by Tara Ellis
The Libi Nati Preserve
As Peta stood staring at the map, the other voices in the room faded to the background until she couldn’t discern what they were saying anymore. It could have been Dr. Henry Crane during one of his infamous lectures, or her mother calling to her from the veranda of their farm, or her fiancé Ken bantering with her the way he’d loved to do. Memories of a life Peta would never get back, and she was struggling to maintain a grip on the one she was in.
Something wasn’t right. It was different from the deadly disease that had already ravaged the planet, or the geological events that were surely still unfolding around the globe. It wasn’t so obvious, or dramatic, but it was just as deadly and Peta could feel it gaining strength. Only, she couldn’t see it. Not yet.
Rubbing warily at her face, Peta turned to take a mug of fresh coffee from Akuba as she walked into the office behind her. “Thank you,” she mouthed before taking a big gulp. She’d built up quite a resistance to caffeine over the years, but her intake had been drastically reduced over the past two weeks, so she was hopeful the strong locally grown brew would help to clear her head.
“I’m sure I crossed the river here,” Slaider was saying. “We had to go downstream for several hours to find a good spot, so if we cut through this ravine here—”
Peta moved closer to the table that used to house the microscopes and was now occupied by two maps. One was topographical, the other paper, which they were marking up based on Slaider’s directions.
Slaider slid his finger along a ridge that ended at a small river. “Through this,” he said, nodding with confidence. “It should shave several hours off the hike.”
Jason carefully scrutinized the area and then translated it into a red line on the other map. “Okay. And you said the village is only a couple of miles after the river crossing?”
“At most,” Slaider confirmed. He hovered over the map for a moment and then walked around it in a complete circle. “Do you see this small body of water represented here?” he asked, setting his finger onto a blue patch on the topographical chart. “I believe this is where the water flows from the outlet to the caves, on the other side of the mountains that surround the Tan Presi Rutu. The village area itself is hidden under the canopy of the jungle. It won’t be on any maps, no matter how detailed, unless it was explored by foot.”
Peta noticed the way Akuba was staring at Slaider, and she knew they had a conversation to finish. Jason had insisted they nail down the logistics first, before grilling him about how the meeting with the elders went. Over the past half-hour, they’d managed to fill him in on who they were and why they so desperately needed the plant, but he’d said very little about the Lokono.
“Still no word from Garrett,” Jess announced. She and Tyler had been manning the radio, after retrieving the valuable map. Before leaving the preserve, they were hoping to confirm Paul and Maya had made it onto the boat.
Jason checked his watch. “Well, we’ve got another thirty minutes until the next scheduled check-in. That gives us enough time to pack. Let’s plan on leaving as soon as we talk to him and let him know where we’re going. I’d like to try and figure out some coordinates to give him…just in case.”
“Let’s say we reach this Rutu place,” Devon said, leaning on the table and over the map. “What then? I’m not a math whiz or anything, but I’m thinking if some three-hundred people don’t want us there, we aren’t going to have much luck getting anything.”
Akuba grinned at him and took the opportunity to pose her first question to Slaider. “What was my mother’s response to the letter I wrote?”
Slaider looked grim. “I’m afraid she didn’t see it. She isn’t well,” he added. “A wound she got during the hike to the village became infected and she’s delirious with fever.”
Akuba’s eyes widened and she slammed down her cup of coffee onto the desk. “Who is in charge?”
“The elders.” Slaider scratched at his jaw and Peta could tell he was extremely uncomfortable. “Kavish’s grandfather permitted him to present your letter to them, and they loosely agreed to allow you and other indigenous people from local villages to come back with us. But this—” he swept a hand around to include everyone else in the room before shaking his head. “This is going to take some convincing, especially since Kavish won’t be with us.”
Akuba stood up straighter. “With my mother ill, I am their acting Captain. I will do my best not to slow you down,” Akuba said to Jason. “But I must go. The elders will never allow you to harvest the Libi Prani unless I am there to explain why, and to support it.”
“I’ll help you,” Devon said. “We all will. We’ll get you there, and we can bring your mom some antibiotics.”
“Absolutely,” Jason agreed. “Why don’t you take Tyler and Jess to get some supplies and the medicine? We all need to start packing, but keep it light.”
“Davies isn’t going to wait,” Peta added. When the statement caused everyone to pause, Peta sighed and pulled her hair back from her face, feeling a certain level of frustration. “The map. The one Kavish has? I don’t know how Davies figured it out, and maybe it’s because Eddy told him, but if he sent his guys to the village in a search of the ancient site, then he knows it’s important. He’ll know what he has as soon as someone finds Kavish’s map. You can bet that if he isn’t already planning his excursion …he will be soon. Just like we are.”
“Right,” Jason said, confirming that he’d already been thinking the same thing. “Which is why we have to get there first.”
“Our map wasn’t detailed,” Slaider said. Pointing at the newly lined paper Jason was hovering over, he tried to look optimistic. “We added some landmarks, but it’s still very crude and Kavish won’t help them. We’ll get there first.”
“Come on,” Devon called, waving at Tyler and Jess. “Let’s go get the supplies. I’ll protect you from any psycho monkeys.”
