Chapter 2

“We need to clear out of here quickly, Doc,” I told Dr. Beaufort a second or two later, my voice taking on a hint of urgency as I spoke to her. “It’s not safe to stay here.”

We’d all been just standing there looking about and taking in the death of Jenkins and the four hunters, who’d all been alive, just a moment ago. I think we were all simply stunned. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for us to recover.

“Agreed, Mr. Ryerson,” Dr. Beaufort replied without giving it any thought. “What do you suggest we do?”

“Well,” I responded thoughtfully, glancing about before continuing, “I think we need to backtrack our way back to the drop site, and then head on past it. If I remember rightly from the reconnaissance briefing I read back at Quantum, there is a river about two miles beyond the drop site. If we head there, we can use the water to hide our trail. We can then follow the river upstream into the hills south of the drop site and the anchor. At the first opportunity we can exit the water and then head for that cave I was talking about earlier. With luck we’ll throw off anyone who comes looking for these four men, here. If we don’t, well we’ll at least have some shelter to fight from, instead of being stuck out here in the open where we can get attacked from any side. What do you think, Doc? Are you up for the walk?”

“Oui,” Dr. Beaufort stated in agreement. “I think it is a good plan. Shall we go?”

“In a minute,” I told the good doctor. Then I glanced over to Gabby, where she’d been standing listening to the conversation and still holding my spear. I asked her the same question. She was in agreement as well.

Before leaving we stripped all the bodies including Dr. Jenkins. We even took his clothing. Considering that we didn’t know when we’d be going home again, any resource was a usable resource from our point of view. There was no guarantee that Kim had come through for me. We’d find out that later, if we got lucky.

I ended up carrying his stuff plus the blades that we took from the four hunters. The four of them had only been wearing loincloths as clothing, so we didn’t bother taking those. They were a little too well used for the ladies taste. We did however take their spears. I took one in addition to my own. Gabby took two and Dr. Beaufort took one. The weapon towered over her.

The trek back to the drop site didn’t take us as long as it had taken us to get to where Jenkins had been killed. It helped that I led the way and we jogged for a good part of the journey. We didn’t do much to try and obscure our trail. It was roughly six to seven miles long and there was very little chance of hiding it in the time we had at our disposal, and with the resources on hand. Silently I hoped a couple of herds of deer would cross it in the next hour or so, but the chances of that happening were slim. The nearest herd nearby was almost a mile away and it was moving in the other direction. My other silent prayer was that a predator would come along and clean up the bodies we’d left. That would really help us out.

When we got back to the drop site we took a break to catch our breath, and to drink some water and to eat some food. While we were there, I had a quick look around, especially at our back trail. As far as I could see, no one was pursuing us.

The trek to the river only took us thirty minutes. Since we didn’t know the terrain we walked it. Much of it was over bare earth or flat rocks. Our moccasin clad feet didn’t leave much of a trail. That was a bonus.

The river turned out to be more of a stream than anything else. The banks were high, and it was clear that during spring runoff that the water flowed deep and swift between the banks. But, at the moment there looked to be only a foot of water in it. I went down and checked it out first. Naturally I stripped my moccasins off before putting a foot in the water, as I had no idea of how good of a job Quantum had done waterproofing them. I also stripped off my pants. I didn’t want to get the buckskins wet.

“It’s cold,” I called up to the two women, “but I think we can manage it. I’d advise you to lose your pants as well as the moccasins before stepping in the water. The last thing that you want is wet clothing. Just wrap them up and put them in your day pack.”

To my surprise neither woman argued the point with me. I had expected resistance, because unlike me they had no loincloth on under their pants. That had been another Jenkins decision. Data from the probes had shown that the women in this area didn’t wear anything under their skin dresses. It made them more accessible for the men, whose favourite pastime next to hunting was screwing their mates. To my surprise I quickly learned that Dr. Beaufort and Gabby had both ignored Jenkins’ instructions. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that their buckskin shirts worked as dresses, also.

Once the women were ready to go, they handed down their day packs and then the spears they were toting to me, then first Dr. Beaufort and then Gabby clambered down. A few minutes later we were all in the water and headed upstream as fast as we could go without stubbing our toes.

The trek went on for another couple of miles, until we reached a point where a stream coming from off towards the area I wanted to get to joined the river. When I spotted that junction I moved us out of the river and along the other concourse of water. That stream was actually the same depth as the river. However, as we moved upstream, the banks slowly dwindled away until we were actually walking about level with them. By then it was late afternoon and the sun was high above us.

Being out from between the banks of the stream helped me orient myself to what I remembered about where the cave was located, in relationship to the drop site and the river. It didn’t take much to let me know that we were still a few miles off. The good thing was that if we stuck to the stream, it would take us very close to where I wanted to go. I passed that information on to my two companions, and then I picked up the pace a bit. Both women simply grunted an acknowledgement at the news, and then sighed as they tried to keep up with me.

Within half an hour we were off the open plain, and into some hills and forest. At this point the stream started to get windy on us. It followed the contours of the land, and it took the path of least resistance. After a mile of zigzagging back and forth, I decided enough was enough. I spotted an exit point up ahead and I decided to make use of it.

