by Lara Nance
“You okay?” He gave her a concerned look when she finally stilled.
Her stomach ached from the effort of hysteria-tinged laughing, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Yeah. Sorry. Kinda lost it there for a minute.”
He held out a hand and pulled her to a sitting position. “Completely understandable, given the circumstances.”
“Thank you. I actually feel a little better from the catharsis.” She wiped the remaining trace of tears from her face with the back of her hand.
“You never had the time to grieve for your sister. That can weigh heavily on your heart,” he said, his blue eyes soft in the meager light.
“You’re right. I’m going to eat one of those brownies.” She tossed the brown square in the air, not willing to talk about the subject of her sister, yet. “Too bad we don’t have any wine.”
“Are you a red or white gal?”
“Red. My mom introduced me to the joy of good vintages when I started college. She has quite a collection.”
“I like red best, too. I’d love to meet your mom.”
She shot him a curious look. “That would be so normal if you were from the North. Why does it have to sound so weird when you’re from the South?”
“You mean like I’m from Mars or something?” He raised a brow and downed another handful of trail mix.
“Maybe.” It sounded stupid, but he might as well be from another planet given how isolated the North and South stayed from each other. “At least you’re not green.”
“You haven’t seen me without my human body suit.” He waggled his eyebrows.
That made her giggle.
“How about a delicious mango juice pack?” He held up a silver pouch.
“Sure. Why not?” She caught his toss. “I want the complete Southern snack food experience.”
They ate in companionable silence for a couple minutes. She appreciated the time to compose after her meltdown. He was right. The need to mourn Lola hung in the back of her mind like a heavy dark curtain covering her passage to the future. However, she had to deal with this threat before she could indulge in grief.
As night descended in earnest, unfamiliar sounds sneaked past the misshapen doorway. Her confusion must have shown on her face. Linc tilted his head to one side, listening.
“That’s crickets,” he said, indicating the melodic chirping that continued incessantly.
She nodded and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. If the world wasn’t in danger, she might enjoy sitting here in the dim glow of the lanterns, learning about sounds of nature she’d never heard before. Was this really like camping?
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
“That’s an owl.” He unwrapped his brownie and took a bite.
An eerie cry that left chills on her arms he identified as a cougar.
“Are these animals going to attack us when we leave the ship tomorrow?” she asked, not happy with another source of fear in her life.
“Most of them are nocturnal. We’ll need to watch out for bears, though.”
“Bears? Seriously? I thought they only lived in zoos.”
“No. Anywhere there’s enough open land, bears can make a home. This area has black bears.” He studied her for a moment. “So you don’t have wild animals except in zoos?”
“Mice, squirrels.” She shrugged. “We have little undeveloped land. Don’t forget, we took all the undesirables the South didn’t want.”
He coughed. “Don’t forget my brother was one of them. I don’t have the same views as many in my country, especially when it comes to discrimination.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Her face flamed with heat. She had to stop stereotyping this man. He constantly proved her preconceived notions wrong.
“It’s okay. I expected you to be a snob when I first met you.” His lips quirked on one side.
“A snob? Why?” She straightened, suffering a touch of indignation.
“That’s the image we have of Northerners: haughty know-it-alls.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Don’t deny you think we’re stupid gun-toting bumpkins.”
She burst out laughing. “Okay, okay. Truce. Both sides suffer from not interacting for the last seventy or so years.”
He held out a hand. “Truce.”
They shook, and she decided he was a pretty nice guy. To hell with stereotypes. Both sides probably had their share of gems and jerks. Only coming up with a solution to this parasite mattered.
She wondered what Manson and her family knew of her disappearance. Linc felt certain they’d make it back without difficulty, but she didn’t completely share his optimism. What if a transport couldn’t find them? No place in the North lacked coverage for their comm units. Here, pockets of undeveloped areas were unreachable. How far would they have to walk to find a clear signal?
“Care for another delicious lump of sugar and flour?” He held up a brownie.
She shook her head and smiled. “I’m going to pass. Maybe for breakfast. I’ll pretend it’s a French pastry. Should we do anything with the pilots? I feel kinda weird having two dead bodies a few feet away.”
He yawned and tossed the sweet on the pile of remaining snacks. “There’s nothing we can do for them now unless you have a magic resurrection pill. I doubt we can move them from under the pressure of the boulder, and even if we could take them outside, wild animals will eat them. When we make contact with the military tomorrow, they’ll send someone to retrieve the bodies.”
“All right, then. I guess I’ll just pretend they’re not there as much as possible. I’m ready to call it a night.” She folded another blanket in a roll and tucked it under her head. She appreciated his attempts at humor. It soothed her and allowed her to relax in this absurd situation.
He followed suit, and they stretched out in an L shape with their feet nearly touching.
She closed her eyes then opened them at another strange sound. Linc appeared already asleep, but his solid presence reassured her. He’d said he served in the military. That meant he had familiarity with guns and fighting. That would come in handy if they ran into a bear. She wasn’t looking forward to a trek through woods tomorrow. She’d never been in such a wild environment before, and her imagination kept suggesting terrors. No telling what animals might be out there waiting to kill them.
