Arrival (40 page)

“There you are!” Sara barked as Mac came out of the bushes. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded. “Why did you push me down? And why are you carrying a rifle?” she finally added, noticing his weapon for the first time.

“There was something out there, Sara,” Mac explained. “Something big.”

“What?” She was sure he was making it all up.

“Something big and hairy, with arms and legs.”

“What?”

“Humanoid…with arms and legs and everything,” he exclaimed.

Sara was suddenly terrified. “You think it’ll come back?”

“I think I scared it away.”

“You sure?” she asked, looking in his eyes for confirmation.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Good, cuz I’m not sharing any of our fruit with him.”

Mac rolled his eyes, then looked up. “The rain’s really starting to come down,” he said, changing the subject. “We’re getting all wet again.” Mac looked around a brief moment. “You get back inside. I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Okie dokie,” Sara agreed with a drunken lilt. “I better get back inside. I’m getting all wet.”

Mac tossed the remaining wood back on the fire, looked around once more, and then followed Sara inside. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Why the hell doesn’t he answer?” Tony asked over his comm-set.

“
Maybe he’s still sleeping?
” Lynn offered over comms from back at the LRV.

“
After being stranded out there for two days, would you be sleeping late or waiting at the bank for rescue?
” Frank commented, as he stood waiting on the shore from where he and Tony launched their rescue raft thirty minutes earlier.

“The fact that we’re bringing food is reason enough for Mac to be standing at the shore, waving his arms frantically,” Tony added, as he steered the slowly-moving raft between the tufts of taller marsh plants protruding from under the floodwaters. Their makeshift water-jet propulsion system was performing well, though it was slow. Being the smaller of the two, they had agreed Tony would go alone to save weight, thus Frank had been left on the far shore with the ATCs and trailer to await their return.

“
I don’t know, guys,
” Lynn chimed in. “
This is making me a little nervous.
”

“
Me too,
” Frank agreed.

“Would you two relax?” Tony said as he rounded the next tuft. “I’m sure they’re just asleep.”

“
Without his headset?
” Frank asked.

“I don’t remember any of us wearing our headsets when we were sleeping in that cargo pod last month.” Tony reminded Frank.

The chatter went silent for a moment. Then Lynn spoke up. “
Maybe you’re right, Tony.
”

“I’m sure I’m right,” he insisted. “Let’s just wait awhile before we start worrying.”

A few minutes later, Tony could see the southern bank. From back at the LRV, Lynn had been trying to hail Mac and Sara, using everything from the comm-set bands to the high gain digital telemetry system. But there was still no answer.

“I’m closing on the southern bank, now,” Tony reported.

“
Stay alert,
” Lynn warned. “
Remember, you’re by yourself, so don’t walk into anything you’re not sure about.
”

“
That’s right,
” Frank agreed.

“Man, you two are
making
me nervous,” Tony muttered.

“
Just be careful,
” Lynn reiterated.

“Yes ma’am.”

Tony turned off the water pump, coasting until the bow made contact with the shore. He jumped off to the right of the raft into the knee-deep water and waded up to land, pulling the raft halfway out of the water before tying it to the nearest small tree only a few meters away. “Okay, the raft is secure. I’m going to go find them now.”

“
Do you know where their camp is?
” Lynn asked.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea from the fly-over images we took the other day,” he assured her. “The camp was out in the open, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate. Besides, this valley’s not that big.” Tony strolled up the bank, stopping at the top to scan the area before setting off to find his friends.

A few minutes later, he came across the ravine, and waded through the shallow water and up the other side. Once on the far side, he could see the small canyon stretched out before him. There, sitting to the right of the center of the open meadow, was a small, silver hut, a trickle of grey smoke wafting up from behind.

“I’ve got a visual on their camp. I can see the hut, about sixty meters ahead. Mac, this is Tony,” he called over his comm-set. “Do you copy me?” There was still no answer. “Maybe his comm-set’s busted?” Tony guessed, hoping for a simple explanation.

“
Maybe,
” Frank reluctantly agreed.

“
Something doesn’t feel right,
” Lynn insisted. “
Tony, be careful.
”

“I can circle around to the west,” Tony suggested. “From there I can get a better look at the entrance to the hut from the cover of the trees, before I approach.”

“
Good idea,
” Lynn agreed.

