1509 Words, this chapter. Author's Note: I had intended this to be with the last chapter, but three thousand words is simply too much!
Chapter Eight, Transfer 2: Feeling the Heat
The sergeant swore in Arabic. Just then they heard frantic bleating followed by a girl's screams and something that sent shivers through them both: loud, inhuman roaring.
"Oh god," said Jess.
Becker and Djamhi took off running toward the commotion.
"Stop! Stop! It's heading straight for you!" cried Jess.
Just as she cried, they could feel the vibrations of a very large mass. Then Becker saw the head.
"Becker, up toward the shack!" Jess cried.
"What about the girl?"
"Move!" shouted Jess.
"Follow me!" cried Abid.
Becker reluctantly obeyed, following behind the professor.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Jess."
"Trust me, Becker," she said. "Directly behind the shack, you can take another path. Follow it and you'll end up behind the girl."
"Right."
"You can see the girl?" asked the sergeant.
"Yes, I can. She's safe, for now."
Becker and the others ran, following Jess' instructions. As they neared, they heard goat bleating. Becker saw the shape of the girl, rolled up into a ball behind some rocks.
Abid touched her, making her scream in terror. He spoke to her in Arabic and she calmed.
"I told her to be still. We were going to help her, but she needed to be quiet."
Becker nodded.
"Becker, the dinosaur is headed toward the village, but it's stopped for now. It's feasting on goats."
"Roger, Jess."
"I'm running the dinosaur through our data files now."
"No need, Miss Parker. It's an allosaur. A carnivore, obviously, smaller than a t-Rex but still deadly."
"Becker, do you see the large rocks down the slope from where you are?"
"Yeah, Jess."
"Make for them. They hide another path, it's not as worn, so be careful. Work your way down. If you move quickly you can come up on the right side of the dinosaur. There is an old stone wall. It has large holes in it, so be careful to conceal yourselves."
"Right, Jess. Abid, stay here with the girl."
The professor nodded.
Becker and Djhami moved according to Jess' directions. They were uncomfortably close to the allosaur, but it was distracted by several goats it was eating.
"Sergeant, do any of your men speak English?" asked Jess.
"Yes, Kassim. He speaks it well."
"Good. Becker, I can move the rest of the men up on its left side, using the same path you took up to the shack. They won't have any cover once they reach the top of the hill though."
"Do it," he said, "but make sure they stop before they're out in the open. Tell them to wait for Djhami's command."
"Understood," said Jess. A few seconds later, she added, "They're moving now. They've left three men in the village to guard."
"Copy," said Becker. He motioned to Djhami who carefully moved to the edge of a hole in the wall. Very quietly he commanded his men to hold. He nodded to Becker.
"Jess, tell the men to open fire on the count of two."
"Copy," said Jess. Her stomach flopped with the tension.
Becker took once glance at the allosaur, nodded to Djhami and counted. "One…TWO!" He yelled, and he and Djhami popped up at the same time the Yemen soldiers also popped up from the other side.
They opened fire, taking the allosaur immediately down.
"Hold!" cried Becker, immediately repeated in Arabic by Djhami.
Silence.
"Well, it's obviously dead," said Becker, looking at the mess of blood and dinosaur flesh and guts. "I'll say this for Matt's weapons, they are neater."
"Gross!" yelled Jess.
He laughed. "Anything else come through the anomaly, Jess?"
"No."
"Good. Guide us to it, huh?"
"You bet. Go back to where you left Abid and the girl," she said. "Follow the path completely up the hill. It slopes down. Near a large tree at the end of the slope is the anomaly."
"Got it, Jess. Send one of the soldiers to the trucks for a closing device."
As they made their way to the anomaly. They checked on the girl.
"She is unharmed," said Abid. "She is worried about her goats."
Becker sighed. "She lost several, I'm afraid, but remind her that she's the important one."
Abid smiled and spoke softly to the girl in Arabic. "I will take her back to the village," he said.
"Wait for one of my men," said the sergeant. "Just in case there is another creature."
Abid nodded.
