by Michael Todd
Trout stood up on his seat and gave her a sloppy salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
Gabrielle shook her head and turned to the wall, where Alvarez was sitting whispering with Eliza. She strolled over to them. “You two talking about me?”
Alvarez cleared his throat. “Doesn’t mean anything, boss. Just eyes on the prize. We’ll be sitting pretty this time two days from now.”
Gabrielle took a deep breath. She spotted Marcus alone in the corner table. “Yeah. We’ll see. We will see.”
She wandered toward Marcus, knowing that she didn’t need to remind Alvarez of anything. He was on top of things. “Mind if I sit?”
Marcus looked up from his drink and took his feet quickly off the chair. “Sarge. What can I do for you?”
Gabrielle sat with a groan. “You’re gonna be on time tomorrow, right?”
Marcus nodded. “Five minutes early, like you keep telling me.”
Gabrielle nodded and patted his knee. “Good. I want you to take lead on the walk tomorrow. I’ll stay in the middle and carry the petals this time.”
Marcus’s face lit up. “You got it, boss.”
Gabrielle stood and knocked her knuckles against the table. “Good. You never know when they will need some leadership I can’t give.”
Eliza slung her arm over Gabrielle’s shoulder. “You ready? I’m beat.”
Gabrielle shook her head. “Don’t stay out too late, boys.”
Trout wailed from the back of the room as they walked to the door. “Bow-chika-bow-wow! Good luck nookie! That’s what we need.”
Gabrielle put up her hand in a wave but flicked him off instead. The bar door slammed shut behind her.
Gabrielle turned her face up into the heat of the morning sun. The Hammerhead bounced as it headed across the sandy terrain, aimed straight for the bright greens of the Zoo. Trout sang loudly in Trout fashion, making more incomprehensible noises than anything else. Eliza sat in the back with Alvarez, who was alert and serious, as usual.
Eliza leaned forward and scratched Trout’s head. “Did my Trout get some sleep last night?”
Trout thumped his foot like a dog. “Yeah, boy. Nothing like a passed-out drunk to get you some good, solid sleep. No hangover, either.”
Eliza chuckled. “You never have a hangover.”
Eliza glanced at Gabrielle and winked before settling back in her seat. Gabrielle looked at the looming jungle coming into view. Every time she saw it, it took her breath away. It never got old. The tall trees swayed back and forth in an unseen breeze, and the colors popped so brightly that she lowered her glasses. The men were at work with their flamethrowers, trying to control the spread of the Zoo. Nobody knew if they were accomplishing anything at all, but there they were.
A group of misshapen birds fluttered from the canopy but quickly dove back into the depths of the jungle. They had started to worry about one of those things getting out into the real world, but the birds didn’t seem interested. They barely flew a foot above the treetops before swooping back in. The jungle seemed to breathe, enveloping their long black and silvered wing tips as they disappeared from sight.
Trout whistled. “Yeah, boy, the Zoo is alive and kicking today.”
He patted a small black box on his waist. “Good thing I got my repellent. Bought it from Renard last week. Sends out a high-pitched tone that human ears can’t pick up. It’s supposed to scare away whatever is lurking in those shadows.”
Gabrielle lifted an eyebrow and opened her mouth, but Alvarez put up his hand. “I already told him that old geezer scammed him. That ain’t nothing more than a modified doorbell he stole from some house. Can’t tell Trout nothing.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “Great. We can ring them first before coming in.”
Trout shrugged. “It’s worked so far. Nothing has snatched me out of my warm bed.”
Eliza giggled. “Silly Trout. Nothing comes into the town.”
Trout pointed forward. “Precisely. Who says it’s not because of this trusty little box?”
Everyone laughed as Trout turned the wheel, pulling into the Staging Area. A group to the right waved their hands against the sand billowing out behind them. As soon as they saw who was in the Hammerhead, they quickly turned away. It was too early for a fight with Gabrielle. They knew they would lose.
The team jumped from the truck and started unpacking gear. Gabrielle looked over the other team when a voice called from the settling dust. “Five minutes late.” Marcus walked over to her, already geared up in everything but his HUD. He wagged a finger at her. “That’s not how we run things.”
