AUGUST 14, 3:12 A. M.
AMAZON JUNGLE.
Atop the island knoll, Nate stood with the other civilians, ringed by the Ranger team, which was now down to eight members.One for each of the civilians, Nate thought,like personal bodyguards.
"How about using another of your napalm bombs to clear a path through the b.u.g.g.e.rs?" Frank asked, standing near Captain Waxman. "Roll it down the slope, then duck for cover."
"We"d all be dead. If the heat blast didn"t fry us, then we"d be pinned down between a burning forest and the poisonous b.a.s.t.a.r.ds:"
Frank sighed, staring out into the dark forests. "How about your grenades? We could lob them in series, creating a swath through them."
Waxman frowned. "It"d be risky to deploy them so close to us, and no guarantee that it would kill enough of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds among all these tree trunks. I say we hold the hill, try to last until daybreak:"
Frank crossed his arms, little pleased with this plan.
Around the knoll, occasional fiery blasts from the flamethrowers ignited the night as Corporal Okamoto and Private Camera maintained sentry posts on either slope. Though it had been half an hour since sight-ing one of them, the beasts were still out there. The surrounding forests had gone deathly quiet, no monkey calls, no birdsong. Even the insects seemed to have died down to a whispery buzz and whine.
But beyond the reach of their flashlights, the leaves still rustled as unseen lurkers crept through the underbrush.
Night scopes focused on the surrounding waters revealed creatures still hopping into and out of the stream. Nathan"s earlier a.s.sessment seemed to be accurate. The creatures, gill-breathers, needed to return to the waters occasionally to revive themselves.
Nearby, Manny knelt in the leaf-strewn dirt, working by flashlight. Kelly and Kouwe stood behind his shoulder. Earlier, Manny had risked his life to dash into the forest"s fringe to collect one of the beasts stunned by a blast of flame. Though partially charbroiled, it was a decent specimen. The creature was about a foot long from the tip of its tail to its razor-toothed mouth. Large black eyes protruded, giving it a nearly 360-degree view of its surroundings. Strong articulated limbs ended in webbed and suckered toes almost as long as the body itself.
As the others watched, Manny was performing a rapid dissection. The Brazilian biologist worked deftly with a scalpel and forceps from Kelly"s med kit.
"This thing is amazing," Manny finally mumbled.
Nate joined Kelly and Kouwe as the biologist explained.
"It"s clearly some form of chimera. An amalgam of more than one species.
"How so?" Kelly asked.
Manny shifted aside and pointed with his thumb forceps. "Nathan was right. Though its skin is not scaled like a fish, it definitely has the breathing system of an aquatic species. Gills, no lungs. But its legs-noticethe band-ing on the skin-are definitely amphibious. The striping pattern is very characteristic of Phobobates trivittatus, the striped poison-dart frog, the largest and most toxic member of the frog family."
"So you"re saying it"s some mutated form of this species?" Nate asked.
"I thought so at first. It looks almost like a tadpole whose growth was arrested at the stage where gills were still present and only its hind legs had formed. But as I dissected further, I became less convinced.
First, and most obvious, is that its size is way out of proportion. This thing must weigh close to five pounds. Monstrously gigantic for even the largest species of dart frog:"
Manny rolled the dissected creature over and pointed to its eyes and teeth. "Additionally, its skull structure is all misshapen. Rather than flat-tened horizontally like a frog"s, the cranium is flattened vertically, more like a fish"s. In fact, the skull conformation, jaw, and teeth are almost identical in size and shape to a common Amazonian river predator-Serrasalmus rhombeus:"Manny glanced up from his handiwork. "The black piranha:"
Kelly leaned away. "That"s impossible:"
"If this thing weren"t right in front of me, I"d agree:" Manny sat back. "I"ve worked with Amazonian species all my life, and I"ve seen nothing like it. A true chimera. A single creature that shares the biological features of both frog and fish:"
Nate eyed the creature. "How could that be?"
Manny shook his head. "I don"t know. But how does a man regenerate a limb? I think the presence of such a chimera suggests we"re on the right trail. Something is out there, something your father"s expedition discov-ered, something with a distinct mutating ability."
