Blood Trail

by David Rhodes

  As it took a slow step toward the Team, Ben told Ammo, “Activate your killdeer. Everyone else, don’t move.”

  Suddenly the cries of a wounded animal sounded behind the Rex and it spun around and ran toward them. Then Ben was in their ears again saying, “Give it a few more seconds and it will be at the dead Rex and we shouldn’t have any more problems. Wait a second.” After a short pause he continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Rex is now enjoying dinner. I would suggest you resume your return trip and try your best not to attract any more company.”

  “Amen to that,” Rover called out and everyone jumped up and moved quickly back toward the Unit.

  Ben called out again, “If you hear any noises, you are just scaring some animals and they are all moving away from you. When you arrive on the beach you’ll find some smaller animals wading and getting a suntan. Additionally, just coming into view at the far end of the beach are some duck-bills. They aren’t too big and if I remember correctly, they are vegetarians. Right, Ron?”

  “They are,” he agreed. “I don’t think we’ll spook them into a charge or anything.”

  “Major Donald, Danny has fallen behind,” Blonk called out.

  The Team immediately stopped and Blonk and Chesky ran back to where Danny was bent over, hands on his knees. “I’m okay,” he told them. “Just getting winded.” He took a deep breath and continued, “I heard Ben say there wasn’t anything out here to get me so don’t concern yourselves, I’ll be there in another minute.”

  “Begging your pardon, Sir,” Blonk said, “but we don’t leave anyone behind.” Blonk got behind Danny and slipped his arms around him and Chesky picked Danny up under his knees. They fell back in line with the rest of the Team and soon were breaking from the forest on to the beach and then the curtain around the Unit opened up.

  CHAPTER TEN

  PLANS

  As they filed in, hot and sweaty, but laughing and talking, Ben told them, “Samples in the lockers, please.” Ben stated, “Seventeen in,” then he turned to Lauren and added, “Just like always.”

  Lauren said, “You did make it look easy.” Then she asked, “What’s a killdeer?”

  “What’s a killdeer known for?” he answered.

  “Well, it has a distinctive call,” Charles said as he entered the control room.

  “That’s right,” Ben agreed. “But what else?”

  “The broken wing fake-out,” Lauren said. “So, Ammo throws the killdeer to draw away the Rex, why wait to activate it? Why doesn’t it just go off?”

  “Because it will immediately draw animals to where you still are. We want them going to where you were.”

  “Okay, I got that.”

  “But, I have a suggestion,” Charles said.

  Steve and Otto turned toward him as Steve asked, “What is it, Charles?”

  “Use the drones or bots to deliver the sound. They can move around quicker and go straight to wherever you want an animal to go without any danger to a human. The killdeers the Team carry should be backups.”

  Steve looked at Otto and said, “I guess we’re not quite as smart as we thought we were.”

  Otto nodded and told Charles, “That was an excellent suggestion.” Then Otto nodded to Steve and said, “And you are that smart. After all, you made him part of the Team.”

  “Thanks, Otto,” Steve smiled. “But I’m giving that point to Charles. Anything else you would like to suggest?” Steve asked.

  “I understand that is the reason you want us here but I, well Lauren and I, we’re just checking things out.”

  “And, so far?”

  “Well, today I have been impressed. Underwater, a bite with no harm, the juvenile Rex and then easily escaping the big Rex. It’s been a good day.”

  “Lauren?”

  “I agree with Charles and I have to add that Ben, you were really calm when the big Rex showed up. And so was the rest of the Team. I know I wasn’t.”

  Ben shook his head and advised, “No, I wasn’t calm or even close to it. But we’ve trained these situations and you react as you train under stress. The training just took over.”

  “You’re being modest,” Charles told him, “but I understand.” Then he turned to Lauren and said, “Let’s go see how Danny is.”

  Down in the locker room, Maybe was asking Ron, “How long have you been studying these ‘saurs? You seem to know everything about them.”