Trout yelped. “Look at that. The Master of Disaster is here already? Maybe we should rethink this shit. Something crazy is going on.”
Marcus tapped Trout on the helmet, then went back to help unload the rest of the gear. He had become one of the team, and the dust that blew after Trinidad’s death had settled. Eliza handed Gabrielle her suit and helmet. “You okay?”
Gabrielle took a deep breath. “I am. The colors are even more lively than I remember.”
Eliza smiled. “You’re waking up, finally. The haze is lifting, hallelujah. I’m telling you, this trip will change us. Put us back on the right path. What will be, will be. Especially in the Zoo.”
Gabrielle began to pull on her suit. “And you’re not afraid of dying in there?”
Eliza snorted. “I don’t plan on dying, but no, as a matter of fact, I am not. The Zoo has become part of me, just like it’s a part of every other slack-jawed asswipe that goes in there. If it decides it’s my time then I’ll sink into its man-eating plants and be gone. I’ll join the ranks of majesty within those canopied walls.”
Gabrielle smirked. It was just like Eliza to find beauty in chaos. “I wasn’t aware you started a Zoo Church out here.”
Eliza giggled. “Not a church. Just life. We all want to be part of something beautiful. What could be more beautiful than sinking into those purple flowers and becoming one with the jungle?”
Gabrielle zipped up the side of her suit. “A good glass of whiskey on a safe beach somewhere?”
Eliza waved her hand. “Boring. The Zoo is life and chaos. Embrace it. The sooner you do, the sooner you will live in harmony with this place.”
Gabrielle smiled to herself as the team lined up. “All right, team. I’m making a change today. Marcus will take lead, I’ll fall in the center and Trout brings up the rear, as usual. I will be picking Pitas and carrying the sacks back for us. Keep your eyes peeled. Don’t forget we’re a team out there. We’ve got two sites; they’re not that far apart, and we should arrive by the morning. I’ll call camp when we reach the relay point. If anything goes wrong and we get split up, we all meet back here at the Staging Area. Got it?”
Trout winked. “You got it, Sarge.”
Marcus nodded. “Copy that.”
Eliza waved her hand and took a small bow. “As always, fearless leader.”
Alvarez clapped his hands together. “Let’s move out!”
The team lined up. Gabrielle put her hand on Marcus’s shoulder and gazed into the thick. “You got this. Just keep your eyes open, your communication flowing, and don’t lose your cool. You’ve been ready for this for years.”
Marcus took a deep breath and checked his weapon. Gabrielle glanced back at the crew and opened a channel in the helmet. “All right, gang. Through the wardrobe and into Narnia we go.”
The first few steps were through the charred and flattened edges of the jungle. From there, the team pushed through the curtain. That was a long line of twisting vines that seemed to form every time a new stretch of land was burned. Once they were through, everything changed. The world they had been in instantly faded and the sights and sound of the Zoo became their reality.
The winding wind of the desert was a distant memory. Instead, the humidity of the Zoo stuck to them like glue. Gabrielle surveyed the area. She still felt the wonder she had felt walking into the strange jungle that she had felt years ago. The
burning greens of the trees etched their color into her eyes. Small, butterfly-like insects flapped and hovered nearby. Their wings shimmered like oil, and their tiny legs moved constantly over various plants, bringing small droplets of goop to their mouths. Their bodies glowed bright blue with the stuff, but they didn’t contain enough goop to make catching them worthwhile.
Gabrielle took in a deep breath—as if she could smell anything from inside her HUD. Eliza opened a private channel. “I told you. You’re waking up. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Gabrielle had to admit it. “It always has been beautiful. But some of the most deadly things in the world are the most appealing.”
In reality, Gabrielle felt like a fog was lifting from her shoulders, one that had been there since Trinidad was laid to rest. The world around her didn’t seem quite so gloomy anymore, and the wonders of the Zoo were reintroducing themselves all over again. She was in the calm before the storm, the one that people experienced before they came to fear the bulbous, reaching vines, the carnivorous plants, and the twisted hordes of morphed beasts. It was that initial beauty that drew every mercenary and soldier in and left a lasting impression on them.