The exit point was a stone shelf that jutted out of the bank and into the stream. It wasn’t huge or anything, but it did offer a place where we could slip out of the water and head inland without leaving a trail. Again I let the women know what my intentions were, and then I headed for it.

Once out of the water and onshore I gave everyone fifteen minutes to rest and recover from our trek. We’d been walking for hours, now, which wasn’t something the two women were used to doing. They were tired. Both flopped down on the stone shelf once I’d called a halt to our trek. They started rubbing their feet. Feeling sorry for them I decided to give them an even longer break.

“Look,” I told them while I dug my clothing out of my day pack and I started pulling my pants on. “I’m pretty sure that we’re within a mile of the cave I’m looking for. Why don’t you two stay right here and relax a bit while I take a look around and see if I can find it.”

“No,” Dr. Beaufort stated firmly without hesitation. “We don’t separate for any reason at all. It is the only way that we’ll survive.”

“I agree,” Gabby interjected right after the good doctor had said her words. “Just give us a few more minutes and we’ll be ready to move on.”

I opened my mouth to argue the point, but then I thought better of it. In principle I had to agree with the good doctor. Our chance of survival was better if we were working together. Acknowledging this to myself, I let it go and just went back to getting dressed. When I was done, I dug out some food from my pack and I started eating it. A few seconds later the two women did the same.

We ended up staying on that rock for over half an hour. We all ate a bit of food and we all had a drink from our water skins. Before leaving the stream I made sure that all our water skins were full. It had been a long, hot day and we’d drunk a lot. Then the two women got up and dressed. When they were dressed, we moved off once again.

It turned out that it really wasn’t that hard to find the cave. It helped that the cave was located in a small escarpment that ran parallel to the plains that we’d originally been wandering on, and that the escarpment was visible off in the distance. Once we reached the escarpment, it was only a matter of time to find the opening in the rock face.

The first thing I did when we got there, was to have a good look about the exterior of the cave for any sign of occupancy. As I’d told Kim back when I had talked to her about it, and told everyone else when I’d put forward my idea of caching supplies in the cave, the cave wasn’t that big in size. Still, it was big enough for a small group of humans to huddle in if necessary. That also made it big enough that a mountain cat or a pack of wolves could use it as a den. I had no intentions of putting my head into the opening until I was certain that nothing was going to bite it off!

I got lucky. While the ground close to the cave entrance was cold hard rock, the ground just beyond it was forested hillside, and the loam was deep and rich. I found nothing to suggest that any animal, neither two legged nor four had been there in a long, long time.

“It looks good,” I told my two companions when I was done looking about, trying to keep them informed and reassured. “I’m just going to check the cave out to be sure. Then if the coast is clear I’ll call you in.”

“Very well, Mr. Ryerson,” Dr. Beaufort muttered in acknowledgement, her tone edged with concern. “Just be careful. I’ve seen enough death for one day.”

Gabby seconded the good doctor’s comment with her own; equally filled with concern. I just nodded my understanding and then turned my attention to the cave.

We didn’t have torches or lamps or any other sort of light source, so there was no way I could toss something in to find out if the place was unoccupied. I did prod the opening to the cave with my spear as I moved forward. I jabbed about for a bit, careful not to damage my spear point on the interior wall. Luckily I didn’t hit anything at all, including rock walls. Finding that reassuring I decided to continue on into through the opening to see what I could find. I was hoping that Kim had come through for me. I certainly wasn’t ready to deal with what I did find.

Glow sticks! Someone had left me glow sticks! Instead of finding a stone chamber complete engulfed in darkness I found a bunch of long life neon green glow sticks shining back at me. I was amazed to find them. I was even more amazed at what they were fastened to. Kim had really come through for me.

I found four completely equipped field packs propped up against the back wall of the cave. Each had a green glow stick tied to it. Grabbing one of the packs and digging around in it, I found a present waiting for me. It was attached to a combat web belt that was fastened to the pack’s frame. It was a flashlight. Grabbing it up, I turned it on and I beamed the light about. In seconds I got to see everything that was inside the cave. I was very surprised at what was there. Kim had given me more than I’d asked for. That sudden realization got my interest piqued, and I was tempted to do a little snooping. The women’s voices from outside the cave brought me back to why I’d initially went into the cave. Laying my spear off to one side, I grabbed the first pack that I’d been handling and I hauled it over to the entrance of the cave. I then I called the good doctor over.

“Take this for me,” I told her when her face appeared in front of the opening, “and then come back. There is more gear in here that needs shifting.”

Dr. Beaufort did as I asked her. I heard her gasp with surprise as she pulled the full pack out into the space in front of the cave. I didn’t hang around to answer any of her questions. I went and grabbed the second pack. I pulled it to the cave entrance and handed it out to the good doctor. I made the trip again, before I crawled out of the cave pushing the last pack in front of me. That pack was a combat medical pack that was normally carried by a Special Forces Medic.

