‘Tom, look over here.’ Dan calls over to them from the building. ‘Look at this. They were trying to get into the window. They left gouges here even in the hard silicon of the window sill. There’s dozens of people on the grounds tonight. Why ignore them and work at trying to dig into the building.’
Corey wants to take his helmet off and just hold his head. He knows he’ll get yelled at if he does. It hurts but he lifts his voice, ‘They didn’t want the others. They are after the prey they lost. Those are the windows to Molly’s apartment. Don’t you see the pattern? Just like Cindy Decker, they had her and then they lost her. Then they returned. They were coming to reclaim what they lost.’
‘They’ve left the peninsula.’ Tom called over. ‘Looks like they hightailed it out right away. We’ve got brief readings from three of the perimeter Sentinels to confirm it.’
Dan picked up Corey’s rifle and handed it over to him, ‘A word of advice. Don’t hesitate. Trust your reactions and do the first thing that comes to your mind. You could have had at least one of them.’
‘Yeah, I know but the risk …’
‘Could have gotten you killed. You were saved this time by your armor and Tom’s fast reflexes. He may not be there next time.’
‘I’m not a soldier. I shouldn’t be doing this stuff.’
‘Oh, don’t go there. You’ve been a tremendous asset and the times aren’t normal. Now more than ever we have to kill these two. We know they’ve got a taste for human blood. It’s an addiction that drives them to keep coming back. They’re also smart and they learn quickly. Now tonight we learned they have a strong memory and they aren’t going to stop coming back until they get Molly or we get them.’
* * * * *
Cold fear rests in his soul and courses through the veins of his body. It distracts and cautions every move he makes. Thoughts of failure and death cloud every decision. Their very existence threatening deadly hesitation at a critical moment.
For his entire life, he wished he could be like others. His own thoughts were savagely critical of his actions and once again the dirge ran through his brain like a song you couldn’t stop singing, ‘Oh, to be able to occasionally act on impulse without fear of the consequences.’ His mind would not let him do this. The very analytic nature of his being forces him to evaluate and weigh the potential consequences of every step he takes.
He knows that therein lay the danger and the problem. The analytical moment of hesitation that transforms survival into defeat. His mind continually analyzes and conjures the anticipation and visualization of consequences for every potential course of action. The fear of an unforeseen reaction would at times rack his body to the very core and drive his desire to shrink back, leave the deadlier tasks like these to others. However, fear or not, to hold back is not his way.
Despite the fear, his soul drives him onward. This is his responsibility, his task! How can you live with the knowledge that you let others take your risk? Push back the fear and turn it into anger. Learn to nourish anger deep enough that in the direst of times, the red haze descends and the rage rises from some unknown depth within. It’s these rare and unplanned instances when his whole being lashes out without hesitation and strikes with an irresistible and deadly focus unabated until the threat is gone and the torments of careful consideration return. A gift of survival from his forefathers or a curse? It didn’t really matter since he could not control it or even consciously bring on the rage. It just came or it didn’t.
His mind racing, planning, evaluating every potential course of action, Corey appears strangely calm as he moves out into the feral lands beyond the false safety of the walls of Cretaceous Station. He would not let the fears bind him. They sharpen his senses and oddly enough heighten the glories of the smells, sounds and vision of the deadly green jungle surrounding him.
The dark, broad figure of Anton Dotschkal follows close behind. Anton’s spirit stands as a bastion of solid and deadly purpose. He is a builder and a visionary to his very core. The incidents of the last days have challenged his right to continue. They had attacked him personally and horribly injured or killed others close to him. All of his intellect and resolute cunning now turns to the carefully planned removal of these threats that hold him back from those things he truly wants to do. His approach to a solution of the problem is calculated, methodical and always deadly efficient in its simplicity.
Between them walks a graceful, tall and slim figure. Even from a distance, it appears foreign to the battle armor, helmet and weaponry covering the smooth curves and flowing motion. A few strands of bright, yellow hair escape the protective confines of the battle helmet to flutter in the soft breezes surrounding them. Intense blue eyes continually scan the jungle around her. Gone are the bright smile and quick laugh.
