The Ripple Effect

by Alex Standish

  "Did you test the water before you decided to drink it?"

  "We did a preliminary test that showed the water to be safe. The toxin is harmless while in the water, virtually undetectable. It is only when it enters our organism that it becomes active." She scrunched her face. "So we drank it."

  Carson nodded in understanding. "And that's when you began to experience the mood swings."

  "Exactly. Just to make sure, though, we stopped using the water from the wells, and used the supplies we'd brought. And soon we were ourselves again. Some memories are a little hazy, especially during the last stages, but it slowly releases its hold on the mind."

  Carson sighed, relieved. "So this isn't permanent?"

  "No," she replied with a gentle smile. "Your friend will be fine. You don't sound affected either," she added after a short pause.

  "I'm not. We brought two jerry cans with us, which we filled before leaving the Durak village, so that's safe. And there's still plenty of water in both. I did drink two cups of coffee last night, made with water from one of the wells, but besides the exhilaration and giddiness, and some anger, I feel fine. My friend, on the other hand, drank at least three cups of coffee, one of them this morning."

  "So what do we do now?"

  "We need to get out of here," Carson said, eyes on Geils' jeep. "We can use Geils' Cherokee to drive to your camp and--" He noticed Becca shaking her head. "What?"

  "Just before killing his man, Geils shot two of the tires. He was rambling something about preventing anyone from leaving him."

  "Damn." Carson glanced at the still unconscious Jack. "Then we've got a problem. I think that between the two jerry cans there's enough water for the three of us. But we're at least a day and a half away from the nearest village, and I'm not sure if I can find the way out of here. How long before the toxin leaves the system?"

  "You're referring to your friend? How long ago did he drink the coffee?"

  Carson glanced down at his watch. "About seven hours now. But as I've said, I can't be sure how much he drank. Probably one or two cups."

  Her expression was sympathetic. "Just to be on the safe side, I'd say it'll be at least twenty-four hours, perhaps more, before he's free of the toxin."

  "We can't stay here that long." Carson looked at her with a weak smile. "Want to give it a shot? I'm fairly sure I can make it back to your camp. The hard part will be finding the trail to the Durak tribe, since we searched for your camp in several directions."

  She nodded. "Let's go for it. There's still some of our water at the camp, if we need it. I just want to get away from this place and find out what happened to John." She glanced at Jack, pensive. "What about him?"

  "If you take our backpacks, I'll carry him in a fireman's hold," Carson said, heart pounding as he tied Jack's hands behind his back, and his ankles with the rope Jack had thought to bring along. "That should hold him. If he wakes up on the way, he won't be able to cause much trouble. Having to carry him will slow us down, but I won't leave him behind."

  Soon they were making their way to the Isaacs' camp, Becca with their packs, while Carson had an increasingly heavy Jack thrown over his shoulder. Jack woke up halfway through their journey, and Carson allowed him to walk the rest of the way, which proved to be a mistake. Jack still seemed to be going through the "murderous rage" stage, for he tried to escape or attack Carson several times.

  Carson managed to subdue him every time, thankfully without having to resort to violence. It hurt to see Jack this way, to hear the poisonous words coming out of his mouth, even knowing it was the toxin talking. In spite of Becca's assurances, he was beginning to fear that Jack might never recover.

  By the time they finally reached the campsite, dusk was setting; they were all ready to drop, and starving, since none of them had eaten since the day before. Carson and Becca drank from the jerry cans, and rapidly made something to eat. Getting Jack to eat was no easy task. Carson tried to feed him by hand and nearly lost his fingers as Jack tried to bite him. A fork produced better results, especially when hunger overruled the anger.

  Carson patiently fed Jack, offering him sips of the clean water in between bites. He bound Jack securely to a tree, ignoring the growl and shouted insults as he brushed his lips over Jack's forehead tenderly, and fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down.

  # # #

  Chapter Nine

  For the second morning in a row, Carson woke up knowing there was something wrong. He felt someone roughly shaking him awake and his eyes snapped open, finding Vivian's furious face inches away from his own.

