by Russ Watts
“You’re a regular Michonne aren’t you, Alex?” laughed Justin. “Only without the dreadlocks.”
“Fuck you, Justin. I used to help my pop when I was a kid. We had the biggest ranch for a hundred miles. I know what I’m doing.” Alex slid the machete back down the side of the boat carefully. “Anything gets in my way and it’s off with its head.”
“Okay, wind it up, we’re here.” Phoenix looked nervously at the island. She had no doubt in the ability of her unit, but it felt surreal. Approaching the island felt like she had gone back in time, to when the oceans were uncharted and islands were still uninhabited.
“How come nobody found this place and built a Hilton resort?” asked Karl. “Your tribe could make a lot of money out of a deserted paradise island.”
“It is more important to us to protect the island. There is no price that would separate us from our spiritual home. Would you sell your graveyards in America? Would you build a hotel over a sacred place?”
“The fact that you’re even asking that question shows you don’t know much about America, Freddy.” Karl stared at the island. “There’s a price for everything.”
A lone seagull took off from a nearby beach and cartwheeled overhead before flying out to sea. They were heading for a small bay fringed by long grass and bushes sporting small yellow flowers. As Phoenix peered over the side of the boat, she saw the coral only a few feet below. Small fish swam around, their bodies a fascinating hue of blues and purples. A turtle bobbed its head up and then disappeared beneath the surface of the shallow ocean again. A large fish with red-and-yellow vertical stripes swam up to the boat and then hurried beneath a piece of coral. A silver fin splashed above the surface of the water and then slipped silently away. Phoenix couldn’t quite believe that General Greene had sent them here. The operation would probably be over within a couple of hours. Perhaps the three employees of Space54 had given up on western civilization and decided to set up house on the island. It was an appealing prospect. If there were fruit trees somewhere on the island and a fresh water source, then there was no reason why they couldn’t survive. There would probably be mangos, papaya, and coconuts, and evidently there were enough fish to eat if they could be caught.
The engine cut out, and Freddy steered the boat silently to the shore. They were abruptly sent into shadow as the sun hid behind the island’s central peak. The air turned cold and Phoenix looked at the island with fresh eyes. It would get freezing cold at night. There was no help if anything happened. The place could be hiding poisonous spiders, scorpions, and snakes. Was the island the idyllic paradise that it looked? On the surface, it was secluded beaches and glorious sunshine. Scratch beneath though and the harsh reality of life would appear. Phoenix watched Freddy throw the anchor overboard, and she felt for the gun nestled at her hip.
Freddy flashed her a smile. “We’re here.”
CHAPTER 4
“Darius, get off your ass and help the man,” said Karl as Freddy clasped two curved pieces of metal over the lip of the boat. With Darius’ help, Freddy lowered the gangplank over the side of the boat and then dropped one end into the water. The far end of it was submerged but still visible in the fine sand beneath the clear water.
“Ladies first,” announced Darius as he helped Justin over.
“Watch your step, Darius, I’d hate for you to fall in.”
Alex followed Justin down the gangplank into the shallow water that rose to their shins, and Max followed behind them clutching his pack to his front. Karl watched his men file onto the island, their boots sinking into the soft wet sand, and then joined them. He could hear the complaints starting about the heat and the flies that were already swarming around them. Suddenly, the operation didn’t feel quite as easy as expected.
“Exactly how alone are we out here?” asked Phoenix as Freddy watched the men leave his boat. “How far is help if anything happens?”
“I have the radio that Karl gave me, but I’m not sure it’ll work at home. I have to leave now, but I’ll be back before sundown. After that, I must get back to my home. It is too dangerous to be out here at dark.”
“If you have to, you’ll get help, right?” Phoenix watched Alex and Justin on the beach wave their machetes around and make lightsaber noises. “If for any reason we don’t make it back here by nightfall, you’ll contact the military or Space54. Somebody?”
