The Chimera Sequence by Elliott Garber

Author:Elliott Garber [Garber, Elliott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thriller
ISBN: 9781943968022
Publisher: Osprey Press
Published: 2015-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, RWANDA

5:14 a.m.

Cole clenched his jaw at the first burning brush of stinging nettle on the back of a hand. There would be plenty more where that came from. A heavy fog had descended on the mountains overnight, and at this darkest hour before dawn it was impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. Bonny led the way, stopping for an extended sniff at the edge of the maize field before pushing straight into the dense brush that marked the border of the park.

“Come. This is the place.” Innocence Kambale looked over a shoulder, his normally booming voice now a hushed whisper. Then he followed the bloodhound, giving her a long lead as she moved steadily into the thick bamboo. How they chose that particular spot to begin the trek was beyond Cole, but he trusted the pair completely.

He had pulled in on the Ducati a couple of hours earlier, exhausted but relieved to have found some initial closure in the speed and freedom of the open road. He knew it would take a few million miles like that before he would stop blaming himself for Marna’s death, even though he knew deep down it wasn’t his fault. But now he needed to regain focus for the tasks ahead.

First on the list was to wake and brief the Kambale brothers. There was no doubt in his mind that they would join him, if only out of professional loyalty to the park they were sworn to protect. And he was right. But the silent looks they exchanged when he mentioned Kony and the LRA made him wonder if there might also be something else in the men’s complex personal history that made the decision to accompany him so easy. They would enter the park before first light, taking a little-used path at the base of Mount Karisimbi, far from the watchful eyes of both local farmers and Rwanda’s park guards who stayed closer to the main entrance. No reason for anyone to raise eyebrows and start talking about this quick-moving group of three armed men and a strange-looking dog.

An unearthly scream shattered the air, and Cole froze.

Again, but this time it was answered, high on the invisible slopes above them. He brought his cradled Kalashnikov up into a ready position. Not quite an M4, but it would get the job done. The screams sounded like an evil combination of a hyena’s laughter with the wails of a woman being choked to death, and within seconds they echoed from every direction.

Then a hand on the shoulder, and Proper Kambale’s whispered voice in his ear.

“The tree hyrax is the least of our concerns on this day.”

Cole nodded in embarrassment and continued on up the trail. How could he have forgotten? Every classic book on the region made at least one reference to the harmless creature’s horrifying mating calls, and he had promised himself he wouldn’t freak out like every other visitor to the Virunga volcanoes lucky enough for a serenade.

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