Chapter Twelve
Linc reached up and gave Ria a hand to descend from the wreckage. Once on the ground, she turned in a circle, staring at the tall trees surrounding them. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath her feet. A cool morning breeze fanned her cheeks, and a chorus of birds sang to the morning.
“Wow,” she said in awe, unable to name the fresh scent in the air but sucked in a lungful, anyway. “This is beautiful. I’ve never seen so many trees.”
They stretched in every direction, trunks marching through the sparse underbrush and leaves forming a thick, cool canopy above.
“It’s…I don’t know…peaceful,” she murmured. “If this is like camping, I think I’d like it.”
“Yeah. I’m partial to the solitude of the ocean, but the mountains and forests are another source of nature’s tranquilizers.” He gave her a gentle smile. “It’s hard to believe you’ve never seen something like this.”
“It’s certainly different from the ragged camp of poor people outside your gate fortress,” she said, snapping back to reality. A pretty forest didn’t change the political reality of this place.
His smile faded. “That’s true.”
She planted her hands on her hips as emotions welled inside her. Regret, frustration and anger butted heads. “Linc, why does it have to be this way? You’re not that different from me. I can’t see you being compliant about situations like that camp, or your brother being forced to live in the North. What went wrong all those years ago to cause such division?”
“I don’t understand it either, Ria.” He moved toward her and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Let’s solve t
his parasite problem then we’ll work on why people are stupid. Okay?”
Her stiffened spine relaxed, and she couldn’t stop a wry smile forming on her lips. She sighed. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
He tucked a pistol taken from one of the pilots in his belt and handed her a blanket to wrap around her shoulders in the chill of the forest shade. After gathering their essentials, they set out through the trees. She envied his boots. Her shoes were flat but didn’t protect from scratchy plants biting at her ankles or rocks poking through their thin soles. She was used to walking on manmade surfaces, not this uneven terrain.
If she ever got home, she would buy some boots.
***
Linc scanned the horizon. A hill in the distance, with a valley in-between, lay ahead. That open area would be a good place to try placing a call. Although he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help marveling at Ria’s ineptitude climbing over rocks and moving through underbrush. For him, it was second nature to avoid branches snapping in his face, or sliding off of a slick stone surface. He stifled rising chuckles because she was a trooper and never gave up. That counted for a lot.
After a couple of hours, he stopped at the base of the mountain slope. The sun had climbed higher and chased away the lingering cool morning air. Ria had long since dispensed with the blanket and had dark stains of sweat showing on her blue top. He fared no better. His khaki shirt soaked under the armpits.
She swatted at a bee and settled on a rock to rest. “I think I’ve seen more wildlife in the last hour than I have in my whole life,” she joked.
He handed her a bottle of water from his backpack. “Once we leave these dense trees and reach that meadow ahead, I’ll try to call for help.”
She passed a hand over her forehead, and tendrils of her dark hair stuck to her damp skin. “Thanks. I’m going to find a big tree and relieve myself of some fluid. Be back in a minute.”
He sank to the rock she deserted as she wound away from him among the big pine and oak trunks. He opened a pack of peanuts and chugged them for energy. They had several packs of their snack stash left, so he didn’t worry about food unless they had to spend another night in the wild. He had his survival skills from the army to fall back on, although Ria didn’t look like the type of girl to appreciate eating crickets and worms.
That idea made him chuckle. She didn’t manage well in this harsh environment, but she was smart, he’d give her that. Finding that parasite had put them on the right track. Her legs looked nice in those tight leggings, too. The curve of her muscles indicated she worked out, but probably in a gym, not the outdoors. Still, her looks had nothing to do with her more than adequate mental agility. When they reached Omaha, she’d return to her element. Then if they could only find a cure, they might beat this thing.
A low rumbling sound caught his attention and he stilled, listening. The noise came from above, along the path Ria had taken for her bathroom break. He slowly came to his feet, his heart rate increasing. He’d heard that sound before. He searched the overhanging limbs, carefully stepping to avoid cracking twigs or crunching leaves.
There. Damn. A large cougar perched on a thick limb, its attention focused on something below, with its tail twitching back and forth.
Footsteps in the undergrowth marked Ria’s return, right along the path of the big cat that crouched, muscles bunched, to pounce as she came into view.
He pulled out his gun and yelled, “Ria! Turn around and run as fast as you can. Go!”
Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, and she froze for a second then spun and took off. The cougar emitted a blood-curdling scream, leaped from the tree in a graceful arch, and headed after her.
“Hey!” He shouted, hoping to distract the cat from her as he raced after them. It was hard to believe the big cat would try to attack prey as large as a human. It must be very hungry. He pointed the gun, but the animal bounded through the trees making his aim impossible. He fired a shot anyway, thinking the sound would scare it. Instead, it streaked unwavering, intent on Ria. Damn, it was fast.
He lost sight but could still hear the crashing of Ria’s movements. He yelled, “Keep running. I’m coming.”