Gabrielle couldn’t help but wonder if that was on purpose. If the beauty was some evolutionary trait the jungle had developed over time, something to draw people in and make it hard for them to leave. She shook her head and tried to clear the thought. If it was on purpose, she was playing right into the jungle’s hands. No matter how beautiful it was, she had to remember the dangers that lurked in every shadow and every cavern. Otherwise, the team was sure to be lost.
Chapter Seven
The Pita plants seemed to shimmer and writhe, even in the absence of any breeze. Gabrielle looked up and found Marcus at the edge of the patch. She wanted to make sure he was on the ball. He caught her eye and chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sarge. I got this.”
“I know. Just checking on my teammate, that’s all.” Gabrielle bent down and carefully plucked another petal, trying not to bruise the plant.
She placed the petal in her bag and carefully sealed it, laying it flat in the steel metal box she had designed to keep them safe. The others worked diligently. There was not so much as a giggle out of Trout. He had twice as many petals as the rest of them, but that was normal. Everything seemed to be going as planned.
The night before they’d had a small scare at the campsite, but it ended up being an albino deer knocking down one of their motion sensors. No one slept well knowing there was some kind of creature out there able to escape the heat sensors in their HUDS, but it was what it was. No one else in town reported having any contact with the thing, and no Death Dogs had come upon the beasts since then. She had sent the pictures she’d captured with her HUD of the antlered thing to the feds, but they never got back to her. They did, however, deposit a small sum in her account. New species discovery bonus, or something like that.
Gabrielle read the time on her HUD. It was getting later in the afternoon, and they still had another patch to get to before heading out. Again, they would get as far away from the Pitas as they could get before setting up camp. “All right, guys, ten more minutes and we move onto the next patch. We’ll eat lunch when we get there.”
Eliza scoffed. “Boy, slave driver over here.”
Gabrielle smirked. “Just trying to stay on schedule. It’s important to keep moving.”
Trout stood up and stretched. Joined them and tossed his bags into the box. “I cleared my sector. You want me to help the others?”
“Nah, take up watch with Marcus. We are finishing up here anyway. Good job, Trout.”
Trout bounced off with his gun ready and took the opposite side of the patch. Everything was calm and quiet. None of the plants had been disturbed to any real degree. Gabrielle took the bags from the others and closed the lid to her box. “That was a good haul. If the other patch is as fruitful, we’ll be set for quite a payday.”
Trout stood proudly. “Of course, nothing will beat the time we took three patches and a wild dinosaur bastard in one day. That was an all-time great payoff.”
Gabrielle tucked the box tightly in her sack. “True, but I’d like to avoid the animals in this place. I’m happy with hitting the other patch then making our way back to the Staging Area. No need to get greedy.”
The crew came together and fell in. Marcus stood at the head of the column, plugging in the new map. They were only three clicks from the other patch. They should arrive there in no time. Everyone was relatively well rested, and the day had been calm.
Marcus clicked onto the com. “Everyone ready to move out?”
They all replied with a ten-four. Marcus took a deep breath and cradled his weapon. “All right, here we go. A little deeper in than we normally like, but not too far away. Keep your eyes peeled.”
They started through the brush and into an open area of the jungle. They trudged over a layer of newly fallen green leaves. Nothing ever seemed to die in the Zoo. The leaves fell and somehow were immediately reabsorbed into the earth. The only crunch was that of the branches swaying above them in the canopy.
Gabrielle scanned the area, looking for heat signatures. There were a few monkeys in the trees above them, but they quickly scampered off when they heard the team. This was nothing out of the normal. Unless the whole Zoo was in attack mode, the monkeys tended to keep their distance. They were wary of humans with guns.
A click in Gabrielle’s ear let her know a private channel had been reopened. A picture of Eliza appeared in the right-hand corner of her HUD, followed by her melodic tone. “I was thinking.”
