“I’ve been watching my rear for decades,” Ward said. “In this line of work, it’s a healthy habit to acquire.”
Decker nodded slowly. He yawned. “I’m done. Time to hit the sack again.”
“Probably a good idea.” Ward observed his men still following their circular route around the periphery of the camp. “I’m not far behind.”
“Goodnight.” Decker made his way back to the tent.
In the distance, the sky flickered briefly white before falling back into darkness. The telltale sign of a far-off thunderstorm. He hoped it wasn’t coming their way.
He bent low and opened the tent’s flap, then unzipped the mosquito net. He moved to enter, then froze.
Curled up on Decker’s bedroll inches from Rory’s head, and visible in the lantern’s dim light, was a slender, pale green snake that observed him with beady black eyes.
27
“Whatever you do, don’t make any sudden moves.” Commander Ward peered into the tent toward a frightened Rory. “That’s a forest pit viper. Extremely venomous. You do not want it biting you.”
“Really?” Rory said through clenched teeth. “You need to state the obvious?”
“How aggressive is that thing?” Decker asked. He was standing to one side, holding the tent flap open with one eye on the snake and the other on Ward.
“About as bad tempered as you ever want a snake to get,” Ward replied. “One bite could cause bleeding from the nose, mouth, and eyes, throwing up, and loss of consciousness. Of course, by the time you pass out it will be a relief, I’m told that the pain is quite intense.”
“Can you just get rid of it?” Rory said. “I’m not sure how much longer I can stay still.”
“You have a plan?” Decker asked.
Ward removed his pistol from its holster at his waist. “Only one way I can think of to handle this.”
“You’re not going to fire that gun into the tent, are you?” Rory asked, his voice trembling. “Because there’s not a lot of room in here, and I would really prefer not to get shot.”
“Does he always complain this much?” Ward asked Decker.
“Not all the time,” Decker said.
“Hey,” Rory said. “I’m not complaining. I just think it would be better if one of you reached in and grabbed it, instead of turning the tent into a shooting gallery.”
“Trust me, this is the best way to handle the situation,” Ward said. “We try to grab that thing… it will probably bite you before we even get close. Then it’ll bite us.”
“All right. Fine. Just make sure you don’t miss.”
“Hasn’t happened yet.” Ward dropped back into a shooting stance. “But there’s a first time for everything.”
“I’m sure he won’t miss,” Decker said, seeing Rory’s expression. “But you might want to close your eyes for this.”
Rory squeezed his eyes shut.
“Here goes.” Ward aimed his pistol at the snake and squeezed the trigger.
The boom was deafening.
The snake’s head exploded in a gory spray.
The body coiled tighter upon itself.
“It’s still alive.” Rory opened his eyes and jumped up with a scream. He scrabbled off the bedroll and almost toppled forward in his haste to exit the tent.
“It’s not alive,” Ward said, reaching out and helping Rory to his feet. “It’s just a death spasm.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m not sleeping in that tent again tonight.” Rory batted a piece of snake from his cheek with a shudder. “No way.”
Decker reached in and grabbed the snake’s headless body. When he lifted it out, Rory took a hasty step backwards, almost falling over a guide rope.
“Easy there,” Ward said. “It can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I hate this place,” Rory said. “Just once I’d like to have an assignment that didn’t offer multiple ways to get killed.”
“Boy, you’re working for the wrong organization.” Ward shook his head. He holstered the gun and looked at Decker. “You going to get rid of that, or you are thinking of making a wallet out of it?”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” The sound of the gunshot and woken Emma. She climbed from her tent and approached them.
The explorer, Tristan Cook, trailed behind, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The soldiers on guard duty looked their way but continued pacing the perimeter. Their commander clearly had things under control, so they didn’t feel the need to intervene. The other two soldiers had come running and now stood behind Ward, guns at the ready.
“Nothing to see here, everyone.” Decker held up the snake carcass. “Just a little visitor to our tent.”
“My goodness.” Emma looked shocked. “That’s a pit viper.”
“Not anymore,” Decker said. He walked between the tents and tossed the snake’s remains as far into the understory as he could.
“I need a shower,” Rory said, as Decker returned to the front of the tent. “I’m covered in snake’s head.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Ward said. “It’s just a couple of chunks.”
“I’d still like to wash it off.”
“There’s a ten-gallon solar shower with a privacy screen over near the supply tent,” Emma said. “Don’t expect the water to be too warm at this time of night though.”
“Thank you.” Rory reached gingerly into the tent and pulled a towel from his travel bag, then stomped off toward the shower area.
“Well, if the excitement is over, I’m going back to bed.” Cook wiped the sweat from his forehead with a white handkerchief, then ambled off toward his tent.
Decker dragged his bedroll out and shook it to remove any lingering pieces of snake. Toward the top, through the fabric, was a bullet hole. There was a matching hole in the ground cloth. The offending slug must have buried itself in the earth beneath the tent after dispatching the snake.
