Book of the Dead

by Greig Beck

  Abrams looked back at where Adira stood holstering her gun. There were no bodies. He slowly turned to scan the landscape.

  Hartogg jogged to the second sniper nest, and called back to the group. “Empty as well – all gone.”

  Abrams lifted his field glasses. “Someone’s out there – must have snuck in and recovered the bodies from right under our noses.”

  Adira shook her head, also turning slowly to look out at the desert. “I do not think this. There were a dozen bodies. If there were enough men to carry that many away, there were enough to ambush us. They would leave the bodies and try and kill us.”

  “Well, they didn’t just walk away,” Abrams said quietly.

  Adira kicked at a pile of clothing. A football-sized creature scuttled free, its claw-like legs moving quickly.

  “Shitza.” She pointed her gun at it.

  “What the fuck is that?” Andy said, his face twisted in horror.

  The thing was like a giant slater bug with armor-plated segments and way too many legs. It stopped its bid for freedom and instead seemed to stick to the ground. It started to sink into it, shuddering and twisting, and just before it disappeared into the soil, an eye opened on its back – not a chitinous bulb, or multi-faceted lens, but instead a brown eye, a human eye, with pupil and white around it.

  In another second, there was just a lump in the soil. Adira used her boot to kick at the small mound – the thing had already sunk below the top layer.

  “Was that…was that some sort of gross scarab? They’re carnivorous, aren’t they?” Andy said, his voice high.

  “Yes and no.” Matt came down into the small depression and kneeled by the hole Adira had just made. He picked up a discarded blade and started to dig into the soil: it struck nothing solid, but when he pulled the blade back it was coated in black goo. He sniffed it and then flicked it off. “They’re flesh eaters, but the biggest can only grow to about five inches, I think; that thing was a foot long and had about ten legs. It looked like some sort of deformed aberration. I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Matt turned, his mind leaping back to the Syrian doctor and his unsettling texts. “Perhaps no one has seen it before. Remember Albadi’s quote? ‘The other vermin of the dark deep would rise, the lice upon’ or something.”

  “Oh great,” Andy groaned. “Do you think these guys were pulled under?” He turned to Tania. “Remember how Frank was pulled into the earth?”

  Tania looked from Andy to Abrams. “We should probably move out, sir.”

  “Yeah, we should.” Abrams took one last look around. “Captain Senesh, lead on.”

  “You.” Adira pointed to Andy, and then out to the desert. “Bring my bike.”

  “Huh?” Andy guffawed. “Can I ride it?”

  “No. If anyone could ride it, I would. All of us cannot ride, and I do not wish to leave it for the desert. So we need to push it.” She shrugged. “It’s light, and you look strong.”

  The geologist went to complain, but Abrams cut him off. “Do it, Andy. All hands in now.”

  Andy groaned, but went and lifted the long machine from the sand.

  *

  After about an hour’s steady walking, Tania sidled up to Matt, her expression set. “I don’t trust her. She’ll throw us over in a second.”

  Matt smiled. “As we’ve done to her in the past. Believe me, she has no reason to trust us either. But, it seems we have shared goals, so…” He shrugged.

  Matt saw that Tania’s gaze narrowed as she stared at the athletic form of the Israeli woman. Is there a flash of green appearing in those eyes? he wondered. Perhaps it was just a natural rivalry between members of different forces. Hartogg might have relaxed, but he had volunteered for rear point, where he could keep Captain Senesh in sight even while surveying their surroundings.

  Matt nodded at Adira’s back. “She knows what she’s doing, and we need her.”

  Tania snorted. “Yeah, well, she needs us too. Everyone does.” She turned to look into Matt’s face. “I think I’m a little more objective than you, and my advice is, just don’t get too close to her. I think you’d regret it.” She dropped back, leaving Matt to trudge on alone.

  The pace was hard, Adira’s long legs never once slowing. She never seemed to fatigue. As well, the sun had reached its peak, so the heat began to hammer down on them. Adira had covered over her head again, leaving just a slit in the cloth for her eyes. Andy pushed the bike, and his shirt was completely wet – to his credit he hadn’t complained for a second. Matt felt for the geologist, and decided he’d give the man a break soon. Before he did, he jogged up to walk beside Adira. “You look well…Are you?” he asked, glancing at her.

