Chapter 30
John Ellis looked at his watch, suddenly realizing that he should have been back on the beach minutes ago. Ronald had specified that only the two New Yorkers were to be in the woods once the chase begin. Far be it form John Ellis to question the head lizard’s authority.
“Good hunting, boys,” he said. “This is where we part company.”
Jake and Charlie looked at him suspiciously, as if they didn’t really believe he was through busting their chops.
“Well,” Ellis said, “aren’t you going to say goodbye?” He couldn’t resist a parting shot. “After all, we may never see each other again.”
It pleased him to see their frightened, confused expressions. Pulling the visor of his cap over his eyes, he grinned maliciously and left them standing awkwardly holding their rifles.
“See you around,” he said.
He had only gone a few paces when Jake called after him, “Hey!”
Ellis hesitated, turning to see what the pathetic fool wanted.
“What are we suppose to do now?” Jake asked, his voice pleading.
“Stand there and whine, for all I care,” Ellis said. “Or do some hunting.”
“But why?” Jake pleaded. “Why did they send us out here?”
“Don’t ask me,” Ellis said, starting back into the woods again. “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Watching Ellis until he vanished, the two friends stood mournfully, both wishing they were back home now instead of marooned on this island with a bunch of lizards and a bear.
“So aren’t you going to tell me how lucky we are to be here?” Jake said at last.
“Don’t be a wise guy,” Charlie replied. “We’re both in this together.”
“That’s true. I wish I could just call a cab and go home, but I’m stuck here with you, like it or not.” “Well, then,” Charlie said, his face breaking into a grin, “let’s do what the man said. Let’s go hunting.” “Go hunting! What if the Visitors are hunting us?” “Would they have given us our guns if they were hunting us?”
Jake mulled that over. “Maybe not,” he allowed at last. “All right, so we’ll hunt. We’ll hunt already.”
“I knew you’d see things my way.”
“Let’s get started,” Jake said. “The sun is getting higher all the time.”
“Right.”
The two men stood staring at each other.
“Well?” Jake said at last.
“Well, let’s split up,” Charlie said. “Yeah, that’s it. Let’s split up.”
“Why?” Jake asked suspiciously.
“Because we’ll be covering twice as much ground.” “And we won’t be making as much noise without each other to yell at.”
“Yeah, that’s right, Jake,” Charlie said. “It’ll be better if we split up.”
“Just like at the office,” Jake said.
Charlie looked around, peering into the woods to the
right and left of them. “I’ll go this way,” he said after a few seconds.
“How come?”
“No particular reason,” Charlie admitted. “It just looks like it might be better hunting over there.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know . . . just an intuition.”
“Okay, Jungle Jim,” Jake said. “You go that way, and I’ll go this way. I’ll meet you back here in two hours.”
They synchronized their watches. Jake went one way and Charlie the other, though neither was sure if he was headed north, south, east, or west.
Jake picked his way through the brush, mumbling to himself lugubriously. He felt that if he always expected the worst, he would never be disappointed. Usually something less than the worst happened, but this trip things were getting dangerously close to the limit.
Every few minutes he stopped to listen, hearing the rat-tat-tat of a woodpecker or the chittering of a squirrel. At least the gnats weren’t too thick, as they had been the last time he’d gone hunting.
Nearly forty-five minutes had passed when Jake heard something moving in the bushes behind him. He froze, and then very slowly turned around.
Nothing moved.
Was it the bear? Or something else? Jake’s first impulse was to tell it to come out, but that would be stupid. It would probably get away if he did that. The thing to do was to wait for it to move again so he could get a shot at it.
As quietly as possible, Jake released the safety and stood his ground.
Chapter 31_
Strangely, Willie felt at home in the forest. He was more aware of his body than he had been since he was a child at play in the desert of his own planet. The cool, yet comfortable temperature seemed to help, as well as the sheer variety of life on the island. From insects to bears, the place teemed with vibrant, active creatures. The homed ridges on Willie’s forehead trembled as he received signals of their life forces. He was attuned to their world now as he had never been before, trusting in the power of the preta-na-ma and the communion of life throughout the universe to guide him through treacherous and difficult times. And yet he could not be certain that his instincts were any better than Ronald’s here in this strange forest on an alien world.
He heard something moving through the trees near the edge of the blueberry patch and lowered himself as close to the ground as he could, his sinews taut as he prepared himself for probable violence.
The creature came nearer, whatever it was, crashing and thudding through the brush in a way that suggested to Willie that it was human and not an animal. Willie could feel it approaching as much as he heard it, his body stretching out in a reptile crouch that made his green skin blend in with his surroundings. For a moment or two, Willie wondered what he would do if he had to struggle with the man; in his fear, might he not spit his poisonous venom on his assailant without intending to? It might kill the man, but would Willie be accountable? Even now, his
life endangered, these difficult moral questions perplexed him.
