"You sure this is the right place?" Robert Muldoon asked as he looked down at the road. A frown creased his face, and he really was unsure if it was going to be the right place or time for this. He continued driving as he got off the freeway, and watched the other man in the passenger seat studying the map, giving him direction. This was going to be a risky move, not because he thought there might be a chance of failure, but perhaps because of a chance of success. He turned on the radio, letting the local news take over, speaking in rapid fire Spanish or whatever the hell they were doing really. He was determined that he would find some evidence…
Finn had a good point, about using the map as a base. Trying to find where the trail was leading, to figure out a path. And a path was what he thought it was, had to be. He turned into a side street, seeing the beach close by. Tourists, shit loads of tourists. Off to enjoy the sun and the margaritas without seeing any of the real life of the country. It was a shame really, since there was so much to see here. And so little time to go through it all, when you got down to it. He checked, not that much further to go. The bad thing was, this sighting was close to civilization, a bit too much for his liking. Granted you could technically call it the outskirts or whatever, but still. Putting a hotel right up against a jungle enclave wasn't his idea of outskirts. More like the damn city trying to invade.
But that had been the selling point for Las Gatos, have a hotel right beside the beach, play it off as being natural. Probably bought up all the land they could find right near the beach so they could have something they could call tropical paradise. Granted it was only three or four acres, and fenced in, but still paradise all the while. Holiday in Acapulco; live the time of your life in the most naturally artifical playground that you could dream of. It was a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. He knew there was also another disadvantage to being in an urban area. He'd had to leave his guns at home. And that was unnerving him, as he'd seen the pictures back at the convention.
Granted, he'd gotten a horse trailer affixed to the back of this jeep, but that was about it. It was empty of course, but he knew that the story would be paper thin, if he had to somehow defend this in front of other people. He tried to think of how that could work, and was not surprised to find he drew a blank there. He really did. He was entering a parking area, and parked against the jungle, staring at it. There was a trail head nearby, a place for tourists to have a 'safe' jungle experience. The naïve fools… he got out of the car, and looked around, seeing the hotel in the near distance. Finn also got out of the car, taking a breath as he stretched his legs.
Since it was a populated area, they could not risk bringing any thing that could be called weapons, but that had not prevented Muldoon from improvising. He had a taser hidden in his belt, just in case. The usefulness of this was questionable, since he didn't know really if he would need it, or if it would have any effect. There were a number of tourists in this parking lot too, giving him strange looks, and so he knew that it would have to be a bit off the beaten path where he would have to begin looking. He began walking, entering the trailhead, and followed the other tourists. He'd been careful to dress down so that he would seem like an average man on holiday. Finn looked like he could be seen at the bar at any time, and so he felt that their appearance was satisfactory in diverting any form of suspicion.
Thomas Finn walked just slightly ahead of Muldoon, leading the way. He had been here before, and he knew which route to take. Right now, he was pretending to take in the sights, while attempting to recall from memory what wrong step he had taken. He had seen that thing in Muldoon's backyard, and had paled as he had considered the implications, really took his breath away. But it wasn't something to dwell on now, even if he found it troubling for all the different reasons. Of all the…anomalous animals he had traced, nothing like that had ever come up. It had to be rare of course, but he had not even found a trace of it, no reports, even back in Costa Rica, which was where all of the reports originated.
He continued down the path, as several tourists splintered down other side paths. To a fountain, an artificial lake, or maybe even a bridge. He chuckled dryly, as it was something of far more consequence that he had in mind as a destination. There was a picnic area not too far ahead, and he walked steadily towards it, entering the clearing. A few tourists setting up lunch; not a problem. But it did pose an interesting question after all. The implications were a bit unsettling so he thought he might sit down and think them over for a bit. He looked around, affecting as if he were lost and in need of guidance. In a sense he sort of was, but that was not entirely his concern right now. No…what would trouble him was the possible presence of a large one, like there had been last time.
But it had been three years, and he realized that it may have moved on. He hopes so, since they were barely suited to handle it. He walked through the bushes, and then they were in the forest. There was a low trail near the bottom, which led to a camping spot not that far from the picnic area. It was this camping spot that he was headed, since it was the off-season. There would be no permits handed this time of year, nor would there be any interference. It was not a long walk, and they both entered the new clearing, looking around. It was quiet enough, but Finn knew that looks could be deceiving. After all, it looked remote, but the authorities had gotten here quickly enough when they had heard him screaming.
"It was here," he said to the other man, letting him know. "Nobody goes out of sight, if it is still here, I might be able to determine some sort of clue…" He looked down at the grass, it had rained recently and there was a slick of mud in the center. Maybe…he looked down, and frowned, there were no tracks. "Only birds," he said, shaking his head as he got up. For some reason that seemed to greatly interest Muldoon, who suddenly came up to him, and looked down at them. The man seemed to trace the outline as if remembering something. Finn was also looking, trying to remember something, some other encounter but not sure if it fit. It had been at a far distance so maybe his memory was shot.
