by Tom Hunter
Nine
As they edged their hover vehicle closer to the abandoned transport near the cave site, Thomas began directing their small contingent of guards. “Okay, guys,” he began, as he slowed to a stop and pushed the button to park. “Go see if that’s our missing vehicle and let me know what you find.”
“On it, sir,” echoed the most senior guard. Then, in a word to his men, they jumped from Thomas’s vehicle and began inspecting the impressions leading toward the abandoned vehicle.
Alexia made some final adjustments to her drone, and launched it into the sky. Though the guards would be looking for hover impression tracks near the car, the drone would look the other way and hopefully be able to figure out the direction she’d been headed and follow her trail automatically.
Shattered glass from bullets during her escape and a subsequent search of the interior revealed what Thomas Knight already knew. She’d abandoned the vehicle, most likely due to some kind of malfunction, and she’d pilfered any tools she might need as she went in search of shelter. Or more likely tried to walk back to her own – to Noah’s camp.
“Sir,” A guard interrupted his thoughts.
“Yes.”
The man pointed to his left. Thomas followed as the man explained, “Should we? I mean, do you want us to search the cave?”
Thomas tilted his head, considering the question. “No. If the cave was their base, then Miss Welker would have done a better job of hiding the vehicle or she would have left it farther away from here…” Unless it was farther away from here, and someone drove it here…he shook his head again. It didn’t make sense.
“Wait. You mean, you think Miss Welker might have driven the vehicle here for the express purpose of keeping prying eyes away from Noah’s camp?” Alexia asked, the question slicing through his own thoughts on the subject.
Thomas Knight nodded. “Yes, I think it’s very likely that is exactly what happened.” Then, with a wan smile, he shrugged. “It’s what I would have done,” he added.
“But,” he held up a cautious finger. “With a day’s lead, I doubt she’s on foot. She must have rendezvoused with someone. Ramon, maybe? Though I’m pretty sure those two do not get along.”
Alexia adjusted a few settings on the touchscreen laptop that aided her control of the drone, as well as processing the stream of data it sent back. “Hmmm…Death Valley is incredibly dangerous country to just roam around in.”
Thomas murmured, “Mhmm.” His thoughts were elsewhere.
“I’m sure Miss Welker is quite the survivalist,” Alexia continued, unperturbed. “But, she’d run the risk of dehydration. And pretty quickly, too.”
“Oh, Miss Welker is nothing if not… resourceful,” confirmed Thomas. “If she was here, she’s gone now.”
“Mhmmm,” Alexia intoned. “What about radio transmissions? Should we call into the comms team and see if they can track them? That might lead us to Noah’s camp.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. I’m just not – I mean, that’s not my area of expertise,” Why was he suddenly so tongue-tied around her? You’re the boss, you fool. Whether it’s you know what you’re doing or saying or not, you pretend you’ve got it all under control. Fake it till you make it, compadre. Thomas chastised himself vehemently. His silence was so long, Alexia nudged him with her hip. “Ground control to Major Thom. Where’d you go?”
“Oh sorry. I was just – Never mind.” He shook his head.
“Well, as I was saying, it may not be your area of expertise, but it is mine. Or rather, I know who to call,” she explained.
“Ghostbusters?” It was the first thing he thought of and it was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Good lord, man. Now, you’re starting to sound like Robbie! He swept a glance toward Alexia as he gauged her reaction. Would she roll her eyes or laugh? He was about to try to take it back or play it off, when he heard Alexia laugh heartily. “Yeah! Something like that.”
Good, he hadn’t completely killed any good impressions. But, he needed to get back on track, and they had work to do. He needed to think, so he whipped out his beard comb and began smooth, even downstrokes. The hover vehicle, though sealed, had still managed to gather plenty of dust and sand. He shook his head in wonder at all man’s modern innovations, and yet, they couldn’t quite get that one right.