The twinkle of her eyes and warm smile that defined the external characteristics of Molly Pasteur had not returned since her last encounter with the Black Ghosts. Unconscious and near death from asphyxiation, her mind continually replays the freshly remembered horrors. Molly had struggled from the mind deadening horrors back to sanity with a will, a purpose and now a plan.
The wanton cruelty of their attacks ripped the magic of this land from her. They took the beauty of the world, the exotic camaraderie of its inhabitants and turned them into something ugly, terror filled and deadly personal. Where others would have given up, Molly’s anger had grown and flamed within her, transforming her. A deep inner-self, that none had ever seen, emerged that day to pursue a plan with deadly purpose.
Her transformation came upon her with sudden, stunning clarity. Molly’s sudden recognition of the true purpose behind the actions of the Black Ghosts ignited it into existence. These demons were here now and would not stop their attacks. They craved the hot, complex blood of the humans more than they desired food, perhaps more than life itself.
The beliefs of this small party run contrary to that of the majority of the board members and the Chief Scientist Matt Zoeller. Unlike the directors of the Station, they believe the solution lies in removing the threat rather than building better defenses. Doctor Marty Feldman fortunately supported their proposed solution.
A simple modification of the reporting functions for the Hive Net by Marty allowed their departure to go unnoticed for the next eighteen hours. More than enough time to exit the security perimeter of Cretaceous Station and set up their trap.
Molly’s innermost fears gave birth to the plan. Late yesterday Molly and Corey sat alone in a dark corner of the Station’s cafeteria. They found that they each shared a common desire as they discussed the problems of the last few days.
Molly’s hands cradled and drew comfort from the warmth of the black cup of coffee. She finally looked up across the table and into his eyes after listening to Corey’s frustrations, ‘Here’s what I think Mister Zavtek. These so-called Black Ghosts have always managed to elude and escape our traps. Their knowledge of the world they live in has always given these black demons the edge. They use its landscape and even the other predators within it as natural weapons to trap their prey or elude those attacking them. Such capabilities show just how smart they are. Like us, they must have the ability to plan and envision consequences. I believe the problem is obvious, we need to place them in a situation where they cannot or at least choose not to use these natural advantages.’
‘Think back to your encounter with the Black Ghosts yesterday. The three of you were able to approach them. You were not particularly quiet or careful, yet you walked within easy striking distance.’
Corey listened attentively, ‘Yeah. I thought about that and I think we were able to do it only because they were busy trying to break into your apartment.’
‘You’re right. They were focused on breaking in. In fact, they were deeply focused and the reason is they were after me. They have my blood-taste in their system, it’s now centered on me and it drives them on like an opiate. I also know that, just like with Cindy, they aren’t going to stop coming after me.’
‘At this point I figure I’ve got two chances of surviving the next few days. One is to go back up to the Essex and return to our own Earth. The other is to fight for what we’ve worked for here.’
‘I’ve come to realize that I like it here very much. I’m not all that excited about going back to our modern and crowded world anymore. I know there are others who feel the same way. Alex is one of them.’
‘We need to set up another trap and we need to do it on our terms under conditions where they don’t have their natural advantage. The solution is obvious; we set up a trap using me as the bait. They …’
‘Whoa, now hold on! We haven’t been able to elude or contain these guys one single time Molly. No, I won’t have any part of it. It’s the same thing as signing your death warrant. Look how close you came last time and you had full body armor on!’
‘That’s just the point Corey. Every time you tried to track or trap them they had full use of their natural abilities. If I go out there, they will act like they did last night. They’ll be drunk with the blood smell. They’ll think only of getting at me. This is our one chance. Unless someone survives another attack you won’t ever be able to create a situation that will put them at such a disadvantage. Now, who would you like to be the victim of that next attack? Rachel? How about Gabriel?’