He threw the bedroll back inside and stood with hands on hips. “What I want to know is how that snake got in there.”
“Maybe it slithered in when you left the tent,” Ward said.
“Doubtful.” Decker shook his head. “I zipped the mosquito net and closed the flap.”
“It’s the jungle. You’d be surprised what can get into the tents.” Emma looked at Decker. She grinned playfully. “If you don’t want to bed down in there again tonight, I have room.”
“You should make that offer to Rory,” Decker said, stone-faced. “I bet he’ll take you up on it.”
“Well, this is uncomfortable. Maybe the two of you should have your passive aggressive fight some other time?” Ward said. He stepped around the tent, studying it. At the back, he stopped. “In the meantime, I think I’ve found how that snake got in.”
“Really?” Decker went to the back of the tent. “How?”
Emma followed along; the grin wiped from her face now.
“Through there,” Ward said, pointing.
All three looked down toward the tent’s rear wall, and the neat five-inch-long slit cut into it. More than enough space to sneak a deadly serpent into their tent while they were sleeping.
28
They broke camp early the next morning after a quick breakfast, during which Commander Ward gave a stern talk regarding the obstacles and dangers they would face as they pushed into the forest on their two-day trek to the pyramid.
Rory sat listening with a look of increasing apprehension on his face. Decker could tell the archaeologist wished he were anywhere but about to penetrate one of the world’s most dangerous expanses of wilderness.
Decker’s thoughts were more focused on the events of the night before, and the snake’s appearance in their tent. He hadn’t voiced his suspicions, but he didn’t believe the rip in the tent was an accident. Someone had made the small slit deliberately to allow the snake’s entry while they slept. He didn’t know when the sabotage had occurred, but suspected that it was earlier in the evening while the group sat gathered around the fire pit. But there was no
way to tell which one of the eight people already at base camp when he and Rory arrived might be responsible. People were coming and going throughout the evening, grabbing drinks and food from the mess area, retreating to their tents, or answering the call of nature. Any of them could have done it.
It was only by good fortune that Decker had risen, unable to sleep, and decided to stretch his legs in the middle of the night. Were it not for that, one or both of them would likely have suffered a debilitating and possibly fatal bite from the highly venomous pit viper.
How the snake had arrived in their tent was another mystery. Simply slicing a hole in the canvas would not be enough. The snake must have been placed close enough to guarantee its entry. That meant someone went to extraordinary lengths to handle a dangerous serpent and position it thus. Not a task for the faint of heart. And they did it without alerting the sentries Ward had posted to keep them safe during the night. Decker knew this because the commander had questioned them at length already. Either they hadn’t seen the perpetrator, or one of them was hiding a secret.
The whole incident made Decker feel uneasy. It was a completely different tactic to the blunt force assault he and Rory had barely survived in Manaus. It also showed that the rot within CUSP ran deeper than he’d previously suspected, reaching one or more members of their own team. This made the trek into the jungle even more dangerous and would require them to be on the alert for further attempts to sabotage the expedition.
Now, after packing up their tents and heaving pounds of equipment and supplies onto their shoulders, the group entered the jungle, following in the footsteps of the Cryptid Quest film crew.
It was slow going, only made a little easier by the path already hacked through the undergrowth by the previous party to make this trek. Even that meagre trail was already growing back in.
They walked single file, alert for snakes and spiders that could drop from the trees or strike their ankles without warning. Commander Ward insisted they stop at frequent intervals to catch their breath and regroup. During these gratefully received respites, they sipped small amounts of liquid from water bottles to stay hydrated in the brutally humid tropical heat, and mopped sweat from their brows.
After one such pause, Emma, who was walking toward the back of the line, ahead of the two soldiers who were bringing up the rear, pushed her way past Rory and Tristan Cook.
She drew level with Decker and walked alongside him for a few minutes, as if she were waiting for him to initiate a conversation, before giving in and speaking up. “Nothing to say to me?”
“Nope.” Decker kept his eyes forward and watched the back of the soldier in front of him. At the head of the line, he could see Commander Ward moving forward with his M4 slung over one shoulder as he chopped and slashed at the encroaching forest with a long-bladed machete.
“You were never this quiet when we were together. You had an opinion on everything.”
“I still have an opinion. I just choose not to share it with you.” Decker finally glanced at her. “And believe me, you probably don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now.”
“Look, I get it. You’re angry with me…”
“No. I left angry behind three years ago along with the hurt. What you’re seeing now is indifference.”
“Has it really been three years?” Emma’s shoulder brushed his as they walked. “Doesn’t feel like that long. I always meant to come back you know. Eventually.”
“I waited for six months. If you intended to come back, there was ample time to do it.”
“You waited for me?” Decker thought he sensed a tinge of sorrow in Emma’s voice. “That’s so sweet.”
“Foolish would be a better description.”
