“They know our ways, and I assure you they abide with honor. Amanda Williamson must come with us.”
“Supreme Commander, the Fleet Admiral will never permit both Amanda and me—”
“The Fleet Admiral,” said Ryan’s father, who had arrived from behind, “has already discussed this issue with our esteemed guest, and the issue is closed, Ryan. Amanda is going. Now, if you’re concerned about the both of you being put in harm’s way, you have my permission to remain on the base.”
“No, sir,” said Ryan. “That won’t be necessary.”
Ryan walked away. He understood the reasoning and knew Amanda was as well trained as he was, but he still didn’t like it. He couldn’t help feeling protective of her, especially after all that’s happened.
“Do not be concerned, Ryan Thompson,” said Granthaxe. “I shall personally see to it that your beloved is kept safe.”
Ryan wanted to crawl under a desk and hide. The supreme commander had a booming voice, and he was sure that the entire room, including Amanda, had heard him.
“Thanks a bunch, Supreme Commander,” Ryan said, as he felt everyone’s eyes on him. “Maybe you can have your ship send a message to my fleet and let them know as well.”
“Of course I can do that,” said Granthaxe. “It is a most easy thing to do. I shall personally see to it before we leave.”
At that moment, everyone around broke into hysterics, and even Ryan had to laugh.
“If I could have everyone’s attention,” said the admiral, who had now moved to the front of the room. “I’d like to direct your attention to the overhead monitor.”
Everyone quieted down and faced the screen.
“What you see here,” he continued, “is an aerial view of North Sentinel Island. We will be coming in at 2200 hours island time using a directional glider. It is imperative that we make a quiet entrance. These tribesmen may look primitive and their weapons crude. Do not let that fool you. They are fierce and tenacious and have the tactical advantage. From what we know, their weapons consist of spears, poison darts, and bows and arrows. But never forget that they’ve successfully driven away armed men and helicopters. Our mission is to get in, find the missing Altarrans, and get out. There are some specifics, but you’ll get further instructions en route. When we’ve accomplished our mission, there’s a carrier ten miles out waiting for our signal. They’ll have ships waiting for us at the extraction point. We will use force only as a means of self-defense. Grab your gear and head to the transport. Wheels up in thirty, ladies and gentlemen.”
Ryan grabbed his equipment and started out toward the ship along with a squad of eighteen special ops forces, his father, two Altarrans, and Amanda. They had a two-hour flight ahead of them, flying at Mach 3. Once they were twenty-five miles from the island, they would board the glider and make landfall.
The large transport took off at precisely 1900 hours. Most of the officers were either catching a nap or sitting quietly. Ryan, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves. Looking at how calm the special forces soldiers were gave him a newfound respect for his father and the men under his command.
He couldn’t sit still, so he made his way over to Amanda. She was also wide awake.
“Listen, Amanda, you know I didn’t mean any disrespect about you coming along on this mission with us. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Not after all we’ve been through.”
“I get it,” she said. “But I’m not some helpless little girl. And you, of all people, should know that. So please relax. I’ll be fine.”
Kyron, the Altarran science officer, put her huge hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “It appears,” she said, “that there is a constant throughout the universe, Amanda Williamson. The male of the species truly believes that females would fail to survive without them. Sadly, it is the male grid-like brain that limits their capacity to make decisions, and they would hardly survive without our superior multi-lateral processing.”
Amanda looked at Ryan and smiled.
Ryan wasn’t about to add fuel to this fire. It was bad enough debating with Amanda. But with a ten-foot female ape sitting next to her, it was out of the question. He decided to change the subject.
“So tell me, Science Officer Kyron, what do you know of this Sentinelese tribe?”
Kyron smiled, which was a frightful sight. Her teeth were razor sharp, and she had two large fangs, each about three inches in length.
“First of all, Ryan Thompson, you do not have to call me by my title. Kyron will suffice. As for the tribe, if this is the tribe from our stories, their legend goes back to our days of living on Earth.”
