Dark Alchemy by Bickle Laura

Author:Bickle, Laura [Bickle, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-02-28T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BODY COUNT

“Do you see anything yet?”

Cal drifted along in Petra’s wake, staring at the glowing light on the display of the ground penetrating radar cart. It was already beginning to dim under the half charge she’d given it at the ranger station. The cart bounced over ruts and bent grasses at the edge of one of Rutherford’s fields. There was no sign of Rutherford’s ranch hands in the waxing moonlight, but the shadows and movements of the breeze made Petra jump. The light was enough to see by on this clear night. Enough to be seen.

“Nothing yet,” Petra hissed. “You’re supposed to be keeping watch.”

“Your coyote seems to have that under control.”

Sig walked ahead of them, sniffing in the breeze. His ears stood straight and alert as he scanned the darkness.

“Look, I don’t want to get your hopes up,” Petra said. They’d been out here for hours, pacing behind the cart and looking over their shoulders. “This could take days, under even the best of conditions. We have no idea where Jeff found that body.”

“We’ve gotta try,” Cal insisted.

Petra was inclined to agree, if only for curiosity’s sake. She’d come partly because Cal had asked her, and partly because she wondered if the body he’d seen really resembled the one she’d found on the ridge. One body in such a bizarre state was a fluke, but more?

She frowned as she stared at the readout monitor. The striations of the ground were odd here. The layers of soil scanned more opaque than most, but she thought she saw more black areas than she should.

“What is it?” Cal bounced on the toes of his boots.

“I dunno. This land is weird.” She pointed to the voids in the scan. “It looks like tunnels.”

“Prairie dogs?” Cal suggested helpfully.

“No. Bigger than that. Almost like a cave system. They’re all over here.” She chewed on her lip. “Almost looks like a mine, but less regular. More organic.” She wished that she had permission to be here, to ask questions. This might be an interesting geological feature to map.

“Hey. Your coyote is freaking out.”

Petra looked up from the fading monitor. Yards ahead, Sig was clawing at the ground, tossing clods of earth.

She shrugged. “Well, we could try looking there.”

She dragged the cart to where Sig was excavating. He whimpered and gave ground to the cart, but paced in a circle as Petra scanned the earth. She squinted at the readout. A spot had formed a few feet below on the scan, the readout showing broken sediment and disturbed earth.

“Huh.”

“What is it?”

“There might be something there.”

“How do we tell for sure?”

Petra looked at Cal with enduring patience. “We dig. Go get the shovels out of the truck.”

Cal skittered away to the dim hulk of the Bronco. Petra fingered the keys in her pocket. She liked the kid, but she didn’t trust him enough to leave the keys in the ignition. So far, he hadn’t done much to earn it.

Sig didn’t wait for Cal. He tore into the ground as if someone had buried his favorite lunch meat.

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