Freddy shook his head. “I’m sorry. I cannot risk bringing anybody else here. This place means so much to my people. You’re lucky you’re even getting a shot at this. I’m sorry, Phoenix, truly, but this is a one-off. Be back before the sun sets.”
Phoenix knew she couldn’t ask anything more of Freddy. He was already risking himself bringing them here. He felt responsible for the disappearance of the three scientists but ultimately this wasn’t his problem. She knew they were on their own. There was no reason for her to think that they were going to encounter any trouble, and every reason for her to think they would pick up the three stranded Americans and be back in time for supper. Yet she was worried. Now that she was actually here, there was something about the island that made her nervous. It was too easy, to picture-postcard perfect; and if something appeared too easy, then it usually was.
“I suppose swimming is out of the question?” Phoenix looked at where they had come from, a never-ending vast expanse of blue.
Freddy raised an arm and pointed south. “Viwa is that way. Waya Island lies to the east. The currents are too strong and the islands are too far. You would never make it. Please, don’t even think of trying. I wasn’t joking about the sharks,” he said dryly.
“Thanks, Freddy.” Phoenix held out her hand and he surprised her by taking it with both hands. He looked at her intently.
“Be careful. I want to take you all away from this place before the sun sets today. The spirits here get restless when they are disturbed. I heard sounds the last time I came here that I do not want to hear again.” Freddy noticed the concern behind Phoenix’ eyes. “Just be respectful to the island and you’ll be fine. I mean it when I said I want to get you all home today.”
Phoenix looked at the beach. Karl was ordering her unit to line up and instructing them how best to find their targets, giving out orders, and barking at Darius to quit playing with the machete. She looked back at Freddy.
“Even Karl?”
Freddy smiled. “Even Karl. I’ll wait as long as I can.”
Freddy let go of her hand and Phoenix turned away. She quickly descended the gangplank and felt the warm ocean lap at her legs. Her feet sank into the sand and she began to wade up the beach to dry land. She heard the engine rumble into life behind her and reached dry sand. The mission was the only thing she could afford to occupy her mind. Freddy had been a pleasant distraction, a welcome one, but that was all he was. Her unit and the three missing people were her priorities now. That and getting everyone back home safely.
“Time to go, Staff Sergeant,” yelled Karl.
Karl was standing next to Max who was looking decidedly better now that he was on dry land. Some of the color had returned to his cheeks and he was talking to Alex animatedly about something. Phoenix understood that Karl had got the unit ready, but he also needed to know that he was second-in-charge. His time for leading hadn’t quite come yet. Phoenix risked a look back over her shoulder. She had no doubt that Freddy would wait for them as long as possible. She also knew that if they didn’t make it back, then there was nothing else he could, or would, do. There could be no mistakes; the operation had to be over by sundown or it was curtains for them all. She turned back to the others. Karl had already got Darius and Justin hacking away at the tall grass leading into the island, and Alex was helping the doctor carry his pack. They were still deep in conversation. She glanced up at the blue sky. They had enough water and rations for the day, but that didn’t mean it was going to be easy.
“What’s got into Max?” asked Phoenix as she approached Karl. “He and Alex seem to have gotten into something
heavy. Some kind of argument about where our three missing people are? Or what kind of animal and plant life we might find on this deserted island?”
“Hardly,” replied Karl. “It’s Wars versus Trek. Alex found out our doctor thinks Trek is superior, whereas he’s firmly with the Jedi. Don’t ask me. I just want to get this damn stupid operation over with.”
“I’ll agree with you on that one. Freddy’s made it clear we have to be back before the sun sets. After that, he’s gone, and so is our ride back to civilization.”
“Copy that.” Karl grimaced as he stepped forward alongside Phoenix. It was eerily quiet. If there was any animal life on the island, then it was far away from them. Perhaps that wasn’t unusual in itself. They were on an uninhabited island not used to receiving visitors. The birds and rats and bugs would be jittery around humans; inquisitive maybe, nervous definitely. Karl looked across the treetops that fringed the beach, but there were no birds.