“Do you have any factual information on them, or is it all stories passed down through the generations?”
“We have many stories, but it is difficult to separate fact from legend. My mother spoke of the little island beings when I was young. It was a story told for generations. She said they arrived from other lands on Earth and had fled from great beasts and horrible famine. On the island, they encountered our kind and believed us to be gods. We lived in peace for many years.”
“So, they’re a peaceful people.”
“Only as the cobra is peaceful to the forest. I’ll tell you another story. One day a large beast arrived on the island, shaking the ground with its fury. It was the size of ten Altarrans and a thousand times as strong. Its body was covered with armor. Our people hid in the trees, but somehow the little humans defeated the creature. They thought of us as their gods, and we thought of them as our protectors. They defended us fiercely that day. It is said that from then on, no creatures ever dared to visit the island again.”
“Until other humans made the attempt,” said Ryan. “And we know how that went.”
“Indeed we do, Ryan Thompson.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the pilot of the transport. “Five minutes to release point. All hands to their stations.”
Ryan and the rest of the squadron hustled to get ready. It was time to make their move. He hadn’t been thrilled about the prospect of arriving on this island anyway, but now, after his conversation with Kyron, he really wasn’t looking forward to it. Just what he wanted to face: an ancient, mythical group of nasty, antisocial tribesmen hell-bent on protecting their gods. And if it was true that they’d defeated an armored beast, whatever it may have been, who knew what they were capable of?
Chapter 49
The Land Of The Gods
Ryan finished strapping himself into his seat on the long dark red glider. The sleek glider was docked in a built-in hangar area at the rear of the transport plane. According to the countdown on the monitors, the craft would be dropped into the atmosphere in sixty seconds. He made sure his night vision goggles were handy, as they’d be landing in the dark. Amanda was seated behind him, and to their left were two officers he didn’t recognize. The rest of the crew were behind them, except for the admiral, who was up front in the co-pilot’s seat with the pilot.
As he clenched his armrest, Ryan prayed that the admiral and the pilot were up to speed on their glider skills. Just the thought of being in a ship with no engines was unnerving. He’d read up on gliders and had even flown them in a simulator during training, but he never thought he’d end up flying in a real one. Still, there was no other choice. They certainly didn’t want to alert the Sentinelese tribe to their presence.
Ryan held his breath as the countdown reached zero. With a jerk, the bottom section of the transport opened downward, and the glider slid straight down into the night skies. Ryan felt his stomach flutter as the glider shifted violently to the right and then dropped quickly. It was much worse than the simulator. He remembered reading that a glider has to fall at a downward angle in order to gain enough speed to generate lift. As they nosedived, he hoped the lift would happen soon.
After what felt like mile-long, white-knuckle freefall in the dark, the glider finally caught the wind currents and began to level out. Ryan could feel his dinner trying to erupt from his stomach.
He made a mental note that if he somehow survived this mission, he’d never set foot in a glider again.
Traveling at least a hundred miles per hour once they’d leveled out, they had an eight-minute flight until touching down on the southern side of the island. Occasionally, the glider would slip to the side while flying forward, like an out-of-control sled, but eventually it straightened out. Every so often, there’d be a huge drop. As their altitude lowered, things started to become smoother. Thank God. Another minute of that and he definitely would have puked.
In the moonlight, he could see the island coming up fast as the glider zeroed in on its approach. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but within minutes, they were close to the beach at the south side of the island. He held on tight as the glider settled down on the soft sand, jumping a few times before coming to an abrupt halt just short of a row of trees. The touchdown was a little bumpy, but overall, it didn’t feel too much different from the few single engine landings he’d experienced.
He put on his night vision goggles and exited the craft with the squad. Amanda was right beside him. It was pitch black out, and it was jarring viewing everything through the green hue of the goggles. He felt like he was in a dirty fish tank. He watched as the squad of special ops forces readied themselves with all sorts of equipment. He already had his protective gear on, as did Amanda.
