“Where’s the other person?” asked the bearded man. “There’s supposed to be four of them.”
The man’s accomplice shrugged and turned to look back.
As silent as a thief in the night, a darkened shape walked out of the woods and jammed a pistol into the side of the bearded man’s head. “I’m right here…surprise!” said Maclean. He reached over and quickly disarmed the man.
Grant smiled. Maclean had made for the woods the instant his vehicle had come to a stop, and snuck his way around.
The second thug looked at his comrade and hesitated.
“Don’t be an idiot. Drop your weapon, or I swear to God I’ll kill this man,” warned Maclean.
“Do it,” said the bearded man.
The second mercenary tossed his M4 to the ground at his feet.
Grant jumped up and scooped up the dropped weapon. He thrust the carbine’s barrel into the hired gun’s ribs, causing him to wince in pain. “Walk!”
Elena and Hayes stood.
“Get back in the vehicles, and flip the lights on,” said Grant.
They two scientists almost tripped over one another to get away from the mercenaries.
“Now it’s your turn,” said Maclean to the two men. “Place your hands on your heads and get down on your knees,”
“Cover me,” said Grant to Maclean, while he quickly searched through the men’s pockets, taking their wallets and anything else of value he found. He dug out the men’s driver’s licenses and read their names. “Raoul Morales and Clive Barnes. I doubt these are real. So who are you, and why did you stop us?”
“You’re right, they’re fake,” moaned Raoul. “Only our first names are correct.”
“I’ll ask you again, who are you, and why did you stop us?”
“Who we are is none of your business, and why we stopped you is because we were told to deal with you.”
“Wrong answer,” said Maclean, cuffing Raoul on the side of his head with his pistol.
Raoul grimaced. Blood trickled down the side of his head. He looked up and smiled at Maclean. “If you think either of us will break, you’re going to be sadly mistaken. We swore an oath years ago to a higher power. Our word is more important to us than our lives. Torture us all you want, neither of us will tell you what you want to know.”
“Who do you think you are, the bloody Nazi SS?”
Raoul turned his head away.
“What do you want to do with them?” Maclean asked Grant.
“We’re not coldblooded murderers, so we can’t shoot them in the back of the head and leave their bodies for the animals to eat,” said Grant. “Let’s tie them up and hand them over to the sheriff for questioning.”
“I think I’ve got some rope in the back of my vehicle.”
“Fetch it.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” said Raoul. “Think of your families. Do you want them to die because of your stupidity?”
Grant’s blood began to boil. “Don’t you even think about touching anyone in my family. Got it?”
“You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself involved with,” said Clive. “Let us go, and we’ll see about only killing you and not your family.”
Grant couldn’t believe his ears. Even with a gun at their heads, they were threatening him. “For God’s sake, hurry up, Jim,” he said coolly. “I’m really getting tired of listening to this crap.”
A breeze of chilly air stirred the trees.
The hair on the back of Mitchell’s neck went up. His brain reminded him of a time when he was a teen, and had gone hunting with his father. The musky smell was unmistakable. There was a bear nearby.
“Found it,” announced Maclean, holding the rope in his hands.
The sound of heavy breathing and wood cracking just off to the right of Grant made him turn and bring up his weapon.
The attack was sudden and brutal. A gigantic bear charged out of the woods and clamped its massive jaws around Clive’s neck, snapping it like a twig. Blood shot out like a fountain from the doomed man’s severed neck.
Grant jumped back to one side and fired off a burst into the side of the bear’s head. He might as well have fired his bullets into the air. The animal’s flesh and skull were far too thick for the bullets to penetrate.
“Run!” yelled Maclean, shooting at the bear as it shook Clive’s body from side to side in its bloody jaws, before dragging him back into the woods.
Grant sprinted back to his vehicle and jumped in. Elena had already started the ignition. He shifted into drive and thrust his foot down so hard on the accelerator that it hurt. His car slowly picked up speed and whipped past the bear as it tore chunks of flesh from the dead man’s body.
“Where’s the other man?” asked Elena, looking out of her window
“I don’t know, and right now I don’t care,” responded Grant, willing his vehicle to go even faster. He spun the steering wheel around in his hands, and sped off back toward town.
Max watched the whole affair on the screen of his drone’s control laptop computer. He ground his teeth and clenched his fists in anger. If their comms weren’t jammed, he could have warned his men that a predator was stalking them. Instead, he had to watch impotently as the monstrously large bear killed and devoured one of his men.
“Sir, it looks like one of our men got away,” said Carter.
“Where is he?” asked Max. His black mood lifted slightly.
“On the road. There’s a man running back our way. I think it’s Raoul.”
Max snapped his fingers. “Dan, take one of the trucks and help him.”
The mercenary nodded, jumped into the nearest vehicle, started it up, and drove off.
Max took a deep breath through his nostrils and forced himself to relax. He had a job to do, and he wasn’t going to leave Alaska empty handed. He looked at Carter. “There’s no point in wasting any more time. Let’s carry on with our aerial search. This time, I want you to head to the south of the lake and let’s see if we can spot anything out of the ordinary.”
