SALIENT: Fast Paced SciFi Thriller

by Simon Rosser

  SALIENT

  By

  Si Rosser

  Schmall World Publishing

  First published in Great Britain as an e-book by Schmall World Publishing

  Copyright © Simon Rosser 2017

  The right of Simon Rosser to be identified as the author of the work has been asserted herein in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  KINDLE VERSION

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  SALIENT

  By

  Si Rosser

  Also by the same author;

  The A-Z of Global Warming

  Tipping Point – Robert Spire 1

  Impact Point – Robert Spire 2

  Melt Zone – Robert Spire 3

  Cataclysm of the Ancients – Robert Spire 4

  Red Mist: Espionage Thriller

  Vaporized

  Vaporized II

  SALIENT was edited by David Arden of www.onlinebookservices.com

  For Rochelle, my beautiful star, turning 6 in January.

  SALIENT

  “A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That’s where we live. That’s home. We humans are one species and this is our world. It is our responsibility to cherish it. Of all the worlds in our solar system, the only one so far as we know, graced by life.” – Carl Sagan

  SALIENT

  PROLOGUE

  Mount Shasta, Mountains, California

  September 16

  MOUNT SHASTA’S SNOWY 14,179 feet high peak loomed skyward from the horizon, some one hundred or so miles distant. A sign on the side of the interstate stated they’d just entered the Cascade Range, Siskiyou County, California. The information post also confirmed that Mount Shasta was still a potentially active volcano, the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California.

  “Wow, cool, isn’t that something eh?” the brunette in the passenger seat said, turning to her girlfriend, Jessica.

  “Yeah looks great Madison, a cold, spooky-looking mountain,” Jessica said, placing a length of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. “The view sure beats sitting in that real estate office back in Fairbanks though; and I’ve only been there five minutes,” she added.

  “Well, you can see where all the stories come from!” Tom, her part-time, on-off British partner said, looking up from the rucksack he was checking in the back of the Chevrolet Suburban.

  “Dude, don’t tell me you believe all that crap?” Conner said, turning his head away from the road for a second in order to project his voice over the sound of Lana Del Ray’s National Anthem, pumping from the Chevrolet’s stereo.

  “You’re always so sceptical about everything,” said Madison, Conner’s current girlfriend, who was seated next to him.

  Conner shrugged. “Whatever, guys, you can save your bullshit scary stories for later when we’re around the campfire!”

  “Don’t worry, I intend to,” Tom said, his English accent dampened after three years at MIT, where he’d been studying physics and astronomy.

  The four of them had been travelling along Interstate 5 after stopping in the town of Redding, about an hour earlier, for a coffee and burger break. Outside the window, on their left, the pine-covered mountains of the Shasta Trinity National Forest – California’s largest national forest – rose up from the valley floor.

  “How much longer is it, Conner?” Tom asked, as he finished checking through the contents of his backpack.

  “The campsite’s off the A10, about half an hour past the town of Shasta. It’s probably going to be closed, but that’s what makes this trip more fun, we’ll be pretty much alone,” Conner shouted back.

  “What do you mean closed?” Jessica asked, from the rear.

  Tom laughed. “Well, not really closed, just not fully open. It’s only a campsite, it’s just that legit visiting times usually finish September fifteenth I think.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “Well it’s the sixteenth today, idiots!”

  “Exactly, we’ll be fine, just means fewer people, far more romantic,” Tom replied.

  “Well I hope we can get in,” Jessica said.

  Conner continued along the interstate which, despite the many hours of driving, didn’t seem to be taking them any closer to Mount Shasta. Beautiful vistas of the park’s pine forests stretched out on either side of the highway, which compensated any traveller’s journey through the mountain range. After a short while, an interstate sign confirmed they were now on the Cascade Wonderland Highway, which twisted and turned northwards as it tracked the Sacramento River that meandered along below on their right side.

  The time was approaching five p.m. and after another forty-five minutes of driving they reached the town of Mt. Shasta, just as the mid-September sun started to dip low on the horizon, its last rays illuminating the snow flanked sides of the mountain in a golden hue.

  “It does look stunning,” Jessica said, before sipping her bottled water.

  “And a little eerie,” Madison replied, surveying the high peak through a small set of high-powered binoculars.

  “Shouldn’t be long now, we’ll be through town in no time and turning off onto the A10. Then it’s only about a forty minute drive to the camp site. Hopefully, we can get the tents up before dark,” Conner said, as he negotiated a sharp right-hand bend.

  “Cool, we’d better, I don’t want to be putting up tents in the pitch dark,” Madison said.

  “No way, screw that!” Jessica added.

  “We’ll get them up, stop worrying,” Tom said, as he checked out the half-empty streets of the town. “Did you guys know that the total population of this place is only about three thousand?”

