by Barry Alder
Peter paused for a few moments, letting his breath and heart calm before stuffing the dead rabbit in the sack he carried. Looking around carefully, he tried to see if he was being watched by anything else before slowly and carefully moving off. Although he saw nothing, the hair on the back of his head was standing on end, and he knew that eyes were on him.
* * *
Joe had visited the tropics many times in his life, and easily spotted a number of trees and bushes that provided an array of fruits for the taking. Wild pears, apples, bananas and kiwi fruit were easily picked off the trees and his bag was soon full. As he collected, he sampled his collection, carefully tasting the produce before adding it to his bag. Although they looked “normal,” he wanted to be sure they were still edible in this new world.
He had just added a fruit to his bag when he felt something brush against his leg. Grabbing his knife, he whirled around to catch sight of a small pig as it turned and faced him. Must be my lucky day, he thought as he slowly moved toward the animal. He'd seen wild pigs in his travels before, but they had always run away at the first sight of a person. This one was different. It stood and waited for him to approach.
There was no doubt about it. It knew he was there and was not afraid of him. He slowly moved toward the pig, and when he was directly over it, grabbed its right foreleg and lifted it up, slicing its neck in the process. The pig struggled and tried to squeal, but only gurgles came out as blood ran down its body and over Joe’s hand. He had just placed the dead animal on the ground when he noticed three others under the leaves of a nearby plant. They all stared at him, not moving. Bonus, he thought as he edged toward them. He was almost within striking distance when they bolted, heading deep into the bush and out of his reach. Joe allowed himself a small chuckle as he cleaned off his hand and knife, and finished draining the pig. Almost too easy, he thought, placing the pig carcass in his bag. The bag was full now, and it was time to head back.
As he slung the bag over his shoulder, he noticed a large crow sitting in a tree nearby. The bird was staring at him intently, watching his every move. Joe had no idea how long the crow had been there, and thought it strange that it would be taking such an interest in him. He moved slightly toward the bird, but as he approached it, it hopped to a higher branch. Joe stopped. The bird never took its eyes off of him. A sense of uneasiness grew in him and, after a few moments, he moved down the path, acutely aware the crow was still watching him.
* * *
Hong was stuck. As he looked around the small clearing he stood in, he saw that the dense growth, thick vines, and what looked like bramble bushes surrounding him offered no avenue ahead. He was about to turn back when he glimpsed a small movement near the edge of the brush. He froze; not wanting to startle whatever might be hiding there. As his eyes adjusted to the reduced light, he saw a small deer lying in amongst the leaves.
He crouched down closer to the deer’s level, and slowly made his way across the open ground. The deer was watching intently but made no movement. He quickly found himself beside the deer, which started nuzzling his hand. He stroked its neck, feeling the soft, smooth fur in his fingers. Unlike some of the members of his unit, he avoided killing whenever possible, and was about to get up and leave when he saw a large crow land in the clearing. The crow stared at him for a moment, and then cawed loudly. Immediately, the deer jumped up and fled, knocking him over in the process. He rolled into the center of the clearing, ending flat on his back. When he turned over, he saw the crow was still there, just out of reach, and still watching him. He stared back at it for a few moments before getting up. As he rose to one knee, the crow let out another loud caw and took to the air, repeating its call over and over again. He watched as it disappeared into the deepening shadows, continuing its cry. What was that all about? he wondered as he retraced his steps back out of the clearing.
* * *
The last rays of sunlight had turned the few overhead clouds bright red when the three scouts met again. Hong was the last to arrive, having been forced to backtrack because of the dense bush.
“Any luck?” he asked the others.
“I’ll say,” replied Joe. “Lots of fruits and a pig. Easy picking, all of them.”
“Yea,” continued Pete, “had this rabbit come right up to me. Easiest kill I’ve ever made. If it weren’t for the wilderness here, I’d think it was someone’s pet, only I didn’t see any sign of people.”
“There’s a small village about five miles down the coast,” Hong said, “but I doubt they’d have rabbits for pets. And I saw a large pile of seaweed on the beach that wasn’t put there naturally.”
“Nothing else?” asked Joe.
“No. That’s all I saw.”
“We should get back,” said Pete. “The others are probably starving.”
Both Hong and Joe chuckled at Pete’s comment as they started back to the cave.
* * *
Hong stopped to look up through the trees. The darkness was almost complete now, with the stars shining brightly, but the rising moon was making the trip back to the complex easier. Hong, however, did not feel at ease. The warmth of the place he had felt earlier in the day was gone, and he was sure it wasn’t due to the sun going down. Something had changed and he had no idea what it was.
* * *
Rick and Patricia leaned easily against the rock face just inside the cave entrance. From here they could see anyone coming up the path, even in the reduced light, and easily spotted the returning trio.
Rick ran back into the complex, and returned a few moments later with Raphael.
“How did it go? Did you see anyone?” Raphael asked.
“There’s a small village about five miles from here,” Hong replied, “but we didn’t see anyone, although it looks like they do come up this way from time to time.”