“But what about the animals, sir?”
“What about them?”
“They’re not normal. What if one or more them is nearby?”
“Worry about me, not the animals. My brother and I don’t take failure lightly.”
Carter gulped. “Yes, sir. I’m moving the drone to the south of the lake as you asked.”
Chapter 31
Black walked into the police station, raised a hand to stave off Sheryl’s imminent questions and made her way to her office. She removed her hat and let out a weary sigh. Black was tired and confused. Nothing she had ever done in the past could have prepared her for what was going on around her town. After dropping off Officer Kyle Harrison, Mrs. Moore, and the mysterious young girl at the clinic, she was ready for some time off her feet, but by the sound of raised voices in the main office she wasn’t going to get much rest. Black, reluctantly, left her office and went in search of some coffee. She poured herself a full mug and took a seat next to Sheryl.
“Sheriff, forgive me for saying so, but you look like you could use a week off,” said Sheryl.
Black patted her friend on the hand. “Only a week? Okay, Sheryl, please tell me what’s been going on since I was last here.”
“Well, as you are aware, all of our communications have failed. The phones, the Internet, you name it, it all seemed to go offline all at once.”
“When did that happen back here?”
Sheryl glanced at her watch. “It all went dead about an hour, maybe an hour and a half ago. I can’t be sure. It was some crazy until then, because the phones wouldn’t stop ringing.”
“What’s all this?” Black asked, looking over at the map with the yellow notes on it.
“Two of the UFO investigators were kind enough to help me plot all of the calls that were coming in on that map.”
Black stood up and checked out the map. All of the calls were clustered to the north of the town. “Did anyone report
seeing what was taking their livestock and pets?”
Sheryl shook her head. “Strange, isn’t it?”
“Strange doesn’t begin to cover what’s going on around here.” Black drummed her fingers on Sheryl’s tabletop for a few seconds, before standing back up. She glanced around at her remaining officers. “Okay, folks, this is what we’re going to do. Since we can’t talk to anyone, Tracey, I want you to take your car and drive all the way to Valdez and let the State Troopers there know that we badly need their help.”
Tibeluk picked up her hat. “What should I tell them, Sheriff?”
“After you tell them about our comms problems, let them know we’ve got a couple of wild animals terrorizing the town, and that we need their help to locate the people who have gone missing and to track down and kill these rogue animals.” Black scribbled down the license plate of the abandoned State Trooper’s vehicle she had come across. “Let them know they have a couple of missing troopers as well.”
Tibeluk stood. “Got it. I should be back in about twelve hours. Hopefully with a couple of dozen troopers to help us out.”
“What would you like us to do?” asked Bill Scott.
“Take your vehicle and patrol the streets,” said Black. “I don’t want a single one of these animals getting into the downtown core. If you come across anyone, tell them to head home right away and to stay there until they hear otherwise.”
“You got it, Sheriff,” said Scott, as he got his feet, his partner, Sean, right behind him.
Black flashed a weary smile at Sheryl. “With the radios and phone lines down, you might as well head home and get a few hours’ of sleep.”
“I don’t sleep much these days, Sheriff,” said Sheryl. “I think I’ll stay here, just in case everything comes back online.”
“Thanks.” Black took a mouthful of coffee, and rubbed her aching neck.
“Is your son going to be okay by himself?”
Black had been so busy she hadn’t even had time to think about Sam. “He’ll be fine. He knows to lock all the doors at night, and he knows how to use a gun. In fact, he’s a better shot than I am.”
“Hopefully, he won’t need to shoot at anything.”
“Did those UFO people say where they were going when they left here?”
“No. But I did hear one of them say something about heading back in the direction of the lake by Joe Sparks’ place.”
Black glanced back over at the map and the line of disappearances just below the lake. “Bloody fools!”
Grant brought his vehicle to a halt outside of their hotel, and switched its engine off. He got out and waited for everyone else to join him on the street. Grant looked at Elena and Hayes. “Those two men were trained killers. They undoubtedly intended to torture us for information and then kill us. Men like that never work alone. If it were just Sergeant Maclean and me here, we’d go hunting for these men and put an end to them. However, it’s not, so I’m willing to entertain any suggestions you two might have.”
“The problem is, we can’t call anyone for help,” said Hayes. “Nor can we afford to sit idle. There is something decidedly odd going on around here, and we need to find a way to stop it before any more civilians are hurt or killed.”
“Jeremy’s right,” said Elena, rubbing her tired eyes. “Right now, those thugs are the least of our problems. I’ve never read anything remotely similar to what is happening in the woods north of the town.”
“Four people don’t make an army,” pointed out Maclean. “If we’re going to do something, whatever that may be, we’re going to need the help of the sheriff’s department.”
“Jim’s got a point there,” said Grant. “We can’t keep all of this information to ourselves. I think we should inform the sheriff who we are, but not necessarily what we’re really doing up here. While we do that, let’s hope the comms to come back online soon, so we can call Colonel Andrews and have him convince his superiors to dispatch some troops here to help defend the town.”
“I don’t see any other alternative open to us,” said Hayes.