  “Well I’m not surprised. The volcano looks beautiful, but what would you do here? Be as boring as hell after a while,” Madison said, pushing her shoulder-length, dark hair behind her ear.

  Conner turned off the main street, following a signpost to the A10 mountain road. As he slowed down to take the bend, they passed a gun store. Displayed outside were various stuffed animals; bear, elk, deer and one odd-looking creature that was standing bipedal, around eight feet tall. “Lol, what the hell is that,” Jessica asked, pointing at the menagerie of animals outside the store.

  Tom craned his neck to look out towards where Jessica was pointing, and then laughed. “That’s supposed to be a yeti, you know Bigfoot. They’ve been spotted around here apparently.”

  “You’re kidding right!” Jessica said.

  “Oh jeez, of course he is. That’s not a real Bigfoot. There’s no such thing, just made up stories by assholes trying to make some bucks with nothing better do to!” Conner said.

  Tom shrugged. “Who knows? People swear they have seen the creatures, but Conner’s right. No real evidence has ever been presented to confirm their existence, and most of the stories are hoaxes, no doubt.”

  “Okay guys, can you shut up, you’re beginning to freak me out,” Madison said, turning around.

  Conner manoeuvred the Chevr
olet around a deep pothole that had formed in the road, continued to the junction, and turned right onto the A10 mountain road. Either side of the narrow road, the pine forest grew denser and stretched out like a carpet of green surrounding the steep snow-white sides of Mount Shasta, just a few miles distant.

  Madison slid the window down, letting the cool September air rush into the truck. “Wow, can you smell that?” she said, referring to the refreshing fragrance of pine.

  “Yeah, smells like my mum’s bathroom freshener back home in the U.K.,” Tom said, smirking.

  After thirty minutes of driving along the mountain road, a yellow, and barely visible sign-post, confirmed that it was only 2.5 miles to the Pine Crags Wilderness Campsite.

  “We’re almost there, guys,” Conner shouted.

  They continued on for another fifteen minutes until finally, on the left, the road branched off. Another sign, pushed over to an angle of forty-five degrees, as if hit by something, announced that they’d reached the camp site.

  Conner pulled into the large, empty parking area and killed the engine.

  “Look at that, guys, this is what we came for,” Conner said, looking out at their surroundings. Just beyond the hard natural earth parking lot was small lake, and beyond, pine-covered mountain peaks as far as the eye could see, all set against the backdrop of the vast volcano, which rose skyward half a mile or so away from their position.

  “Wow, amazing! Well let’s go find a suitable spot and get our tents up before darkness falls,” Madison said, opening the truck door.

  “Good idea,” Tom said, “You ready, babe, let’s go,” he said to Jessica.

  The four of them grabbed their backpacks from the back of the truck and headed off in the direction of a small hut, near the edge of the lake. The hut was empty and locked with a Season Closed sign across the Perspex screen where the campsite warden would usually sit.

  “Ah well, at least the stay won’t cost us anything,” Tom said, peering into the hut.

  “If the showers don’t work, we can always bath ‘au natural’ in the lake,” Conner added.

  “You got to be kidding! It’ll be bloody freezing in there,” Jessica replied, rolling her eyes.

  “Come on, looks like a good spot over there,” Tom said, pointing past the hut towards a clearing in the forest, fifty feet away, just shy of the lake.

  The four of them headed towards the spot and as they got closer, a rancid smell became noticeable, overpowering the fragrant scent of pine.

  “Jeez, it stinks,” Jessica said, screwing up her nose.

  “It sure isn’t very pleasant,” Tom said, trekking behind Conner to the clearing.

  “Eew, we can’t sleep here, it bloody stinks like something just died,” Madison said.

  They headed over to a large tree bordering the clearing. As they rounded it, a buzzing sound, increasing in volume, became evident.

  “Ah shit! What the hell is that?” Jessica said, stopping in her tracks, snapping a hard twig underfoot as she did, the loud crack startling everyone.

  On the ground, obviously dead by the way its neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, and partially covered in dry leaves, was a large, bloodied stag, the source of the stench.

  “Stay there, guys,” Tom said to Jessica and Madison as he and Conner walked over to the dead animal.

  The buzzing was emanating from the hundreds of flies swarming over the exposed flesh of the stag, where its hind legs and abdomen had been ripped open by a wild animal, exposing what was left of its torn and shredded innards.

  “Christ, a black bear you think?” Tom suggested, glancing up at Conner.

  “Got to be, or a coyote maybe?”

  Tom shrugged. “I’ve never seen a coyote taking down something this big before.”

  “Come on, let’s get back to the girls, best not scare them,” Conner added, as they turned and walked back to where the girls were waiting.

  “We’ll find another place to set up camp. It’s just a stag, been dead for twelve hours or so. Some coyotes must have brought it down. Don’t worry, once we have the camp fire going, they won’t come anywhere near us,” Tom said, trying to reassure the girls.