As Thomas’ mind turned over events and next steps in his mind, he watched Alexia guide the drone across the wide expanse of desert near the abandoned hover vehicle and cave site. He’d thought she would call for radio transmissions, but then quickly realized he’d have to be the one to give the orders. They’d left explicit instructions after the Miss Welker/stolen drum incident that any requests would come through him only. He knew Alexia kept her radio frequency set to the comms tent, so he reached across the dash and picked up her radio from the dashboard. She’d set it there as they had come to a stop so she could focus all her attention on getting the drone in flight as it searched for any tracks in and around the area.
Noting his movement, and nearness toward her, Alexia cast a glance back over her shoulder at Thomas. They nodded, each spoke volumes without saying a thing. Radio in hand, Thomas flipped the switch to “on” and was immediately connected with the surviving members of Comms Team 3. He still couldn’t believe those guys had decided to stay on after learning of their colleague’s fates, but he had to hand it to them – they were two of the most informed comms members he’d ever worked with. Thomas was glad they’d stayed and, in his mind, had already made them de facto members of his inner sanctum.
“Hey guys. It’s Thomas Knight. Is this Adam?” He wanted to be clear which one he spoke to, though he knew they both listened.
“Yes, sir. This is Adam,” came the reply. Thomas quickly filled them in on the particulars, and asked, “Can you scan for radio transmissions? Alexia’s got the drone up checking for tracks, but we want to cover all our bases, so to speak.”
“Sure, we can take care of it. Will let you know what we find,” Adam replied. Then, after a pause, and a quick exchange between Adam and his colleague, Thomas wished he could remember the other kid’s name. He’d have to ask Abby – Shit. Will have to ask her later.
He knew they depended on Abby a lot, but she had become almost an extension of him. Though, he was quickly putting Alexia in the place of confidante, it was Abby that could tell him his thoughts almost before he had them. She knew him that well. Abigail Hogan may have only had one daughter, but she had adopted sons left and right. If Thomas had been a little more from the southern states, he might have guffawed or “pshawed” at the thought of he and Robbie Blake as “brothers.”
“Knight!” Alexia broke into his reverie and startled him. So, lost in thought was he, Alexia’s radio was still held loosely in his hand, and still flipped to “on.” He turned toward her eyes wide, “What?”
Exasperated, Alexia huffed. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for five full minutes.” She glanced at the radio in his hand, and added, “Adam’s still on. Do you want to tell him anything else?”
“Um, no. Yes,” Thomas stumbled across his answers, then setting his mouth in a firm line. He turned the radio off, then quickly flipped the switch on again. “Adam, you good?”
“Yes, sir. We’re already working on your request,” came the reply. Thomas nodded, “Good. Oh, and don’t call me, sir.”
“You got it, si – Thomas,” confirmed Adam, who shook his head. Old habits die hard when you’ve been in the military too long and the south. He was bred to say “sir” and “ma’am”. It was a hard habit to break. He chuckled softly as Thomas Knight clicked off the comms frequency.
She was already pointing in a southwesterly direction, when Thomas Knight replaced her radio to the dashboard. “Can you see it, er them? The drone picked up some faint prints headed in this direction.” Alexia jabbed her finger into the air demanding his gaze follow the pointer. “Look Thom,” she added, excitedly. “They’re leading us not exactly away from here. But,
sort of behind this cave.” She squinted. “It may be a ways around to follow, but I think it gives us a good idea of where Miss Welker headed next.”
Thomas Knight followed her finger, then letting his eyes go soft, he dropped them down to the faint impressions in the dusty terrain. It had to be another hover vehicle or…these impressions seemed a little deeper, like tire treads – a jeep maybe? Regardless, they had a lead. But, they needed to be careful. These were dangerous people who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Could Adam’s radio transmissions help them determine the safest route? Though he was sure it would be possible, he quickly discounted the idea since he’d only just hung up with the man. Had he even had time to do anything yet? Well, we can’t wait. Time is of the essence.