“What do you think, Fifi, you really think this place is deserted?”
She shrugged. “I don’t really care. As long as we get what we came here for.”
“You know I did a little reading up about the Yasawas on the Reagan before we left. Their tribes used to war with each other. It was territorial. Sounded like there were cannibals too. It was real primitive stuff.”
“Freddy never mentioned anything about that.”
“He wouldn’t, would he?” They reached the beginning of the jungle and began to follow the path that Darius and Justin had carved through the long grass and weeds. The beach and the muffled waves of the Pacific Ocean cresting over the coral quickly disappeared. The sun blinked out of existence beneath the thick canopy above them, and their idyllic island rapidly transformed into a thick sweltering jungle.
“I know you like the guy, Phoenix, but there’s a chance that he could be leading us into a trap. I’ve heard about these places. You know, remote tribes cut off from the outside world for centuries. Along comes the white man and out comes the cooking pot. Tourism only opened up here a few years ago. These people have been separated from the outside world for a long time.”
“Save it, Karl, you’re not selling me on that one. Cannibals? You think that’s what happened to Ricardo, Jane, and Tobias? That they ended up being spit-roasted and eaten for dinner with a side salad?”
“I’m not saying anything.” Karl brushed aside the low-hanging leaves of a tree. Ants scurried across the broad palms, ignoring the intruders. “I’m just saying we have to be on our guard and ready for anything.”
“Right, Karl. The first sign of a cannibal, I’ll be sure to let you know. For now, let’s focus on keeping up with the others and finding what we came here for. Oh, and if you call me Fifi again, I’ll cut your balls off and roast them myself.”
Karl looked at Phoenix and stopped. She pushed past him and kept her eyes on the track ahead. Sweat had begun to form on her brow and temples, but she could see Alex’s back and wanted to catch up with the others. She wasn’t sure if Karl was just trying to wind her up or if he seriously thought there might be a lost tribe living on the island. Just when she thought she liked him, he came out with some garbage. Perhaps he had seen how she had looked at Freddy and was just trying to spook her, to convince her that Freddy was just playing them. Either way, she didn’t want to waste any more time on Karl’s games. She wasn’t about to fuck up her career now and let Karl take over. She picked up the pace and left Karl behind her. She could hear his footsteps, but he had gone quiet. At least he knew when to shut up.
“Alex, how’s the doctor?” Phoenix managed to get alongside him and saw that Max was a few feet ahead. “He puke?”
“No, he was just seasick. He’s okay now. Although if you’d heard what he’d said about George Lucas, you would think he was insane. Can you believe he—?”
“Can it. I don’t want to hear it. You got all your provisions?”
Phoenix glared at Alex. She’d had enough of boy’s games and locker room talk. She knew when to lay down the law and when to let her unit relax. Now was not the time for relaxing. Ever since they had learnt of this operation, they had treated it as a joke. It was time to take it seriously and realize that people’s lives were in the balance. She had no problem telling them to suck it up. She had seen enough action and done her duty to know when to let them have it or back off. Growing up in Oklahoma with two sisters molly-coddled by middle-class parents hadn’t softened her. In fact, it had the opposite effect and had driven her to accomplish something, to do better than her sisters. She didn’t begrudge them their comfortable lifestyles, but she had needed to break free, to do something more. That drive was still in her, and she called on it when she needed to. Now was one of those times. Star Wars and cannibals? They’d all spent hours on planes and boats recently with nothing to do, and now that they were here on the island, they still didn’t seem to understand what was at stake. The heat was already beginning to suck the strength out of her, and she did not want to spend all day fighting the jungle as well. It was time to pull it together. She let Karl run her unit with a loose lease. It was time to pull it tight.
“Well?” she barked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got the doctor’s too. Thought it might help him, given how he was feeling sick.”