Nate stared at the dissected ruins.What the h.e.l.l was out there?
A call arose from Private Camera. Her sentry post faced the northern slope of the knoll. "They"re on the move again!"
Nate straightened. The rustling from her side of the forest had grown louder. It sounded as if the entire jungle were stirring.
Camera flamed the lower slope. Her fiery jets pushed back the dark-ness. Reflected in the fire were hundreds of tiny eyes, covering both the forest floor and the trees. One of the creatures sprang from its perch on the limb of a palm tree and bounded into the fire zone. There was a short chat-ter of automatic rifle fire, and the creature was shredded to a b.l.o.o.d.y mush.
"Everybody back!" Camera called. "They"re coming!"
From the trees and underbrush, small bodies started to leap and bound toward them, oblivious to the fire and bullets. The creatures were determined to overrun them with their sheer numbers.
Nate flashed back on the Indian ma.s.sacre site. It was happening all over again. He swung his shotgun from his shoulder, aimed, and blasted a creature in midair as it leaped from a branch over Carrera"s head.
Gobbets of flesh rained down. As a group, they were forced to vacate the knoll"s summit and retreat down the southern face. Gunfire and flames lit the night. Flashlights danced, making every shadow shift and jerk.
Leading the charge down the southern slope, Corporal Okamoto swathed jets of fire before them. "It still looks clear this way!" he called out.
Nate risked a peek his way. Distantly through the forest, he could make out the other fork of the stream below as it swept around the southern flank of the hill.
"Why aren"t any of the creatures on this side of the hill?" Anna asked, her face flushed.
Zane answered, his eyes wide as he kept glancing behind him. "They probably rallied all their numbers on the far side for this final a.s.sault:"
Nate stared toward the stream below. It was wide, smooth, and quiet, but he knew better. He remembered the large capybara rodent flushed from the forest and racing along the river, where it was set upon by the predators. "They"re herding us," he mumbled.
"What?" Kelly asked.
"They want us close to the water. The pack is driving us to the river:"
Manny heard him. "I think Nate"s right. Despite their ability to move on land for short distances, they"re basically aquatic. They"d want their meal as close to water as possible before taking it down:"
Kelly looked behind her to the line of Rangers flaming and firing along their back trail. "What choice do we have?"
Down the slope, Okamoto slowed as they neared the river, clearly sus-picious of the water, too. The corporal turned to Captain Waxman behind him. "Sir, I"ll try to cross first. Like last time."
Waxman nodded. "Careful, corporal:"
Okamoto headed for the stream.
"No!" Nate called. "I"m sure it"s a trap:"
Okamoto glanced to him, then to his captain, who waved him forward again.
"We have to get off this island," Waxman said.
"Wait," Manny said, stepping forward, his voice pained. "I . . . I can send Tor-tor instead:"
The others were now all gathered around.
Waxman stared at the jaguar, then nodded. "Do it:"
Manny guided his jaguar toward the dark waters. Nate"s mind spun. It was suicide to enter those waters. He knew this as certainly as he knew the sun would rise tomorrow. But Waxman was right. They had to find a way across. He ran through various scenarios in his head.
A rope bridge over the stream.He quickly ruled that out. Even if they could somehow string a bridge up, the aquatic creatures were adept at leaping great heights. They"d all just be so much bait strung on a line.
Maybe grenades tossed in the water to stun them.But the stream was long. Any creatures killed by the concussion would be quickly replaced by those upstream. They would sweep down the sluggish current, attacking the team as they tried to rush across. No, what was needed was something that could strip this entire fork of the creatures-but what could do that?
Then it dawned on him. He had seen the answer demonstrated just a few days back.
By now, Manny and Tor-tor were only a couple of yards from the stream. Okamoto was with them, flames lighting the way.
"Wait!" Nate called. "I have an idea!"
Manny paused.
"What?" Waxman asked.
"According to Manny, these things are basically fish:" So.
Nate ignored the captain"s glare and turned to Kouwe. "You have powderedayaeya vine in your medicine kit, don"t you?"
"Certainly, but what-?" Then the professor"s eyes grew rounder with understanding. "Brilliant, Nate. I should"ve thought of that."
