by Russ Watts
“It’s going to take us forever just to get to the base of the peak.” Justin stretched his sweaty back and rubbed his dirty palms together. “Maybe we should split up? If we work in teams, we can cover more ground.”
“Not yet,” said Phoenix. “We still need to scope this area out before we split up. We stick together for now.”
“Back at it then.” Darius sighed and began chopping away at a thick bush covered with small pink flowers blocking their path. Vines were draped over it like spaghetti and it was an effort to get through them.
Phoenix grabbed the other machete from Justin and started hacking away at the thick jungle. She knew it was no good to just bark orders. You had to show you were capable and willing to get involved, to do some of the dirty work yourself. Working alongside Darius, they managed to get several yards deeper into the jungle before reaching a small clearing. The area was twenty feet in circumference and there was a dead tree in the center, its roots a tangled mess still half-buried in the ground. The trees around the clearing were tall and strong, and there was no apparent way through.
“Water?” Karl held a metal flask out to Phoenix who took it gratefully.
“Want me to take over?” asked Alex.
Phoenix shook her head. “No, you’re with the doctor. Quiz him for whatever information you can get about our three missing people. See if we can build up a picture of what they might have done if they encountered any trouble. Did they have medical training? Did any of them like to go camping? Maybe one was in the boy scouts? Anything that might give us a clue as to their whereabouts.”
Alex said nothing, but the disappointment was clear. Phoenix had no time to soothe bruised egos. He would get his turn at the strong-man stuff soon. She had only been using the machete for a few minutes but could already feel the burn in her arms.
“What do you think?” asked Karl as he took the flask off her.
“Darius, hold up.” Phoenix told him to stop hacking away at the jungle and called her unit together. “Five minutes, guys. Darius, Justin, take a look around. See if you can find a natural trail through this fucking jungle. At this rate, we’ll have used up our water before noon. Listen for any sign of life or running water. Anything at all. Alex, do what I said and give me an update as soon as you can. Max, I want you to tell Alex everything you can about this missing probe and your people. We need to figure out where they are before someone chops an arm off.”
The men looked at her and hesitated. “Go on then. Scoot. I’m not standing here handing out ice-creams.”
As the men dispersed, Max remained where he was.
“I really think we should head for where the probe came down. It’s the best chance we have of finding Ricardo, Jane, and Tobias. I think I can get us pretty close to its location, if you’ll just—”
“Not now, Max.” The man’s face was bright red. He constantly dabbed at his sweating forehead with a kerchief. “Just go with Alex and have a look around. Tell him what you can. Take a break for a minute and get your breath. We’re here for your people and we’ll find them, but we’re going to do it the right way.”
“Sure. Okay.” The doctor looked downcast and went to Alex.
Phoenix looked at Karl. “I think this is going to be harder than we thought.”
Karl reached for the machete. “Well, if it’s too much for you, you only had to say. I’ll take over from here. Just—”
“I can handle it.” Phoenix pulled the machete away. “Stand down. What I mean is this island is bigger than I thought. The tropical vegetation is too thick for us to be chopping it down all day. Maybe this is exactly what our three targets did. Probably got lost, tired, fucked up, and couldn’t find their way back to the beach. If we’re lucky, we’ll find them sheltering somewhere half-starved.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” Karl took a drink of water.
“Then the beers are on you.”
Karl approached the dead tree and kicked it. His boot went through the soft bark and the tree crumbled. He glanced around. Darius and Justin were examining the undergrowth whilst Alex and Max were in hushed conversation on the other side of the clearing. “Cut them some slack. This isn’t exactly what we’re trained for. Bullets and car-bombs, that’s our thing. Remote islands and jungles? I mean, if you’re pissed, then take it out on me.”
“Please, Karl, spare me. They’ve treated this whole operation as a joke. I know what you think about us being here and that’s fed down to my unit. If they’re joking around, then they’re not paying attention. That’s when accidents happen. I’m just giving them some direction. You know how hard it can be to remain focused out in the field when there’s no action. You switch off for a second and you’re dead. I need to make sure they are all switched on.”