  She turned her covered face to him. “I’m alive.” Her black eyes stared for a few seconds. “And back where I belong.”

  “Ah, back where you belong; here.” He waved an arm out at the desolate landscape. He looked back into her eyes. “I kinda missed you.”

  “I would have killed you, Matt…if you’d got in my way. That’s what I do. You think I belong in America? I think some people might not be too happy if I turned up there.” She looked away. “Did Alex Hunter survive?”

  “Yeah, he survived, and he’s back in the fold now,” Matt said. “I worked on a job with him recently in Crete.”

  “So, that was him?” She laughed softly for a moment, before becoming serious again. “Does he ever…ask about me?”

  Matt stared forward for a moment, not sure how to answer.

  “Ack, forget I asked. Stupid question.” Her voice had a bitter edge.

  Matt trudged on beside her for another few minutes before looking around at the landscape. “Must get lonely out here with nothing to do but save us poor dumb Americans.”

  “It’s becoming a habit.” She pulled the material away from her face and reached down for a canteen on her hip. She took a sip, then replaced it. “My search for the source of the sinkholes was proving fruitless. They’re happening now all over the world – but you know this.”

  Matt nodded. “The land is sinking globally and anyone who goes down into one of the pits never comes back up…or is found. We’re also seeing people disappear who are simply in proximity to the pits.”

  She nodded. “Our scientists have tracked anomalies on the surface – strange things that came out of the holes. They usually return, but when we follow them in, we find nothing. It’s solid rock down there. And even the deepest caves only descend a mile.” She grunted. “We have both seen strange things in our lives, Professor. I fear we are about to see them again.”

  From behind them Andy cleared his throat, then pushed the bike up between them.

  Adira grinned. “You like my bike?”

  “I love it, and it only started getting really heavy about five miles back.” He jiggled his eyebrows at Matt. “Still love to have a ride.” He waited, but Adira didn’t respond.

  Matt looked over his shoulder at Tania and she flicked him a worried look. He turned back to Andy. “My turn, buddy.” He grabbed the handlebars.

  Andy straightened his back and stretched. “Thanks.” He walked beside Adira. “I couldn’t help overhearing you mention about things disappearing into the pits. I lost my friend in Iowa, and I think something was in the soil…something big.”

  “Did you see it?” Adira asked.

  “Yes, no…sort of. The cave collapsed on us,” Andy said. “Looks like we’re all coming at this from different angles.”

  “Blind men and the elephant again,” Matt added.

  “Except one of the blind men is now a mysterious and beautiful Israeli agent.” He turned and winked at Matt.

  Matt groaned and slowed down, letting Andy weave his magic. He watched as he flashed her toothy grins and delivered a non-stop monologue. Eventually she stopped and leaned in close to him. Her expression was rock-hard as she spoke directly into his face.

  Andy nodded, and Adira increased her pace, leaving him behind.

  Matt caught up. “Trouble i
n paradise, Romeo?”

  “My heart is broken.” Andy snorted softly, his mouth turning down. “She said I was a little boy, and compared to the men she has loved, I am a bug.”

  Matt laughed out loud. “Hey, out here, I think that’s a compliment. She likes you; keep at it, buddy.”

  “Nah.” He looked over his shoulder at Tania and perked up. He looked back at Adira’s tall athletic form. “Did you see the way she took apart those terrorists? She’s awesome.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen her in action before. The woman is a human weapon.” He motioned to her back with his head. “Hey, I know, why don’t you bring up that thing about women not being tough enough for the front line again?”

  Andy groaned. “I think I’m gonna skip it.”

  Matt pushed the bike over a large piece of stone. “Good call; we don’t want to have to carry you as well.”

  *

  They walked and rested, walked and rested through the heat of the day and well into the cool night. The borders in the region were porous and endlessly disputed, and Syria had become Turkey many miles back. Adira only called a halt around two am, when they were ten miles from the water. In the distance the black ocean showed a line of lights right on the coast.

