Chapter 30

Each crunch of my boots on the sloping high desert sent puffs of yellowish powder into the still air. As always, the dry blast furnace heat reminded me of home ... several homes. A slow exhale drove more dust from my lower lip as I followed a thin, winding trail up a steeper incline.

Beneath an unrelenting sun, the last of the track scrabbled beneath me as I stepped onto a narrow ledge. The face of a striated cliff hosted a cleft swaddled in dark shadows. From a wider base, the gap tapered upward to become a faded crack. The place was wholly unremarkable, barring the two heavily armed men in black tactical gear. Another pair manned a sniper position overwatching the valley below.

None of them were local cops. At least we’d had some luck. Also unremarkable were the dots parked amid the scrub and tumbled boulders on the broad rift’s floor. All civilian vehicles of various makes and models.

Made for fewer questions. After a quick sniffle forced gritty dirt from my nostrils, I shook my head. Few could comprehend the answers, even if any of us wished to provide them. Somebody else’s job to handle the authorities.

Just as I sighed and patted the dust from my jeans, a shadow emerged from the narrow cave entrance. In the same black body armor and uniform, the tall, gangly man wore neither a helmet nor a face mask. With a grim smile, he moved towards me. On his chest, “Barnes” was emblazoned in subdued lettering.

Doug Barnes was the Operations Director for the Western US. Also, Mexico since that slot hadn’t been filled. No matter the foe, wars were costly. In this one, we lost far too many good people.

“Hey there, Jim.” He held out a gloved hand. “Sorry to bother you. But I heard you were out this way doing training shit.”

“No prob.” I forced a grin while returning his firm grip. “Watcha got?”

“Non-associated. At least, from what we can tell.” He exhaled, then squinted into the distance before gesturing for me to follow him inside. “Better if I just show you.”

As we moved into the darkness, the good news was it became cooler. The bad news was the familiar stench of death punched me in the gut. Mixed with a seeping rot that curled around my soul. No matter how many times I encountered it, never got used to that unique mélange of sweetness and foul.

After stepping into a decent-sized grotto, I halted to let my eyes adjust. First to materialize, a floor that was mostly flat. Embedded boulders dotted the perimeter, and stalagmites were also scattered about. The walls arched upward, forming a gigantic rock dome that peaked in the gloom high above. A few blinks later I could pick out details beyond a pair of portable work lights.

A sky-blue tarp draped a long row of bodies. Side-by-side, pallid feet stabbed upward like forlorn spikes. Across from them, a slight woman sat on the dirt. She was hugging her knees under a crinkly, silver emergency blanket. Coated in filth, stringy dark hair was glued to an emaciated skull. White-rimmed, dull, sunken eyes stared into nothingness. Another pair of black-adorned guards lingered nearby, while a kneeling medic attended to her.

“Left her behind.” Doug pointed to the flat, stony wall behind the woman. Near blood smears, dangling chains hung at four points. “They affixed her upside down. Mouth at, um, waist height. Pulled her teeth, poor thing. And, uh, her vaginal area is covered in bite marks. They kept her alive, but, ah, fed—”