After making his way around to the west side of the hut, Tony crouched behind a large, reddish-colored tree at the edge of the forest. He pulled out his visual scanner and studied the campsite at maximum magnification. The site was in disarray, with survival gear scattered everywhere as if someone had left the site in a hurry. The skeleton of a small animal was lying on the ground by the smoldering fire pit.

“Uh, I’m not sure, but it might be time to start worrying.”

“
What is it?
” Lynn asked.

“I can see the whole camp now, and it’s a mess. Gear is strewn about… I know Mac’s a slob, but not
this
bad.”

“
Yeah, and Sara’s with him, and she wouldn’t put up with it,
” Lynn added.

“
Tony, use your rifle,
” Frank suggested.

“
What?
” Lynn said in horror.

“Did you say to use my rifle?” Tony asked.

“
Frank!
” Lynn barked.

“
His rifle scope will automatically start sending telemetry! We can see what his scope sees from any other rifle scope’s monitor!
”

“Skipper?” Tony asked. He knew it was her call to make.

“
Go ahead, Tony,
” Lynn agreed.

Tony put his visual scanner back into its holster on his hip and unslung his rifle, checking that his safety was still on. His small targeting-scope display just forward of the stock flickered to life as he pressed the power button, and the image of the camp appeared in full color, complete with a target reticle in the center and targeting data scrolling in the upper corners. “Are you getting this?” he asked in a whisper, as he aimed the rifle scope at the campsite and zoomed the magnification in to its strongest setting.

“
Crystal clear,
” Frank reported.

“Are you getting this also, Lynn?”

“
Yes, I’ve got it now.
”

“You see what I’m talking about?”

“
Yeah, it sure doesn’t look right,
” Frank agreed.

“
Do you want to call out to them, see if anyone pokes their head out?
” Lynn asked.

“Uh, no thanks. I’d rather not alert something to my presence, if you don’t mind.”

“
Something?
” Lynn wondered.

“You know what I mean,” Tony said. “I’m going to move in closer.”

Tony adjusted the rifle’s strap, wrapping it around his left forearm, ensuring that it wouldn’t get knocked from his hands. He rose from his hiding place, holding his rifle up and ready at shoulder height and proceeded toward the campsite, walking in a semi-crouch to offer a smaller target to any would-be threats. With one eye trained on the scope display and the other one on the periphery in front of him, he made his way out of the tree line, taking one cautious step at a time as he moved slowly and quietly across the meadow.

Adjusting the magnification on his targeting scope down one step with every few meters, he moved the rifle slowly from right to left, scanning forty-five degrees to either side of the campsite as he approached. “I’m almost there,” he whispered.

Frank watched on his rifle’s scope display, keeping his hands well away from the trigger to avoid discharging his weapon involuntarily. “Lynn?” he called quietly.

“
Yes?
”

“Is your weapon loaded?” He knew that she only had basic weapons training, and the last thing they needed was for her weapon to go off inside the LRV.

“
Negative,
” she responded. “
The magazine is still in the weapons locker, and the chamber is empty.
”

“Good.”

“How dumb does he think I am?” Lynn asked no one in particular.

Maria, Laura, and Adia were all gathered around her, watching the display over her shoulder.

“He’s just double-checking, being cautious,” Maria assured her.

They watched the view on Lynn’s rifle scope as Tony entered the camp, his scope trained on the entrance to the small, shiny hut as he crossed the last few meters.

“I can’t stand this,” Laura commented as she watched the image on the display bounce a bit as Tony extricated his left hand from the rifle strap.

Maria’s hands went up, clenched in front of her chest as she watched nervously.

“Be careful, Tony,” Adia whispered.

They watched as Tony’s left hand appeared from the left side of the display screen, reaching down for the flap.

Maria held her breath as Tony’s fingers reached into the gap in the flap and slowly pulled it open.

Suddenly, the view on the rifle’s scope monitor changed its angle as Tony dropped to one knee, and swiftly pushed his way through the flap covering the opening into the hut.

Laura let out a little squeal, startled by the abruptness with which the display seemed to magically enter the hut, and was alarmed even more by the bouncing of the rifle scope’s view as Tony entered.

“What the…” Lynn instinctively moved her head closer to the display to get a better look.

All she could make out of the bouncing image was Sara, naked, scrambling to cover herself up and, in the process, pulling the sleep sack off Mac, revealing his naked body as well.

“No way!” Laura exclaimed.

The image suddenly shifted straight up, showing only the woven ceiling overhead, after which their monitor lost its link with Tony’s weapon system, presumably because he had turned it off.

