Hunting Grounds

Chapter 3

Kate was sitting there doing nothing but looking at the view. The longer she looked at it the more it sank in that she wasn't on Earth any longer. If she wasn't living it she would have said you were nuts or had taken too many drugs or were simply flat out lying to her. But here she was.

She looked at her dad's watch yet again. "How long are we staying here?" Doing nothing was hard for her. Always had been; probably always would be.

"Over that I'm of two minds. We sort of have a roof over our heads when it rains and based on how green this place is it has to rain. If we leave, what if our friend is still up there waiting us out? As we climb we'll be vulnerable. He doesn't even have to shoot us. Just knock us off the cliff and we fall to our deaths." That was what Rick was trying to work out in his head.

"Are you always this cheerful?" Kate asked him since to her both ideas didn't sound all that good.

"Only when I'm in the field. You should see me when I have some downtime. Especially when I'm near a Six Flags. I love a good coaster." Rick gives her a little of him.

"Interesting. You risk your life being a SEAL but want to be scared riding a roller coaster." Kate hadn't expected that.

"AH! But there's a difference between them. I'm trained to be a SEAL so it isn't usually all that scary. Now a coaster can be scary but it's a controlled scare. In theory you can't die unless it breaks down or the design itself is flawed. So you're in no real danger but you still feel scared. Gets the old heart pumping. Prove that you're alive.

"Let me guess – you're not a fan?" Maybe homicide detective was enough for her.

"No, I like a good coaster. Just I've never left New York City. The only coaster we have is at Coney Island. Not really all that scary," Kate told him. "Not counting the semester I did at Stanford or the semester in Kiev."

"We so need to broaden your horizons. Kiev, huh? I suppose you speak Russian."

"YA svobodno govoryu po-russki," Kate told him.

"Otlichno! Mozhet, nam teper' stoit pereyti na russkiy yazyk," Rick replied and saw the moment of shock on her face. "There are 8 of us in my team. Together we speak 8 different languages. Mine happens to be Russian."

"You're full of surprises." Kate was impressed.

"Stick around, I'm only getting started." Rick smiled at her.

"It doesn't look like I have a choice." If she didn't have him she'd be all alone and dead or someone's lunch by now.

"Good point. Well, I need to pee so if you'll excuse me." Rick stood up but didn't really have anywhere to go so he took a step toward the edge and worked to open his pants.

Kate was of two minds herself. Watch him drop his pants so she could see his naked ass, or close her eyes so she didn't see anything.

She chose to close her eyes but only for a moment. When she was sure he was peeing she cracked open an eye but didn't see his naked ass. He hadn't dropped his pants, only opened the front of them. She did get to see pee arcing out into the air and down into the valley so she closed her eyes again.

It wasn't until she heard him moving again that she opened them and watched him sit back down.

"Too bad we don't have a deck of cards," Rick commented.

"Yeah, we could play poker." She didn't know what they could play for but they could think of something.

"Hmm, or strip poker." Rick grinned at her.

"Are you trying to get into my pants, Mister?" He was handsome enough for her to think about it.

"Nope, I'm trying to get you out of them." Rick kept grinning at her.

"I'm over my teenage phase. I don't flash my tits or any other part of me for no reason any longer." Kate was absolutely keeping her pants on.

"Rebellious teenager were we?" Rick was beginning to like hearing about her. She was pretty and fun. Plus she hadn't sat there screaming her head off at that dog or whatever it was. She wasn't weak and he liked that. Especially here. The last thing he needed was to be dragging around some weak female that couldn't even stand being around bugs.

Kate arched an eyebrow. "I had my moments and if you want more out of me you're going to have to buy me dinner first."

"Sadly I don't think I can do that around here. I can offer an MRE but we really need to conserve the two we have. I'm not sure where our next meal is going to come from just yet.

"However those dogs, for lack of a better name, do help explain why there isn't much wildlife around here," Rick mentioned.

"Overhunted." Kate understood that. "Though that would mean those dogs aren't local either." She was starting to wonder just what was local. "How are you at flying a spaceship?"

"Hopefully I'll get the chance. I can fly," he assured her. "Helicopters, twin engine props, even a corporate jet. I've even jumped out of my fair share of planes. With a parachute, naturally," Rick quantified.

"Naturally." He was still alive so he had to have used a parachute. "Now the big question. Does our friend up there speak English or Russian and what does his alphabet look like?"

"With our luck it'll look like Klingon writing. This must be why I've never been to Vegas." Rick listened to Kate laugh. It was a good sound to hear. She didn't scare easily, could obviously shoot, and she had a head on her shoulders. Add that she was pretty.

Rick decided to be quiet and just look at the view. "You see what I see?" He pointed at something he was just now seeing.

That had Kate trying to line up her head at what he was pointing at. It also meant her face was going to get closer to his. "Rain storm." She turned her head to look at him and saw him looking at her. This meant his lips were right there. She could also see he had blue eyes. Lovely, big, get-lost-in-them blue eyes.

