Chapter 4
Girard spun around with wide eyes and fell backwards. Standing calmly before him was a man with fiery red hair, blonde eyelashes and sharp features. He was of smaller stature than Girard but his bare arms were more muscular. His clothing seemed to be from another age, worn and tattered.
"You seem to be lost." The man stated in English.
Girard's English was layered with a thick accent, "Are you, how do you say, part of the radio tower detail?"
The man's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered Girard's question. Then he answered in perfect French, "of course, M'sieur." He gestured to the jungle surrounding them. "And how do you find yourself here?"
Girard's fear turned to relief as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. "I am part of a science team, our ship was swept off course and we crashed on this island. My name is Girard."
"Todd. Nice to meet you. Any injuries among your crew?"
"No, we . . . there are six of us. And uh, my captain's wife is pregnant. Uh, 7 months or so. But, no one was harmed but our ship."
Todd's eyebrows went up. "A pregnant woman, here? That is most unfortunate." Girard blinked his eyes in confusion. "I only mean that this is no place for children much less a place for child birth."
"But now, if you are here you must have a way to get us back to Tahiti."
He ignored the comment. "You say there are six of you. The captain's wife – is she the only women among your team?"
"Yes. We are from Tahiti, we work at the University there."
"Ah-ha. And how long have you been here?"
"We wrecked about 10 days ago. We made shelter and were trying to find the radio tower. We figured that if we found the tower, we would find rescue."
"And how did you know there was a tower on this island?"
"We picked up a transmission from the ship before we crashed."
"I see."
"The rest of my team is right over there at the Black Rock. You can help us, right?"
"It's not that simple." Todd exhaled loudly and placed his hands behind his head in a stretching motion. Girard instantly felt a stinging sensation in his neck. He swatted at the offending insect and instead knocked a small object to the ground. The periphery of his vision started turning black and he found himself on his knees. A wave of fatigue passed over him and then . . . he slumped forward . . . nothing.
"Where is Girard?" René asked Robert as he exited the Black Rock. Robert and Danielle had been standing just outside the opening in the hull.
"We thought he was with you." Danielle stated.
"Well, I haven't seen him for upwards of 30 minutes." René retorted.
Montand was the next one out of the ship. He saw the concerned faces around him. "Is there a problem?"
Robert sighed. "I don't think so. Have you seen Girard recently?"
Brennan was the next to step out. "I saw him head up a ladder after we first got here. He should be in there somewhere. It's not that big of a ship."
The team reentered and began a systematic search of each compartment only to find that Girard was indeed missing. Danielle was especially concerned and decided to search the area just outside of the vessel. Girard had been acting very peculiarly recently and she wondered if it had been right to let him wander off on his own.
Robert was frustrated with the search and decided that he couldn't be in the ship. He had to be out in the jungle somewhere. He found Danielle just outside the Black Rock. Her eyes were moist and she quickly brushed at them with her hand when she saw him.
"He's gone." She said. "I'm pretty sure he went off in that direction."
"Let's get Montand out here. Maybe we can track him." Montand was the one with the most experience in tracking. René and Brennan were assigned to stay behind in case Girard returned while they were gone. Danielle had insisted on helping them find her friend.
After several minutes in the jungle, Montand stopped. "He's leading us in circles. It seems to me that Girard was pretty disoriented."
"He was acting very strangely when we found the Black Rock." Robert agreed.
Danielle furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? You didn't tell me anything about that."
"Well I didn't think to much of it at the time. He was nearly hysterical after our encounter with that thing. I just figured he was frightened out of his mind."
Montand had continued his search and found something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Over here!" he called.
Danielle and Robert walked over to the small clearing Montand was standing in. "There were two people here. Look there," he pointed at a spot on the ground. "One of them fell to the ground and was dragged."
"A struggle?" Robert asked.
"It doesn't look like there was much of a struggle." Montand spotted something on the ground and bent down to pick it up.
"Robert! Montand!" Danielle called from several meters away. "It looks like a third person joined them."