“Did I just see what I think I saw?” Adia asked.

“Looks like you’ve got my dish duty for a week,” Maria said to Laura, a satisfied smirk on her face.

The look of disbelief on Lynn’s face quickly turned to a mixture of surprise and tentative relief.

“Excuse me,” Tony apologized as he lowered his rifle. A broad grin formed on his face.

Sara pulled the flimsy sleep sack over her naked torso to hide, poking Mac in his side to wake him.

“Mac,” Sara said.

“Not again, Honey. I’m too tired,” he complained, still half-asleep.

“Honey?” Tony asked.

Sara pulled the sleep sac over her head, mortified. “Mac! Wake up you idiot!”

“Jeez, Sara,” Mac groaned, opening his eyes.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Tony teased.

Mac tilted his head up to look at him. “Hey! Tony!”

“Should I come back later?”

“Now is good,” Mac agreed, rubbing his eyes of what little slumber he had gotten. “Did you bring us some food?”

“MAC!” Sara squealed in horror from under the sleep sack.

Mac squinted, wincing in pain at Sara’s shrill tone. “Give us a minute?” he asked as he sat up, unconcerned with his own nudity.

“Take your time,” Tony agreed, still smiling. “I’m in no hurry.” Tony settled down to wait, kneeling in the doorway with his rifle held across his chest, grinning from ear to ear. “Did you sleep well?”

“Tony! Please!” Sara pleaded from under the sleep sack.

“Should I go?” Tony asked Mac, pointing over his shoulder at the exit.

“Get out!” Sara commanded, still unwilling to come out from under the shiny fabric.

Mac nodded, his face squinting up in a mischievous smile. “I think that would be best.”

Tony turned and excited the hut, laughing. He stood up, slinging his weapon over his shoulder.

“
You too, jerk!
” Sara screamed from inside the hut.

“
What?
” Mac asked.

“
I can’t believe you two!
” she complained. “
Do you know how embarrassing that was?
”

“
What did I do?
” Mac asked.

Tony laughed to himself as Sara continued to chastise Mac. He reached down to his comm-set pack as he moved away from the hut, switching the mic control from ‘voice-activated’ to ‘push-to-talk’. “They’re fine,” he reported with a chuckle.

“
Yes, we could see that,
” Lynn confirmed. Tony could hear Maria and Laura laughing in the background.

“Frank?”

“
Yes, Tony?
” Frank replied with a humorous lilt in his voice.

“I’m going to give them a few minutes to get, uh, organized. Then we’ll be heading back to the raft.”

“
I quite understand,
” he chuckled. “
I’ll be waiting patiently.
”

“
Just get out!
” Sara demanded from inside the hut.

Tony turned back around just in time to see Mac stumble through the doorway, still naked. “Can I at least have my clothes?” Mac yelled back toward the hut.

A second later, Sara’s arm poked out of the flap, her hand clutching Mac’s pants and shirt.

“Thank you,” he responded, taking it from her hand.

“Rough night?” Tony asked.

“No, not really,” Mac said casually, scratching his head and stretching.

“Uh, you want to put your clothes on, buddy? You’re going to scare the wildlife,” he joked.

“Oh, yeah.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Tony whispered to him.

“
I heard that!
” Sara called from inside.

Mac rolled his eyes at Tony as he pulled his pants on.

* * *

It took them over an hour to get back across the water, their speed sharply reduced by the extra weight of two more bodies on board.

“Hey! Frankie!” Mac waved as they approached the opposite shore where Frank was waiting for them. Mac jumped from the still moving raft into the knee-deep water, splashing all the way up to shore, giving Frank a great, big hug. “It’s good to see you.”

Tony grounded the raft gently, tossing the bowline onto shore before helping Sara out.

“How are those ribs, Sara?” Frank asked as he gave her a gentle welcoming hug.

“Not bad. Mac took pretty good care of me.”

“So we saw,” Frank teased.

“What?” Sara didn’t understand.

“Uh, my gun scope was sending back telemetry the whole time,” Tony admitted sheepishly.

“Oh, great.” Sara was turning red all over again. “Well, as long as nobody else saw us.”

“Well?” Frank tried to ease into it. “About that…”

“You’re kidding?” Sara asked with a deadpan expression. “Who else?”

“Pretty much everyone, I’m afraid.”

Sara’s look of embarrassment quickly faded into one of rage. “Mac,” she began, turning toward him. “I’m going to kill you.”

“How is this my fault?” Mac defended.