Infinitys gateway, p.23
Infinity's Gateway, page 23
Fuller had not fared much better. His body half in the water, he hung from the side of his boat. A sudden swell raised him and the boat up and the crew tried to grab hold of him, just missing his outstretched hand. Fuller fell backwards, following the boat as it crashed back down into waves. MacKay could see that Fuller’s right arm and shoulder were still tied to the side of his craft. Using his left hand, Fuller frantically fought with the knot, trying to break free.
Only seconds had passed when the creature struck again. Shooting out of the water, it lunged at the Eclipse, snapping at the sailors standing near the edge of the deck. Its wide jaws slashed the arm of one of the men, while its head rammed into another, sending the man flying into the metal wall behind him. MacKay and another sailor grabbed the sailor with the slashed arm just before he fell over the side and into the sea. There was now blood in the water.
As the creature slipped back beneath the surface, one of Tanner’s marines jumped into the boat, knife in hand, and began to cut away at the rope holding Fuller in place. At almost the same time, MacKay saw Lieutenant Tanner dive headfirst into the water next to the Eclipse. Rushing back to the railing, MacKay looked down, pistol in hand, ready to do whatever he could to help. It wasn’t long before Tanner resurfaced, holding on to the unconscious Private Shaw. Grabbing onto a rope, the sailors quickly pulled the two men in, hauling them out of the water.
But the creature was not yet finished. Its next attack was far more successful. Hitting the small craft with tremendous force, the creature’s jaws closed with a vicelike grip onto the rear corner of the boat. The terrible force behind the creature’s bite punctured the bottom of the boat and tore jagged openings into its side. The marine who had been helping Fuller was thrown from the small craft. Spinning head over heels, he landed in the water about twenty feet from the Eclipse. Slightly dazed, he started to swim towards the Eclipse. He didn’t get very far. The creature’s jaws appeared on both sides of the marine, closed, and pulled him under.
The men continued battling the surging waves, trying to pull the boat in, but it was becoming more and more difficult as the damaged craft rapidly filled with water. Fuller’s arm was still not free of the ropes holding him to the small craft. The creature reemerged, once again biting into the rear of the sinking boat. Fighting to keep from sliding into the creature’s snapping jaws, Fuller gave it all he had to break free. The creature, focused on the boat, kept trying to pull it down beneath the waves, and the bow started to rise up out of the water.
Keeping its jaws tightly locked, the creature dropped beneath the waves, its tremendous strength taking the boat and Fuller with it. The waves quickly closed in over where the doomed craft had been. MacKay couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. He didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was going to throw up. The navy had trained him to do almost everything, but it had not prepared him for something like this.
Suddenly, Private Fuller’s head broke the surface and he began to inch his way towards the ship, but it was clear to see that he was having trouble. His arm was still tied to part of the boat. Two more sailors dove in, grabbed him, and got him back to the Eclipse. Just as they pulled him onto the deck, the creature shot up out of the water one last time.
Opening its mouth, it let loose with a terribly shrill roar and lunged at the men, making one last grab for any of them it could reach. The creature splashed down into the water, drenching the rescue team standing near the railing. Now that the two marines were safely on board, several sailors rushed to the railing and began to pour round after round of rifle fire into the dark gray water.
Mercer joined them on the deck, along with several corpsmen, and started directing them to get the wounded men to sick bay. It was only then that MacKay noticed Tanner sitting on the deck, his back against the wall, his legs splayed out in front of him. MacKay rushed over and squatted down next to him. “Lieutenant, are you all right?”
Tanner looked at MacKay and nodded. “Yes sir, I’m fine. I watched it get Private Franks. There was nothing I could do. What was that thing?”
“What you just did has to be one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen,” said MacKay, helping the young lieutenant to his feet.
“I’ve never been so terrified in my life,” said Tanner, his voice so low it was hard to hear him.
MacKay turned to Mercer and said, “Get him to sick bay. I think he’s going into shock.”
“Wait,” said Tanner, jerking away from Mercer, turning on MacKay. “What are we going to do? If there are monsters like that thing living in those jungles, then Captain Garrett and my men need my help, all our help. They can’t possibly make it back against creatures like that, not alone. They don’t stand a chance!”
“Stand down, Lieutenant, there’s nothing we can do for them, at least not now. I want Dr. Severin to look at you. That’s an order.”
MacKay watched as Mercer walked away with the limping Tanner. He still couldn’t believe that Tanner had dove into the water with that monster trying to kill them. Smiling to himself, he silently acknowledged that marines are definitely a unique breed. Thank heaven they’re on our side!