"I can see the entire area," said Jess. "There aren't any more creatures. Professor? Don't go straight down the hill. Move her off to the left, down by the clump of small trees. If you go the other way she'll see a lot of her goats, and it isn't pretty."
"I understand, Miss Parker. Thank you. I'm sure that would traumatize her a great deal."
"I'm sure," said Jess. She watched as Becker and Djhami made their way to the anomaly as the professor helped the girl safely to the village. "Do you see the anomaly yet?"
Becker just reached the top of the hill. There down a small slope was the large yellow ball of glowing light, just as Jess had said. "I see it."
"Good. Kassim is almost to you," she said.
"Right."
They waited a short while as Kassim made his way. "We see him, Jess."
"Good. Close that sucker," she said.
Becker chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."
They set up the device, and Becker made sure both Djhami and Kassim understood how to work it. Then they closed the anomaly.
"Thank goodness that's done," said Jess with a sigh of relief.
Becker chuckled. "And the only casualties were goats, right?"
Jess smiled. "Right."
Becker sighed with relief. "Good, that's the way I like missions to go."
Jess laughed. "Me too."
Sergeant Djhami cleared his throat. "Miss Jess Parker?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"I have decided that you are quite capable in your position. The captain was right. You deserve respect. My apologies."
Becker laughed. He mouthed, "I told you."
"Thank you, sergeant. I forgive you. Oh, and you and your men are very capable as well. "
Djhami smiled. "Thank you, Miss Parker."
The three men made their way back down the hills. As they neared the shack they heard frantic bleating and were nearly stampeded by eight goats running for the village.
Becker laughed. "I think there is going to be a happy young shepherd."
"Shepherdess, Becker," corrected Jess. "I think so."
They entered the village, just behind the surviving goats. The girl ran to the animals, hugging and kissing them. She then saw Becker and the men and smiled.
There was commotion behind her and several village men ran up, grabbing Becker's hands and shaking and kissing them. Then a woman ran to Becker and hugged him. She couldn't stop crying.
"The girl's mother?" asked Becker.
Abid nodded. Behind the mother, other women came to hug them, although they were much shyer.
"Wow," said Jess over comms. "They are appreciative."
Professor Abid laughed. "They know that not only the little girl was saved," he said. "You saved the whole village. They are thanking you, Captain."
Becker smiled. "Please tell them no thanks are needed. Make sure they understand the part the cameras played. They need to learn how to work them."
"I will make certain they do," said Abid. "They are asking how the devices work anyway."
"Good," said Becker. "Do they understand what the anomalies are?"
Abid shook his head. "Not exactly, but they know that the yellow lights bring danger, as the village elder said."
"That's really all they need to know," said Becker.
"Sabban and I, and the other scientists will make sure we return to this village and monitor the anomaly activity."
"Our readings indicate several anomalies in the past months," said Jess, "but they all were at the same exact place. Our head researcher, Connor Temple, believes it was actually the same anomaly. Closing it now should stop the activity."
"Good," said Abid. "We will check to make sure."
"There are other villages with these…anomalies," said Djhami.
The professor laughed. "One at a time, Sergeant. One at a time."
Djhami laughed and nodded.
Becker smiled. "Well, this is hopefully, one less village." He sighed, tired but satisfied. "Jess, we're heading back to Zabid."
"Okay. I'll call back in about an hour."
"We'll be there before that, if you want to check back sooner."
"Why? You miss me, don't you?" she asked.
"Not at all, Jessica."
"Flirting," said the sergeant. "It is definitely flirting."
"Either that or courting," said Abid.
"You too?" asked Becker, staring at the professor.
"Sorry," said Abid.
"Don't apologize," said Djhami. "You are a scientist, yes? You observe. It is their fault that they are obvious."
Abid stifled a laugh.
Becker stared at both of them. Finally, he walked off and said into his comm, "Heading back now, Jess."
"Yes, fine."
He looked briefly over his shoulder. "Maybe call back later on a private line?"
Jess chuckled. "That's what I was thinking. Try to ditch them, huh?"
"Oh…absolutely," he said, climbing into a truck.
End of Chapter Eight