“My point, Mr. Drake, is that precisely because you are a man of technology, not science, at least not science in the manner in which we refer to it, you bring a refreshing view of the situation.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dr. Massey. I’ll do that. Do you mind if I take your assistant with me?”
Aldo looked up, shocked.
“Any objections, Aldo?” asked Massey.
Aldo thought about his answer for a millisecond. “No, sir. I’ll be happy to show him around. I grew up not far from here. I know this park like the back of my hand. Tell me what you want to see and I’ll lead the way. I think the layout of the park is the same as I recall from my youth—except for the chimps.”
“Thank you for stating the obvious, Aldo,” mocked Massey with more than a touch of sarcasm.
Massey called out to them as they prepared to the leave the safety of the room and head outside. “Gentleman, don’t you want to take the security guard with you?”
“Nope, I think he’s outside in the truck. Let him be,” boasted Drake, acting the part of the macho man he aspired to be, but seldom was.
“Maybe we should listen to the doctor, Mr. Drake,” said Aldo. “You know we’re not invincible out there.”
Drake rendered Aldo’s point moot when he grabbed the young man by the arm and the two made a quick exit out the door.
CHAPTER 20
“I loved coming to the zoo when I was a kid,” said Aldo. “We used to get one day off a year from school to come here. That was a treat. I’d stare at the lions for an hour. They never moved. I used to make funny faces and try to get them to acknowledge me. They never did. The zoo was so loud back then. Today, I don’t hear anything,”.
“There used to be people here. It’s a ghost town now,” said Drake.
They headed north fifty yards to the newest attraction called “Wolves of the Wild”. The buildings were covered in a brownish straw material designed to look old. There was nothing “wild” about the wolves living in this area. Three of the four-legged creatures could be seen sleeping by the water station. One of the wolves poked his head up for a moment when he saw them scoot past the wooden slotted gates protecting the two parties from direct contact. The other animals didn’t acknowledge the visitation and kept sleeping. The sign at the front of the habitat indicated that there were six wolves. Aldo thought they must have been hiding inside one of the structures.
Gorrell and Drake slid past the wolves and into the oldest section of the park. “Monkey Island” was a ridiculous name and design for the small howler monkeys. They were banished to the far end of the park because of their aptly placed name. Their howl-like sound carried over long distances in the wild. Here, in the park, large sound dampening devices were strategically placed to disperse the noise. While the visitors were near the monkeys, however, the sound could be deafening. This single feature of the “howler” annoyed even ardent animal lovers. When the crowds thinned over the years at this spot of the park, management had become slipshod in maintaining the habitat. Brown and red howlers spent their time sitting around waiting for action.
“Not much happening here,” said Drake.
Aldo saw the despicable conditions and shook his head in disgust. “I bet they would give up those big voices for a few acres in a rain forest.”
Drake stopped. He snapped his head around, scanning the area.
“What’s wrong?” asked Aldo.
“Something…. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s an odd sensation, like we’re being watched.”
“We are, Mr. Drake, by dozens of little monkeys.”
“No, not them. Something else,” he said with force. “It’s out there.” Drake waved his hand towards the middle of the zoo, in a northwest direction.
“Let’s get back to the group. We don’t have to achieve hero status today. I learned a valuable lesson.”
“What did you learn?”
“I learned I’m more comfortable in an office environment. Come on, let’s pick up the pace. This place is freaking me out.”
The two members of the team left the monkeys and were heading back down the same path that had brought them in front of the wolves. As they cleared the wooden gates, Drake stopped short.
“Hold it. Don’t move, Aldo.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s the gates. The middle pieces are gone. These animals could leap right through that opening. Remember, we saw four of the six wolves. Let’s go slow and keep quiet. If those two other wolves are out here, I wouldn’t want to be us right now.”
“Haven’t years in captivity diminished their hunting skills?”
“Perhaps, but an animal is still an animal. There was a reason they closed this place and it wasn’t because people weren’t buying tickets or little Billy’s third grade class cancelled their annual field trip. You want to get real up close and personal with a wolf and ask if he’d like to tear a hunk of your flesh out of your leg?”
“I see your point.”
Drake gently lifted his foot an inch or two off the ground and then cautiously brought his rear foot forward and placed that foot down gingerly. Drake looked like he was stepping on an egg but trying not to break it. Every few steps, one of the men would miscalculate the ground beneath them and step on a wayward twig or branch that had haphazardly blown astray from the rich brown-mulched woods. The grounds crew was sent home two weeks ago, and with nobody to tidy up the park, pathways and walkways beneath were starting to show signs of neglect.
Snap. Aldo’s left foot met the center cross-section of another branch.
“Shhhh! Be careful, man!” whispered Drake.
“Sorry, I thought I had it cleared.”
Drake’s pace increased as they left the front of the wolves’ area and saw the final turn in the road that would take them back to the laboratory.
The next sound they heard was unmistakable. The cry of a howler monkey resonated all the way to the walkway. This was no ordinary cry. It sounded strangled. This monkey let out a low grunting gasp of monkey sound and then a gurgling sound followed. Then silence. Then the shrieks of the entire group of monkeys carried all the way back to the lab.
