The Stone Scry by Dennis Fueyo

Author:Dennis Fueyo [Fueyo, Dennis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781689551632
Published: 2019-08-29T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The helicopter bobbed over timberlines through torrential rain blaring Dirty Vibe by Diplo and Skrillex in its cabin. Tom Mason found himself tapping a foot on the wet cabin floor to the rich bass and fast EDM tempo, joined by the crew nodding their heads to the beat.

Swamp stompers used helicopters to get in and out fast drawing little attention. “Birds” were great for borderland missions, but jobs south of Fayetteville required a rendezvous at the HP109 hub in Fayetteville. The hub served one purpose: housing, fueling, and maintaining a fleet of HP109 Mud Hoppers. These marshland chariots ferried units on missions ranging from supply deliveries to wellness checks, and from seek-and-destroy runs to reconnaissance excursions.

Mud Hoppers extended the stomper’s lethality. A light, carbon casing around its propeller muffled blower acoustics. Its opening, surrounded by flaps concentrating exhaust, provided thrust up to sixty miles per hour. A plated bladder made it impenetrable to most objects except antipersonnel bullets. Layered over the deck, a fiberglass thermo-treated coat negated the risk of fire. Should someone stupid enough try stealing one, the engine’s dead switch left them mired an open target. A locator beacon affixed to the bladder led any generic guided missile to its location.

Tom surveyed the helicopter cabin and performed a discrete check on the crew.

Emelia Stone stared out her window in deep thought, unaffected by the bird’s intense bouncing. She could not have seen much action. No visible scars, she wore makeup and styled her hair. Yet her stomper patrols excised at least two insurgent tribes near the South Carolina border. Her mind control abilities, gifted by the green pill, had grown significantly more powerful.

Lou Frasier, per the usual, played on his cell phone. A favorite distractor when nerves wound tight. Tom regretted allowing him to join his lab at Fort Dix and despised himself for agreeing to let Lou accompany him when they began fieldwork. However, Tom firmly believed that if not for Lou, he would be dead. From their first operation onward, missions placed Tom either between teeth, under bullets or over perilous terrain. Lou’s help granted him the chance to step back through the gates of Fort Dix, and into Lisa Mason’s arms.

Opposite Tom sat Sergeant James Laramie. James shook his hand when they gathered at the bird in Raleigh, and no one else’s. He avoided eye contact with everyone except Tom. They were friends.

After their entanglement with Cuddles, James lauded Tom’s stubborn ferocity to face death. Eating carnitas tacos in the lab cafeteria together, he confessed his belief Tom would always choose self-sacrifice when lives were at stake. He also believed no one else in admin would do the same.

“How you doing, James?”

James winked at Tom and returned his gaze to the fields below.

Tom knew James had his fill of torn limbs and brains blown into forest litter. Human fighting human and human facing beast—both were not unusual in these lands. Squadmates murdered by an invisible force opened a level of uncertainty the less initiated were not prepared to face.

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