “What did you make of that?”
“Something has him spooked. We will see soon enough.”
We moved slowly and cautiously through the trees until we hovered above a meadow; then I saw the body. We followed Corbin. He landed in a clearing near the corpse and Traygen put us down beside him. I followed the guys over to the body. We squatted next to it and Traygen tried finding the man’s carotid artery. He shook his head, indicating there wasn’t a pulse. Corbin and Traygen rolled him over. There were no injuries or marks to explain what happened to him.
“What do you think killed him?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but if I had to guess I’d say it wasn’t natural causes.”
“I agree with Traygen, and before we try to figure this out, I suggest we check the immediate area for clues. We don’t want to trample any evidence.”
“If it isn’t CSI Corbin. I believe you are taking very well to life in L.A.”
“Knock it off, Tokem, he is right. But don’t stray too far. Whatever caused this may still be in the area.”
I analyzed the area, scanning, sensing, and trying to scrutinize the immediate vicinity. There’d definitely been a scuffle. The dirt near the man was scraped up, and some of the ground cover was trampled, but I didn’t see any blood or footprints. After a few minutes, everyone wandered back to the fallen man. Corbin and Traygen checked the body to see if they’d missed anything. Corbin finally broke the silence.
“This man doesn’t have an ounce of blood in him and there are fang marks on his neck.”
“You mean a vampire killed him,” Tokem asked.
“No. I don’t smell vampire anywhere on him, no pheromones on his skin. If a vampire killed him, it would’ve left some of its essence on the body.”
“So someone wants us to believe a vampire killed this man. Well, if he wasn’t drained by a vampire, then what killed him?”
“Lauren, he died from blood loss, just not from a vampire. I would detect any pheromones left by a vampire, besides, blood loss may not have killed him after all. It looks like his neck is broken.”
“I am with Corbin on this. Look at the tree; it has big cat claw marks on it. It is likely he was killed by a big cat which in this forest would be a jaguar.”
I went over and looked at the tree Traygen mentioned. I walked the tree’s circumference and found saucer sized paw prints in the dirt near the tree. These cats are territorial, so it is possible a big cat killed the man. Why the ruse? Why make it look like a vampire murdered the man? My guess is, if someone wanted the vampire team thrown out they might try to frame them.
“Assuming a vampire didn’t kill him, which of our sups is capable of draining this man, and or breaking his neck?”
“Lauren, any of them could have broken the man’s neck. My guess is, it was either fae or demons who drained him. Demons are famous for being able to use exsanguination on their victims.”
“Tokem makes a good point. Demons are fae and they certainly have the ability to drain him. One thing is for sure, a jaguar would not. So, it is likely someone took advantage of the big cat’s kill to try to frame the vampires. We can’t do anything for him. Let’s see if we can find the other guard. Tokem, lead the way.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Tokem quipped before he led us back up through the tree line.
We followed him back in the direction we’d come. Once we hovered above the canopy of trees, the nearly full moon illuminated the area well enough for us to turn off our lights. If we hadn’t just left a body behind, I might’ve enjoyed our ride. I exhaled and tried to relax when a shadow passed overhead. I turned to see what caused it when Corbin’s voice screamed in our headsets, warning us to dive. Traygen nosed the hovercraft steeply downward toward the trees. I held onto him and turned to see what creature cast such a large shadow. There above us floated a giant golden eagle the size of a small Cessna. I yelled into my headset for everyone to find cover and stay there. I turned and fired a shot of energy from my Uroboros bracelet at the eagle. I shot to kill because maiming it would only piss it off. Yes, I knocked it sideways. I lost sight of it as we found cover under the trees.
“Is everyone okay? Report in.”
“Lauren, we’re all right. Was that a giant eagle?”
“It was. I hit it and lost sight of it once we ducked into the trees. Tokem, see if the coast is clear.”
“Sure, send the little guy.”
“You wouldn’t make a snack for that thing unless it eats mosquitoes.”
“I am going to report you to the ASPCA and PETA.”
“What does the prevention of cruelty to animals have to do with you?”