The sounds ceased suddenly, and his heart squeezed tight. He pushed his muscles, running faster, scraping against rough tree bark as he passed. He ran until he overshot a ledge and crashed through bushes that ripped at his clothes. He rolled and finally came to his feet after a ten-foot drop.
A deep stream rippled in front of him. Fifty feet away, Ria treaded water in the center of it, facing the cougar that paced on the shore. It dipped a paw in and then hissed. He pointed his gun and fired. He missed, but the cat startled, glared in his direction, and bared its teeth. He fired again, the bullet hitting the ground in front of it, sending up a spray of pebbles and sand from the shore. This time, the cougar shied from the barrage and ran into the forest.
“Linc,” Ria cried, her eyes round and terrified. “Help!”
He trotted down the shore, keeping an eye on the area where the cat had disappeared. “Come out. I think it’s gone.”
She swam toward him and crawled from the water, her face bleeding from small cuts, and one sleeve of her tunic missing. He took her arm and helped her rise. She shook, so he wrapped his arms around her to provide warmth. Her wet clothes soaked him.
“Look, we need to go pick up our bags and get you into the sun. The blanket is back there, too. Can you make it?” He stared into her eyes, willing her to be strong.
“Jus, jus, just a minute,” she stuttered, teeth chattering.
He held her close until her tremors eased somewhat. Stroking her hair, he repeated that everything would be all right.
“Okay,” she said after several minutes. “I think I can make it now.”
He kept one arm around her, and they climbed the incline and continued through the forest. He constantly scanned the trees for signs of the cougar, but it didn’t appear. Strange, they normally didn’t attack people unless provoked. Ria must have looked like an easy target, too tempting to ignore.
When they arrived at the rock where they’d left their belongings, he spread the blanket around her and forced her to sit.
“The samples?” She looked around, her expression anxious. “Please tell me they’re safe.”
“Here.” He retrieved the bag from a patch of tall grass.
She slumped and lowered her head. “I’ve decided I hate nature, and I never want to go camping.”
He swallowed a gulp of laughter. Poor girl. What a nightmare. But bravo for surviving and having a sense of humor about it. He straightened the thin gold chain around her neck. It hadn’t broken in her wild flight through the woods. Good.
“All right. Let’s get you back to the big city.” He tucked a hand under her elbow and lifted her to her feet.
***
Ria trudged through the meadow’s tall grass, ready to drop from fatigue and the after effects of shock. She still couldn’t believe that lion had nearly killed her. Thank God Linc had arrived and chased it away.
“Let’s see what kind of signal I have now.” He stopped and lowered his bag. “We’re well away from the trees and mountain here.”
She collapsed to the ground, taking another gulp from the juice pack he’d given her.
After a few seconds, he let out a cheer. “Looks good. I should be able to reach Jeff.”
He moved his finger over the phone’s surface then held it to his ear. “Hello? Yes, this is Linc. Yes, yes, we’re okay. The copter crashed in the storm and I didn’t have a signal. Use the GPS coordinates from my phone and get a transport here as soon as possible. Oh? I see. Okay, get the transport, we’ll talk later. Use the secure SatNet link with the password I gave you.”
“What happened?” She squinted up at him, the sun bright away from the shelter of the trees. At least it had dried her clothes and she’d stopped shivering.
“They haven’t found the three escapees yet, and there are new reports of attacks away fr
om the shore. That means they’re out there eating people.”
She dropped her face to her hands. “I’m so tired, and this problem is getting worse. What are we going to do?”
He knelt beside her and handed her the last brownie. “Your blood sugar is probably low. Eat this. When the transport arrives, we’ll have more nutritious food.”
She’d never felt so weak and vulnerable. But then she usually only needed her wits and her intelligence. Nothing prepared her for an attack by a wild animal. She took the dark brown chunk and bit into it. The sweetness overpowered the unpleasant gooey consistency, thank goodness. An ant crawled up her arm, looking for a handout, and she smacked it. Stupid bug. Felt good to do away with something irritating her. If only killing the parasite was that easy.
They sat in the waving weeds for what seemed like ages. She finally leaned against Linc’s shoulder and dozed until he gently shook her awake.
“They’re coming,” he said. “I hear it.”
Whether hope or the effects of the sugar infusion, new energy pumped into her muscles, and she scrambled to her feet. Sure enough, a small hovercraft with only one whirring rotary circle headed toward them.
They both waved their arms, and Linc picked up the blanket and flapped it as well. She nearly cried when it slowed and lowered about fifty feet away, sending the vegetation out in a flat circle around it.
A soldier in a dark green uniform jumped from the side door and hurried toward them. He shouted above the noise of the blades. “Dr. Butler?”
“Yes, and Miss Moralez.” Linc kept an arm around her waist, and she was grateful for the support.
“I’m Lieutenant Harmon. This way, sir. I have orders to take the two of you to The Divide.”
They ducked their heads and made their way to the craft. The soldier entered first then took her hands to pull her aboard with Linc bringing up the rear. Once inside, the pilot gave them a wave over his shoulder and took the craft straight up into the air.