The admiral addressed everyone quietly prior to moving out.
“I want a three-wide formation,” he whispered. “Evans, Livingston, and Jones, take the point. Byrnes, Ryerson, and Hawthorne, you’ve got our six. The rest of the team follow suit. Ryan, Amanda, Kyron, and Supreme Commander, take the middle positions, three through six. Okay, boys and girls. We have to make it five miles in under an hour to get to the nearest heat signal. And remember, we’re in unfamiliar terrain. I want to be in position while we still have a few hours of darkness for cover. Let’s move out.”
Ryan knew exactly what his father was doing. He had purposely put him, Amanda, and the Altarrans in the middle of the squad. They were the most valuable, had the least experience, and they’d be safest with someone on either side of them.
“It’s awfully quiet out here,” Ryan said softly to Amanda. “All I can hear are our footsteps and those damn crickets.”
“Tree frogs,” said Amanda. “And it’s too quiet as far as I’m concerned. They’re bound to hear us from a mile away.”
As they moved deeper into the jungle, Ryan felt more and more uneasy. The only thing he heard besides the frogs was the occasional scampering of small lizards and the rustling of leaves. It hadn’t even dawned on him that there could be poisonous snakes. In a way, that creeped him out more than the Sentinelese.
Almost an hour had passed in silence when Lieutenant Evans on the point stopped and held up his hand. He turned to face the admiral. “Sir,” whispered Evans. “I have multiple heat signatures one-half click to the north.”
“Can you tell how many?” said the admiral.
“No sir.”
“Keep moving,” said the admiral. “Ready the concussion grenades. I’d like to avoid a massacre if at all possible.”
Ryan was still on edge as they continued moving forward. Every footstep sounded like a giant alarm in the darkness, alerting the Sentinelese to their presence. Not to mention that heat signatures were just ahead, which meant arrows could be heading their way any second. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Without warning, one of the officers in front of them grunted in pain, and another yelled, “Hit the deck!” A branch smacked Ryan in the face and he fell back. From all directions, it felt like the trees were attacking them. He looked ahead and it appeared some of the officers were already down. Branches were flying everywhere, and there was nowhere to take cover. He turned to see Amanda crawling toward a large boulder with a couple of the other troops. Just as he got up and lurched toward her, he heard the sound of something whiz by his ear. As he turned his head, he could see an arrow sticking out of the tree next to him.
Turning back toward the boulder, he was hit in the chest by what felt like a sledge hammer knocking him back to the ground. As he hit a pile of crushed branches, he looked up to see that it was Granthaxe who had pushed him down. And it was a good thing he had, because a large spear was embedded in the tree he’d just been standing in front of. Ryan crawled over to Amanda. She looked shaken but seemed to be uninjured. He looked out from behind the boulder. At least half of the team was down. He could see a few of them taking cover behind the trees and boulders.
Then, from every direction he could see tribesmen encircling them. They were falling from trees and coming out from under the ground. Ryan was startled when a bloodcurdling, bellowing howl pierced through the air just ahead of him. He looked toward the noise and realized it had come from Granthaxe, who was standing with his weapon drawn. Kyron was at his side, also holding her weapon. It must have been some sort of Altarran battle cry. A fruitless gesture though, as the tribesmen were all around them with their arrows pointed. Some were holding torches.
“Fire concussion grenades,” ordered the admiral.
Ryan and the remaining forces fired into the first wave of tribesmen in all directions. The explosion rocked the ground and most of the first wave of Sentinelese warriors fell to the ground. Ryan wasn’t sure if they were unconscious or dead. Unfortunately, the rest were standing behind the fallen ones, and they were unfazed. They began to move closer.
“Lock and load,” said the admiral. “But hold all fire until they’re within fifty feet.”