Maybe so…"It's not a bird," Muldoon said, as he got the taser out of his pocket." He began looking around, even as Finn stepped closer to him. "Not sure, migratory maybe, feed out of trash cans. Stay sharp, don't wander off." Finn nodded, thinking he had a vague idea of what it might be. He wasn't going to wander off, he wasn't that thickheaded. But he did know that whatever it was out there, it potentially could pose a threat. So he looked around, trying to see if there was anything that was possible for him to use here. There was nothing but the rush of the wind however, and the distant, idle chatter of tourists. Maybe it was for the better that they remain unaware for now. Ignorance was bliss.
"Just get a perimeter, find out where they go, where they come from." Finn found himself saying It came natural to him now, after all these months of detective work. He wondered if it was going to pay off here, even if nothing really flashy happened. He was edgy, but maybe it was only natural. Still, that did nothing from stopping the beads of sweat running down his face even as he looked around him. Nothing yet, but he was still unsure…for reasons he knew he couldn't quite fathom. He had experience with anomalous creatures, but always in the middle of nowhere. Somehow the possibility of seeing something up close unnerved him, because of its close proximity to town.
He thought he could smell something, and it took him a while to realize what it was. This had been a campground; at least it was during the off season. And not every camper was entirely careful with what they left behind. Could be anything from food…to clothes… People left a lot of weird things around these places. But there was a depression near the mud slick, he saw several post holes in the ground, the rain hadn't wiped them away. Someone had camped here recently, maybe illegally. People were always doing that, even if the government was trying to crack down on it recently. But this was interesting because he saw it was against a tree and there was half of a rope snapped off, frayed just like it had been so recently…"I think you better come over here," he said suddenly, backing off.
Muldoon got up from where he was crouching and turned to look. He walked slowly as he stared at the scene along with Finn. Had to have been the rainstorm, but the rope containing the supplies had snapped. The smell had come from there, because by now the supplies were spoiled. But that wasn't what had caught his attention, oh no. Instead, it was the smashed supplies on the ground or rather the things that were surrounding them. Small lizard-things green and walking on their hind legs. At least six of them, all chirping almost in unison and completely distracted by the bounty from the cloth. Compys, Muldoon thought as he cringed.
Finn was glancing at his map all of a sudden, as if he was frentic about something, and indeed he was. He was tracing the lines of the map with his finger, trying to determine something. "Yes…yes it proves it," he said, folding the map up his hands shaking. He stared down at the animals, watching as they hopped and danced around the spoiled meat. "They won't bother two adult males I don't think…" he said as he stepped closer to Muldoon regardless. He wasn't a big fan of unnecessary risks anyway, and so he thought it was warranted. And looking at Muldoon's face, he could see something…recognition. This just got more and more interesting, he thought as he too, frowned.
"You've seen this before, or something similar," Muldoon said, taking the taser out of his pocket. Last resort really, and he was certain that two of them would be able to manage something like this. He remembered the map that he'd taken a brief glimpse of, and seized on what he thought was a likely answer. "When did you last see them?" he asked. "Or rather-where did you last see them is the more appropriate answer I should think." He noticed that most of the meat seemed to be gone, and some of the compys were moving off. "Follow them, but not too far," he warned the man as he began walking. Surely there had to be some clue as to how it was working, how these things were already this far north.
"Last time I saw them was down in Guatemala," Finn said as he looked at them, not sure what to say. One or two had slid back into the forest, but the rest were still feeding. "That's quite aways from here I should say," he said frowning. "Can't believe they are this far up already… it's only been three years since the last sighting of this type." He followed the compys as they began hopping away, towards a small game trail. Probably had been made by a deer or something. Finn and Muldoon brushed away leaves and twigs as they followed the animals, careful to ensure that they were directly next to each other. "They're splitting up a bit now," he said as he looked at Muldoon. "There's something off about them, have you noticed?" He thought, trying to remember the last encounter.
"That is odd…" Muldoon thought as they went around a bend. He could still hear the chattering from the tourists, they were close now. "Five years is a damn short time…" He thought about it, the pieces were still too fragmented and disjointed. He couldn't even begin to try and say what it was at this time. "Getting warmer," Muldoon smiled as he noticed the man actually paying attention for the first time. "Yes, they are not fully grown yet…juvenile in fact." He said, giving the man a look, and resuming his attention to the animals in front of him. "Which makes me more concerned actually. Because you're timeline is off then. They're not here within three years, they must have been here earlier then that."
The compys had stopped, and Finn and Muldoon could see it was a small stream, in which there was an overturned log lying across the streambed. They scattered, and Finn was about to step forward, but again Muldoon stopped him. "Wait a second…" He could hear rustling in the brush, and stepped forward, indicating that Finn should follow. Something like this they needed to be together on. As he approached the log, he could feel himself being watched from the underbrush, waiting for either of them to stumble or trip. There was something moving in the breeze, and he stopped. "This what you saw?" He said, as he carefully reached out, and plucked something from the log. It had been caught slightly under; therefore it had not been washed away.
Finn walked around him to get a better look, and found himself utterly without comment. He took it in his hand, turning it over as he swallowed. It was a bluish green feather, the size and length of one, which he had handled not so very long ago… But it was not damaged, and it appeared to be of recent import. He narrowed his eyes. "Same kind of feather. As that one last time…" He turned around, as he took a deep breath. So it was still around. The damn thing was still around…"Okay, if these other things moved in three years…what's to say whatever laid this is still around?" And then he turned, thinking about it. He could think of only a few things that could cause something like this to move.