Corey stood and walked over to crystal clear wall section of the cafeteria housing the quartz window. A few small dinosaurs tussled in the sand outside chasing butterflies an smaller lizards. He stared at them for a while, unconsciously admiring their colors and grace but not really seeing their antics. ‘Boy, you know how to hit low and personal. I hate to say it but you are right. I can’t do this alone though. I’ll need help, perhaps Alex or Tom.’
‘Look Corey I’m risking my career with this because as far as I’m concerned my neck is on the line. I either get them or they will eventually get me. They are not going to give up.’
‘Having said that, we can’t ask Alex or Tom to risk their careers on this. Mark may well fire them for even suggesting it. If he doesn’t do it then Dan will have them going back on the Essex. No, we have to do it on our own.’
Corey turned from the window, a smile growing on his face. ‘I know just the guy. He’s just as pissed as we are. We need to go over and get Anton right away. He’ll go along with it. Come on.’
Molly picked up Corey’s cup and followed him out the door. Throwing the cups into the recycle container, she reseated the rifle on her shoulder and picked up her pace to walk beside Corey. ‘Are you sure about this? He scares me sometimes.’
‘Oh, he’s a little gruff but he’s ok. He just doesn’t like to be interrupted when he’s building something and right now these Black Ghosts have all but stopped all work on the starport. Come on, we need to hustle. I saw him moving toward the Argos earlier and I’m sure he isn’t going in there to chat with Mark.’
After a brief discussion, Anton’s enthusiastic approach was even more direct and simple than Corey’s plan. Less than twenty minutes later the three of them were loaded with spare ammunition bars and a few of the flash bang stun grenades from security.
Now, safely outside the security perimeter, they pass down the empty road that was so busy only a few days ago. The party moves at a brisk pace along the easy surface of the fused roadway. They ignore the grandeur of the ocean so full of life and color. The small party moves with a purpose through a strange and beautiful world teaming with wildlife and the bounty of a million years of mild evolution. The beauty of the raw jungle passes around them ignored as they swing back into the dense scrub growth toward a low clearing filled with the recently evolved grassy plants of this era.
They pushed on into the high brush on the other side. The now worn trail leads them out near the rim of the river valley and then down through a broad glade filled with horsetail ferns. Here the trail clearly passed through the broken path of five-foot tall ferns. Carefully and silently, Anton, Molly and Corey move ahead once more toward the next sunlight filled clearing ahead. Here again, recently crushed and trampled ferns fill the area around them.
The packed down area of high ferns mixed with the newer strains of coarse grass ahead of them still hold the memory of the recent terror. The flies are gone as are the other hundreds of scavenger insects that were here a few days ago. Dried blood covers most of the area marking a patch of land where a being, born millions of years in the future, died slowly and painfully.
Anton stops for a moment. Memories of the day that they found Sotak Luti lying here come flooding out of his nightmares into the daytime of his life. This is the spot where the demons discovered their blood lust. Here was the Black Ghost’s first grisly encounter with the addictive qualities of the serum that flowed through the veins of these new comers to this ancient world. Here they first displayed their ghastly ability to shred the skin of their victims while keeping them alive and terror stricken to enhance the pulsing flow of the adrenaline-filled fluids of the body. Their victims endured never-ending pain-filled minutes that stretched into hours. They lay there gagging, gasping for air but conscious and paralyzed until the flow of fluid ends and their heart finally fails bringing peace and an end to their torment.
‘This is the spot we want to start from.’ Anton sets his rifle down and pulls off his knapsack. Setting it down on the ground, he opens the rain-flap at the top and draws out a black box. Inside are three containers with blood plasma synthesized by Doctor Graeme from a sample taken from Molly. Then he removes a tube and presses the top to open it. ‘Ok, here, coat your hands with this liquid. It’ll provide a barrier in case your skin contacts germs or anything else that might be infectious.’
Molly stares at him, ‘Are you implying that I have a social disease?’