“John, don’t say that.” Emma looked at him. “I got busy. You know how it is with CUSP. They were sending me all over the world and wouldn’t allow me to tell anyone what I was doing, or why. After a while I didn’t even know how to come back. But I never stopped loving you.”
Decker’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t heard those words from her in so long and didn’t think he would ever hear them again. After she left without so much as a goodbye, he’d convinced himself that her love was a sham. Nothing but a cruel lie uttered in the height of passion. Now he suspected they were something else. A get out of jail free card for her guilt. Maybe she had really loved him. Or not. None of that mattered now, because he was with Nancy and that was the love he could count on. Still, he wondered if a small flame still burned somewhere deep within for the alluring Egyptologist with whom he once thought he could spend the rest of his life. He didn’t like that, though. Not at all.
“John?” Emma touched his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. “I wish you’d say something. Anything.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.” This much was true.
“You could start by saying you never stopped loving me, either.”
“Is that what you want to hear?” Decker stepped over a thick log that had fallen across their path. Without thinking, he took Emma’s hand to steady her as she climbed over.
“When I found out that you’d joined CUSP, I had this fantasy that you would seek me out, eventually.”
“Even if I’d wanted to, how could I do that?” Decker said. “I didn’t even know where you’d gone or why. You never told me. And it’s not like CUSP provided me with a staff directory.”
“I know. But we’re here together now.” Emma was still holding Decker’s hand. “Even if you won’t admit there’s still any love between us, at least say you’re pleased to see me.”
“Maybe I’m not pleased to see you.” Decker extricated his hand from hers. He felt the sudden emptiness where their palms had pressed together moments before.
“Oh.” Emma sounded momentarily taken aback, then she gathered herself together again. “Well, I’m pleased to see you. And until you tell me I should do otherwise, I’ll keep on trying to undo the damage to our relationship.”
“Suit yourself,” Decker said. “But just so you know, there is no relationship. Not anymore.”
“We’ll see,” Emma said in a quiet voice. But Decker could tell that his words had hurt her. And he hated the satisfaction he derived from that. He thought about Nancy, waiting for him back in Maine, and in that moment, he almost turned to Emma and told her why they could never again be together.
But before he got the chance, Commander Ward brought the tired group to a halt. “Okay, people. End of the line for today.”
They were in a small clearing among the trees next to a fast-running stream with crystal-clear water that weaved through the jungle on its way to the region’s namesake river. In the middle of the clearing, Decker saw the remains of a recent fire pit with dirt shoveled over the ashes, and disturbed ground.
They had found the original film crew’s overnight camp. Now, apparently, it would also be theirs.
29
They made camp near the stream and built a fire as night approached. Emma sat across from Decker and cast him the occasional furtive glance but made no attempt to engage in conversation beyond the bare minimum.
Dinner was ready to eat meals, also known as MRE’s. These lightweight freeze-dried packages of food were light to carry and nutritious. Each person carried enough for a one-week round-trip journey.
Commander Ward tested the water from the stream and determined that it was safe to consume. They used it to rehydrate their main courses and heated these in a pot over the fire. The ration kits also came with a cookie and a sachet of powdered cocoa, which they all drank before turning in for the night.
Rory and Decker shared a tent again. Earlier that day Decker had patched the hole through which the snake had entered to prevent any further critters from finding their way in while the pair slept. It concerned him that one of their group might be working with the gunmen who attacked them in Manaus, but commander Ward was adamant that no further incidents would occur on his watch. To this end, he assigned his men to gu
ard the camp in four-hour shifts, two at a time.
The night passed as promised, without excitement. If there was a double agent in their midst, they did not reveal themselves.
The next morning, they ate breakfast—more freeze-dried rations—packed up their tents and continued upon their way. The going was rough, the forest closing in around them on all sides as if it were trying to stop their forward progress. Commander Ward took the lead again, chopping and cutting his way through the thick, almost impenetrable vegetation.
After a grueling seven hours on their feet, they heard rushing water. Soon after, they emerged from the trees to find themselves standing at the edge of a precipice that dropped vertically into a massive green jungle below them. The tall cliff face continued for as far as they could see in both directions, curving around as if it might continue in a full circle and meet itself somewhere over the horizon. A tumbling waterfall some distance away to their right crashed over the rim and fell out of sight.
“Unbelievable,” Rory breathed, stepping carefully toward the ledge, and peering over. “Just look at the forest down there. It goes on as far as the eye can see. It’s like a whole tropical ecosystem sitting inside a giant bowl in the earth.”
“Do you think the film crew went down there?” Emma asked, peering across the treetops in awe.
“I’d say it’s a fair bet,” Ward said. He pointed toward a rope system tied off onto tree trunks near the rim and hanging over the edge. “I don’t see any other way that rig could have gotten here.”
Decker walked to the ropes and tested them. He went to the rim and looked over, noting that the rope went all the way down. “These ropes are solid. We can use this to get to the forest floor below.”
Cryptid Quest: A Supernatural Thriller (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 8) Page 12