The tribesmen closed in. Ryan raised his pulse rifle, as did Amanda. His fingers were braced against the trigger as he watched them approach. He felt like a sitting duck, as he half expected the next round of darts to hit any second. How many of them could there be, and what other tricks did they have up their sleeves? As slow as they were moving, it seemed an ambush could happen at any moment. He couldn’t help thinking of his father’s words: none had ever escaped this island alive.
Chapter 50
The Showdown
Ryan stood frozen, waiting for his father’s signal as the tribesmen continued their agonizingly slow advance. It dawned on him that some kind of trap might fall from above. He glanced up, but didn’t see anything. Then he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kyron had moved in front of Granthaxe and was standing firm with her weapon down. He wondered what she was doing. She placed both her arms in front of her and crossed them, bringing them to her chest. Then she let out a howling sound, similar to the one Granthaxe had made, followed by a series of chants in a language he’d never heard before.
The Sentinelese tribe stopped for a moment. Could they have understood her? If only it would be that easy. He watched in anticipation as one of the Sentinelese tribesmen turned and spoke with some of the others. This was a good sign. They must have understood her and were probably debating what to do. Ryan said a silent prayer, even though he wasn’t the praying kind. He thought back to the old saying, There are no atheists in foxholes. The tribesman gave a sudden look toward Kyron. Then they all began approaching his way again, taking small deliberate steps, like a cat stalking its prey. So much for prayers. He wondered why the ones in the trees hadn’t begun attacking yet.
He looked again to Kyron and Granthaxe. “What’s the problem?” he said. “I thought these people worshipped you guys.”
“As did I, Ryan Thompson,” said Granthaxe. “Perhaps these are not the island people my mother spoke of.”
“They have to be,” said Ryan. “All the signs.”
Ryan couldn’t understand why the tribesmen didn’t back down at the sight of the Altarrans. Then it dawned on him. The tribesmen couldn’t see them! They must have thought it was a trick, that someone was coming to attack the queen. He grabbed a flare from his backpack.
Amanda grabbed him. “What are you doing?” she said.
“I’m an idiot. A complete idiot.”
“And you’re about to prove it,” she said.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“We can see them, but they can’t see us. That’s not an advantage.” Turning toward Amanda and the two other soldiers, he said, “Wish me luck, guys.”
“Wait!” said Amanda, “Don’t—”
He didn’t have time to let her finish. He began walking very slowly toward Granthaxe and Kyron.
“Ryan, what the hell are you doing?” said his dad.
Ryan was relieved his father was still alive but knew he couldn’t respond or he might trigger a reaction from the tribesmen. If he moved slowly enough, they might not take it as a threat. At least that’s what he figured.
As soon he felt a searing pain in his left shoulder, he knew he figured wrong. He grunted in agony and made a desperate lunge toward Granthaxe and Kyron, grabbing onto Granthaxe to hold himself up.
“You are wounded,” said Granthaxe.
“Never mind that,” said Ryan. “Both of you, remove your helmets and goggles now.”
“Why would—”
“Do as he says,” said Kyron, removing her headgear. Granthaxe followed suit.
Ryan felt another sharp pain in his shoulder. He didn’t know if it was the same arrow digging in or if he’d been shot again. “Close your eyes, quick,” he said to Granthaxe and Kyron.
“But how will we defend ourselves?” said Granthaxe.
“Just do it! Now!” he said, losing patience. He grabbed his flare and ignited it, holding it up toward their faces.
He looked toward the Sentinelese, who’d stopped dead in their tracks. He could feel warm liquid running down his back, and the pain was intense. At least it wasn’t poison or he’d be dead by now, though he was feeling awfully dizzy. After a few seconds, one of the tribesmen began to approach Ryan and the two Altarrans. He held a spear in his right hand and a torch in his left. As he moved closer and passed Ryan, it seemed obvious he was either their chief or some kind of spiritual leader. He looked older than the others, and was the only one wearing a shawl, which appeared to be made of sticks.
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