Kate managed to back her head away. "Looks like we stay right here." She had no desire to get soaking wet any more than he did.

"Yeah, but on the bright side it will wash away our scent in case he has more dogs. Also if you need to do your business, now would be the time." Rick saw the look she was giving him.

"I'll close my eyes." He rolled his eyes first before closing them. "Do you need wipes?" He didn't wait for an answer. He opened one of his pouches, got out this tiny packet that had a few wet wipes in it, handed it over, and closed his eyes again.

It took a lot of willpower on his part. He could hear her moving, hear her pull her zipper down, and that was where his imagination took over. Down came her pants, followed by her panties and… And this was turning out to be harder than he thought.

Since she couldn't do it where they were because it would stink up the place and leave a mess, she had to risk losing her balance by falling over the side. And since she was facing him to do this, Kate watched his face to see if he cheated and took a peek.

Two wipes later she stood up and put her panties and pants back on before sitting back down. "Thanks." Kate slapped the packet of wipes into his chest which had him opening his eyes.

"No problem. In my line of work it comes with the job." Rick put the packet away for next time. Sadly he only had just so many of those things. The packet was meant for just one person.

"I don't suppose we can risk it and share one of the MREs tomorrow?" She was admittedly hungry. Thanks to her job her eating schedule was kind of all over the place and she hadn't eaten anything all day today.

"I don't think we have a choice," Rick admitted. "We need to keep up our strength." Yes, he had a couple of protein bars but they weren't worth all that much.

"I'd kill for a cup of coffee," Kate lamented since she had a craving. Her blood was running really low on caffeine.

"Now you're talking my language. Unfortunately I don't even have the grounds to make coffee with let alone create the hot water or have something to put the coffee into."

"And I only thought I hated this place." Kate was going to die without coffee soon. That did get Rick to laugh. She liked it when he laughed. He didn't sound so serious like he always sounded.

Suddenly she saw him pat himself down like he was looking for something. Then he opened up a pocket in his left leg and pulled out a metal flask. He unscrewed the top, opened it, took a drink, and moaned. "Twenty-one year old Glenfiddich single malt whiskey. Grown in Scotland. Care to have a taste?" Rick held it out for her and watched her take it. She didn't even rub the top clean and took a drink.

Once again Rick was impressed. She knew how to drink, too. Then she handed it back to him which he closed and put back in his pants pocket.

"I prefer vodka or tequila but how can a girl pass up twenty-one year old Scotch." Kate looked up. "Here comes the rain." They sat there and watched as it rolled in. At first it was light but it grew to a downpour fairly quickly.

"I know you can't lay down but try and get some sleep," Rick said. "Even a catnap will help."

"I've been on stakeouts before and tried hard not to go to sleep. This isn't going to be easy," Kate commented. She leaned back and closed her eyes. They were both sitting there cross-legged trying to keep from getting wet from the rain.

[_] /\ [_]

Kate jerked her head up when she suddenly woke up. She could see the gas giant a little so there was still light out but it was certainly dimmer. It was also still raining. Just not a downpour any longer. She also saw that Rick was awake.

"Did you sleep?" She had obviously gotten some but he needed sleep, too.

"I got in a pair of catnaps. I'm used to it. Looks like we're about to finally lose our light." Rick checked his watch. "Twenty-two hours of daylight. Wonder how much night we get around here. Reminds me of a few places in Alaska."

"I'd still rather be in New York City," Kate said. "Do we have a master plan?" So far it looked like they had been reacting, not really planning and trying to make that plan work.

"Right now, just to stay alive. What I would like is to find their ship. Then either steal it or blow it up. See if they like being stuck on this moon with no support and no communications. Even the playing field a little."

Kate took out her canteen and drank a little water. "Hold it out in the rain. Past the wall of water that's coming off the cliff side. Your hand will get wet and it might take a little time but rain water should be good-to-drink water." Rick watched her do just that.

"Any guesses how long we were out?" Kate meant sleeping after being taken.

Rick shook his head. "None. After the first dose – and I'm guessing a dart here – they could have kept us under for as long as they wanted. They do want us alive, though."

"Yeah, just long enough to hunt us down and kill us." Kate hated this place and doubted that was ever going to change.

"There's no sport in killing the innocent or unarmed. That might be why they took the heads." Rick had been doing some thinking about that.

"Trophies?" Kate kept her canteen out in the rain but turned her head to look at him.

"It makes sense with what little we know. An entire team armed to the teeth and they or he killed them. Either killed them by taking their heads off or did it after killing them. Keeping something from who you killed isn't unheard of. Soldiers took anything they could get off the Japs in World War II for souvenirs."