Montand stood up and walked toward Danielle. He looked at the ground and glanced back to Danielle. "She's right. It was an ambush and I know how they did it."
Robert gave Montand a puzzling look. Montand held up the object he had retrieved and rubbed it between his thumb and finger. It was cylindrical with a point on one end and a bit of feather on the other. "Blow dart," Robert concluded.
"Yes," Montand agreed. "It means we are not alone on this island."
"Very good, Todd." Girard lay sedated on a bed between Todd and another man. "Now I want you to repeat to me what he said."
"Shouldn't Jacob be here for the debrief?" Todd asked him.
"That isn't necessary." The man's eyes turned dark for a moment. "Jacob has given me the authority to act in this matter."
"I just thought that since he was on Jacob's list . . . "
"Jacob is busy with other concerns. Now what did he tell you about his team?" The man motioned Todd to sit.
Todd complied and started into his debrief. "There are six in his team - five men and one woman. They were on a science expedition on their way back to Tahiti when they heard the broadcast from the radio tower."
"How is that possible?" The man interrupted him. "No one should be able to hear that broadcast, much less be able to follow it here."
"There have been rumors that some of your people . . . " The man's eyes flashed and Todd decided to use more tact. "Ann's army. There have been sightings near the Looking Glass. Sabotage is their specialty."
The man scoffed. "You give the rag-tags more credit than they deserve. What else did learn?"
"Uh, their ship wrecked here 10 days ago. They made shelter and there is something I think you especially will find interesting. The woman is pregnant, seven months pregnant. She's the captain's wife."
"You've done well, Todd. I'll be sure to tell Jacob of your faithfulness." The man stood in silence for a moment formulating his next move. "Take Girard down to the Staff and let's have the implant inserted." Todd gave him a confused look so the man continued. "We're going to let him return to his comrades so we can collect more information. But we will need insurance in case things get out of hand."
"From now on we move in teams of at least two. No more going alone. And we go armed." Robert began. His team was assembled in the semi-darkness around him. The mood in the shelter was portentous.
"What did you find out there?" René asked. Robert hadn't told René and Brennan a whole lot when they returned to the Black Rock. His first concern was to get the team back to the shelter as quickly and silently as possible.
"No more secrets. We found evidence of an ambush. Girard wandered into the jungle and was shot with this." Robert handed the dart to René to examine who in turn gave it to Brennan to look at.
"Some kind of tranquilizer dart?" René asked.
"We believe that is what it is," Montand said.
"By whom? Who would have done this?"
"We found evidence of two people dragging another person off into the jungle." Robert continued.
"So it is just conjecture that Girard was involved?" René was beside himself.
"We followed his trail from the Black Rock. It had to be him." Danielle said.
"We should be able to track two men carrying another one rather easily. Let's get our rifles and go and get him." René started to get up.
"I'm afraid we can't," Robert said. "There was no trail. It was like they just vanished into the jungle. We are dealing with professionals here."
"What would they want with Girard?"
"We don't know."
"Are we going to do anything about getting him back?" René asked.
"We need to find the radio tower," said Montand. Robert pressed his lips together. "I believe if we find that, we will find the people who took him."
"We leave first thing tomorrow," Robert interrupted.
Robert was up early cleaning and loading his rifle. His normal stance was different. He was a man transformed. Who are these people who think they can just snatch one of my men? He was running through the sequence of events in his mind. Girard had gone into the jungle, but why? It was obvious that he was disoriented. Had they led him out there to get him away from the group so they could take him? Did he accidentally discover them? Was it related to that thing out there? There were more questions than answers.
Then he thought of Danielle. What if they had taken her? He set his jaw and shook his head slowly. No time to dwell on what ifs. But what does he do with Danielle? He can't just leave her here in the shelter. If they have Girard, then they can discover where our shelter is. That leaves the element of surprise in their favor. So Danielle comes with them. Can I trust her safety with Brennan or René? No, she has to stay by his side. He is the only one that can truly protect her from harm. She is great with a rifle. The only way I can ensure the safety of my people is if I have the upper hand.
