Author's note: Hopefully not too many typos in this one. It's late but I was determined to get this chapter out today. Hopefully it makes some kind of sense. Reviews, as always, welcomed and appreciated.
It was nearing noon on the second day of their travels toward the mountain and the rift. Darwin had, by some amazing stretch of luck, had a moderately size patrol boat moored along the river bank. It was not much to look at, but was seaworthy, with a solid hull and a fairly roomy cabin below. Darwin said it had come down river from the army camp about a year before, laden with crew and supplies. When it had come back from the mountain, however, it had been empty with no sign of soldiers. The residents of his make-shift village had taken it as their own to use for acquiring supplies and had kept it well hidden along the bank.
Darwin had declined River Song's offer to join them on their mission. He wanted to stay with Toph and the other people in the village in case more intruders found their way on to their land. This left the four mutant soldiers and four 'researchers' to continue their journey on their own.
Two of the mutant soldiers, Haze and Toad, were pacing around and monitoring the shore line for any sign of pursuit or trouble. Ink was taking his turn manning the wheel of the ship on a platform raised slightly from the deck.
Bucky Barnes was leaning on his elbows against the front of the ship, staring forward down the river. He heard someone groan and glanced back over his shoulder with a sympathetic grin as Malloy clung to one of the boat's side rails.
The sun was bright but mostly shielded from the greenery that formed a canopy over the river. The light was not Malloy's problem though, the river was. Her memory of being from Nebraska seemed to be confirmed by the obvious fact she was a total land lover.
Toynbee was hovering about Malloy, trying to offer her water from a canteen. She waved it off and leaned her head against the boat's metallic inner wall. The river was not choppy and flowed quickly toward their destination. But the 'young' woman had been out of sorts since setting foot on the craft.
Barnes returned his gaze forward to stare up at the mountain and stood upright, grin fading from his face. His hands, flesh and metal, gripped the railing at the front of the craft firmly, the only evidence of his growing discomfort. The closer the mountain loomed on the horizon, the greater a sense of dread filled his mind. He found himself wishing for the simple seasickness plaguing his crew mate.
Mission report...
The words pierced through his head like a blade, dividing him into the man he was now... and the man he hoped he had not been before his journey through time had begun.
...order and chaos...
Barnes lifted his right hand to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose, eyes squinted shut.
It wasn't an aircraft... He thought, I fell, but it wasn't from an aircraft... it was from a train...
...Who the hell is Bucky?...
"Hey, man..." a voice said from his left, "You alright?"
Barnes opened his eyes and turned his head, spotting Haze standing on the deck nearby. He gave the soldier a weak smile and nodded.
"Yeah..." he said, then added with more conviction than he felt as he turned his back to the mountain, "Yeah, I'm good."
Haze nodded in return, "Just making sure you're not gonna lose your breakfast the way Malloy did."
"I don't think so," Barnes replied, "I've been on a boat a time or two before."
Malloy groaned again as their transport lurched gently against the tide, shifting so her back was against the hull. Barnes walked over to the ailing woman and crouched down next to her and Toynbee.
"Are we there yet?" Malloy asked feebly when Barnes reached her.
"Probably not until tomorrow, I think," he replied, "Did you take the dramamine Jack gave you?"
"Took it..." she confirmed, "Don't know how much of it I kept down..."
"You should try to stand up," he suggested, "Try to get your sea legs."
Malloy looked up at him doubtfully, "Bucky, I don't even have puddle legs, let alone sea legs."
Barnes gave her a hint of a grin but continued resolutely, "You still gotta try. You can't spend the next day not eating and expect to be ready to close the rift."
Malloy groaned again and hid her face between the hull and her red hair. Barnes glanced at Toynbee, who looked worried but shrugged helplessly.
With an annoyed sigh, Barnes stood up, grabbed the back of woman's shirt with his cybernetic arm and lifted her to her feet. Malloy yelped in surprise as she was hoisted up like a toddler onto unsteady legs.
"Oy!" Toynbee said with a scowl, "Take it easy. She's just..."
"In a war zone," Barnes replied firmly, putting his hands on the woman's shoulders to steady her. Malloy glared at him but Barnes ignored it. She may not be a soldier but he was going to treat her like one while there was an unknown enemy lurking on their trail.
Barnes folded his arms and, after a moment, said, "Well? Walk."
With an angry sigh, Malloy took a few paces away from the railing. She turned and paced back, unsteady but determined. She was still glaring when the boat rocked again and she grabbed the railing with one hand.
"Happy?" she asked and Barnes nodded.
"Keep it up and maybe you'll keep your lunch down," he replied.
"Yeah... well... hope so..." she said in return, still looking queasy but at least on her feet.
Barnes's face faded into a sympathetic grin and he gave her a quick punch on the shoulder.