  “Since I was a kid I guess. I’ve always loved dinosaurs and digging them up has been the best job I ever could have had. But now, now –”

  “Now you get to see the real thing,” Cat finished for him. “No more dusty, old bones. You get to see the ‘saurs moving around. Breathe the same air they are. Man, that’s got to be exciting for you.”

  “It is,” Ron agreed. “But I have to be careful and not get carried away. I almost did that on my first Walk and today I was paying more attention to everything except what we were supposed to do. I have to keep myself in check.”

  “We’ll go out with you anytime, sir,” Blonk told him.

  “Lisa, what about you?” Lost asked. “Do you want to Walk with us again?”

  “Well, I do, and I don’t. I could tell Ron was having a good time and it made me want to be there. But…our jumps, our jumps ended with death. That’s still in my mind and I keep thinking it’s what will happen to some of you. I know you’re good, but life has a way of surprising you.” She went quiet for a moment then said, “Sorry to be a downer. Maybe I’ll be more involved next time.”

  Lost gave her a hug and said, “Come out anytime you want to. Remember, you are part of the Team.”

  “What about you, Danny?” Lisa asked. “Going out again?”

  “Probably,” Danny replied. “Sorry I’m feeling bad. I thought it was the flu, now I think it might be an allergy and being out in the jungle wasn’t helping me any.”

  “What are you allergic to?” Sinewave asked.

  “Getting bit by a Rex,” Danny replied. “But seriously, it felt just like it did the first time. I was scared too, the whole time, and excited too. It’s hard to describe. I did what I had to do but I wouldn’t want to do it again.” Then he looked at Ron, Lisa, Charles and Lauren and said, “But look who I’m talking to. We all know what it was like.” He looked around the room and continued, “But today was different. I felt scared some of the time, but I really felt like all of you would take care of us. So yeah. I’ll go out again.”

  There was a cheer and Rover asked, “Charles?”

  “I will go out again. But next time I want to sit with Ben, I mean Paycheck, and Steve. I want to see how things are run. What was it like inside, Lauren?”

  “Well, there were no teeth, no heat, no humidity, no sweating and no hacking up dead dinosaurs.”

  “What was there then?” Charles asked.

  “Cabana boy, foot massages and endless piña coladas. I barely made it.”

  “I knew it,” Stoney shouted as everyone laughed. “Paycheck has been holding out on us.”

  “What have I been holding out?” Ben asked over the intercom.

  “Lauren told us about the piña coladas.”

  “Hey, it was only one pitcher…each,” Ben replied. As everyone shouted, Ben continued, “But you can get your own piña coladas when we get back. Right now, hydrate, eat something – we have chicken today, then we’ll take all the used gear outside and leave it like usual. Also, we’ll do the Walk debrief tomorrow instead of tonight since your New Year’s Eve got replaced with training. Boss Man Steve says it was a great day. A bonus day.”

  “All right,” Blonk shouted. “Stork is going to die when he hears this.”

  “We’ll call him when we get back,” Rover added.

  As everyone started talking, Charles walked over to Lauren and said, “But you didn’t answer the question. Would you go out?”

  “I may not be as opposed to it as I once was, but right now still a no. But, maybe in the future. What about you? Aren’t you still concerned a
bout the theft of your work?”

  “Yes, I am. That’s why I want inside next time. I know what he took, I want to see what he did with it. Maybe I’ll tell him I know what he did and see how he responds. He doesn’t seem to be a monster. At least not yet.”

  Danny walked over with Ron and Lisa following. Charles winced and said, “Danny, you need to go lay down. You look terrible.”

  “I feel terrible. Like I can’t breathe. I might step outside for a moment. Stay inside the curtain where the air is cool.”

  Ron said, “We’ll come with you.”

  Danny shook his head and said, “No, I’m just going to stretch my legs.”

  “Okay,” Ron said. “But come back in and lay down in a few minutes. Charles is right, you are looking bad.”

  “I’m just tired from all the walking we did in this heat. But I’ll come back in, just save me some chicken.”