The success of this mission depended upon him and him alone. He had screwed up once and he was not going to let it happen again. We've got to get our man back.
Danielle wasn't surprised to see Robert up and around already. "Are you ready to do this?" Robert asked without turning his head.
"Absolutely. Girard was my friend, I don't owe him any less." Danielle approached Robert and put her arms around him. He felt cold to her touch, like the steel of her rifle when she hefted it that morning. "Who could have done this thing?"
"I don't know, my dear. It's this place . . . I just don't understand it. We've go to make the next move though. All of our lives depend on it." He stole a glance at Danielle's bulging stomach.
"Am I interrupting anything?" A voice boomed from behind them. It was Montand. He had somewhat of a wry look on his face, but more serious than Danielle had seen him before. "I have an idea on a direction we should head. I've been thinking about the terrain around here. We know the general direction in which they probably went and we can bet they know the path we take to the Black Rock."
"Ok, you will led the way then, Montand." Robert admired the enthusiasm from Montand. Of anyone, he was the one he trusted the most. Probably even more than he trusted himself.
The team moved off into the jungle a different way than they had gone before. Montand had surmised that the radio tower was probably on one of the high peaks they had seen. There was a peak in the direction that Girard had been dragged. Robert hadn't felt like there was time to debate the accuracy of this theory. It was more important to get the men feeling like they were accomplishing something in order to take their mind off of the danger they were in. Robert had always felt trouble watching them from the bushes and now there was proof that it wasn't his idle imagination. It was real and there was a real enemy out there.
He had to admire Danielle through all this. She was a trooper and never balked at making a long hike in her condition. He knew he had married a strong woman. She had endurance that was sure and now she had a chip on her shoulder. He didn't have room to worry about her too much, not if he was to lead the men off to battle an unknown force in an unknown land. Was he marching them to their certain death? Was their any chance of getting their man back alive? He had to believe that there was, else why lead them out against such bad odds? Who knew the odds, anyway? They didn't know anything; that was the problem.
In an instant there was a downpour. Everyone took it in stride except René. "What is wrong with the weather here. Can't it give us any warning at all!"
Robert stared him down. "Let's keep our minds on the task at hand."
"Yes, sir," he said with less passion.
Montand motioned for the others to stop. Robert stepped closer to him. "I'm thinking we should head back that other direction. This trail is starting to look rather treacherous and with the rain . . . " Montand's words trailed off.
"I agree. Once we get around this bluff . . . " Robert looked at his friend and noticed that he was staring off into the trees, his face as motionless as if it were carved from stone. Montand reached up and grabbed Robert's shoulder and physically turned him so that he was facing the same direction as he was. "What in the world . . . "
A gunshot sounded and bits of rock flew off of the cliff wall behind them. The entire team took cover. Luckily they were in a field of boulders that afforded them plenty of protection. "Hold your fire!" Robert looked intently in the direction that Montand had been looking. A moment ago he had seen a flicker of something moving through the trees, but now there was nothing.
"What do you think it was?" Robert whispered to Montand.
"I couldn't tell. But I'd say we probably saw the sniper preparing to fire."
The word sniper caught Robert's attention. He looked up at the face of the cliff behind him. If he could get to higher ground he may be able to get expose the sniper. "Cover me," he told Montand. As Robert started picking his way between the boulders, Montand changed position to get next to René.
"Get ready to fire in that general direction," Montand pointed. René got his rifle ready and the two let off a volley of shots in the direction of the original gunfire. Robert used the opportunity to climb quickly up to a crevice in the wall of the cliff. The ledge was at such an angle that he could lie prone on his stomach behind the lip and still get a good look at the woods facing them.
Robert peered into the mass of greenery. No one had returned gunfire and he could not make out any movement in the direction that his comrades had fired. He tried to change position slightly to see if he could get a better view to the side. Some pebbles rained down on him from above and he realized that there was another ledge just a meter or so above his head.
