by Erik Hyrkas
Chapter 7. Miranda
I had enough first-aid training to know that the metal trap had broken my lower leg in at least two spots. The sheriff held most of my weight as we made our way through the trees. Tyler had disappeared in an instant, and between that fact and the pain, I felt a sense of shock. Worst was the thought that this was only my second mission and already two agents working with me had been put in jeopardy.
The forest was dense, and the sheriff and I had to push our way through the undergrowth. I kept scanning the area for any movement, but I couldn’t see anything. With all the sound we were making, I couldn’t hear anything either. Each step was excruciating, and I struggled to focus on the danger we were in to keep from passing out. We had no idea what we were up against or what this menace was capable of, I told myself.
The way Tyler had vanished was indeed unnerving. I hadn’t heard of any creatures capable of complete invisibility, but maybe the source of our ping was capable of chameleon-like color adaptation. Then it occurred to me that there was a chance the creature could fly. Whatever it was, it took Tyler quickly and silently. One second he was there and the next he was gone. He didn’t even have a chance to shout for help. Then I was stupid enough to step in a trap, and now Max was left by himself against whatever it was that took Tyler.
I took a deep breath. I needed to stay calm and keep a level head. Max was resilient and resourceful. He had survived other assignments—Tyler had said so. Then again, Tyler was a senior agent. He’d been doing this longer than both Max and me, and he was the one missing.
“My place is right over here,” John said.
A goat walking through the yard bleated at me and walked away as we passed. A few very large chickens were walking around, bigger chickens than I had ever seen. If KFC found out about them, their lives were at serious risk.
“Oh, don’t kill the big guy with the white T-shirt and tan cargo pants unless he causes problems,” he said to the goat. The goat looked blankly at him.
John helped me into the house and sat me in a blue recliner. I couldn’t remember ever being so glad to be able to sit down. The initial shock was wearing off and my shin screamed in pain.
The sheriff knelt down and examined my leg for a moment. A jolt of electricity hit me at his touch like he had dragged his feet across shag carpet and then zapped me.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m going to find some first-aid supplies. I’ll be right back.”
“No problem,” I said. “I’m not going anywhere, not without crawling.”
After he left the room, I pulled out my com link and called Wendy. It took about thirty seconds for her to answer. A hologram of her face appeared.
“I hope you have good news,” she said.
“Wendy, Tyler is missing,” I said. I thought about what the sheriff had said about finding bits and pieces of the folks that this whatever-it-was had taken. I didn’t have the heart to say that he might be eaten. Maybe Max would find him before that happened, I reassured myself.
She sighed in exasperation. “I can only imagine what you’ve done. Follow standard protocol and begin searching the perimeter for traces of him.”
“I was injured, and so Max is looking for him. Can you locate Tyler using the GPS on his com link?” I asked.
“I can’t believe you left your partner alone in a potentially hostile situation.” There was a moment of silence. “Tyler has no active com link. We’ll have to hope that Agent Maximus will find him.”
I fought to keep my cool. I saw Tyler’s com link this morning, I wanted to shout at her, but then I started to wonder if she was right about leaving Max. I had broken protocol. I left Max alone. “Tyler simply disappeared. We could really use more information on what we’re up against.” Then I remembered there was information missing from the brief. “Did you find out anything more on the erased brief data?”
“I looked into it, but there are no records of any erased data. I checked with Stellar Command, and they know where all of their Phoenix craft are, so….”
“I saw the data disappear right in front of me.”
“Maybe it was a glitch,” she suggested.
I gritted my teeth. “Can you think of any creature capable of extreme stealth that might have taken Tyler?”
“Computer, answer Agent Miranda’s question,” Wendy said.
“Her name is Jasmine,” I said.
“There are four thousand two hundred forty-two creatures on file with stealth capabilities sufficient to take Agent Tyler,” the computer answered.
I sighed.
“You are there to investigate. Stick with your partner, investigate, and find Agent Tyler.” Wendy disconnected.
A large rooster wandered into the room. It was handsome, in a poultry sort of way. I suspected it wasn’t from this planet, but it seemed tame enough. Then some of my training kicked in. John wasn’t from this planet, which was obvious from the moment we met. Tyler disappeared right before we met him. What if John had taken Tyler out and then tricked Max and me into separating? He seemed friendly, and Max had trusted him. But maybe Max had been wrong. Though I couldn’t imagine how, maybe John knew Max could regenerate and knew he couldn’t risk a confrontation. Then I heard footsteps coming my way from the interior of the house. I loosened my pistol in its holster.