Willie saw the man through the bushes. He wore a colored jacket and cap so bright Willie could hardly stand to look at it. More disturbing than that, however, was the rifle the man held. Willie sensed his nervousness, not a reassuring perception under the circumstances. Still, Willie had only to hold still and the hunter would pass by.
The hunter paused for a moment and looked around. He seemed to have no idea that anyone was watching him as he scratched his head with his free hand and cradled the rifle with the other.
After a few seconds he moved on. Willie slowly rose and walked the last few meters out of the blueberry patch. He entered the woods, welcoming its cool, dark protection. He had crossed the best part of a kilometer through thick bushes to end up here, and he hoped Ronald wouldn’t know it.
Watching for movement from the woods, Willie wondered how the hunter had come to be on the island. Was Ronald behind this too, adding more spice to the recipe?
Circling the blueberry patch from the shelter of woods, Willie’s keen senses were attuned to the slightest nuance. It was not difficult for him to find the second human hunter. This one was a heavier man, dressed more or less the same way and carrying an equally formidable looking rifle.
Willie decided to follow this one. It was a simple matter, even when the fellow was briefly out of sight; his noisy progress was discernible from a fairly sizable distance. What was even more remarkable, he was slowly turning back the way he’d come, apparently without realizing it.
This meant that he would ultimately cross the path of the other hunter. If Willie were to continue circling, he too would soon encounter the first one, but if he remained unseen, perhaps there was something he could do to discourage them from trespassing here on the playing field of the ninj-ki-ra, the province of death.
He moved deeper into the woods and started back the way he had come, sprinting when he came to an open spot between the trees. Calculating where the first hunter would be by now, given his position when Willie had last seen him, Willie soon caught up with him. He knew the s
econd hunter couldn’t be far behind.
Spying a little mound at the edge of the woods, Willie climbed it and crouched low to the ground. Virtually invisible from the border of the blueberry patch, he waited.
The second hunter came into view, meandering along, looking puzzled that he had somehow come back to the blueberry patch. A few moments later, the other one showed up. Willie’s position gave him a flawless vantage point.
Clutching a stone in a taloned hand, he threw it midway between the two hunters, who were hidden from each other by the mound and the thick clusters of pine and spruce growing on this part of the island.
He saw them both start in terror at the sound of the rock clunking to the ground.
Almost as one, the two hunters lifted their rifles to their shoulders and fired. Their booming rifle shots echoed through the forest, making a terrific racket.
Each hunter heard the rifle report of the other, cringed, and turned tail and ran away.
Willie waited until he could no longer hear their boots clomping through the dead leaves, and then stood. He was thankful that the two hunters hadn’t hurt one another. He hoped that they would return to the mainland now. If not, a dangerous new element was added to the game.
Just now, though, he had other worries. It was best to get away from this part of the island, now that shots had been fired. Ronald would not be far away
Chapter 32
The shooting had been much closer this time. Dr. Brunk knew it wouldn’t be long before they were besieged here in the little cabin.
“I’d better destroy the toxin,” he said, staring at the cold fireplace. “And the antidote.”
Sarah jumped to her feet. “You can’t do that! Not after all your work.”
“I can’t let it fall into their hands,” Dr. Brunk said. “Scientific discoveries have a way of coming along about the same time, but independently. Most likely, it won’t be long before someone comes up with the toxin. But if the Visitors already have it, they’ll be one more step ahead of us.”
Sarah hung her head, realizing that she had allowed emotion to overcome logic at a crucial time. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Sarah,” Dr. Brunk said kindly. “You’re like a daughter to me, you know.” He went to her and put his arm around her shoulder.
“Can’t we wait just a little longer? If you destroy the toxin now and the resistance gets here in time to drive the Visitors away like they did before ...”
Dr. Brunk’s hand touched the nearest of the tiny crystalline vials. “Perhaps you’re right, Sarah. We’ll wait.”
She could tell from his tired eyes that he was only humoring her, that he believed they were doomed. If he
were alone, he might even consider suicide. Thank God she was with him.
“I wonder how my mother is doing,” Sarah said, just to change the subject.
Dr. Brunk seemed to perk up a little at the mention of her mother. Indeed, Sarah had always hoped to get the two of them together. Maybe if they survived all this, there was still a chance.
“The Visitors probably haven’t attacked Cutter’s Cove again,” Dr. Brunk said. “So she’s probably okay—at least I hope so.”
“It must be nerve-racking for her to see skyfighters flying impudently over these islands. She’s always hated situations she couldn’t do anything to change. For her to just sit there helplessly and watch . , .”
At that moment, they heard the crack of another rifle report.
“You fool!” Ronald grated, wrenching the gun out of Charlie’s hands.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie whined. “When you tapped me on the shoulder, the gun just went off.”
A shower of leaves fell from the branch Charlie’s ill-timed shot had blown off an elm tree.
“Your shooting led me to you,” Ronald said. “What were you firing at?”
“I don’t know,” Charlie admitted. “I never saw it. I only heard it clunking around.”
“Did you hit anything?”