She nodded. "I've seen it in the city, too. Rings, hair, clothes, body parts like fingers." Kate went back to watching her canteen till it filled and overflowed. "So where are your parents?" If she was going to stick with him she might as well learn more about him.

"I have no idea who my dad is. One night stand," Rick clarified for her. "Mother's an actress, just not one of those Hollywood actresses. She prefers live audiences. Memorize all of your lines and do it on stage. No director to yell cut and then do it all over again 11 or 12 times and fix it in the cutting room. That's not acting, not according to Mother."

"She wants to hear the audience. Hear them laugh or hear them cry. I can understand that." Kate could see it being a draw for the right person.

"Martha Rodgers. I grew up in the backstage of a lot of theaters over my early years. The things I saw." Rick smiled and chuckled.

"I know that name!" Kate kicked herself for not thinking of it before now. Rick Rodgers, Martha Rodgers. "Really red hair, rather thin. Thinner than me."

"That's Mother. When she was younger she was a real beauty. Enough to turn heads and cause car accidents. She's still lovely. She's just…aged. Totally devoted to acting. She'll tell you it's in her blood. She was born to be an actress. No part is too small or too large.

"I remember one show. She never made it past the first act. She died off stage and was never seen again. Not even as a ghost. But Mother took it. Just enough money to buy us enough to eat dinner." Rick looked out at the rain.

"And you miss her." Kate could hear it in his voice.

"I'm away far too much. You'd be amazed at just how much trouble the States gets itself into or decides to insert themselves into some event far away from home. I know secrets that I get to take to my grave.

"If Mother knew half of what I know she'd go white and probably demand that I leave the Navy." Rick grinned at her. "Don't get me wrong. I do what I do for my country. But I also do it for the human race.

"There are a lot of good people out there. Some really good people. It's the really bad ones that make the news. Good people don't sell papers or get you to watch someone's news channel or buy some trash magazine.

"Most of the good people just live their lives. Teach grade school kids what they need to know, go home, and grade papers. Then to go to Walmart or Costco to buy school supplies because the district doesn't have the money.

"We're only too willing to overspend on some hardware by a billion dollars because a congressman says so because that company is in his state or district. But spend it on the kids? Never going to happen." Rick shook his head.

Kate couldn't help but like him. He was being sweet and she didn't try to stop herself as she leaned across and kissed his cheek. "You're a good man Navy SEAL Captain Rick Rodgers."

"Perhaps sometimes. How do you think I got my nickname? It wasn't because I was always a good man," Rick responded. "But thanks. …We should move once it stops raining. All that rain will help mask our scent in case he or they have more dogs like those two. Plus I know a few tricks." He grinned at her. He was full of tricks and he was going to use each and every one of them.

[_] /\ [_]

They were both awake when it finally stopped raining. "Climb up and wait for me. I have to do some business." Rick watched her carefully climb the short distance to reach the top. She had to be careful because of the loose shale and it was wet.

Kate saw that everything was wet. She just knew her pant legs were going to get wet and her boots were going to get muddy. Eventually she watched Rick climb up. He had a pair of wipes wadded up into a ball and had brought it with him.

"What's that for?" She didn't see any reason for keeping that, besides she was betting it smelled.

"I have a plan, you'll see. That way. We're going to walk the edge till we can find a way down. Since down there, I'm betting, is a river or at least a stream for fresh water and maybe some game to hunt." Rick went first and kept Kate inside away from the edge.

[_] /\ [_]

The cliff seemed to go on forever. Neither one of them were really at the edge given that being out at the edge meant walking exposed and Rick didn't want that. So they were in the trees.

"Rick," Kate whispered and used her forefinger to beckon him closer; she pointed at something she had spotted. "You see what I see?" That had both of them walking just a little deeper into the woods till they were standing next to what Kate had spotted.

"He looks military," she commented and watched Rick pick up a rifle and saw it fall apart. But enough was left for Rick to recognize it.

"This is a German Mauser from World War II. The helmet is German. What's left of his uniform looks German." He was a bit shocked to see it.

"Rick." Kate saw something else and pointed. Once they moved there they found five more of them just like this one. "This makes six. Are they really Germans from World War II?" She didn't like the implications.

"Yeah, they are. These guys are old. But there's something wrong here. Why do they still have their heads? What makes them so special?" Rick questioned.

"Something changed between then and now?" Kate suggested.

"Don't see how. Or they took something else back then and take heads now. Or…" He had an idea.

"Or?" Kate didn't see what he was thinking.

"Someone killed these six but someone else killed the other six. That one wanted heads and this one wanted something else. No one lives forever. Daddy killed these six and his son killed the other six. Something changed but what?" Rick had a mystery and he didn't like that. Not in his line or work.

"There's one other possibility," Kate said and looked at him. "In the city there are different precincts. Maybe we walked far enough to change precincts."

"That's what I like about you, Kate. You see the bright spot in everything." Rick smiled at her since if she was right that just changed the game.