“Good. Stick to him like glue. Anything happens to him, I’ll leave you behind.” She could see from the look in Alex’s eyes that he thought she meant it too. “And cut out the chatter. Start looking for signs of our targets.”
Phoenix knew she had been harsh on Alex, but he would get over it. She quickened her pace and overtook the doctor. She checked that he was okay, and he confirmed it with a grunt, so she sped past him. There was little to talk about with Max until they found the survivors. Before arriving on the island, she had thought of them as victims, as if they were going to simply retrieve the bodies. Yet she felt energized now that she was here. She began to believe that perhaps they were alive. If they had found water, then there was no reason to think otherwise. Until they found the bodies, then she would continue to believe that they were alive.
“Justin. Darius. What’s the deal?” Phoenix found the two men hacking away at more long grass. It fell away in great clumps under the blades, but the pace was slowing.
“This grass is a bitch,” said Justin. He turned to Phoenix, and she could see the sweat pouring down his face. His skin was bright red, though still nothing to match his hair. His energy and enthusiasm rarely waned, as if he wanted to prove himself and Phoenix sensed he was enjoying this. A boy’s adventure out in the jungle.
“So, who figured out where our three missing people are?” asked Phoenix.
“Come again?” Justin looked at her blankly.
“Well, I assume you’re not just hacking at that grass without a good reason to. Are we blindly wandering around this island or have we got a concerted plan on how to find them?”
“If I may?” Max approached Phoenix.
“What is it?”
Max bit his lip and looked at her. “Well, I discussed with your men that the best way of finding our people was to find the downed probe. That is what they came here for. It’s reasonable to expect that they would head for it too. It seemed like the best place to start.”
Phoenix put her hands on her hips and looked at the doctor. “I thought you didn’t know where it was?” Max seemed earnest about finding his colleagues, but she was beginning to think that Karl was right. He was just a tourist getting in their way.
“Well, not exactly,” replied Max nervously. “But we did have some intelligence that suggested it was somewhere near the center of the island.”
“And if they found your missing probe, Max, then what? They obviously didn’t make it back to shore, so where did they go?”
“To top up their tan?” muttered Darius.
Max swatted a fly away from his face and looked blankly at Phoenix. He had no answer. “Well, they would have tried to…to get back to the boat. After retrieving whate
ver they could then—”
“Then what?” Phoenix looked around her unit. They were all staring at Max, waiting to hear what he would say. Justin and Darius had taken it upon themselves to follow his orders and Phoenix had let them. She had conjured up an image in her mind of finding the three missing people waiting for them in a clearing. She had thought that Max might know a lot more than he was letting on, perhaps even where the probe was and where to go, but he was as lost as they were. If they weren’t careful, they would be wandering around directionless, a situation that was too dangerous to allow happen.
“I don’t know. That’s your department.”
Phoenix looked up at the green canopy sheltering them from the morning sun. There was almost no breeze beneath it, just the hum of invisible flies and humid warm air that made her think she should have followed her sisters and settled for a nice office job with air-conditioning and coffee mornings.
“Right, well in the absence of any clear idea of where they went, the best thing we can do is track them down. We’re not going to do that by hacking away at this jungle all day and hoping for the best. We’re going to find higher ground. We need to do some recon and figure out where they might have gone, whether they found your probe or not, Max.” Phoenix pointed to the island’s central peak. It appeared between gaps in the leaves, a formidable-looking rock-face with a gentle green tree-lined slope on one side and a sharp steep drop on the other. “We don’t have to get all the way to the top, but we can at least get to a vantage point from where we can get an idea of the layout of the island. We can look for anything unusual from the clearer area where the trees are a bit more thinned out.”
“Use the sun,” suggested Karl. “Metal objects or anything from the probe may give off a glare or shine in the light. Our three missing people may have erected some sort of beacon or a sign for help. We need to work with this place, not against it.”