"What?" Waxman asked, growing frustrated.
Behind them, up the slope, the line of Rangers held the creatures momentarily at bay with rifles and fire.
Down slope, Okamoto stood ready by the river.
Nate quickly explained. "Indians use crushedayaeya vine to fish:" He remembered the small fishing scene he had witnessed as he canoed with Tama and Takaho to Sao Gabriel: a woman dusting the river with a black powder, while downstream the men gathered stunned fish with spears and nets. "The vine contains a potent rotenone, a toxin that literally chokes and suffocates the fish. The effect is almost instantaneous:"
"So what are you proposing?" Waxman asked.
"I"m familiar with the compound. I"ll take the satchel upstream and poison the stream. As the toxin flows down this fork, it should stun any and all of the creatures in the river:"
Waxman"s eyes narrowed. "This powder will do this?"
Kouwe answered, digging in his pack. "It should. As long as the crea-tures are true gill-breathers:" The professor glanced to Manny. The biologist nodded, clear relief in his eyes. "I"m sure of it:"
Sighing, Waxman waved Okamoto and Manny away from the stream. As the captain turned back to Nate, an explosion sounded behind them.
Dirt, leaves, and branches blew high into the air. Someone had fired a grenade. "They"re breaking through!" Sergeant Kostos yelled.
Waxman pointed to Nate. "Move!"
Nate turned.
Professor Kouwe pulled a large leather satchel from his pack and tossed it to Nate. "Be careful:"
Nate caught the bag of powder one-handed, swinging around with his shotgun in the other.
"Camera!" Waxman called and pointed to Nate. "Cover him:"
"Yes, sir:" The private backed down the slope with her flamethrower, leaving her post to Okamoto.
"When you first start to see fish float to the surface," Nate instructed the others, "haul a.s.s across. Though the current here is slow, I"m not sure how long the effect will last before the toxin is swept away."
"I"ll make sure we"re ready," Kouwe said.
Nate glanced around the group. Kelly"s eyes met his, a fist clutched to her throat. He offered her a small, confident smile, then turned away.
Together, he and Private Camera sprinted upstream, keeping a wary distance from the water.
Nate trailed behind the soldier as she strafed the way ahead with con-tinual bursts from her flamethrower. They crashed through the smoking underbrush and raced ahead. Nate searched behind.
The encampment of his fellow teammates had dwindled down to a green glow in the forest.
"The b.u.g.g.e.rs must know something"s up," Camera said, gasping with exertion. She pointed a free arm toward the stream. A couple splashes marked where creatures were beginning to hop out of the water in pursuit of the pair.
"Keep moving," Nate urged. "It"s not much farther."
They rushed on, accompanied by tiny splashes and the sound of crashing bodies. .h.i.tting the underbrush.
At last they reached the place where the main stream forked into the northern and southern branches, encircling the knoll. Here the channel was narrower, the current swifter, rumbling over rocks in a frothy white foam. More of the creatures leapt from the current, slick bodies glistening in the glow of the firelight.
Nate stopped as Camera laid down a protective spray of flame. Crea-tures sizzled in the muddy bank, some fleeing back into the river, skin smoking. "Now or never," Camera said.
Shouldering his shotgun, Nate slipped in front of her, the satchel of powder in hand. He quickly loosenedthe pouch"s leather tie.
"Just lob the whole thing in," the Ranger recommended.
"No, I have to make sure it disperses evenly." Nate took another step nearer the river.
"Careful:" Camera followed, jetting bursts of flame around them to discourage the predators.
Nate reached the edge of the stream, standing now only a foot away.
Camera half knelt and strafed fire over the water"s surface, ready to incinerate anything that dared pop out. "Do it!"
With a nod, Nate leaned over the stream, extending his arm, his fingers clutching the satchel. Attracted by the movement, something sprang from the water. Nate jerked his arm back in time to miss getting bitten. Instead, the creature latched its razored teeth into the cuff of his shirt sleeve, hang-ing there.
Nate whipped his arm back, fabric ripped, and the creature went flying far into the woods. "d.a.m.n it!"