  Danny stuck his head into the control room and asked, “Can you let me out? I’ll stay inside the curtain, but I need to stretch my legs. I still don’t feel a hundred percent.”

  “Sure,” Ben told him. “If you need anything just ask, I’ll be able to hear you.”

  “Thanks.” As Danny stepped outside, the cool air in a more open space felt good for a few minutes. But he couldn’t settle down. He took some deep breaths, but he felt like his nerves were working overtime. He paced back and forth for a few minutes then turned toward the Unit and asked, “Ben, is there anything close by that will eat me? If not I’d like to take a walk.”

  “A walk?”

  “I need to settle down. A couple of laps around the Unit.”

  “Hang on a second and we’ll send someone with you.”

  “No, I just want to –”

  “We’ll be outside too,” Danny heard Lisa say. “Ron and I. We want to walk outside for a couple of minutes.”

  “I might step out for a second too,” Charles said.

  “I’m going out too,” Lauren found herself saying. “I’m not sure why.” She looked at Charles and added, “Right next to the Unit, no further.”

  “How are all of you able to hear me?” Danny asked.

  “We went into the control room to talk to Steve and heard you,” Lisa told him.

  There was a pause and then Ben said, “Well, I can’t really say no to all of you. But, the satellite is powered down and all the bots and drones from earlier have been shut down.”

  “I thought you could see out to 200 yards just with the equipment on top of the Unit?” Lauren said.

  “That’s true but you know how quick some of these things are.”

  “All we want you to say,” Lauren told him, “is there isn’t anything close by that will eat us and you’ll let us know if something wanders our way.”

  “I can do that,” Ben agreed.

  “I have an idea,” Otto said. “One, if you stay fairly close to the curtain I can expand it out around you in about one second. Once you are inside nothing can get through the curtain. And two, I can send up a drone to scout around us for some aerial support.”

  “Yes, to the curtain, no to the drone,” Lauren said. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I plan on being outside for just a few minutes. I’m using it as a baby step for later.”

  “Okay,” Ben said. As the group headed toward the curtain, Ben told Otto, “Be sure to keep an eye on them. I’m going to the locker room to see how everyone is doing.”

  “I will,” Otto replied. Then he told the group, “It is still clear out to 200 yards. I’m opening the curtain and I’ll keep a close eye on things.” As Lauren shouted, “thanks, Otto”, he closed the curtain and then thought it would be better to be safe and opened up the drone program.

  They all paused as the curtain closed behind them and Lauren told Danny, “It is hot out here. It almost feels like it is taking my breath away. The jungle, the noise, it’s a lot. Do you need to go back in?”

  “No,” Danny told her. “For some reason, the heat now feels good and I’m breathing better now. But I still feel jittery, like I got to keep walking. You know, standing right next to the Rex seemed to help my nerves, but now I’m not sure. I’ll stay close by, but I have to walk. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “Should we go with him?” Lauren asked.

  “No,” Charles told her. “I’ve gotten to know Danny over the last few months and he really is a quiet person. He speaks when he wants to, but he likes to listen. Sometimes he seems preoccupied, but he is thinking about retirement and we’ve seen his father a few times on our jumps. Just think about what we are doing right now. You and Ron are in your element, Danny isn’t.”

  Ron nodded his head and said, “You know, I’m starting to think there is more going on with Danny than he is letting us know. Let’s keep an eye on him and get him to a doctor when we get back.”

  Lisa changed the subject by asking Ron, “How did you really feel about today?”

  “It gets in your blood,” Ron said. “I’ve had some bad dreams about the jumps, but deep down I’ve wanted to go back out because it’s the most alive I’ve ever felt. I know all of you hated it, but I think you liked at least some part of our jumps and what we did today. I’m ready to do it again.” Ron paused and asked Lisa, “What about you?”

  “I hated every moment of it. Ben and Steve can see for miles, but I just knew any second something was going to attack us. When we had to drop down I knew I wasn’t going to get back up. That this was it, one time too many. I’m still shaking.”