“Okay, that settles it,” said Grant. “Let’s walk over to the police station, and see if the good sheriff will buy what we’re selling.”
At the door, Sheryl smiled and waved them inside. She looked very relieved to see them. Sheryl led them to Sheriff Black’s office and knocked on the open door. “Sheriff, look who’s back.”
Black stood and motioned for them all to step inside her office. Maclean grabbed a couple more chairs so everyone could sit down.
“Sheriff, before we begin, could I have your word that what we’re about to discuss stays between us?” said Grant, showing her his military ID.
Black nodded.
“Thanks. I guess I’ll cut right to the chase then. We’re not civilian UFO investigators.”
“I had a feeling you weren’t. So what are you, then?”
“We’re a team of civilian and military investigators who work for the U.S. Air Force.”
“I gathered that the minute I set eyes on you,” said Black. “You don’t act or look like those people on the TV.”
“I guess we’ll have to work on that. Sheriff, we believe something unexplainable is happening to the wildlife to the north of the town.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Less than an hour ago, we came across what we believe to be the tracks from a giant, flightless bird which has been extinct for millions of years. Barely five minutes later, we were stopped by some hired guns who are also looking into the same UFO sighting as we are. During this standoff, one of the men was attacked and killed by a giant bear.”
“If the Internet was still up, I’m willing to bet I could prove that the bear and the predator birds come from the same time period,” said Hayes.
“Perhaps we still can prove your theory,” said Black. “In the storeroom is an old set of encyclopedias. They were here when I took over. I just didn’t have the heart to throw them away.”
Hayes stood. “May I?”
Black nodded. “Of course. Turn right outside of my office and go down the hall. Second door on the left. They’ll be on a bookshelf in the back of the room.”
“Thank you,” Hayes said, as he walked out of the room.
“While he’s gone, I’ll let you in on what I know. So far, we’ve got two missing state troopers, and three missing civilians. I’ve also seen tracks I can’t explain, so I’m willing to give your theory, as crazy as it sounds, some credence. Also, when I was on my way to Mrs. Moore’s home, I had an encounter with a bright-orange disc in the sky, which has left me troubled.”
“How so, Sheriff?” said Elena.
“This craft didn’t make any noise, and was able to move through the air in ways I can’t begin to explain. When it closed in on me, my vehicle lost power. At first, I didn’t feel threatened. In fact, I was quite calm. When I stepped outside to get a better look at the disc, a blinding light was shone down on me, and I had the distinct feeling I was being scanned. The second it flew off into the night, my vehicle came back to life.”
“Loss of power and reports of being scanned by UFOs are quite commonplace. Did you experience any loss of time?”
Black shook her head. “It all happened in under a couple of minutes.”
“I envy you. I’ve never had a close encounter of the first kind.”
“I don’t know, I feel violated.”
Hayes walked back into Black’s office, holding an encyclopedia in his hands. He took a seat and opened the book on the sheriff’s desk so everyone could see. “The tracks we found belongs to a Phorusrhacidae, also known as a terror bird. It was an apex predator in South America, but died off about 1.8 million years ago. Some of them stood well over three meters tall, and could run up to fifty kilometers an hour. It killed its prey using its razor-sharp beak and clawed toes.”
“But you never actually saw any of these terror birds, did you?” said Black.
“That’s correct. We only saw the
ir tracks,” said Grant.
“But we did see this,” Hayes said, flipping to another page. “This is a short-faced bear which went extinct about 11,000 years ago. The one we saw was enormous. It must have been as tall as a man in the shoulders, and was at least five meters long.”
“Are you positive? Sometimes people mistake things, especially when they’re scared or in the dark.”
“I won’t lie, Sheriff, I was terrified. But I’m a trained observer, and I know what I…what we saw.”
“It sure as hell looked like that bear to me,” said Maclean, tapping his finger on the picture of the animal.
“Let me see if I’m following you people,” said Black. “You claim there are people trying to kill you because of your interest in an alleged UFO sighting. You also claim that animals which went extinct eons ago are now somehow back alive and are killing people?”
“Yes,” replied Grant. “That is exactly what we’re saying.”
“If I hadn’t seen the tracks at Ronald Deering’s home, which look awfully similar to the ones in the encyclopedia, I’d say you were all crazy and kick you out of my town. Not to mention that encounter with that glowing orange disc I had a couple of hours ago. While we’re all laying our cards on the table, you should know that I saw some other strange-looking tracks near an abandoned and blood-stained state trooper’s car.”
“What did they look like, Sheriff?” asked Hayes.
“A mountain lion’s paw print, only much larger.”
“How much larger?”
“Two to three times larger than any track I’ve ever seen.”
Hayes picked up the encyclopedia and thumbed through it until he found what he was looking for. He placed the book down in front of Black. “Smilodon, more colloquially know as a saber-toothed tiger. Another apex predator which vanished around the same time as the short-faced bear. This animal was quite common to North America. It would be safe to assume that the tracks you found were left by this animal.”
Black shook her head. “I don’t get it. How did all of these animals get here?”
Fallen Star (Project Gauntlet Book 1) Page 16