“Yeah….” Thomas began, only half prepared to acknowledge Alexia’s success. Turning things over in his mind, he added, “Looks to me like the safest route is to follow these tracks in our vehicle. That way, if we run into Noah’s men, we’ve got a cleaner escape plan.” He paused, his brows furrowed deep in thought. “We should call our guards back. I don’t want anyone on foot as we near Noah’s camp.” Half talking to himself, and half talking to Alexia, he followed his own advice and called as loud as he dared. “Guards! Come on back to the hover vehicle.” He glanced at Alexia, then scanned the desert. He hoped they hadn’t gotten too far away, too far out of earshot.
He was glad to see the men turn as they heard his call. Breaking into a run, they gathered around the hover vehicle he drove and waited for their orders. Thomas looked them over and did a quick head count. You can never be too sure, he thought to himself. Then, when he was satisfied everyone was present and accounted for, he gave his orders.
“You three.” He pointed to the three men to his left, each of whom nodded. “Need you to take the busted vehicle back… here,” he opened what served as trunk space on his hover vehicle. “Take what you need to get it running just enough to get it back to camp.” The men dug in and chose various tools to get the car running. The woman had zigzagged all over the place—that much was evident from the tracks—and they all prayed they wouldn’t have to tow the damn thing back.
“What about if we need the tools?” Alexia asked, ever practical. “Well, we won’t,” Thomas answered, and after a pause, added, “If we do…then…we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Tearing his eyes from hers, he turned to the remaining guards. “The rest of you. Hop in. We’ll need all hands, er eyes, on deck to help in the search.”
As the guards split into their respective roles, Thomas brought his hover vehicle back to life with a quick turn of the key combination. He felt a little guilty about leaving the abandoned vehicle guards without any transportation, but it couldn’t be helped.
Alexia, who’d been unusually silent for the last few minutes, offered softly, “You know, Thomas. I’m a mechanic’s daughter. I could have probably helped with the busted vehicle.”
He knew that. Was he protecting her? Wearing the mantle of knight against her not-a-damsel-in-distress sentiments? In answer to himself, and to her, he shrugged. “Sorry.”
Ten
The three members of Thomas’ team watched the small band of men below. The Kisgar snorted softly, but Mochni’s commanding presence and his tight grip on its neck seemed to send a signal to the others to be still. As they leaned forward to catch snippets of conversation, Pediah, Robbie, and Mochni realized one thing. The voices below were those of Ramon’s men!
If they could have each other’s thoughts, they might have laughed at hearing each other exclaim, shit! Though they tried to stay out of sight, they were thankful to discover they were close enough to hear the conversation. They may not have liked the situation, but they needed to gather as much intel as they could to make the most of what they heard.
“All he told me, er us, was to wait here. Shoot if anyone or anything moves, and to…I’m quoting here, ‘wait for Miss Welker’,” explained a large man with a thick German accent. He rolled his eyes as his colleague, a smaller Hispanic man shook his head.
“Explain to me again, why we have to wait for that woman?” someone asked. “I mean, really. Who put her in charge? Ramon sure as hell didn’t. That I can guarantee.”
“Don’t you know? She’s Noah’s, um, spy. What’s that chick’s name…? She was a spy in the… 40s, I think. What was her name?” Another snapped his fingers trying to recall, then in a flash of inspiration, “Mata Hari! Yep, that’s who she is to Noah.”
The men guffawed and the noise seemed to wake the Kisgar as they began to stir. In their slight movement, Robbie noticed pinpoints of light. As he narrowed his eyes determined to find their location, he realized with a start the light was coming from he, Pediah, and Mochni – their headlamps. Oh shit. How was he supposed to tell the men to flip off their helmet headlamps when Mochni had been quite adamant about their remaining quiet.
Robbie bit his lip and willed himself not to scream. He was pissed off, and he almost didn’t care who knew it. Almost. He glanced at Mochni who slowly raised a finger to his lips and held Robbie’s gaze willing him to understand he should be quiet. Robbie looked from Mochni to the men and prayed Ramon’s men didn’t look up and catch sight of their headlamps. The damn things had seemed like a good idea at the time. The perfect hands-free torchlight, but now it made them sitting ducks.