“Mon dieu!” Dr. Beaufort exclaimed slipping into her native French. “Where did all this come from? I thought Quantum and Jenkins squashed your plan to cache supplies””

“They did, Doc,” I told her, flashing a boyish smile at her as I said it, “but I didn’t take their no for an answer. Fortunately, I made a number of friends while I was working at Quantum. Some of them were willing to do me a favour or two.”

“Like that Kimberly Woo?” Gabby asked cattily from where she was seated, raising a questioning eyebrow as she prodded me for an answer. “I saw you with her often.”

“She was certainly a friend,” I admitted willingly and ignoring the tone of Gabby’s voice, “and I believe she was a very good friend before we left. However, as for her involvement in this little favour; all I have to say is no names, no pack drill.”

“Well, I can certainly live with that,” Dr. Beaufort declared grinning as she pulled the medical bag out of my hands, “especially since your friends provided this. I could kiss them for it. I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if any of us got injured. Now at least I have some real medical equipment. Is this everything in the cave?’

“No,” I confessed, “but it’s what I had asked for in my original operational request to Quantum when we were planning what we needed to take with us. From what I can tell, there’s some more stuff in the cave packed up in boxes and containers. I’ll take a look at it later. Right now I want to dig out a ration pack and have something good to eat. That trail mix and jerked meat that we’ve been chewing on all day has left me wanting real food.”

The two women agreed with me on that point, so I opened up my pack and I pulled out a ration pack. Good old Army MREs. We had chicken stew for three. Of course before we could eat we needed a fire ring and some wood to burn so we could boil some water.

It only took me a few minutes to find all that, and some kindling as well. I just slipped off into the woods that lay but a dozen feet from the cave entrance to look for the stuff. I was back ten minutes later with my arms filled with stones and wood. Ten minutes after that we had a fire going and we were ready to start supper. I boiled water in a utility cup, and then we heated everything up. Boy was that meal appreciated! While we ate, we talked.

“What do you really think happened at the drop site, Mr. Ryerson?” Dr. Beaufort asked between mouthfuls of her food. “Was it an accident, or sabotage?”

“First off Doc, call me ‘Jake’,” I told the woman. “It’s what most of my friends call me. Since we’re probably going to be here for a while, I think you should give it a try; both you and Miss Ayoub, I mean. We might as well be friends.”

“I agree Jake,” Dr. Beaufort concurred, “so if you can try, my name is Clara. You might as well use it until we get rescued. After that we’ll have to see. Quantum Industries was pretty stuffy about titles and job descriptions.”

“And I’m Gabby,” Gabby informed me with a smile, “as you already know. So now that we are all friends, can you answer Clara’s question, please? Was the explosion at the drop site only an accident, or was it sabotage? You told Jenkins that you thought General Ridgeway had something to do with it. Why did you say that?”

“I know what I said,” I sighed in response, “and I really shouldn’t have said that to Dr. Jenkins. Unfortunately, the man got under my skin whenever he opened his mouth. When he started accusing me of blowing the anchor up, I just lost it. Truthfully, I don’t know what happened at the drop site. It could have been just an accident; but then again, as I told Jenkins, the transmitters that Ridgeway had insisted we wear and use on arrival weren’t part of our original operational plans. The General had provided them to us, and he’d insisted we use them. While there isn’t any evidence of any wrong doing on Ridgeway’s part, it does make you think. Don’t you agree?”

“I do indeed agree,” Clara acknowledged. “It makes me wonder why it happened. Why would anyone want to trap us in the past?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted openly, shrugging my shoulders as I said it. “I just can’t see any real advantage to doing it. For now I think we should simply put the thought to the side, and let the question be until we have more intel that we can use to figure it out. After all, we’ve got a bigger problem to worry about, and that’s called survival. Considering we’ve lost twenty-five percent of our effective strength today, I think that should become our principal priority.”

“I agree,” Gabby chimed in enthusiastically, “right after we have coffee.”

We had coffee and then we talked a little more. While we talked, I pulled out my M4 carbine that had been included and strapped onto my pack. I checked it over and I made certain that it had a full magazine. As I did, I pointed out to Clara and Gabby that they too had weapons. The other three packs held survival weapons. Basically it was an over and under combination rifle and shotgun. The rifle fired .22-calibre long rifles while the shotgun fired .410 shells. These weren’t combat weapons at all, but used properly they would keep a person alive. In addition to the survival weapons, Glocks had been provided for everyone. On seeing the pistols, both Clara and Gabby turned their attention to them. That gave me an opportunity to ask Gabby a question.

“So Gabby,” I asked out of curiosity, “did you pickup any of the language those hunters were speaking today before everything went to shit?”

“A little,” Gabby admitted, looking solemnly as she did. “Jenkins certainly didn’t help matters much. He just kept shouting when those men were jabbering away in their language. I did catch what I thought was the leader’s name mentioned a couple of times, and I’m certain I picked up the word ‘kill or stab’. It was repeated a couple of times by the younger men, just before the older man killed Jenkins. Then the younger man I slashed said it once to the man who was wrestling with me. At that time I picked up the word ‘no’. Beyond that I couldn’t say what they were saying. Like I mentioned to Jenkins, it takes time.”