Endemic by John Lynch

Author:John Lynch [Lynch, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781613093559
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
Published: 2018-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

The track narrowed as they drove further into the bush. Branches scratched at the sides of the vehicle. The path wound through the forest, revealing only twenty or thirty yards before disappearing around a turn. The twilight shadow of the forest closed in on them. The tree canopy arched over the narrow road hundreds of feet above. Only the scraps of the tree’s banquet of sunlight reached the ground far below. Monkey cries from the canopy echoed down between the tree trunks.

The road was almost overgrown. Thelmia crawled the Land Cruiser forward through the underbrush. Bushes crunched under the tires. The undercarriage scraped under the floorboards.

“Doesn’t look like this gets a whole lot of use,” Chuck observed.

“The forest grows quickly,” Rajiv answered. “This may be an animal path.”

“What makes a path large enough for this?” Chuck pressed his face to the window, but he could see nothing beyond the branches and grass clawing at the other side.

Rajiv raised an eyebrow.

Thelmia slowed down. Two paths branched into the trees. She looked at Hugo.

Hugo sat still for a moment. Then he flicked a finger to the right. Thelmia turned the wheel clockwise and the truck nosed forward into an even narrower trail. Vegetation scraped over the windshield and down the sides of the four-wheel drive.

Ahead of them, a bright light shone like the end of a tunnel. Thelmia stopped the truck. All of them dismounted and Hugo led them toward the light. They burst into a clearing. Thelmia blinked and lowered her sunglasses over her eyes. The path led into a patch of low manioc plants. Beyond, five-foot tall maize stalks rose from the soil. Half the stalks lay flat on the ground.

“Time to suit up?” Thelmia asked.

“Wait a minute.” Hugo eyed the clearing suspiciously. He peered through the maize. “There’s a building there, but no people. They must have heard us.” He took a step toward the maize. “I’ll look around. Be ready to get out of here.”

“You’re not suiting up?” Thelmia put her hand lightly on his arm.

Hugo shook his head and moved his arm free. He put on a filter mask. Thelmia and Chuck got out. Chuck took his LARC and disappeared with the rifle into the undergrowth. Thelmia looked at the dense vegetation all around and trotted quietly back to the truck. She returned with the Benelli shotgun. She visually checked the chamber and the safety catch before finding a place to hide. Cid unpacked the machine gun and followed them into the bush. Rajiv had already fitted the thin filter mask to his mouth and nose and checked his PDW twice. Reluctantly, he watched Hugo disappear into the maize while he hid behind a tree.

“Spread out,” Thelmia whispered in his radio earpiece. Rajiv saw Chuck when he moved the vegetation five feet away. Rajiv moved further down the edge of the clearing.

A noise erupted in the clearing. Rajiv raised his submachine gun. A flock of white birds flushed from the maize field. A larger black bird labored into the sky behind them.

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