“I don’t know—and I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”
Ronald was amused in spite of himself. It was this cowardly streak in humans that encouraged him to believe that his people would ultimately subdue this planet. For every Pythias Day, there was one like this cringing mass of quivering fear. But where was the human’s companion?
“The other,” Ronald demanded. “Where is he?”
“I haven’t seen him in a while. We were gonna meet at the edge of the blueberry patch, but I haven’t been able to find the exact spot.”
Shaking his massive head, Ronald thrust the gun back into Charlie’s hands. “Continue the hunt,” he said.
Charlie examined the still-smoking barrel. “Do I have to?” he asked.
“You came here to hunt, did you not?”
Charlie shook his head. “I think I’ve hunted enough. ” An ominous clicking sound came from Ronald’s throat. Beneath his fanged jaws, the loose flesh swelled like a balloon. “You will do as I say,” he rasped. “Y-Yes, sir.” Charlie backed away.
Before he vanished in the forest, Ronald called after him: “In which direction did you last see your companion?”
Charlie looked around. “I think it was . . . that way.” He pointed off into the woods.
“Very good. Remember, there are dangerous beasts on this island. Shoot at anything that moves.”
Charlie looked at him dubiously. “Anything?” “Anything.”
Forlornly, Charlie moved off into the woods again. Ronald snarled. He was quite certain that the series of rifle shots involving Charlie had also involved Jake. And he was fairly confident that Willie had been the cause of it. The traitor was more clever than he would have guessed, but in the end that would only make the kill sweeter for Ronald. He was closing in on Willie, and on Dr. Brunk too, but Dr. Brunk could wait. For now, the hunt was on for Willie, and it promised to be more exciting than Ronald could have ever guessed.
Chapter 33
It sounded to John Ellis as if there was some action going on somewhere on the island. All those shots must have meant something. Tramping through the woods now, he hoped to find Ronald soon in order to find out if the girl was still alive. Ronald had promised her to him. Well, at least he had suggested that he’d give it some thought.
A partridge whirred out of the bushes, vanishing in the treetops. John didn’t have enough time to take a shot at it. Had Ronald blasted Willie already, or was all the shooting just those two clowns from New York blasting away at anything that moved? Maybe he should move farther inland to see if he could find out.
The more he thought about possessing Sarah Foley, the more excited he got. He remembered her as a cheerleader in high school, all the guys lusting after her. She never even knew he existed, and even if she did, she probably laughed at him along with her sosh crowd.
She wouldn’t be laughing when he got his hands on her. Nobody would laugh at him ever again. He would have a whole town to lord it over, not just a few drunks down at Mike’s who feared him because he could kick their asses. They would all fear him from now on, even respect him. That would be something new—respect.
Ellis came on a large rock jutting out of the ground at a sharp angle. It occurred to him that he could see quite a bit of the forest from the top of it if he were to climb up there.
Stopping for a few moments, he pulled a flask from inside his hunting jacket and took a snort. Smacking his lips and sighing deeply, he put the booze away and started around the back of the rock. He climbed to the top and sat watching the forest floor. From here, he could see even more than he had anticipated. If anybody moved within fifty yards, he wouldn’t be able to miss them.
Taking the flask out again, John took another hit. Sitting cross-legged, he waited, drinking and listening to the sounds of the forest and the distant sounds of the sea. The weather was so nice and warm, it was hard to imagine what the next few weeks would bring. There were those who said the coming cold weather would drive away the Visitors, but John d
idn’t believe it. Even if they did have to leave, it would only be temporary. Why didn’t everybody see how inevitable it was that the lizards were going to take over? One ride in that skyfighter and all doubt had been removed from his mind.
When the Visitors had nabbed him that night, just walking down an alley to take a leak on the way home, he thought they were going to kill him. Instead, they took him to Ronald.
He had promised Ronald that he would be his eyes and ears in the village, and Ronald had accepted—without the threat of conversion.
No one could accuse John Ellis of not playing the percentages.
John dozed, one ear open to any unusual sounds. At last his sleeping mind heard something, and he awakened in an instant.
The forest was still for a moment, and then the chirping and twittering began to pick up again. Something had disturbed the animals and insects for a moment, though. Ellis was sure of it.
And then he spotted the cause of the disturbance.
Something crouched low to the ground, something that moved with an unearthly grace.
He had never seen a Visitor completely unclothed before. Its movements were quick, furtive, its scaly skin and ridged back dazzling in the shafts of sunlight. The hornlike extrusions on its forehead trembled above its gleaming, intelligent eyes.
This must be the one Ronald was looking for. Ellis smiled, thinking what a feather this would be in his cap if he captured the renegade alien.
Ellis got Willie in his sights. “Hold it right there,” he said, “or I’ll blow a hole in you the size of Aroostook County.”
Willie froze. He sensed that an escape attempt would only lead to death. His only hope was to reason with the man. “I mean you no charm,” he said in English.
“No charmT' Ellis said. “You mean harm, don’t you?”
“Yes, I mean you no harm.”
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