“Okay.” Karl shrugged and scuffed his boot on the ground, kicking up the ivy and dirt. He approached Phoenix. “I hear you. And for the record, I do think this operation is a joke. You run it how you like. But don’t expect me to like it.”
“Not a problem, Squad Leader. None of us have to like it, or each other. But we do have a job to do.”
Karl shrugged. “It’s unusual, don’t you think?”
“What’s that?”
“This clearing,” said Karl as he scuffed his feet over the ground again. “I mean, the tree fell down in a storm sometime, right? Judging by how old and dead it is, then must’ve been a long time ago. But there’s no reason for the rest of this area to be so…clear.”
“I guess. What does that matter?” asked Phoenix. “Maybe the sun just couldn’t get through enough here to make anything grow.”
“Maybe. But the whole way here, right from the beach, we’ve been walking on uneven ground. There have been dead branches and leaves, bugs, all kinds of shit. But look around. There’s nothing here. It’s as if something flattened the area, as if a bulldozer came through and just squashed it. What if it’s the site of an old settlement? Those spiritual ancestors that Freddy talked about?” Karl bent down and began to poke around in the dirt.
Phoenix knew he was right. For once, he wasn’t trying to score points. He had noticed something she hadn’t. She wasn’t sure if it would help them or give them any clue what the hell they were doing on this island, but it was the first sign they had that this place wasn’t as pure and simple as Freddy had made out.
“Maybe. But I don’t think it’s going to help us.” Phoenix watched as Karl dug into the dirt and began to pull on something. “Tree root?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Karl pulled on what looked like a small branch until it was free from the ground. He stood up and began brushing the thick dirt off it. It was almost eighteen inches in length, and as Karl began to wipe it clean, Phoenix recognized what he had found.
“Holy shit.” Phoenix watched Karl wipe it clean and hold it up. “That’s a femur bone.”
CHAPTER 5
“It’s human and it’s male,” said Max as he turned the bone over carefully in his hands. “Probably.”
“Probably? Can you be a little less vague, Doc?” Karl folded his arms. “I thought this was the reason we brought you here. And all you can tell us is probably?”
Max stared at the bone. “It’s not exactly easy to tell. I’m a doctor. I usually work with living patients. You’d need carbon dating and a pathology expert to know for sure. The angle of the neck would suggest it’s from a male though. It’s not lost any color or degraded, so it doesn’t appear aged.” Max held both ends of the bone and pulled. “It’s strong too. It’s not been weathered or subject to any decomposition. Unfortunately, this belonged to someone who only recently passed. I hate to say it, but I suspect it may belong to one of my colleagues.”
“Fuck.” Justin stared at Phoenix. “This is a fucking waste of time. They’re dead. They’re all dead.”
“Shut up, Private.”
“Oh, come on, Karl, you heard the doc. He’s holding their bones. They’re dead and you know it.”
“P
ainful though it is to agree with Justin, I think he’s right,” said Darius calmly. “This operation is over. We didn’t come here looking for bones. I’m sorry, Doc, but your friends are history.”
“We don’t know for certain that this belongs to any one of them. It could have been here a while,” said Phoenix, noticing the fear on Max’s face. He knew it was from Ricardo or Tobias. He didn’t want to say it, but she knew exactly what he was thinking. They were looking for ghosts. “For all we know, it belongs to one of the islanders. Freddy might revere this island, but how do we know they all respect it? For all we know, some of the locals come here secretly to fish or party on a Saturday night. This bone could belong to anyone, and until we know anything more, we keep going. This operation isn’t finished until I call it.”
“So, what now?” asked Karl. “Are we looking for three bodies?”