As Aldo and Drake made the last turn, they saw Lt. Branley rushing at them.
“Look out!” he yelled.
Aldo turned and saw two wolves running full speed no more than thirty yards behind him and gaining fast with each stride. Aldo turned back towards Lt. Branley and hustled, arms flailing back and forth, feet slightly pointed outward while he covered the path with increasing fear. Drake kept losing ground to the four-legged creatures that were designed for one purpose: chasing prey. Drake and Gorrell were now within fifty yards of the lab. Neither man had the speed to outrun the wolves. Each animal, with their tongues shifting from one side of their mouths to the other, spit flying, and their teeth glistening in the morning sun, were poised to attack.
Wolf Number One, as Drake called him later, closed to within nine feet and then the communication expert heard something whiz by his left ear.
“Shit! What was that?”
The growling of the Wolf Number One stopped. A second rush of air flew by them. They saw Lt. Branley shoulder his weapon, smoke rising from the rifle that fired two direct hits at the oncoming attackers.
Aldo and Drake continued sprinting back to the lab, despite the pleas of the lieutenant for them to ease up. The military sharpshooter raised his hands high in the air and motioned for them to slow down, but neither man was convinced that their backsides were free from being consumed as part of a wolf “all- you-can-eat” buffet breakfast.
“What in the hell were you two doing out there?” shouted Lt. Branley.
“We were… ah, trying… to, ah… get a…” said Aldo, his lungs desperate for life saving oxygen. He was unable to finish his sentence.
Lieutenant Branley chided the men while they caught their breath.
“If you two thought you could meander around and enjoy the serenity o
f nature, you were erroneous!” His voice rose in anger as he continued to badger their extemporaneous unguided tour at the zoo.
“Apparently, you didn’t get the memo. I was sent on this little journey here with you to protect you and I go to my truck for one minute and you two are gone? You better thank your lucky stars that I won the gold medal for accuracy in sharpshooter training! Mr. Drake, that wolf could practically taste the shit coming out of your ass. You’re one lucky son of a bitch. And Mr. Gorrell, let’s say it was fortunate that the animal got mired in a mud puddle, or you would have stitches halfway around your body.”
The two men, huffing and puffing, chests heaving, walked in front of Lt. Branley. The rest of the team, who had followed Branley’s explicit instructions and stayed in the laboratory while he went to find them, greeted them.
A thousand questions peppered Drake and Gorrell, but they weren’t listening to any of it. All they did was commend the virtues of Lt. Branley and thanked him that he had outstanding tutelage at the Military Academy.
“He saved our butts, literally, that’s for sure,” Aldo said.
“I’ll second that,” piped Drake.
Branley raised his arms in that motion that meant everyone should shut up.
“Listen up, people. If I can’t trust you to listen to me for a minute, then we’re going to have more problems. If I need to use the restroom and can’t trust you to stay inside, then I’ll do my business right here on the floor, even in front of the ladies. If you leave the building, I must go with you. No exceptions.”
Morales tried to calm the furor over that possible scenario and changed the subject. “Outside the part about getting eaten alive, how was it?”
The team broke into spontaneous laughter.
“If we can get our two happy wanderers to stay in the lab, we can finish our work here before we contact General Taft.”
A group of nodding heads took their places back at their respective areas of the lab and went back to work.
“I’m afraid we don’t have much to report to Gen. Taft,” said Massey.
“Hey, we have forty minutes before we leave. I’m anxious to hear what Goldman comes up with. Don’t give up the ship yet. We’ve got to keep our spirits up,” said Lila to her skeptical boss.
Goldman was in the rear of the lab, experimenting with noxious odors. An advanced science degree wasn’t needed to identify the horrible smell of animal feces. She worked the microscope adeptly, changing slides, adjusting the view, with Morales to assist her. Goldman peered through all the slides and samples. She doffed her pink and green hat and tossed it away.
“What is it?” Massey asked.
“You’ll hear it in my report.” She didn’t look pleased. In fact, the downward tilt of her eyebrows gave her a surly look that made it easy for the rest of the team to avoid eye contact with her.
Lieutenant Branley’s phone rang. He answered before it rang twice. He listened to the caller, and then handed the phone to Dr. Massey.
“General Taft, sir,” he said.
“Hello, General. Massey here. Our report is ready for you, sir. I’ll hook up the video link.”
Branley assisted Drake and within a moment, a video feed was connected showing General Taft’s face on the seventeen-inch monitor that sat on the largest of the three desks in the lab.
“General, can you see us?”
“Your image is fuzzy around the edges. The picture is dark, but I can hear you crystal clear.”
Drake fidgeted with the controls and the image became sharper and the tints and hues fell into the proper range. “General, Dr. Goldman will go first.”
“Hello, general. I’ve made an exhaustive search of the slides left for me here. I haven’t found any abnormalities. It’s similar to what we’ve heard from other specialists. I’m expecting new computer reports from the east coast, but I’m sure we’re not looking at a disease that the animals have contracted. Every species and sub-species we’ve analyzed is falling within usual parameters. I’m sorry I don’t have any more to report.”
