They nodded.
“Good. Who wants to go first?”
Yael stepped forward, as did Barbara and the guy whose name Alex still didn’t know, a skinny black guy with short hair and fuzzy stubble.
“You can screw it up,” he said to Barbara. “It’s okay. But try to do your best. Have you ever fired a gun before?”
“Just a pistol,” she said. “At a range.”
“Good,” he said. “It’s the same thing, just bigger.” He grinned at her, and she smiled back.
“Here, take these ear plugs and put them in.” He handed each of them a pair of foam plugs and waited while they stuck them in their ears. “I don’t have a stop watch, so I’m going to count out loud. Ready? Go.”
As soon as he started counting, he watched Yael, curious to see how she would do.
She immediately dropped to her knees, picked up the rifle and pulled back on the charging handle while activating the bolt catch with her other hand. Leaving the weapon on her lap, she scooped up the empty magazine and popped the bullets in without hesitation. She wasn’t especially quick, but she moved with precision. The guy next to her dropped his bullets more than once in his haste. Yael slid the magazine into the well, tapped it to make sure it was seated, then smacked the bolt release with her palm.
When he reached thirty, she had been ready for at least ten seconds. Barbara was still fumbling with getting the bullets into the magazine, and the skinny guy just barely made it.
“Yael,” Alex said. “Help Barbara out if you don’t mind.” She nodded, and picked up Barbara’s rifle, locked the bolt back and handed it to her when she was ready. Barbara fumbled the magazine in the well and Yael showed her the bolt release.
“Good,” he said. “Now for the next part. Ready…go.”
He started counting again. Yael picked up her rifle and examined the Aimpoint sight. She found its control knob almost instantly and looked into the tube as she began to turn it. After a few clicks, she shouldered the weapon, took it off safety, pointed it at the can and fired. The can spun, a large hole clearly visible near its edge.
Barbara jumped at the noise despite her ear plugs and dropped her rifle. Fortunately it fell onto the vest butt first and didn’t get sand in the barrel. The college girls weren’t too happy and moved back even further, holding their ears.
Yael fired twice more, and hit the can each time. The skinny black guy started shooting just as she fired her last round, and he hit the can two out of three times. Barbara was still fumbling with the sight, cringing at each deafening blast.
“Here we go,” she said, getting it to work. She fired three times, but missed the can. Two of her shots came reasonably close. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just not very good at this.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re not terrible at it either.” He turned to the others. “Okay, you two are in.”
The black guy walked up to him and extended his hand. “I’m Patrick.” Alex shook it.
“Welcome aboard, Patrick.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay,” Alex said. “Time to set up for the other three.” As he approached the three stations, Yael put her rifle down and started to walk away. He held up a hand to stop her.
“That was awesome,” he said softly so that the others wouldn’t hear. “Where did you learn to do that?”
She frowned at him, glancing over to the two spectators. “I spent three summers in a kibbutz.”
“That’s one of those Israeli farming and shooting camps, right?”
She shook her head, but managed to smile. “That’s a narrow way of looking at it, but yes. I learned to farm, and to shoot.”
“I knew it,” he said, grinning.
“So,” she said, tilting her head. “You’ll shoot me if I don’t obey you?”
He looked around, making sure no one else was close enough to hear. “Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.”
“So you were lying? Just making sure people would listen?”
“No. I meant it, just not for you.”
“Oh, so what I’m special somehow?”
“You are to me,” he said, then turned away before he could see her reaction. “Okay. Next three.”
Tom, Ryan and the blond stepped forward.
“I’m Sandi,” she said. “Thank you for letting me try out. My father had an AR-15 and taught me how to use it. And I’m on the track team.”
Alex grinned. “I never looked at it that way, but I guess these are try outs, aren’t they? I feel like one of those ridiculous bald football coaches.”
She laughed. “You don’t look like one.”
As he cleared the rifles and put fresh bullets onto each vest, he couldn’t help but shake his head. There were three, maybe four, very attractive women within a hundred feet of him that he could have had very simple and pleasant relations with, but instead he had to pick a temperamental and emotionally unstable vixen with an incurable case of religion.
“Forbidden fruit,” he muttered under his breath, but he knew there was much more to it than that. If only he understood what it was.
Alex repeated the first part of the test. Tom fumbled around when loading bullets into the magazine but finally managed it. Then his rifle failed to go into battery as he attempted to chamber the first round.
“You’re not supposed to ride the charging handle,” Alex explained between counts. “You’re supposed to lock the bolt and release it, or at the very least pull the charging handle all the way back and let it go completely.” He felt like he was cheating a bit by helping him, but he liked Tom and wanted him along. He knew it should bother him that Tom had lied about who he was, though the whole situation was so ridiculous he couldn’t get himself to take it seriously. Posing as a biochemist? He wanted to hear the story, but only for the sake of a few good laughs.
“Am I hosed?” Tom asked, looking glum.