“Nothing’s changed,” replied Phoenix firmly. “I want everyone examining this clearing for more evidence. If this bone belonged to one of our guys, then there could be more around here. We may find more clues as to what happened and their whereabouts. I need you all to look around and tell me the instant you find something.”
The soldiers started grumbling but proceeded to look around. Alex and Max began to examine the ground where Karl had found the bone. Alex used the butt of his gun to dig up the dirt while Max used his hands. Justin and Darius separated and searched the trees, pulling apart the low bushes and scrub.
“Karl, walk with me.” Phoenix made her way over to the trees. She bent down to the ground and prodded at the base of a tree covered in vines with her gun. Karl bent down next to her. “I’m not comfortable with this, Karl,” said Phoenix.
“Tell me about it. We’re wasting our time here. You know it and I know it. This is a wild goose chase.”
“That’s not what I meant. The odds aren’t in our favor, I’ll grant you that, but there is still a chance they’re alive.”
“I don’t think so.” Karl watched a giant ant pick up a leaf ten times its size and carry it up the thick trunk of a tree. “I think Space54 has sent us on an errand to pick up its three dead employees. We’re glorified pallbearers with guns.”
Phoenix looked over her shoulder. Her unit was still looking for clues but had apparently come up with nothing. They were out of earshot and keeping themselves busy, yet Phoenix lowered her voice anyway. “Remember 2009 when we were outside of Mosul? Remember when those bastards had us pinned down outside that mosque?”
“Yeah, of course. I hardly think this is the time to reminisce. That was a bad day—for all of us.”
“I remember knowing I was going to die. We had been fighting the enemy unit for what, an hour? I remember vividly not just thinking we might die, but that we were going to. There wasn’t a doubt in my head.”
“You never told me that.” Karl rocked back on his haunches. “You told the general that you never stopped believing, didn’t you? You told him the unit was all heroes.”
“Yeah, but I know when to bullshit, Karl. That’s something you still have to learn how and when to do. Politics and bullshit are the same thing, and until you learn how to play the game, you’ll never get your own unit. I told the general what he wanted to hear: that his men were always going to come out on top. I told him that I was with the best damn unit the US Army had, that we would’ve stayed there all week until we had killed every last one of those Arab fuckheads, and that I knew we would win. You think I was going to tell him I pissed myself waiting to die as the bullets whizzed over my head?”
“Truthfully, I thought we were finished too,” said Karl quietly. “When Sawyer took a bullet, I didn’t think I would see my daughter again. Mosul was a shithole. That whole operation stank. How many did we kill? A dozen, right?”
“Final count was fifteen.”
“And how many of us? Sawyer and Travers. The numbers are on our side, but two is still two too many.”
“Right.” Phoenix slowly stood up. “I thought we were dead. I thought no matter what we did, they were going to get us. The situation was desperate, you know that, and when Sawyer and Travers bit it, I knew I was going to die. I simply knew it.”
“Phoenix.” Karl stood and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the unit as he spoke. “Look, nobody blames you for what happened. What we’re doing now is nothing like that. This is a cakewalk.”
“Right. I get that. But I want you to know, Karl, that I am not leaving without those three people. They are American citizens, and even when the situation is beyond impossible, even when you know you’re going to die, then you don’t give up, right?”
Karl nodded. “I see. I see it now. You’re right.”
“So, before we start panicking and running back to the boat, I need you on the same page, Karl. Are we working together on this?” Phoenix looked at her squad leader. Mosul had been just about the worst situation that they had ever been through, and if they could get through that, then he was right. This should be a cakewalk. She had to have him on her side though. The unit had their doubts and it was understandable. She could put herself in their shoes and imagine just what they were all thinking. If Karl joined them, then eventually they would turn on her. She had to maintain order and make sure they stuck to the operation. With Karl barking orders alongside her, they might just manage to get through this.
“I’ve got your back. You know I have. It’s always been that way. No matter what I think, I’d follow you back to Mosul if I had to, Phoenix. And trust me when I say that is the last place on Earth I ever want to go.”