  Ron took her hands and asked, “Why did you do it then?”

  Lisa smiled and said, “For you. I wanted to be with you, do things you like to do. To support you. And if something went wrong I wanted to be right beside you, sharing the danger.”

  Ron shook his head and told her, “No, you shouldn’t do that. You have to take care of you first. Next time we’ll both sit out and make fun of Charles.”

  “You couldn’t do that, Dad,” Lauren told him. “I think you are an adrenaline junkie.”

  “I do like this,” he admitted. “But I don’t base jump or run with the bulls. This is exciting because I’m learning answers, real answers, not theory. And I believe in Steve and Ben.

  “The last time, we were always faced with uncertainty. We didn’t know what was waiting for us much less where it was. Right now, we could walk over to that lagoon and take any water or plant samples we wanted to. We could walk through this jungle and anything we scared up would run away from us. We don’t have to climb a tree or hide in an Ankylosaurus body. It’s safe. We can walk around like we are in our own home.”

  Ron paused and asked Lauren, “Knowing what we know now, doesn’t some of this interest you?”

  “Some.”

  “But you need your answers first.”

  Lauren nodded her head and agreed, “Yes, I am a little embarrassed that this actually seems interesting to me. And I do want to poke around and find real answers, maybe see something exciting. But I’m still afraid.”

  “Me too,” Lisa said. Then she took Ron’s hand and said, “Let’s walk past the lagoon and over to the real beach. Where the ocean actually is.”

  “Are you sure?” Danny asked.

  “Ben hasn’t called us back in. Until he does I know we’re safe. I’m feeling better now.”

  As they walked off, Lauren asked Charles, “What about your adrenaline? Did that Rex get you going?”

  Charles shook his head and replied, “I’m not you. I’m just interested in how we got here. That’s exciting to me. Danny, well maybe he’s just facing a midlife crisis. Lisa is just in love with your dad. It’s you and Ron who are interested in the animals.”

  Lauren took Charles’ arm and as they started to follow Ron and Lisa she leaned in close and said, “True, but now that the walks are finished what I’m really interested in is what are Steve and Ben actually up to?”

  In the Control Room Otto leaned forward but Lauren had turned away and he couldn’t quite hear wha
t she had said. What was she really interested in? He knew he should have sent up more drones and now it was too late. He glanced at the time, he’d give them all a few more minutes. Maybe he would be able to hear more of their conversation.

  Ben stuck his head into the control room and asked, “How are they?”

  Otto glanced down then advised, “A few Pterodactyls at about 200 feet…the usual small animals running around the jungle. That’s about it.”

  “Okay, give them a few more minutes. They got interested today so let them spend some more time outside. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Sounds good,” Otto replied then he quickly checked on Danny. He had almost forgotten about him. He quickly confirmed there was nothing around Danny and went back to quietly keeping the drone out of sight above Lauren and Charles.

  Danny walked until he started feeling tired then he rested against a tree. He was still feeling overwhelmed. Even now, the small animals and insects darting around the trees and ferns, the sounds and smells brought back too much, more than he thought they would. He took a breath and was glad to see he was calming down. He didn’t have to go out again, he had proven to himself he could. Now he would go out only if he wanted to.

  As he started to turn toward the Unit he thought he saw a shadow in the trees to his left. Panic rose in his throat until it almost choked him. He didn’t have anything with him. Why hadn’t he brought a rifle at least and put on a helmet so he could talk to someone? As he stared at the shadow he could see it walked on two legs. That was bad, probably a carnivore. He knelt down beside the tree, maybe it wouldn’t see him. Then he realized it would probably smell his fear.

  As he watched, the shadow seemed to stumble and then fall to the ground. He suddenly found himself drawn toward it and the closer he got the more he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  He ran forward and knelt down beside the young man and took in a deep breath. The wounds were extensive, bone was showing in some places and blood was running out of too many rips and tears to count. Danny touched the man’s shoulder and said, “I’m going to get you some help.”