  “Samandag; we rest here. No fires.”

  The group stood on the hilltop, looking out over the coastal plain and the water. A moon was setting, creating a huge silver path over the dark waves.

  Matt felt tired from his scalp right down to his blistered toes. “Will there be a boat? It’s still about six hundred miles to Israel, and about another two hundred onto Egypt, plus we need to pass by the rest of Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon – not going to be an easy ride.”

  She nodded. “Then best not go by boat, hmm?” She looked at each of the bedraggled group. “And I certainly do not think you are ready to walk into Egypt just yet.”

  “We’re not staying in Israel,” Tania said quickly.

  “Okay, we avoid Israel.” She smiled at Tania, but there was no warmth in the expression. “You see, I can compromise. I hope you can too.” Her smiled dropped. “Captain Kovitz, Lieutenant Hartogg, scout the area and report back. Mr. Bennet, bury my bike.”

  Tania glared and looked to Abrams who exhaled, but then nodded to his subordinates. Hartogg took off, and Tania muttered and headed off with Andy and the bike in the opposite direction.

  Adira walked off a dozen feet and spoke into a small comms device, and after a few minutes she came back over the Abrams.

  “They’re on their way. I’ve also asked that they relay your whereabouts to your superiors.” She smiled flatly. “Don’t want them sending another team out to blunder about in the desert, do we?”

  She walked to a slight rise in the sandy soil, reached into a pocket and pulled out a fist-sized rod. She telescoped it to about a foot and then jammed it into the earth. A small green light started to blink on the top.

  “Beacon?” Abrams said.

  She nodded. “As I said, they’re already en route. They just need to know where to rendezvous with us.”

  “So where are we going?” Matt asked.

  She turned. “We should be in Cyprus within two hours.”

  “Cyprus?” Abrams recoiled. “What the hell are we going to Cyprus for…? And I thought we needed to pick up our documentation?”

  “Exactly.” She stood with her hands on her hips. “We have an office in Cyprus. They will take care of us. It also means we can depart via normal airlines – just a few tourists on a Middle Eastern diving holiday, travelling from Cyprus to Alexandria – sound good?”

  Matt snorted and nodded, but Abrams wasn’t mollified. “What do you mean, ‘we’? Who exactly is this ‘we’?”

  She stepped in closer to Abrams. “Time for you to compromise, Major. You are not safe yet, you have not secured what you seek yet, and you are certainly not at home. You’ll need support and protection. Without me you’d be picked up in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Goddamnit, Captain, why do I get the feeling I’m losing control of this situation?”

  Adira’s smile never faltered. “You’re not. I’m making sure you remain in control, Major. Trust me.”

  Abrams held her gaze, and then threw his hands up.

  Tania Kovitz came back in from scouting the area. She glared at Adira, but then faced Abrams. “Clear, sir.”

  Hartogg and Andy followed and nodded to Adira. Hartogg seemed to be enjoying the interchange between the two tough women. Abrams just sighed.

  Adira nodded. “Good. Everyone bury everything we don’t need.”

  Andy held up the few remaining items he had been carrying. “And what exactly will we need?”

  “Truthfully, just yourself. Everything else twelve inches below ground…now,” Adira said as she checked a small box.

  In another five minutes, she waved an arm. “Get down – clear a space. We need to get back about fifty feet from the pulser.” She walked away from the green-lit tube and crouched. The others did the same.

  Matt waited; there was silence now, and the moon was sinking lower toward the water. He was conscious of the people close to him in the dark, but other than a fingernail-sized dot of green fifty feet away, there was just the hint of light from the low moon.

  At first it sounded like a breeze was coming up from the sea, and then in another few seconds he heard Hartogg laugh softly.

  “Nice,” the SEAL said.

  An odd sharp-angled shape appeared; it was impossible to make out its exact form in the darkness, as it was black against a dark night. It came in near silently, and Matt marveled at how quiet the huge machine was. Turning side on, it looked to be about sixty-five feet long.