“That’s not a surprise. Other people are making the same findings. Nothing out of the ordinary. Keep working on it.” Taft sounded disappointed.
Drake went next. “General, here’s a quick assessment of the situation. The animals are not showing signs of species to species communication. Remove the howler monkeys and it’s deathly quiet here.”
“Okay,” said the General. “Next.”
Morales took a turn at the microphone.
“General, I’ve studied the animals at the cellular level and I think that’s where this baby is headed. I can’t put my finger on it, but I do see a potential breakthrough in my analysis of the fine outer casing that protects the cell wall. The slightest change in the environment can lead to changes in the cellular properties of those tissues. I’m going to need to review more samples. I’d like to borrow Dr. Goldman, if that’s okay with the good doctor?”
Goldman was taken by surprise and her initial reaction was a negative one, but before she could verbalize her dissent, Taft had issued a new directive placing her at Morales’s disposal.
“No objections on my end. I trust Dr. Goldman will be happy to assist you.”
“There are avenues I would like to explore on my own and I think that—”
Taft cut her off. “Fine. Then I trust you’ll do everything in your power to help Dr. Morales in his work. We have dozens of researchers looking at multiple diseases. Our top people are doing exhaustive research on live animals and we’ve gone to town on the dead ones too. Necropsy results are inconclusive thus far.”
Aldo muttered to Lila off camera. “Yeah, there are lots of available whales for necropsy.”
Taft continued. “Dr. Goldman, do what you can to help Dr. Morales. Jenkins, what do you have for me? I want to tell the President we’re making progress.”
Lila’s mind drifted back to when she was sitting on the mountain with her father years ago. She couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old and she was sitting next to her father, high in the mountains, watching the white puffy clouds roll on by. They were playing her favorite game. Looking at the clouds and imagining the shapes of the clouds were animals.
Lila found a cloud that was shaped like a horse. Rex never saw the horse. He said her horse looked like a “Slippery” bird. Rex explained that Man had killed off the species by over-hunting and now they can be seen in pictures at the library. He taught Lila what the word “extinct” meant and how many different animals had lived and died in the past and more animals would disappear from the planet during her lifetime.
She went back to her room later that night and cried for two straight hours before exhaustion put her to sleep.
The booming voice of Gen. Taft snapped her back into real-time and she didn’t know if she had been daydreaming for a second, or sixty. “Professor Jenkins, I haven’t got all day.”
Lila narrowed her focus on the small camera located at the top of the computer and was succinct with the general. “You are keenly aware of my belief in following protocol when it comes to forming opinions about the tests I run at the university. The scientific theory will win in the end. We haven’t worked our way through the entire equation. Think of this as a football game, and we’re in the first quarter.”
“DAMMIT, Jenkins!” interrupted the General. “This is not a game. Is that clear? I have my reasons why I insisted that you be part of this team. I expect better answers from you.”
He paused, took a deep breath, and tried to encourage the famed ABC Team once more.
“Look, I get it. You’ve given up a lot. I’m as concerned about global panic as I am global warming. Hey, you folks are the brightest minds we have. You have my complete confidence. The future of our butts doesn’t look too promising if you don’t stop giving me that scientific rhetoric and start producing specific reasons why every animal, insect, and organism on the planet is acting so damn strange.”
“I understand. Please,
I wasn’t trying to avoid the answer. We haven’t had much luck with our usual methodology. We’re not shrinking from our task, I promise you that, general. We need more time.”
Taft stared into the camera for a moment. Lila felt his gaze run right through her body.
“Professor, if I know anything in this crazy world right now, it’s that you’re doing everything in your power to help. I’ll meet you folks back at the hotel later today. If you have anything for me, have the lieutenant call me right away. Good bye.”
The lights on the camera faded to black. Lila exhaled and felt the stress flow from her body. “That was not enjoyable. I’ve never been dressed down like that before. What did he expect? Taft sends us here to get answers and what did we find?” she asked.
“That I could be a world class sprinter!” shouted Gorrell.
“Let’s get back to work,” Lila said.
“Sure, boss,” replied Aldo.
The team spent the next two hours reviewing files, slides, autopsy reports, running computer simulations, and various scientific experiments. The lone sound coming from outside was the constant screaming of the howler monkeys.
When the team headed back to the hotel, Lila sat next to the driver. Her headaches were a common occurrence, but the work level prevented her from dwelling on them. She convinced herself that today’s headache was due to stress and those damn monkeys. They headed back to the hotel on the abandoned highway.
Lila found herself homesick. She missed Sophie. She wondered what was happening back in Sanderell and in Canamith. She knew from her youth that they were preparing for the ultimate worldwide disaster. Was this it? Her emotions ran the entire gamut from frustration at her lack of progress at the zoo, to the guilt of leaving Sophie and J.J.
She wasn’t prepared to succumb to the beliefs of others in the world that science would not rule the day and she would ultimately prove that the strange occurrences of the times were perfectly explainable. She hadn’t figured it out, but she remained adamant in her beliefs.
She broke the silence on the way home with a brief speech that was brimming with confidence.
Escape to Canamith Page 11