  He had forgotten the others were supposed to follow them. They didn't know about the water, had probably spent the last day drinking from contaminated sources and were now experiencing its nasty effects. Only that could explain Vivian's aggressiveness.

  He closed his eyes. "I can't believe you drank the water," he muttered, dismayed. How was he supposed to fight his six irrational friends on his own?

  "What water?"

  Carson looked up to see Vivian regarding him with a puzzled expression, and a little hope sipped into his heart. "Did you drink any water from this region since you arrived at N'bulungi?"

  Vivian shook her head. "Nope, we brought our own."

  Carson frowned. "Then why are you so mad at me? You look ready to throttle me."

  "Maybe if you tell us why you've got Jack tied up to a tree, Vivian here can be persuaded to back off," Roger's voice reached him from close by.

  Rolling his eyes heavenward, Carson scowled up at Vivian. "Would you mind if I got up? There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this." Vivian moved aside with a mock bow and Carson rose slowly, glaring at the others. "You could've asked first, you know?" He looked at Jack, wanting desperately to see the warmth back in his hazel eyes, but received nothing but pure hatred in return.

  "Carson? Is everything okay? Who are these people?"

  He saw Becca Isaac sitting on top of her sleeping bag, worry shining in her dark eyes, and forced himself to smile. "It's all right. They might not be acting like it, but they're friends. Just overprotective when it comes to their leader. Maybe you could you give them a simplified version of what you told me yesterday?"

  Brendan cuffed him lightly on the head for the "simplified" remark, but otherwise remained quiet as Becca nodded. "I'm Becca Isaac. My husband and I were hired by the government to discover what was causing people to disappear in this area."

  "And you found out?" Jarod asked.

  She gave them a dry smile. "Through trial and error, yes. As far as we can tell, all the water in N'bulungi has been contaminated with a toxin that attacks the brain and causes the most sane of minds to become irrational to the point of madness. My guess is that most of the people who disappeared here killed each other. We studied the cases of the few survivors that were found and all of them were extremely violent at the time; some even attacked and killed their would-be rescuers."

  Brendan turned to Carson. "You and Jack drank the water?"

  "I drank two cups of coffee and that was almost two days ago, the effects have worn off since then. Otherwise I only drank from the water we brought. Jack, unfortunately, drank far more coffee than I did. I saw him snap Geils' neck yesterday without so much as a second thought, before he turned on me. I had to do this."

  "Don't listen to him," Jack interrupted. "I'm fine. I told you you should've freed me before waking him up. They're up to something and didn't want me in the way, that's why they tied me up."

  Jackie, who was the closest to the tree, gave him a dubious look. "You've said that before. I don't know, Jack. What reason would Carson and Dr. Isaac have to lie?"

  "How the hell should I know?" Jack snarled. "Just get me the hell out of these ropes, or you'll be sorry, you little bitch!"

  Roger chuckled. "Well, that settles it, then. Sorry, ol' dog, seems it's the tree for you."

  "If you talked to him first, why didn't you let him go?" Carson asked, surprised.

  "T
here was something off," Vivian said. "We get here and you and the doctor are sleeping soundly, while Jack is tied to a tree and foaming at the mouth. We might be his friends but we're not stupid. When he started talking about you pulling some scheme and wanting him dead, we decided to wake you up."

  Carson scoffed at her. "If you knew something was wrong, why the hell did you wake me up like that?"

  Vivian gave him a tooth-filled smirk. "I like scaring people."

  Carson glared at her. For an enticing moment, he thought about drinking some of the infected water, so he could strangle her. Why should she have all the fun?

  Roger turned to Becca. "This wears off, right? Like it did with Carson?"

  "Yes, but it'll take a while. He hasn't had any of the contaminated water since around midday yesterday, so I think he should start getting back to normal sometime this afternoon. With the amount of toxin in his system, though, it'll be tomorrow before his body's fully rid of it." She seemed to hesitate, then, "Can you tell me any news of my husband? Is John all right?"