“Use the forward assist,” Alex said, not expecting him to know what it was. Tom looked down at the rifle, hesitated for a second, then tapped the assist. The bullet chambered just as Alex reached thirty.
Looking around, he saw that both Ryan and Sandi had loaded their weapons successfully.
The second part of the test went smoothly, though only Sandi hit the can more than twice.
“Okay then,” Alex said. “We have our team. We leave tomorrow morning. I want everyone by Max’s cabin, the big one, at sunrise. I have fatigues for everyone in the arms room, so don’t worry about what to wear. Find me later today to get your stuff.”
They exchanged nervous glances, and started to drift off towards the village. The two college girls lost interest and walked closer to the water. Only Yael stayed behind.
“Why do you want to go?” he asked her. “It could be very dangerous. I could certainly use someone that knows what they’re doing, but I’d feel better knowing you were here and safe.”
“I need to know what’s out there,” she said. “Don’t ask me to stay behind. I passed your tests.”
“I wouldn’t,” he said. “I know how important it is to you.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Who’s going to watch the dog? We can’t take it with us.”
She shrugged. “I’ll find someone. I’ll let them know it’s yours so they don’t get any funny ideas.”
“Good plan,” he said, smiling.
“Everything’s settled then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What’s the rush?” he asked. “Just let me put these guns away and we can take a walk on the beach. Maybe check out that cool looking tree over there by the rocks. I think its within the barrier.”
She hesitated. “Okay, I guess.”
“Good.”
He packed the bag and took it back to the arms room. He would have a lot of work to do later tonight setting up everyone’s kit, but that could wait. He found Yael where he had left her, though she had gone back to her cabin for the dog.
They walked slowly along the beach until
they got to the tree, where they decided to sit and talk. The sky blazed red as the sun set, silhouetting the twisted limbs of the tree against its brightness. He felt something on his hand and looked down in surprise. The tips of Yael’s fingers were barely touching him, but she didn’t seem to be aware of it. He sighed contentedly, and watched the sun set over a land that would not be a mystery for much longer.
Chapter 11
“Alex to Max,” he said into the radio. “Shut it down…or lower it, whatever.” He waited for some visible or audible signal that the barrier was passable, but there was nothing. The others exchanged nervous glances, and no one seemed too eager to walk into it.
He looked at them, barely able to contain a wry smile. They looked out of place, uncomfortable. They held their weapons awkwardly, hands shifting, pulling on straps, fidgeting. Only Yael looked remotely at ease, but he would never get used to seeing her in camouflage. The smallest size was a bit large on her, but the uniforms offered sufficient adjustment to make it work. Overall, his team looked like Hollywood soldiers. Their equipment was correct, but everything else about them was wrong.
“It’s lowered, Alex,” Max’s voice said through the little radio. “Let me know when you’re across.”
“Received…wilco,” Alex said. They stood near the spot where Alex had first tried to cross the barrier and later found the dog. He had decided it would be easiest to travel along the coast as far as they could before heading inland. The beach also allowed for a hasty retreat, either back to the complex or into the jungle to their right. He had no idea what was waiting for them on the other side of the barrier, and didn’t want to take chances.
“What?” the radio crackled.
Alex rolled his eyes. “I got it, Max, will do.” He turned to the group. “Okay, move out. Stay on my six.” He paused and sighed. “Six means rear, like six o’clock on a watch. Stay behind me.”
“Got it Chief,” Tom said. The others murmured or nodded their assent.
“Remember, it’s not completely down, so it’s going to get uncomfortable.” Alex walked briskly across the barrier, and felt nausea, brief but intense, as though he had shoved his fingers down his throat but quickly pulled them out. They really did have control! When they were all well past the place he suspected was its outer limit, he radioed Max to turn it back on.
“The barrier is up, Alex,” Max said. “Good luck out there.”
“Thank you,” he said into the radio, then turned to the others. “Okay, spread out, keep about ten meters apart…that’s about thirty feet. Very important…do not shoot at anything or anyone unless I give the order, unless you’re being shot at. Got it?”
They all nodded.
“Good. Let’s move out. Yael, take up the rear.”
“Got it,” she said, and stood still until the others passed her, then took her place in the back, glancing behind her every few seconds. Of all of those with him, she was the only one he trusted to be remotely effective if something should go wrong, and though he hated to endanger her, he had to put her where she would count the most.
They walked for several minutes before the jungle started encroaching onto the beach to the point where they were running out of sand. He slowed his pace, motioning for Tom to take the lead, then walked next to Barbara, who looked more uncomfortable than the others.
“How are you doing?” he asked, giving her a reassuring smile. She returned the gesture, and he felt a brief twinge of excitement. She was the older woman, not so much that she wasn’t still very attractive, but enough so that she intrigued him with the promise of things he had not yet discovered. She was sweating, breathing deeply, and beads of glistening sweat adorned her tan skin.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I’m a runner, but I’m not used to this heat. I only moved to LA a few months ago. I lived in Portland.”