‘Of course not Molly, don’t be so damned touchy. You really aren’t yourself lately are you. This is standard procedure for blood serum. We also need to follow it in case there’s anything unknown in the grass here. Who knows what may have entered the area since Sotak died here.’
‘Great, I’m going to be sitting out here as bait and we are worried about a potential disease.’
‘Molly, you asked for my help. Just do it.’
‘How are we gonna do this Anton?’ Corey asks as he picks up one of the bottles and removes the cap. He next grabbed a slim, spray adaptor and pulled it over the top of the bottle.
‘I ran over this area pretty well when we were looking for Sotak. Buddy led us right down that trail but as we passed, I noticed a few smaller trails up by the rim of the cliff.’ Anton stands up straight and arches his back. Corey can see the pain in his eyes as he rubs the small of his back with his two hands. ‘The two other trails lead along the cliff edge for about a quarter mile. Then they drop down into the river valley on a narrow trail that looks like it’s had a lot of very recent hard use.’
‘The thing that caught my attention is an outcrop of bare rock that lies just before the sharply dropping part of the path down the cliff. I suspect that this is the path traveled by these guys. It’s also how they managed to get back here so fast while we were stuck upriver fighting off those big theropods.’
‘That rocky projection is our trap site. We’ll begin a scent trail of Molly’s blood right here. Don’t overdo it when you spray it out. Just a light mist every couple of yards or so. We’ll cover a strip from here and then on the other side of the projection all the way over to the trail’s passage down into the valley. Might even be a good idea to go down the cliff face for a hundred feet or so. Then we go back and …’
‘This isn’t what I was thinking of Anton!’ Molly cut in. ‘I volunteered for this but I want to have a chance of getting out of it alive. I was rather thinking of something like sitting up in a tree while these guys are running around down below me. I’m not gonna be sitting out on a barren, rocky tabletop exposed to the world with my back against the blue sky and nowhere to run!’
Corey turns his head up to look at her, ‘Did you ever think tha
t sitting up in a tree might not be the best idea either? Deadly as they might be, there’s a lot more around here than these two little guys. Some of the other locals might also follow the blood trail and they are about as high as any tree you could be climbing into. You’d be sitting up there, nowhere to fly to and just at the right height for easy picking. They wouldn’t even have to bend over for a snack.’
‘He’s right.’ Anton fitted his knapsack and twisted over to pick up his rifle. ‘You also have to consider that I’ve seen these two demons in action. They can climb quite nicely. Overall, they are really quite fast and deadly for their size. Come on, let’s get moving. We can talk while we walk.’
Molly stared at Anton for a second and then bent down to pick up her pack. ‘You know …’
‘Now Molly, let me finish and you might feel a little better about this. The ledge is the right place for this trap. Its most important feature is that we can strobe it with Marty’s flashprobes without lighting up the entire jungle. If we catch them out in the open, we can put them down. Now shhh… shut up and listen. Keep working while you walk, we need to establish the scent trail.’
‘I know your concern. The rocky face has a set of large cracks, or small fissures if you will, filled with boulders along the edge that leads into a set of even wider fissures. If things begin to get a little tight, you can squiggle down into the fissure and there will be only one way in and out. Your rifle or even your pistol should be enough protection from anything that comes your way be it Black Ghost or T-Rex.’
‘Over this way Corey, did you miss …’
Corey turned and motioned for silence. Anton and Molly froze, crouching slightly with their rifles ready. Corey moved ahead slowly, his thoughts rushing through his brain. ‘If this is a tree trunk then they are really gonna laugh at… Oh crap! It moved, I saw it flinch.’
He pushed across the trail through a small wall of ferns and there it stood. A sound like wind rushing through a bellows filled the air but he could not see exactly where it came from because of the high fern and dense scrub palm brush overhead. ‘The damn thing’s standing right over the trail. Do we push …’
Hunter's Moon (Cretaceous Station Book 2) Page 38