“Appreciate it.” Phoenix wiped her brow. Those memories were ones she preferred to keep buried, but they surfaced occasionally. The memory of knowing she was going to die and the feeling of immense guilt when they got away with only two dead would never leave her. “There’s something else bothering me, Karl. The bone you found. It was clean. When the doc was handling it, I couldn’t see a scrap of flesh on it.”
Karl shrugged and hitched his backpack up on his shoulders. “It’s just a bone. It might not mean anything.”
“Yeah, but the bone was clean. It’s as if something had stripped it clean, you know? The flesh hadn’t had time to rot. Max said himself that it hadn’t decomposed. I believe him when he says that it’s not old. The most likely outcome is that it came from Ricardo or Tobias. So where does that leave us?”
“That someone killed them? Maybe Jane was a secret serial killer.” Karl pulled gently on a vine hanging from the nearest tree. It held firm, and he looked up at the top of the tree as he contemplated climbing it. If he could, it would save a lot of time getting to higher ground.
“I’m going to disregard your wild theories about Jane. As for someone killing them, well despite what Freddy said, maybe this island isn’t as uninhabited as we thought. If they did bump into some unfriendly locals, then that still doesn’t really explain why the bone was completely wiped clean of meat.”
Karl was thinking more about how he could climb the tree. Discussing the bone he had found held no appeal anymore. “Hm? Bugs. Just bugs. This place is fucking crawling with them,” he said swatting a fly away from his face. “They’d eat the shit off my boot if I stood still long enough.”
“Karl, it’s only been a couple of days. Bugs couldn’t possibly strip a human body down to the bone in such a short space of time, surely? What if it was something else, some sort of larger animal? What if it was something big enough to eat every last drop of meat off their bodies?”
“And big enough to create this clearing?” Karl looked around. “You realize this must be twenty feet across. At least. No way is there anything big enough to do that. Even an elephant. And no matter what Freddy told you about this place, about how wonderful and sacred it is, there is nothing you can say to convince me there’s an elephant out here. There’s nothing that can eat a man like you’re talking about. Nothing on land anyway.”
Phoenix sent Karl a puzzled look.
“Piranhas. But I don’t thi
nk we have to worry about them.”
“Could be something though.” Phoenix looked around the clearing. “Don’t you think it’s odd that there are no animals? Birds, especially. I would’ve expected to see parrots or seagulls or something. The only living things we’ve seen are flies and creepy crawlies.”
“Don’t overthink it.” Karl looked up to the canopy high above his head and tried to judge how far it was. “Look, this island is an anomaly. Maybe there is a whole bunch of seals and seagulls around the corner, or maybe there’s nothing at all. Maybe we’ll run into King Kong, or maybe we’ll just go home with mosquito bites from head to toe. Maybe Freddy likes to bring his girls out here and get funky on the weekend, or maybe we’re the first people to set foot on this Godforsaken place. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, as long as we get home. I never thought I’d say I miss Guam, but—”
“Me too.” Phoenix smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, Karl.”
“Me?” It was Karl’s turn to smile. “Aw, shucks. And I thought you hated me.”
Phoenix had talked herself into a circle. There was something wrong about the whole set-up, she just couldn’t figure it out. They needed to know more.
“You think the doc is on the level?” Phoenix watched Max pull something out of the ground next to Alex. It was just a dead tree root and he tossed it away in frustration. “I think he’s keeping his cards close to his chest.”
“I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, but what’s he going to do?” Karl pulled on the vine again. He put all his weight behind it, but it stayed firmly in place. “Forget him. He’s not interested in finding those people alive. This is about insurance. Space54 just want to protect their reputation. I’ll bet they’re paying top dollar for our services. They need to ensure they’re seen to be doing everything they can to get their people back. He’s going to report back that we did everything we could, that they were already dead and couldn’t be saved. The CEO will make a big speech and pay the family a couple of million to keep quiet.”