“Shows how little you know. It is the Association of Senseless Persecution of Air Spirits and you will be hearing from them. Not to mention the Persecution/Prevention of Ethereal Tykili’s Anonymous. Face it, Lauren, you are toast.”
It was times like this I wasn’t sure if the inmates were running the prison. But he did have my twisted, warped sense of humor. While we waited for Tokem to return, I reviewed what we knew so far. This place resembled a scene from Jurassic Park. It was hard to know if the dangers of this small rainforest killed people, or if outside powers killed the people. Certainly, the rainforest proved deadly enough on its own. Yet, this place hadn’t killed the guard, at least not directly. I snapped out of my wool gathering when Tokem gave us the all clear. Traygen moved back above the treetops. We spotted Tokem and Corbin moving off ahead and followed them. We rode in silence for another ten minutes or so before Tokem’s voice came over our headsets.
“The signal is coming from right below us and it hasn’t moved since we arrived. We should proceed with extreme caution.”
We eased down behind Corbin and Tokem until we reached a spot twenty feet above the ground. The area appeared deserted. It resembled the chaparral found all over southern California, scraggily, stunted and dense. It didn’t look like this area had burned in years. The immediate area below consisted of nearly impenetrable, dense thickets of shrubby brush. I for one wasn’t hiking my butt through it. I whispered for Traygen to move us lower for a better look. He transported us to within a few feet of the vegetation. If our guard was in there, we might never see him from the air. I keyed my microphone to tell Tokem to go in for a closer look. He wasn’t thrilled, and I couldn’t see well enough to know whether he flipped me off. So we waited for him to return.
“Lauren, I found his pack and the transmitter but our guard is nowhere to be found. There’s evidence of a struggle.”
“Is there a trail you can follow?”
“Yes, but it disappears after five feet. It is like he was sucked up by aliens or something.”
“Or something is more likely. Is there any sign of a hovercraft? We left them with one and we didn’t find it by our dead man. Maybe he flew out of there.”
“I’ll check.”
While Tokem did his search, I turned on my headset.
“Corbin, Traygen, any guess on what we are facing here? The games are less than a week away and we still have three other universes to scout out. I’ve a bad feeling about this.”
“I’d think you were crazy if this place didn’t give you the creeps or creepy crawlies. This univers
e by itself is lethal, let alone someone or something snuffing out our guards.”
“I agree with Corbin on this. Until we find out what or who killed the guard we need to assume this universe is compromised.”
“I agree with both of you, if we can’t find this second guard we will need to shut down this universe. The fae will be mad as hell, but I don’t think we have a choice.”
Before we could discuss it further, Tokem’s voice came over our headsets.
“Hey, I found his hovercraft. I’ll come get you. This brush is so darned thick I am having trouble getting through it.”
“Did you find him?”
“No, but someone or something else did.”
I definitely didn’t like the sound of this. We followed Tokem deeper into the brush. We zigzagged our way through it, under it, or over it. A machete and a blowtorch might not make a dent in this mess.. I itched to burn it off, worried I might destroy evidence. So we chopped our way through it. That’s when I spotted the hovercraft. It dangled from the largest spider web I’ve ever seen. The web easily covered an area the size of half a tennis court. I didn’t see our missing guard anywhere, but he literally might be right below us and we’d never be able to see him. I was certain of one thing. I didn’t want to meet whatever the hell made the web. Unfortunately, this wasn’t lucky day. The web rippled and shook, and I looked to see what caused it.
Then a spider the size of a large horse moved toward the hovercraft. I shouted for everyone to move back and they didn’t need convincing. I raised my bracelet and fried it. There was no flipping way I’d let the supersized spider live. We needed to search for our missing guard, and I didn’t want to look over my shoulder constantly for the Godzilla of arachnids. As it is, I’d have nightmares. I only hoped it didn’t have relatives in the area.
“Tokem, are we still getting a signal from our missing guard?”
“Yes, it is directly below us. I’ll see what I can find.”
No one needed to convince me to stay put. I asked Traygen to move us up above the trees. Corbin followed right behind us. We circled while we waited for Tokem to return. I was one disaster away from shutting down a universe now resembling the great race from hell. I definitely wondered what sadistic person thought up these deranged things.