Gabrielle chuckled as she ducked under a branch. “Uh oh.”
Eliza ignored the snark. “We’ve been seeing each other for over a year now, and I wanted to poke at your thoughts on making it more official. You know, holding hands in public maybe? Sitting closer at the bar?”
“You mean you want to mark your territory.”
Eliza sighed. “Not to take all the romance out of it or anything, but, yeah. What would you think about maybe letting those that haven’t figured it out know that we are, in fact, in some sort of relationship?”
Gabrielle didn’t say anything for several moments. Eliza finally continued, “You know what? You’re not ready. It’s cool. We can continue in form, my lover.”
Gabrielle chuckled and opened her mouth to say something but stopped, realizing Eliza had distracted her. She had not been paying attention to her surroundings. Marcus was still fifteen feet ahead of her, which was good, but what struck her as odd was the absolute silence around them—not a buzz, a chirp, or even a wriggle from the creeping vines constricting the trees.
Marcus stopped. He had obviously picked up on the silence.
Eliza hadn’t noticed. “You know what we need? We need…”
“Quiet. Do you hear that?”
Eliza stopped. “I hear nothing.”
Gabrielle pulled her gun up. “Exactly. Nothing.”
She quickly switched back to the open com. Before she could say a word, the ground shook and a thick, barbed tail whipped at them. Gabrielle ducked, but it swiped Marcus right off his feet. He grunted as he hit the ground, but rolled up and was righted in no time.
Gabrielle rushed to him. “You okay, Marcus?”
Marcus gave her a thumbs-up, but she saw his mouth form a string of curses. He raised his weapon as a large, long-snouted reptile crept through the bushes. He was larger than the dinosaur-like beasts that they had encountered before. A bright blue neon strand ran up his scaled spine, a sign of the goop coursing through his system.
Gabrielle motioned for the team to fan out. “Everyone at your posts!”
Marcus stepped back, keeping his eyes on the beast. It tilted its large sharp-toothed snout back, and its roar shook the ground. It took a step toward Marcus and he opened fire, blasting at its chest. The bullets thumped off the creature and smoked in the brush. Marcus ceased fire, his eyes wide. “The fucker is bulletproof now?”
/> Trout pulled a crossbow from his back. “Nothing is bulletproof.”
The tip of the arrow shimmered with dozens of razored barbs. Trout aimed at the beast’s side and pulled the trigger. Before it even hit the beast, he was reloading. He knew one arrow wasn’t going to do the trick. The barbed arrowhead ripped into the beast’s flesh and it screamed, a high sound that tore at their eardrums. It reared back onto hind legs. Everyone took a step back. Nobody wanting to end up stomped to death by a mutant dinosaur.
Alvarez dropped to one knee and pulled his .50 cal from his back. The thing was heavy but useful. He spread out the tripod and started blasting away. The big rounds slammed into the beast’s belly. Blood spurted out and Trout yelled in triumph. He sent another arrow at its chest. The arrow went through tough hide and disappeared in the thing’s body. The animal raged, slashing huge claws blindly. Alvarez kept his sight steady and his finger on the trigger, blasting round after round into the beast.
Eliza pulled a large, jagged-edged dagger from her hip and pounced forward, stabbing the animal in the chest. The knife found purchase and she pulled hard, cutting through its scales until the knife blade snapped. Eliza held up the empty handle of the knife and whistled. She backed up and joined Gabrielle, who gave her a look. She shrugged. “What? Sometimes you got to get up close and personal to make the beast know you mean business.”
Gabrielle shook her head. “Not again.”
Eliza smirked. “All out of daggers. Didn’t bring my knight’s sword this time.”
Gabrielle pushed Eliza to the ground and shouted, “Watch out!”
The animal’s claws slashed wildly as it tumbled onto its side. The trees shook as the thing hit the ground, and then the jungle was calm again. The team held their fire. The gathered around the thing caught their breath. After a couple of moments, Gabrielle pointed at Trout. “Grab the vials. We are draining this bastard.”
She turned to point at Eliza, but she was still on her back. “Eliza?”