  "When we arrived at the Durak village he was already on his way to the hospital," Brendan told her. "The healer was with your husband when the paramedics checked him over and it appears he's going to be fine. There didn't seem to be any internal damage from the beating."

  She smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Now, what are we going to do? Stay here until your friend's well or leave?"

  "We still have some of the water Dr. Isaac and her husband brought with them, but even together with ours, it's not enough for all of us. Not if we stay here until Jack's himself again," Carson said.

  "I am myself, you weasel!" Jack growled, struggling against his ropes. "When I get my hands on you, I'll squeeze the life out of you! Nobody punches me and gets away with it!"

  "You punched him?" Vivian asked, and Carson thought there was newfound respect lurking behind the surprise.

  "I had to. There was a moment yesterday when I was sure he was going to shoot me, and after his fight with Geils..." Carson shook his head sadly. "I wasn't about to risk it."

  "What happened to Benzin?" Jarod asked.

  "Geils killed him," Carson replied. "He was also under the toxin's influence. I know you could've used the rewards on their heads, but we had no way to carry their bodies with us. Geils' blew up two of his jeep's tires. And frankly, I don't think we should go back."

  Brendan nodded, then looked at Vivian. "We don't have enough water to last us until tomorrow. How long will it take to reach Durak?"

  Vivian glanced at her watch. "Ten in the morning... About six hours, without any stops. We've got enough water for the day, so I don't see a problem if we leave now. We can even stop for lunch. The only problem is keeping an eye on Jack."

  "Yeah. No doubt he'll try to escape a couple of times until his head begins to clear," Roger agreed. "So, we're going?"

  It was unanimous. Carson and the others helped Becca pack up as much of her and her husband's equipment as possible, each carrying something in their packs. That dealt with, they released Jack from the ropes imprisoning him, leaving his hands bound. They began their trek out of N'bulungi, Vivian and Roger keeping a close eye on Jack.

  "I guess Jawara will be a myth short when news of the toxin gets out," Jackie said, sounding disappointed.

  "I don't know," Carson said, fighting the urge to shudder as he glanced around. "The toxin might explain why there's no life in the region, since the animals probably became as aggressive as humans and fought each other as well. And it explains what might have happened to the missing people. But there are still a few things that puzzle me about this place."

  "Like what?" Brendan asked beside him.

  "Well, have you noticed that while the sun is shining, we can't feel any actual warmth? That there's no wind or breeze? That you can't smell any of the scents associated with the jungle? That there's no sound whatsoever for miles around us? None of these things can be blamed on the toxin. As I see it, N'bulungi will remain very much a myth among the tribes, as it should be."

  They continued in silence for a while, the others obviously taking in what he had said. Carson forced himself to keep moving, eyes on the ground, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. He looked up when he noticed he was being flanked, Brendan to his left, Roger to his right.

  "Are you okay?" Brendan asked.

  "Yeah."

  He mustn't have sounded very convincing, because Roger was suddenly there in front of him. Carson barely had enough time to avoid bumping into him.

  "Carson, did something happen? Did Jack do something he shouldn't have?"

  Carson looked at Roger, then at the others, all within hearing range, thankful for the concern visible in their faces. Even Becca appeared worried. Only Jack was still glaring at him.

  "Why assume that Jack did something? Why couldn't it have been me?" he asked Roger, curious in spite of himself.

  "Because Jack's the one currently plotting to murder us all in our sleep," Roger said with a lopsided smile. "And you're the one looking like your best friend's just died. We're your friends too, Carson, we want you to understand that. If the day comes when we think Jack's wrong about something, or if he hurts you, none of us will have a problem kicking his ass into next week." His smile grew. "Of course, that goes for you too."

  Carson couldn't suppress a snort. "Of course."

  "You haven't answered the question, Carson," Vivian said. "Did Jack hurt you?"