“Um, let’s take Marty,” Tyler suggested, patting at his leg to get the dog’s attention. “Not that I don’t trust you,” he added when Devon gave him a hurt look as the three of them left the office.
Akuba took Slaider’s hand. “Let’s go get you some food and medicine for your face.”
Peta watched them leave before turning to Jason. She was glad they’d have a few minutes alone before leaving. She needed someone to bounce her thoughts off of, and he had a way of helping her see things clearly. He was busy computing and writing down the longitude and latitude for Garrett, and it reminded Peta how varied his background was as both a soldier and physician.
He glanced up and caught her staring at him. “What is it?” Dropping the pencil, he crossed his arms and squinted at her. “I’ve seen that look before and it usually isn’t over something good.”
Chuckling, Peta shook her head and took another sip of coffee, trying to think of the best way to phrase what was on her mind. “It’s like a puzzle.”
“Okay…” Jason said slowly, watching her closely.
She pressed her lips together, grasping for the right words. “The pieces are all here. But it’s like I’ve dropped one of them under the table, you know? And it’s preventing me from seeing the complete image for what it is.”
“What are the pieces?” Jason asked, skipping right past the whole analogy and getting to the point. That was exactly what Peta liked about him.
“The Moho,” she started, ticking them off on the fingers of her right hand. “The thermophile, the prions, and the Libi Nati.” Leaving the map, Peta went to look out the window and at the muted afternoon light as it cast deeper shadows into the Amazon that was already starting to overtake the lawn. They’d be walking into that jungle soon, and she felt at a disadvantage for her lack of clarity. “The vectors…” she whispered. “And psycho monkeys.”
“Psycho monkeys?” Jason repeated, moving up next to her. “Jess said her monkey was…different. A lot more aggressive and—”
“Primal.” Peta turned to face him as the cogs
on the wheels finally met and started turning. A familiar feeling she’d often get when making a breakthrough in the lab coursed through her and nearly stole her breath away. “Primal.”
Jason frowned. “I think you might be losing me.”
“Last night, I was able to confirm my suspicions that the vectors were different,” Peta explained. “Between The Kuru we encountered in the states, and The Kra Puru that was rampant here, and in the Libi Nati water that you just collected.”
“The thermophiles,” Jason said, nodding. “Right. You told me about that. Eddy theorized early on that the prions were likely the same and wouldn’t change. But the delivery method was probably different, depending on where you were in the evolutionary chain of the thermophile and whatever bacteria it encountered once it was introduced to our environment.”
Peta snapped her fingers at him. “Exactly! Thermophiles and extremophiles are well known for their ability to spontaneously mutate to adapt to their environment, which is how they survive in the extreme conditions of a hot spring. Or, a never-before discovered region in the earth that we tapped into when we drilled the MOHO.”
“Is this new information?” Jason asked, sounding hesitant. “I know it’s important, and that what you were able to document last night and send to Garrett should be beneficial, but how does this fit into your puzzle, or pertain to us right now? If we don’t think the prion itself and the disease hasn’t mutated, it doesn’t change what we’re doing.”
“Because the Libi Nati erupted again yesterday,” Peta said. She searched his face, waiting for the moment of understanding.
There it was. His eyes widened.
“The animals,” Jason muttered, looking back outside. “Their behavior has changed in the past twenty hours or so since it happened.”
“And now The Cured attacking the Immunes at Akuba’s village?” Peta added.
Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out forcefully. “You think the original thermophile mutated into a brand-new vector.”
Nodding, Peta didn’t feel the relief she was expecting at pulling it all together. “Like you said, I doubt the prion itself has changed. But the delivery method, which in this situation equates to a more thorough blood-brain barrier crossing, allows further intrusion into the brain.” Pulling at Jason’s arm so that he looked at her, she put the final piece into place. “I think the increased violence and aggression is literally because the area of the brain where the primal functions are located is being damaged. Or, maybe it’s the part of the brain that controls it. Either way, I believe they’re losing their ability for higher reasoning.”
“Which ties right into the Lokono’s stories of monsters in the jungle,” Jason agreed. “Men acting like animals.”
“Somehow, Davies figured this out,” Peta said. “Or he at least realized that the infection was stronger, and different at the source. Maybe it was based on whatever information he swapped with Madeline early on. That’s why he’s been so focused on the hot spring, and with shipping it out.”
“That sick bastard wants the stronger infection to spread more,” Jason growled. “To advance the Kra Puru version.”
Peta grimaced, but didn’t disagree with him. “And if this newest thermophile is able to create what amounts to a secondary infection in the Cured, whatever part of Davies that was left and prevented him from being violent, could be gone now. Or will be soon.”
Jason rubbed at his bare arms and then paled. “Wait. We don’t know how our immunity works. Whether it’s to the prions, or the mode of transmission. If we’re dealing with another mutated thermophile, what does that mean for us?”
Peta took his arm, the one with several fresh burns from the geyser, and finally understood why she’d been subconsciously fighting against herself to see things for what they were. It was too hard to accept that they could get so close, only to be defeated by an enemy they couldn’t even see. The truth was that she didn’t know.