Pediah caught a glimpse of Mochni’s movement signaling quiet. He nodded and prayed silently to himself that nothing caused the men to look up. He raised one eyebrow as Mochni pointed slowly toward Robbie, his Kisgar, Pediah, his Kisgar, and himself, and as comprehension struck, he realized the boy wasn’t just pointing to the Kisgar, he was pointing at their feet.
Robbie watched the display and jerked his head away from the men. Mochni shook his head, pointed at the Kisgar’s feet again, and put his finger once more to his lips. Robbie grit his teeth. Damn! The guy had a point. The second the Kisgar took one step, the sound would wake the dead. He’d had a bad feeling almost as soon as they had entered, and now he understood why. They were trapped.
Voices invaded his panic as he and the others listened to Ramon’s men. With 20/20 eyesight, Robbie squinted in the dim light and noticed the men carried duffel bags and knapsacks along with their survival kits. Now, what could those be for? Letting his mind wander, he supposed their bags might contain priceless relics or other items taken from the dig site. He wished there was something they could do.
He glanced toward Pediah who shrugged, his face strained. Robbie hadn’t seen Pediah this uncomfortable since he’d refused to cross the land bridge when they found the first member of the missing Team 3. He also knew this wasn’t like Pediah and did a double take. What’ going on here? Pediah doesn’t…squirm.
On impulse, Robbie slowly let go of the Kisgar’s neck and lowered his arm to his side. With palm side down, he pumped it downward in an attempt to make Pediah understand he needed to be still. Lost in his own thoughts, Pediah misinterpreted the signal and leaned toward Robbie.
“What?” the big man whispered. Anywhere else and it would have been imperceptible, but in a cave fraught with tension and death, the sound was deafening. Though really no more than a stage whisper, it had the distinctly undesired effect of drawing attention.
Pediah and Robbie blanched as Mochni shot them a look of utter disappointment and resignation. Mochni sucked air between his teeth as Ramon’s men looked up at the disturbance.
“My bad,” Robbie whispered in answer to Mochni’s glare. “It’s my fault.” To which Mochni bobbed his head so vigorously, Robbie wondered idly how many nods before it would either pop off or spin around like that scene from The Exorcist. How cool would that be? He thought briefly as Mochni shot him a glance that stopped him cold.
Three pairs of eyebrows were raised as they looked down at Ramon’s men looking up at them. In the briefest of pauses, the air grew thick and heavy with anticipation. Ramon’s squad, in a practiced motion, dropped their gear, unshouldered their rifles, an
d took aim.
But, before they could fire, something in the shadows startled them. Robbie was never sure who or what it was, but it didn’t matter. They had just a little more time and he was glad for it. They would need every second to escape.
Time to go, thought Robbie as he shouted the same to Mochni. But, Mochni had other plans, much to Robbie’s chagrin.
Pediah and Robbie looked on in shock and disbelief as Mochni shook his head and aimed his Kisgar at the gunmen. The bloodlust of war had returned as he recognized these men as the ones who had attacked his village.
“Awww, man! I so did not want to have to do this today,” complained Robbie under his breath. “Damn the luck!”
Eleven
The Kisgar who bore Pediah and Robbie were riding took matters into their own hands, and charged after their friend. The two men leaned low and held onto the animal’s necks as they bounced and flew over stone bridges and down inclines toward Ramon’s men. Though they tried to hold on, they were no match for the crazy rodeo ride, and were soon thrown from their backs.
Thrown with such force and veracity, Robbie and Pediah instinctively curled up and rolled for cover shielding their heads as the Kisgar reared up on their hind legs. The now untethered animals were ready to fight. From Pediah’s vantage point, it seemed the creatures had entered a near frenzied state. He prayed silently no had beat a drum. Can they go through The Change without the drumbeat? He wondered, detachedly as he watched the battle unfold.
The Kisgar were in a near frenzied state at the noise, nervous tension, and stench of death that permeated the air. These men with sticks that exploded had brought only death and suffering. And though Ramon’s men were well-trained soldiers, they were trained to fight other men, not mythical beasts of burden.