“But,” interjected Joe with a smile, “we did get some grub, and a pretty good selection if I do say so myself.”
Raphael took a quick look at their bags, and motioned for the two successful hunters to head to the kitchen.
Pete and Joe paused just inside the complex door as the other team members crowded around the kitchen entrance. Fake expressions of disgust came from some when Joe removed the dead pig carcass and laid it on the counter. Raphael ignored them and pulled Hong off to one side.
“Did you see the Boss and Lou?” he asked worriedly.
“No,” Hong replied, “but the forest out there is pretty dense. You could hide a whole company out there and not see a single person. But, I did see four sets of footprints. Two with boots and two barefoot.”
“Two barefoot?”
“Yep. Seems our lady friend had a partner.”
The news did not make Raphael feel any better. The Boss and Lou might be in danger, captured, or worse. Perhaps they hadn’t had the time or the opportunity to warn the rest. Or perhaps, nothing was wrong. It infuriated him to not know, but he had his orders and, for the time being, would follow them.
“Okay, Hong. That’s good,” he sighed. “But why no food?”
“Well, Raph, you know I don’t hunt. And I didn’t recognize anything edible out there. I knew the others were better at that, so I focused on seeing if anyone was about. Seems I was more successful than they were.”
Raphael gave him a dubious look.
“So all you saw was the one village?”
“Yea. The area we’re in seems very secluded, almost cut off from the rest of the land. That is, if there’s land on the other side of the mountains. There’s a large mountain range that extends as far as I could see, and it appears unscalable. I think that, other than our friends down the coast, we’re pretty much all to ourselves.”
“Coast?” Raphael asked disconcertedly.
“Yea. Just the other side of the dunes is the ocean. Or at least what looks and smells like the ocean.”
Raphael felt his stomach drop.
“Shit,” he said, remembering the last log entry Tim and Sean had found.
“No. The village was too far away for a close view. But I noticed there were no motorized tracks anywhere. In fact, the reason I spotted the village in the first place was because of smoke from an outdoor fire. I’m not sure, but I think it was a cooking fire.”
Raphael nodded. “How many people in the village?”
“Hard to tell,” replied Hong, “but I’d guess no more than a hundred.”
“Okay. That’s all for now. Why don’t we go into the kitchen and see how they’re doing.”
* * *
The sky was black as Jason, Louise, and Lara approached the jungle path. The walk along the beach had been silent, with both Jason and Louise taking note of their surroundings. The sea was calm and only gentle waves washed on the shore. A soft breeze came off the ocean, chilling the air. Jason could see the goose bumps on Louise’s arms, and chuckled quietly to himself.
Lara didn’t pause at the edge of the brush. Both Louise and Jason had to rush to catch up with her as she disappeared amongst the dense undergrowth.
Once in the jungle, it was almost impossible to see more than a couple of yards, yet Lara seemed to know precisely where to go. The dim moonlight added little to the visibility as the three travelers moved quickly along the path. More than once, Lara had to stop to wait for her two companions, and although Jason could detect a small amount of frustration in her, she did not openly express any impatience with them.
* * *
About an hour later, they approached the complex. Jason stopped, not at all happy with what he saw. Rick and Patricia were still on guard, but seemed preoccupied with something going on inside. Not good, he thought, knowing the two guards should have easily spotted them by now.
He coughed, and Rick and Patricia turned. They both looked embarrassed and were starting to offer explanations when Jason held up his hand.
“There’s no excuse,” he said brusquely.
They hung their heads and remained silent.
“So what is it that’s so interesting in there?” Jason asked curtly.
“Pete, Joe, and Hong were out on a recon mission,” Rick replied, “and they came back with fresh food.”
Jason was impressed. Raphael had obviously made a good choice to have them go out. Once again, he felt proud of his decision to promote Raphael to his second.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go inside.”
* * *
Raphael looked up from the command console as Jason entered.
“Boss!” he cried. “You made it back.”
“Obviously,” Jason replied. “What’s the status here?”
“Resource-wise, not too bad,” replied Raphael, “and from the logs, we have an idea of what happened to the world, and we have fresh food.”
“Go on,” said Jason.
As Raphael continued his report, the rest of the team gathered around. When he finished, Jason paused to collect his thoughts before speaking.
“We weren’t able to learn much about the people who woke us, but it appears they are friendly and are willing to help us. I suggested to them that we move into their village and they’ve accepted. We move tomorrow. I also have more information on what happened to the world while we were in stasis, and I’ll fill you in later.”
He paused again, waiting for questions, but none came.
“Okay. Finish your meals and try to get some sleep. We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”
Most of the team disbanded and went back to eating, but Peter and Sara approached him.
“Do we have to stay in the compound tonight?” Peter queried.
“Why do you ask?”
“The others,” Sara replied, motioning to the stasis units back in the control room.
“No,” Jason said, acknowledging the uneasiness they were feeling. He could see an immediate relief in them.
“Tell the others if they want to sleep outside, it’s okay. We’ll post some sentries later.”