  “We can go over there,” Conner said, pointing to another clearing, about seventy feet farther along the lake edge.

  As they walked alongside the lake, a distant cry from an animal or bird made its presence known from deep within the forest.

  CHAPTER 2

  TOM HAMMERED THE final tent peg into the ground, securing the second of the two Ozark Trail two-man tents that he and Conner had just finished erecting in the pine forest clearing. “Nice one mate, just in time. Sun is just about to disappear,” Conner said.

  “Well done, guys. At least that icky smell has gone,” Madison said.

  “Come on; let’s get the fire going quick. I’ll go search for some tinder,” Jessica said, rubbing her hands together as she headed towards the trees that bordered the clearing, Madison following her.

  “Help me get some stones for the fire,” Conner said to Tom.

  Tom was looking up towards the volcano and its snow covered sides, which were reflecting enough of the light that was left to illuminate the surrounding forest in an ethereal glow.

  “Yep, sure,” Tom said, peeling his eyes away from the surreal view.

  The pair of them headed to the lake edge and found enough small boulders to arrange around a depression they’d found near the tents, to make a perfect fire.

  Forty feet away, Jessica and Madison were in the forest gathering large twigs. They had a good armful each, but the fading light was making it difficult to see. “Come on, let’s get back, I think we’ve enough here,” Jessica said.

  Madison nodded. As they turned to walk back, they heard a distant crack from deep in the forest, like a tree branch, or piece of wood snapping.

  “What the hell was that?” Madison whispered.

  “God knows. Probably just an animal,” Jessica said. “Come on, let’s get back and get the fire started,” she added, as they both turned and headed back to the lake edge.

  “Here you go, guys,” the girls said, dumping the tinder they’d collected on the floor by the ring of boulders.

  “Nice one,” Tom said, grabbing the twigs and sticks and arranging them inside the stone ring. A few minutes later, he’d managed to set the smaller twigs alight and the tinder was now burning nicely, the flickering flames warming and bathing the four of them and the small clearing in an orange glow.

  Tom opened two tins of baked beans and stirred them in a pan that was resting on a couple of flat stones and started to heat them up.

  “So, come on, Mr. Englishman, tell us some stories about this place,” Madison said, as she lit a Marlboro and took a long drag on it.

  “Yeah, go for it,” Jess said, as she shifted on the blanket that she and Madison were sitting on.

  Conner rolled his eyes. “Hold on, I’m going to get us a couple of beers,” he said, as he got up and headed over to the truck.

  Tom finished stirring the beans and moved the pan out of the heat slightly. “Well, as you know, Mount Shasta is an active volcano, part of the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire. If that wasn’t enough, there’s plenty of weird stories connected with this place,” he said, glancing up at the mountain.

  “Well, go on, tell us some!” Madison said, leaning in towards the fire.

  Tom gave the beans another stir. “Well, legends and mysteries abound in this place. There are records of hikers and campers feeling an ethereal aura when trekking near or around the mountain, and native people have always held the mountain as a sacred area.

  “Well, all we’ve experienced so far is a nasty smell,” Madison interrupted.

  Jess giggled. “Tell me about it!”

  Tom continued. “UFO proponents are said to believe a secret alien base is located deep within the mountain.”

  “That’s just silly!” Madison said.

  Conner returned with four cans of Budweiser. “Actu
ally, there’s some support for that theory,” he said, sitting down next to Madison and handing them each a can. “A chap called Kenneth Arnold was flying his light aircraft near Mount Rainier, along the crest of the Cascade Range back in, I think 1947, when he spotted nine high-speed objects, which he described as, flying like a saucer would. His report made international headlines at the time.”

  Tom opened his beer and took a gulp, before turning to his friend. “That’s correct; I didn’t expect you to have known that. There are also some, admittedly strange sects who believe the mountain is even an entry point into a fifth dimension. Many strange, pulsating lights have been reported over the past five decades by some very credible witnesses.”

  Jessica suddenly shivered. “Now you’re freaking me out,” she said, opening her beer.

  Tom shifted the pan over the flames to give the beans one last blast of heat, before serving them. “In 1931, a forest fire swept across Mount Shasta, but was apparently stopped from advancing by a mysterious fog that appeared from nowhere. Interestingly the weird fog created a fire-line demarcation of charred forest, which was curved in direct correlation with the Central Time Zone line.”

  “Hmm, that’s a bit freaky,” Madison said, looking at Jess.

  “But, the most worrying fact for us, tonight, guys is that we might be sharing the forest with…Bigfoot. Many sightings have been reported on Mt. Shasta. It’s believed by many to be the hiding place home of the mythical creatures.”

  “Now you’re freaking me out, too Tom. Don’t be an asshole!” Jessica said.