A figure dropped onto the ledge next to him. He rolled onto his back and attempted to get his rifle out in front of him. It was too late. He got a kick to the side of the head for his efforts. He was stunned for a moment and loosened his grip on the weapon enough that his assailant was able to kick I over the side. He heard it clatter to on the rocks below. By the time he was able to get his wits about him, there was an assault rifle pointed at his face. And it was a woman holding it. "You down there, drop the weapons!" she called to his friends below.
"Robert! Are you ok?" Montand called.
Robert gave the woman a narrow look. "I'm fine. Do as she says."
She grabbed the shoulder of his jacket and yanked him to his feet. She was a strong woman with dark hair with a very untidy appearance to it. She was dressed in a simple jumpsuit with a circular logo on it below the left shoulder. The jumpsuit had been beige at one time, but now appeared dirty. "Let's get down there," she pointed.
Robert lowered himself back down the way he came and his captor followed. Several men emerged from the woods with automatic weapons at the ready. Montand and the others had no choice but to stand up and lay their rifles aside.
"Are you hostiles?" The woman asked emphasizing the question with the muzzle of her weapon. She spoke in English.
Robert answered carefully in English. "We are scientists."
She appeared to be caught off guard at the answer at first. Then she raised her weapon at him in a more threatening manner. "You lie."
"We were on our way to Tahiti when we shipwrecked here."
"Tahiti?" She was getting more confused. "Are you French?"
"Oui!"
She lowered her rifle. "We thought you were some of the hostiles . . . er, I mean our enemy. Are there only five of you?"
"No, no. There are six. One of us was captured yesterday by two men. We were trying to find him to, how do you say, uh, rescue him."
"I see." She shouldered her rifle and reached out to shake Robert's hand. He took it and she gestured toward the other men who shouldered their weapons as well. "My name is Annie and these are my men."
The rain had stopped as quickly as it had come. The combined troop made their way carefully through the jungle. Annie believed it prudent to get moving, fearing that the gunfire might attract unwanted attention. Robert and Annie walked next to each other in front with Danielle and René following a few paces behind. Montand and Brennan were interspersed between the members of Annie's party at the rear of the loose formation.
"You said that you were scientists. We are also scientists. I'm sorry that we were so abrupt with you. Things have been tense here lately," Annie explained.
"If you mind me asking, Madam . . . " René started.
"Please call me Annie."
"Annie. I have a question regarding the radio tower. You referred to the hostiles earlier. Is it you or they that have control of the tower?"
"Our organization came to this island more than two decades ago. It was a big construction effort. We brought technology to the island – we built the radio tower. There are a lot of interesting phenomenon on this island to study. We seemed to be making a lot of progress, but . . . We were always a little worried about the hostiles."
"Tell us more about these hostiles. They are natives, no?" Robert asked.
"We had little incursions here and there, but we thought we had taken plenty of precautions to protect ourselves. We never really understood who they are. We thought we had things under control, but . . . I don't know exactly what happened. Forty killed on one day. It was a massacre; I don't know how they did it, but the majority of our scientists were wiped out. Aside from a couple pockets we believe to still exist, me and my men are the only ones left. We have a cache of weapons and supplies hidden away that the hostiles are unaware of, but they still seem to be able to pick us off at will."
"How many are there?" Robert asked.
"That's the thing." Annie was barely able to conceal her the hint of desperation in her voice. "We know hardly anything about them. They are able to move almost silently through the jungle. They control most of the island now."
"Annie, if they are so dangerous as you say, why are you still here. Why haven't you gone back to your country?" He looked into her eyes and already knew the answer. Glancing at Danielle he decided not to press the subject. "Never mind. Where is your camp from here?"
"We were actually on our way to make contact with another pocket of resistance we believe to still exist to the south. They may have already been compromised, we could use some numbers." Annie artfully dodged the question.