“Heat?” Alex said, grinning. “Compared to where I’ve been, it’s freezing. A bit on the muggy side, though.” He didn’t feel guilty for his reaction, as he had no intention of acting on it. He was a healthy young male in his early twenties, at the peak of his sex drive, and he had long since given up trying to fight his urges. Far easier to accept and ignore them.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’ll get used to it.”
“If you’re carrying too much weight…” She had a backpack full of medical supplies along with a hydration pack, rifle and load bearing vest. Alex had only given her four spare magazines, though it would have been smarter to arm her with a pistol instead. He wasn’t used to being in charge and he was making mistakes. Nothing to do about it now, except learn from it.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “The weight doesn’t bother me. Just the heat.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “Let me know if you have any problems.”
Taking the lead once more, he took them as far along the beach as he could, then stepped into the jungle, brushing away the foliage. He saw the trail almost immediately, and stopped. It was a well worn dirt road, sprinkled over with a light covering of dead leaves and small rocks.
“How about that,” he said. “Wherever this is, it’s not uninhabited.”
“Or it wasn’t,” Tom said. “At some point.”
“Thank you Mr. Positive,” Alex chided, looking back at Yael, who was staring at the trail, furrowing her brows, probably worried about what they would find and what it meant to her family’s well being. He realized that he had hardly thought of his own parents, and suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over him. Were they dead? If the asteroid theory was correct…
“Well,” he said. “This is a perfectly good trail, and it seems to be going in the same direction we are. We’re going to use it.”
The trail was made of hard packed dirt, much easier to walk on than sand, and the shade afforded by the jungle canopy allowed the cool ocean breeze to drive away much of the heat. The relief didn’t last long. The canopy thinned out gradually, until the sun returned in full force.
“Look!” Ryan said, pointing straight ahead. Alex had already noticed, but was too busy frowning at it to say anything. It was a utility pole, though it was bare, no cross members or wires. He looked around and saw another pole in the distance over the tree tops, just as bare as the first. Whatever small amount of mystery was left in their predicament, it was slowly being eroded by the all too familiar signs of modern civilization. He had entertained more notions than he had shared with Yael, some of them quite fantastical. Perhaps they were on an alien planet, unwitting pawns of humanity’s expansion into the cosmos via interstellar teleportation, or perhaps they had been transported back in time, and the weapons and the barrier were there to protect them against Velociraptors and T-Rexes. Of course these were just fanciful flights of the imagination, but living in a fully explored world was dull, and these indulgences had given him a sense of mystery that he had enjoyed. Until now.
Yael walked up to him. “Alex,” she said, her voice neutral, flat. “I’m scared.”
“Why? I thought you’d be pleased. Signs of civilization and all that. I’m actually getting nervous about being so heavily armed. What if we walk out of the jungle in the middle of a town in Mexico?”
“I’ve been to a few places in Mexico,” Sandi said softly. “This doesn’t look like Mexico.”
“I don’t like it,” Yael said. “We just spent days in a futuristic pod colony surrounded by an energy barrier, and we’re next to a place with power lines?”
Alex rubbed his chin. “Well, there are no actual lines…the poles are bare. Maybe whatever is around here is deserted. A ghost town or something.”
“I guess,” she said, though her expression did not change.
They kept walking and soon Alex spotted a clearing up ahead. When they emerged from the jungle, he was even more confused than before. They were standing on a mowed lawn. On one side were three backless park benches, on the other a row of trimmed hedges. Before them was a series of low walls made from piles of dark round stones, each abou
t the size of a man’s head. They reminded Alex of the field stone walls that surrounded many farms on the outskirts of his home town. Conical mountains with pointy narrow peaks rose up around the bizarre gardens, their emerald green foliage complimented by the sapphire blue water of the ocean to their left. It would have been a beautiful place, if their presence here were not so utterly incomprehensible.
“This is a garden,” Barbara said, looking around. “But I don’t see any signs, or people. Where are we?”
“This looks familiar,” Tom muttered. “I think I’ve seen this place before. In pictures or on TV or something.”
Alex walked up to one of the benches and kicked it. He wasn’t sure why, probably to reassure himself that it was there. The bench fell apart. There was nothing holding it together.
Alex blinked. “What the fuck?”
Tom knelt over the pile of planks and examined them. “This is odd. No nails. Someone just stood this up like a house of cards.” He held his rifle awkwardly, but managed to keep the muzzle out of the dirt.
“Why would someone do that?” Barbara asked.
Alex picked up one of the boards that had made up the seat. It was bare wood, rich in color as though new but deeply cracked and pitted. There were holes where nails should have been and he noticed indentations where the nail heads would have been hammered into the wood.
“Someone took the nails,” he said. “There used to be nails.” Though there were no marks of the kind that would have been left by pry tools.
“Why would someone take the nails then go through the trouble of putting the benches up without them?” Yael asked. “That makes no sense at all.”
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