  "No. Yes. I--" He moaned quietly. What the hell was wrong with him? Maybe there was more to the toxin that the Isaacs' knew? An aftereffect that stripped away at your defenses and left you feeling vulnerable and miserable? "He didn't do anything I didn't want. It's just..."

  "Just?" Jarod prompted.

  Carson shrugged. "It's been a rough couple of days. I guess some of the stuff he said hit the mark. There's a part of me that wonders if the toxin could really make him say something he didn't mean."

  "Carson, from what Dr. Isaac told us, this toxin influences the mind," Brendan said. "Without further testing, there's no way of knowing which areas of the brain it affects or how. We know it alters the personality, but it's got to be more to it than that. But you know Jack, you know what he's really like. Whatever he told you under the influence of this toxin doesn't matter."

  Carson gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks." Deep down he knew the words to be true, but it was comforting to hear someone else saying them aloud.

  "Let's keep moving, people," Vivian ordered. "We're still a long ways from home."

  They resumed the walk back to Durak. Jack did try to escape twice, kicking and snarling at them until he was subdued and forced to keep moving. They managed to get him to eat something during their lunch break, and to drink some water. By mid-afternoon he was beginning to look haggard and pale, but more relaxed, a sure sign that the toxin was finally losing its hold on him.

  # # #

  With the break for lunch, Jack's attempts to escape, and several stops to rest, it took them over eight hours to reach Durak. The village was within sight when Jack spoke for the first time in hours, "Carson."

  Carson wanted nothing more than to go to Jack, but he hesitated to approach him. Even though Jack seemed over the worst, Carson still feared a surprise attack. A reassuring nod from Vivian had him walking by Jack's side.

  "Yes?"

  "I'm sorry," Jack said, his voice low and hoarse.

  Looking into his eyes, Carson could see Jack was being sincere. "You're back with us, then?" he asked gently.

  Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to release some tension. "Not quite. I still feel the anger simmering, but it's under control."

  "Do... do you remember what happened?"

  Jack kicked a small stone with his boot. "Oh, yeah. I remember every single fucking moment of it." He took a shuddering breath. "I killed Geils."

  Carson's stomach tightened at the pain in Jack's eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Jack. Geils egged you on, goaded you into fighting him. If you'd been yourself,
there's a good chance he might've killed you, as I don't think he would've been above fighting dirty."

  "I just wish things could've turn out differently. Maybe I could've convinced him to give himself up."

  Carson's eyebrows rose, incredulously. "Do you really believe that?"

  "I guess not." Jack cleared his throat awkwardly, gaze locking with Carson's. "All that stuff I said, about that night being your fault and the rest, I didn't mean any of it, Carson. The rush and the situation aside, I don't regret what happened."

  Carson felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off him. "I don't regret it either, Jack." He bit his lip. "I'm sorry I punched you."

  "You did the right thing, Carson. There's no telling what I might've done if you hadn't stopped me. At that moment, I hated you, I wanted to hurt you." Jack closed his eyes briefly before looking back at Carson. "I did hurt you; acting the way I did, saying what I said. I could see it in your face."

  "Yeah, you did. I didn't understand what was going on at first, couldn't understand how you'd changed so much in so little time. And I guess the toxin was playing havoc with my mind as well. But I know better now, Jack." Carson smiled. "I guess the next time we, um... make love, we'll just have to make it special. And you still owe me dinner and a movie."

  "Next time?" There was no mistaking the hope in Jack's voice.

  Carson gave him a cheeky grin. "Yeah, next time. And by the way, I'm staying in Jawara."

  "Yeah?"

  "Yeah." Carson touched Jack's arm softly. "I want to give us a try, Jack. I'll have to go back to the States; I have to decide what to do with my agency, pack, sell the house, speak with Bruce. All that will take some time, but I'll be back as soon as possible."

  "Do you have to talk with Fraser?" Jack all but growled.

  "Yes. I think it's the right thing to do. I need the closure, and you need to be sure I don't have anything more to do with him."

  "What about Fraser? What if he wants you back?"