Robert glanced back at Danielle again. "Look, we are still missing our man and . . . "
"A perfect reason for us to join forces. You need your man, we need our island back."
Robert stopped walking and the entire troop took his cue and did the same. "Let's take a break here." He slipped out of his pack and propped his rifle up next to it.
"It's not safe to stop here." Annie said firmly.
René looked at her incredulously and started muttering under his breath. Robert folded his arms and looked squarely at Annie. "You know this island pretty well." It wasn't a question. "Do you know any fresh water sources nearby?"
"Yes. On the other side of that ridge there is a stream. But you don't want to go over there," Annie warned. She looked at Robert's face and his arched eyebrow. She continued more slowly. "That is what we call the dark territory." His expression did not change. Annie went on, "Where did you say you're shelter was?"
Robert stood stoically. "I hadn't said. But if you are interested, we found a hole already dug and we built our shelter there."
"It had been excavated some years before it appears," René chimed in.
Annie looked at René and then back at Robert. "I know this place. We had plans to build a station there years ago, but it became impractical."
"Dark territory?" Danielle asked. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, she speaks," Annie couldn't help peering at the evidences of pregnancy when she addressed her. Danielle looked back at her with narrow eyes. "We're not sure what it is exactly ," Annie attempted to say offhandedly. She didn't succeed. "Look, there are a lot of things about this island that are a mystery. You've noticed that."
Robert knew what she was getting at. "You're talking about that thing out there."
Annie looked back at Robert. "Yes."
"What is it?" Danielle asked.
"It is a security system as far as we can tell. This is its territory, it seldom roams far from here. The hostiles seem to steer clear of it as well."
"A security system guarding what?" Robert asked.
"The island, I don't know for sure. You have encountered it then?"
Danielle and Robert both nodded and then looked at each other.
"Well at least you survived. Now what do you say about teaming up? You know how to use those rifles you are carrying I suppose." Annie seemed to be losing her patience.
"We're pretty handy." Montand put in.
"That will get you only so far." Annie countered.
"Look," Robert said. "We will take any help you offer to get our man back. After that, we can discuss how we might help you. Do you know where they might be holding him?"
"No. But I have a hunch. There has been a lot of activity at one of our former stations. I can take you there; perhaps together we can secure the location."
"Alright," Robert agreed. "But I am going to send my wife and a couple men back to our shelter." Danielle's eyes flashed at him. "I'm not going to take my pregnant wife into a potential firefight."
Danielle knew he was right after all. She would be able to take care of herself, but the risk to her baby was more than she was willing to take at the moment regardless of her eagerness to find her friend. "Montand, would you like to escort me?" she said in French. She knew Robert had a tendency to pair her with Brennan, but she was getting tired of the boor.
Robert preferred Montand to be at his side, but he was also concerned for the safety of Danielle. "Alright, Montand and Brennan take Danielle back to the shelter. René and I will go with Annie and her team to find Girard." His men nodded and Annie seemed satisfied. Robert did as well. "First we go to the stream to fill up our canteens." He raised his eyebrow at Annie again.
"Agreed. I'll lead the way."
The group proceeded on their march. Brennan hung back a bit and found himself walking with one of Annie's team. "So what's with these hostiles?"
"They're not to be taken lightly. The massacre came out of nowhere you understand. The hostiles had actually been rather quiet in the months leading up to the attack. Then without warning, they just came in and killed them all."
"How did they do it?" Brennan asked.
"We aren't for sure how exactly. But there was betrayal involved. One of our own. Rumor has it he's in charge now, calling the shots. You know what I think, they like to take the real scary ones and put them in charge. You know, the type of man that would murder his own mom and pop just because they didn't get a bowl of ice cream after dinner."
Brennan's eyes were deep pools of inky black water, stagnant and empty. He managed a mm-hm.
"We never did find Roger's body, you know, his father. Poor old man, didn't have any idea what kind of monster was living under his own roof. Honest man working an honest man's day then wham."