"Come on, this ain't so bad," he said, "One time, I took my buddy Steve on the Cyclone at Coney Island. I've never seen a guy puke so much..."
Malloy raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Coney Island?"
"Yeah, it was back in '35 before the war and..." Barnes began, then paused. His grin faded as he realized what he was saying. The memory had come up so naturally, without the pain and fear that had come with the others, he had barely noticed.
It took him a few moments to realize Malloy and Toynbee were still watching him. Barnes shifted on his feet and shook his head in wonder.
"What d'ya know..." he said, smile returning, "My best friend... his name is Steve."
"More memories coming back," Malloy said, "That's good, right?"
"That mean were heading in the right direction?" Toynbee asked, turning his goggled eyes toward the mountain.
"Guess so," Barnes said, elation passing back to caution. The brief light of that fond memory made the shadows in his mind seem much darker... and more dangerous.
"What should we be looking for when we get there?" Alex asked the wounded yet energetic Professor Song.
Alex, Professor Song and Jack Harkness were down in the boat's cabin, planning the next stage of their mission.
River Song was paging through a collection of maps, using her wrist worn computer to highlight areas of interest before she made notations. The futuristic device with its beeps and flashes made Alex feel like he was in an episode of Star Trek, the campy sci fi show Hank McCoy used to make them watch every weekend at Xavier's school.
"Your guess is as good as ours, Private," Jack replied when River did not, "The rift is underground so, unless we get lucky enough to find a shallow point, there may not be much to see. To triangulate the source, we need to go by the intensity of the readings..."
"Or Barnes and Malloy's memories," River added which continuing her calculations.
"Yes..." Jack agreed with a sigh, "Or that..."
"Doesn't seem like a very exact science," Alex put in with a frown.
"No science is exact when you're dealing with a break in time and space," River said in her bizarrely cheerful way, "It's a lawless land where the laws of science may not apply."
Alex's brows creased with frustration at the Professor's cryptic words. He found himself thinking of Hank McCoy again and wishing the fur ball was around to translate whatever the hell River Song was talking about.
"Terrific," Alex replied, folding his arms, then said, "If you don't need me here, I'm going to go relieve one of the guys so they can get the mid day rations out."
Alex turned and headed up the steps toward the deck. The door exited onto the rear of the boat and, before he could head toward the bow, he realized Jack had followed him.
"Summers," Jack said, looking oddly apologetic, "I know River can be a bit... abrupt... when she's in her researchy zone. But we will need your team's experience in the field once we get to the base of the mountain. Don't take her tone as dismissive. You're squad's gifts are going to be invaluable if we actually find that something has come out of the rift."
"Monsters?" Alex asked. When Jack looked surprised, he continued, "Barnes was telling me a bit about it before we found Darwin's village."
"Monsters..." Jack said thoughtfully, "Well, that's putting it mildly..."
Alex opened his mouth to inquire further when a shout from the front of the ship caused them both to rush toward the bow.
Haze was pointing toward the trees as they approached. Barnes had his rifle pointed in the same direction.
"What's going on?" Alex asked coming up to Haze's side. Jack stopped a few paces behind next to Malloy and Toynbee.
"I..." Haze stammered, "... I don't really know. It was like a bird... but... huge. And black. And dripping..."
"Barnes?" Alex asked but the other man shook his head.
"Didn't see it," Barnes replied, "Cast one hell of a shadow though."
"Dripping?" Malloy asked. Alex glanced back to see the ill expression on her face as she began to lose her balance. Toynbee put a steadying hand on her arm to help her stay on her feet.
"Dripping," Jack said, "It's one of those, huh? Damn."
"One of whats?" Haze asked, his dark eyes wide, "That thing... that thing was... I don't even have a word for what it was..."
"It's a creature from the rift," Jack said, then asked, "Which way was it flying?"
"Back toward the mountain," Haze said, swallowing anxiously, "Same way we're headed."
Jack nodded and tapped his finger against the screen of his wrist worn computer. He extended his hand and a square of light formed above his palm. The holographic screen displayed an image that Alex could only describe as a nightmare. A dark, winged creature with a body which seemed to be in an active stage of decay. Its mouth, a pit of spindly sharp teeth, was not on a head but protruded from its mid-section. And its body did indeed appear to be dripping in the brief film Jack was sharing.
"Oh god..." Malloy blurted before leaning over the edge of the boat and vomiting again.
Alex did not blame her as he felt his own stomach lurch. What the hell had his squad gotten themselves into?
"You're telling me..." Alex said after a few moments, "... that this thing … is between us and the rift?"
"Only if it notices us," Jack said, "And, there's a pretty good chance it already has..."
"I hate our job, Jack," Malloy said as she slid down against the hull and sat on the deck. This time, when Toynbee offered her the canteen, she took it gratefully and took a long, slow drink.