Peter and Sara spread the word amongst the rest of the team. Jason saw that everyone preferred to spend the night outside, and realized the situation was affecting them more than he had thought. Perhaps he was asking too much of his team. Still, he had no choice. Circumstances had been forced upon them and he was in charge. It was up to him to see that the team got through, and he would do anything necessary to accomplish that goal.
He took some comfort knowing that they had, if not friends, at least supporters in this world. That, and the fact that they weren’t in an active combat situation, would go a long way to helping the team come to grips with their uneasiness. He said a silent prayer of thanks and returned his attention to Lara.
* * *
Lara had been standing in the background since they had entered the complex. Although she couldn’t understand them yet, she could interpret most of the actions she observed, but was puzzled when two of the soldiers went to speak with Jason directly. They appeared to be uncomfortable with something inside and clearly didn’t want to remain there. As she continued watching, she saw Jason quell their fears, and when he turned to her, she walked over.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, pointing to the two soldiers who had just left.
She saw a puzzled look appear on his face and felt frustrated, but it lasted only momentarily, as the look on Jason’s face quickly disappeared. He cocked his head to one side, indicating that she was to follow him.
Suddenly, she felt apprehensive. Although she didn’t see anything dangerous, the pit of her stomach tightened. They approached the stasis beds and she saw a few of them were open and bare, but that the rest remained closed.
He stopped in front of one of the closed beds, and gestured for her to come closer. The feeling of anxiety grew as she approached. Jason cleared the dust that had settled on the cover and motioned for her to look.
She slowly approached the table and peered into the cover.
Gasping, she jumped back, right into Jason.
She had seen dead people before, but never so long after they had died. The corpse was well decayed but dry; mummified after such a long time. The sight of it scared her, bringing up ancient, ancestral memories that she never knew existed.
She turned and hugged Jason, an instinctive reaction that immediately comforted her and puzzled her. Jason froze, unsure of what to do. She pulled away from him as soon as she regained her composure. When he looked at her, she saw compassion on his face, and realized he had never intended to shock her, just show her what had happened.
Unfortunately, she had the answer she sought. This was a graveyard and few relished the thought of sleeping in one. She realized the people who survived knew the ones who didn’t, and probably knew them well. Most people, given enough warning, could sleep in a graveyard. Very few, she realized, could sleep with dead friends.
She made her way toward the door, partly to remove herself from the corpses, and partly to stay out of everyone else’s way. From what she could see, they were not planning to come back with her to the village tonight. She was puzzled by this, and looked at Jason, expressing her confusion.
He caught her look and came to speak to her. Although she didn’t understand the words, she perceived that there was something important they needed to do before they came to the village.
She felt frustrated, but there was nothing she could do here, and she was expected back at the village. Motioning to Jason, she indicated that she was leaving and would return in the morning.
* * *
Jason watched Lara leave. He could understand her not wanting to remain. There wasn’t anything she could do here, and he knew he would feel unwanted and frustrated if he were in her position.
He headed toward the kitchen area, realizing just how hungry he was. As he entered, he saw the team waiting for him.
“Boss?” Raphael asked.
“What, Raph?”
“Why did they wake us?”
“I don’t know. And probably won’t until we lear
n how to talk with them. What I did learn seems to indicate that we were left because they thought it would be too dangerous for us to be revived. I don’t know what lead them to that decision, but that’s the way things went.”
From the looks on their faces, Jason could see this didn’t help much, but there was nothing else he could say. He sat at the table and silently ate the meal that Velma had given him. The rest of the team mulled around, making him feel awkward.
“Why don’t you get set up outside?” he said to no one in particular.
Almost reluctantly, most of the team moved off, gathered their sleeping gear and headed outside. Patricia and Sara remained behind.
“Something bothering you?” asked Jason.
“When will we bury the others?” asked Sara.
“Tomorrow,” Jason said softly, “And then we’ll head to the village.”
They nodded and left. As he watched them go, he wondered just how much of this was affecting him? He searched his feelings, something he had done only rarely, but found nothing. As the team leader, this didn’t surprise him. His focus was on the mission and the team. That didn’t leave much time for his own feelings and, in this case, he thought, it was a good thing.
Chapter 2
The morning arrived early, with the sounds of birds ringing through the forest just before daybreak. As he finished his cleanup, Jason saw that very few of the team were chatting. When the last had finished breakfast, he called them together.
“We've got a lot to do today,” he said solemnly, “and the first thing is to bury our friends.”
He paused to give them time to remember their lost comrades.
“Hong, Pete, Joe, and Tim. I want you to bring them out. The rest of us will dig the graves.”
He saw a few nods, but mostly they just moved off to their tasks. Jason understood. This was affecting them deeply, and he respected that.
* * *
Lara arrived about mid-morning, and wasn’t surprised at what she saw. On her trip to the base, she had realized the soldiers would want to take care of their dead before going to the village. She didn’t want to interfere with the somber task, so she sat at the edge of the clearing where the graves were being dug and quietly waited. The soldiers who did notice her just nodded and continued their work in silence.