She looked up at Jason, and moved her hand to his face. The face of a man who bore more scars than herself, though they weren’t all visible. Together, they’d have to confront that truth and keep fighting until there wasn’t anything left to fight for. “I don’t know what it means,” she admitted. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”
Chapter 25
MADELINE
Amazon Jungle near Kumalu, Suriname
Libi Nati Resort
Dr. Madeline Schaefer had an iron-grip on the siderail of the Jeep as it rumbled down the gravel road. It was the best stretch they’d traveled all day, which she attributed to it being the private drive for the Libi Nati Resort.
She’d been on the road since before dawn. After finally arriving at the port in Paramaribo, Madeline had absolutely no intentions of waiting for the sun. She’d ordered the drivers who’d been there since the day before to be woken, and off they went.
The drive to the literal end-of-the-road in Pokigron had been rather fast and uneventful. She was impressed with the detailed network that The Cured already had in place, which ensured safe passage through a landscape that may have otherwise proven hostile.
Madeline was no stranger to traveling in godforsaken-lands in the middle of nowhere, though it had been years since she’d done any field work.
Is that what this is? Field work?
Gritting her teeth against the random thought, Madeline refused to address her inner voice. It was a nuisance that was increasing in regularity, and she was quite certain that if she entertained the notion and engaged in the internal conversation as she used to do before, it would only get worse.
In spite of her experience, Madeline was somewhat unprepared for the depth to which the small, tumultuous roads through the thickening jungle took them. And although the unusual death-hush that had befallen the rest of the world wasn’t apparent while under the canopy of trees, she was still aware of it. It lent a sort of supernatural air to the humid, shadowy realms through which they’d travelled, and it was hard to ignore.
As the open expanse of the resort came into view, Madeline’s fingers relaxed. She would not admit to experiencing any apprehension. Or to the persistent sensation deep within her brain that caused her foot to bounce in rhythm to its demand to be felt and acknowledged. Worry…anxiety…an emotional tremor much like the prions in that it was infecting her thoughts.
I’m here. It’ll be better now.
Madeline almost nodded in response to herself, but instead pointed at the busy parking lot while turning to the indigenous man driving the Jeep. “It looks like there’s a lot of activity,” she said, eyes narrowing. “Is this normal?”
One brisk shake of his head was the only answer she got. It wasn’t until he had pulled in and parked between two trucks that he turned to her. “I’ll have someone get your bags. Follow me, Dr. Davies is waiting.”
Stepping down to the ground, Madeline had to take a moment to stretch. Age aside, her joints were continuing to be an issue and the past several days of travel had only made the pain worse.
She tugged at the hem of her shirt, a rather plain tan polo with the ICONS logo over the left breast. She hadn’t thought much of it when she packed it, but standing there at her destination, it seemed fitting. The corporation was what lead her to the work on the MOHO, and eventually her hunt for The Kuru, after all. Plus, every rising empire needed a name and something to build upon, and she could eventually tap into some of their remaining resources.
The sounds of the jungle became more pronounced as Madeline stood with her eyes closed, allowing her senses to interpret and expand. She heard the wind through the canopy, countless insects, birds and monkeys. It all intertwined to compose a song that could only be performed by nature. It was powerful, and Madeline would never tire of experiencing it. It was a shame the rest of existence couldn’t be so…clean.
“Dr. Schaeffer.”
Allowing a slight frown to wiggle its way into her brow, Madeline opened her eyes and turned to the rather insiste
nt lackey. “Of course, lead the way.”
Her first impression of the resort was that of an oasis within an oasis. Manicured lawns only slightly overgrown spread in every direction, intersected with clumps of foliage and prehistoric-looking trees. Weathered boardwalks offered easy access and direction to what Madeline assumed were the hot springs and perhaps some other features that were advertised. Several people walked with purpose throughout the grounds, some with their arms loaded down with boxes or bags of items that were indiscernible.
Looming beyond and a hundred feet above it all was the exotic Amazon Rainforest. Its infamous canopy was home to up to ninety percent of the animals that resided there, and it represented some of the least explored places on earth. Madeline had once consulted with a team researching some of the tribes of the Amazon that had never been contacted by the outside world. It was fascinating stuff.
Madeline forced herself to look away from the jungle and back to the building she was being led to. It was rather nondescript, and could have been a bungalow at any vacation “paradise”. A wide veranda, plenty of bamboo, and carved wooden artwork that she figured must have come from local craftsmen, decorated the entrance.
Inside, beyond the double-doored entry, stood two rows of people facing each other to create a sort of gauntlet for her to walk through. There were only six of them but they still made an impression, in part due to the identical terry-cloth shirts they wore. However, it wasn’t the shirts Madeline was drawn to, but the glass jars they each held as if they were making her some sort of offering.
She knew what was in the jars.
“Dr. Schafer!” A man said loudly as he walked into the room, causing Madeline to stop in the middle of the welcoming party.
She presumed the man was Eric Davies. Though he was older and looked quite different than the one photo she’d seen of him, they’d spoken enough on the radio for her to recognize his voice. “Dr. Davies,” she said in reply, unsure how she was expected to respond.