Brennan's thoughts began to wander as his companion prattled on and on. He was being put away from the action again. Off to baby sit Dani. Robert didn't deserve her. He started hoping that the hostiles proved too much for Robert and this pathetic band of leftovers.
". . . They've got the barracks now and the Staff. Probably the Flame and the Hydra as well . . . "
The fool kept talking. They were all fools – ignorant of their own mindlessness. He stood head and shoulders above them all. And they envied him for it that was the worst part. For that he was chastised, pushed away, seen as a threat. That was the secret wasn't it? No one appreciated him for his own genius. Instead, he was a monster to them. He couldn't trust them any more.
Brennan was rattled out of his thoughts by Robert's announcement that they were there. It was time to fill up their canteens and split up. Robert and Annie on to pretended glory and he and Dani off to live in Robert's basement. The hole. Get back to your hole, Brennan. You must stay in the dungeon, our guests must not know who the real intellect of the group was. The real leader . . .
The trio trekked through the jungle in silence. Montand walked in front followed by Danielle and then Brennan. Montand was worried about what lay ahead of Robert and their new allies. This wasn't their war. Well, it wasn't until they lost a man. He didn't feel like Annie had told them the full story. The way she had danced around the subject worried him. The first rule he had learned as a soldier was intel. The likelihood of success hinges upon the accuracy of your intel. That was what his Colonel had always told him.
Montand glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Do you need to take a rest?"
She looked back with eyes that roared with fire. Her manner was relaxed when she answered, however. "I'm good, let's keep going. It'll be dark in a couple hours."
Montand nodded and resumed the march. The surroundings were starting to get more familiar. He started feeling like he was almost . . . home. He shook his head slightly. No, home was in Tahiti. This island was not home. He would have to be careful thinking like that.
Pushing through a particularly dense wall of jungle, the group found themselves in the familiar clearing with the Black Rock. Montand breathed an involuntary sigh of relief. They were getting close to their shelter. There was an unspoken consensus to continue without stopping.
Soon they were walking next to the river. Montand turned to look Danielle in the eye. "I'm sure Robert is going to get Girard back."
Danielle seemed to be jarred out of her own thoughts. "Oh, yes. Of course."
Montand felt a tinge of guilt for breaking the silence. She seemed to be deep in thought about something. As he turned his attention back toward the trail he saw something in his peripheral vision that chilled him to the bone. It was accompanied by the sound of something large shoving its way through the foliage.
He turned and the primitive part of his brain screamed at him to run. He had the slight perception that Brennan was doing just that. He heard the splash, splash, splash behind him. A large animal with dirty white fur was closing the distance fast. His mind barely had time to register that it was a polar bear. Certainly the biggest bear he had ever seen.
He knew in order to survive, he should be following Brennan's lead, but he was pegged to the spot. He realized that Danielle still stood next to him. Without thinking, he lunged between Danielle and the bear and tried to get his rifle up. He was too late, the bear sprang up and batted him to the ground with a forepaw as big as Montand's head.
Danielle finally found her wits and stumbled backwards. She lost her balance and fell hard on her back, sliding partway down the bank toward the water. She still had her rifle clutched firmly in her hands.
The bear ignored the woman and took his full fury out on the prostrate man in front of him. Montand's rifle was thrown free in the first wave and now the bear was on top of him. He instinctively covered his face with his arms only to have the bear clamp down on his left upper arm. The pain was excruciating, but all he could think about was that after he had been torn apart Danielle would be next. He reached up with his right hand and punched the bear hard in the face. The bear answered by jerking his head from side to side with his arm still griped in his jaw.
Danielle pulled herself up in time to see Montand being shaken like a chew toy. She screamed and was rewarded with the bear's full attention. It dropped Montand into a pile of torn flesh at his feet. The bear rose up on its hind legs and paused sniffing the air. His ears went back and he made eye contact with Danielle. The bear exhaled loudly and stood still for a moment. Danielle could hear its jaw popping. The bear dropped to all fours and charged.