  “So quiet,” Matt whispered.

  Hartogg nodded. “You bet: it’s one of the best hunter-killers on the military market.” Matt could see his white teeth in the dark as he grinned. “You’re looking at a UH-60 Stealth – it was that baby that crept into Bin Laden’s backyard. The reason it’s so quiet is it’s got extra chopper blades, and a lower rotor speed. Added to that there’s no external rivets, and an infrared suppression finish in nano paint – this bad boy is invisible and silent as the devil.” He grinned again. “Like I said, it’s the best of the best…and that’s because it’s one of ours – we sold it to em.”

  They squinted through the sand kicked up as the huge machine touched down like a giant dark insect. A soft red glow came on inside the cabin, and a figure waved them on.

  Adira ran first, snatching up the pulser. In another thirty seconds they were moving at about a hundred and eighty miles per hour toward Cyprus.

  Chapter 12

  Derby, Sedgwick County, Kansas

  “Sunfa bitch.” Harry Wilcox’s hands slipped down the slick plunger as he worked it again in the basement sink. After pushing and pulling it some more he lifted it away and in return received a gurgle and a blerk, and then a few measly bubbles popped and slid back into the metal drain.

  Phew. He turned away to drag in a breath – whatever was goddamn stuck in there was now stinkin to high heaven.

  “Is it clear ye-eeet?” The voice from upstairs carried notes of high impatience.

  Harry leaned back. “Nearly, baby; I think I just about got it that time.” He ground his teeth and lifted the plunger again, bringing it down over the drain once more. Their basement was the storage cellar, workshop and laundry room, and, as he and Summer had three kids all under the age of three, diapers were piling up – fast.

  He sighed. When they had little Melody-Blue, their oldest, they’d promised each other they’d do their bit for planet Earth and never use those disposable ones that clog up the landfill – but then came Little Miss Mountain-Dew followed by Daisy-Sunshine, and whaddaya know, those little suckers shit right around the fucking clock.

  Harry pumped again and again – if he couldn’t unblock the drain, that meant no washing machine, which then meant washing by hand outside, and as Summer was still breastfeeding little Daisy-Sunshine, he
’d for sure be the sap standing out there with fifty pounds of brown-streaked Modern Cloth Diapers.

  He stopped to wipe his brow, and then frowned. “Ah, getouttahere.” A huge cockroach scuttled across the concrete floor. Harry stamped on it, but immediately another took its place, racing madly towards the center drain grate. He lunged and managed to catch its rear half with his boot tread.

  “Yech.” Even with its abdomen flattened to a yellow and brown paste, the front half still tried to scuttle away.

  He looked around for more moving targets. The basement room was a good size, about fifty feet square on a concrete slab with a drain in the center. It had a sink, dryer and washer, and storage for dry goods, plus his workbench, and a million other things that had come down there to be sealed away in boxes and forgotten.

  Harry sucked in a huge breath, jammed the plunger over the sink’s drain and started his dance once more – up down up down, and then rip it free, hopefully dragging loose whatever was in there – gurgle, splurk, pop – nothing.

  Just then, he felt a small vibration through the soles of his feet, and the drain in the center of the room also popped and gurgled. A splash of inky fluid spattered the floor around its chrome rim.

  “So-ooo, that’s where you’re hiding?” Harry lifted the plunger, spun it in his large fingers and walked toward the center of the room, keeping his eyes fixed on the drain-hole lest it disappear like some rabbit he had his sights set on. On his way he grabbed the already open bottle of Drain-Away, and then got down on his knees beside the tiny round grate.

  “Bottoms up.” He upended the bottle, letting the blue liquid run thickly in, smiling and holding his breath.

  The bottle emptied, and he sat back on his haunches. “Let’s see you chew on that.” He grabbed the plunger, but would give the caustic concoction a minute or two to work its magic.

  “Now Harry? Is it clear no-ooow?” The voice was getting shriller by the second, and he gritted his teeth.

  He lifted his head. “Soon, angel pie. What do you think I’m doin down here; playin with myself?” he added under his breath.