Clicking his radio on, he said, “Mr. Gallo, get us out to sea as fast as you can. We have recovered the two marines and they are on their way to sick bay.”
Turning off his radio, MacKay noticed that his hands were trembling, and he felt slightly out of breath. It was then he realized that he too was experiencing his own kind of shock. He couldn’t remember a nightmare as bad as what he and his crew had just gone through. Walking back to the bridge, he made a silent vow. As soon as the storm was gone, they’d be back and do everything in their power to help Colton and those marines.
CHAPTER 17
Although Colton didn’t know what was happening to him, oddly, he was completely at ease. The sensation was like what he’d experienced years ago, in a sensory deprivation tank. The only difference now was that rather than his surroundings being completely black, they were filled with a soft, undulating blue light. It was like floating in a cloudless sky. A deep euphoria filled him.
Considering all he’d just gone through, culminating with the finding of Blake’s body, the way he felt didn’t sync up in any way with what he’d just experienced. The roller coaster of extreme levels of fear and sorrow that had consumed him mere seconds ago were gone. Instead he felt a strong sense of peace, the horrors of the jungle miles away, left behind. He was in a place of safety. Then, listening closely, he began to hear something, words possibly, but this too was different. Someone was communicating with him, the words steadily growing in volume, and yet he wasn’t hearing them in the traditional sense. The words were going directly into his mind. This new mode of communication broadened its scope, filling his mind with new concepts and information about the world around him.
He had a flashback to his Philosophy 101 class. Dr. Augustus was writing the word EPISTEMOLOGY on the blackboard. He was talking about the idea of basic assumptions, but as he spoke, flashing blue and green lights seemed to be shooting out of his mouth. Something was changing Colton’s basic ideas. The image of Dr. Augustus melted into light again. Several brief images appeared—his drill sergeant, a nun from elementary school, the older woman that he had lost his virginity to, his karate sensei. Then light again. Then a vibration, like a voice, but not a voice.
The voice, so to speak, was gentle, calming, reassuring. It kept telling him, over and over, that he was okay, that he was in a safe place, that they would protect him. Who is they? This is the thought that sprang to his mind, but then, instantly, incredibly, his thought was answered! We are friend. Again, no words, the response flowing directly and clearly into his mind.
The voice continued on, You have suffered loss. We are with you now. You are safe. In the distance, his eyes began to focus on something forming in front of him. At first it appeared to be a great distance away. Quickly it came into focus. A man, not very tall, rather plain, and quite ordinary. Something, though, was very different about this guy, and then Colton understood. This was not a real person. He could see it clearly as it appeared directly in front of him. It was the composite of all the good teachers of his life, but animated. Then it smiled at him. Silver-haired, black business suit, the nun’s cross, and one blue eye and one brown eye. Full lips with too much lipstick. And a black belt.
“What are you?” Colton asked. Or did he? He’d asked his question but had never opened his mouth. He’d been able to communicate his question without giving voice to it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what was happening, but he remained at ease. Under normal circumstances this would have probably put his whole nervous system on high alert, but he stayed at peace, content. We are friend.
Colton tried to focus. “My people are injured. We need to return to our ship. We thank you for saving us.”
The image before him didn’t change, but the head slightly tilted, and the smile broadened a little. We are pleased. We are friend. We will guide you to your ship.
The complete sense of peace that had taken him over stayed with Colton. “Who are you?” This time there was no answer and the smiling person began to fade. Colton began to feel his body again, the firmness of the earth under his feet. We are friend. His mind began to return to its normal state. He’d either just been visited by an angel or had experienced the best piece of psychological warfare technology ever devised, maybe both. Holy Saint Psy-op.
As suddenly as the beam had focused on him, it withdrew. Colton staggered slightly but didn’t fall. Things had changed, and he found that Garrett was now standing next to him, as was Corporal Lee. The rest of the team had taken up a defensive posture around him.
Garrett looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I feel great. What’s the matter?”
“Well, you were just encased in that blue beam and you have a silly, borderline stupid expression on your face. Are you actually happy?”
Colton’s return to reality was now complete and the false feeling of euphoria he’d been feeling was gone. He shook his head as if to rid himself from the experience. “I think I just communicated with our saviors, or, they communicated with me.”
“There was more than one?” asked Garrett. “Who are they? What did they say?”
Colton looked around and asked, “Where’s the corpsman?”
“He’s with Private Lockridge. What did they say to you?” asked Garrett.
Colton struggled for a moment to pull his thoughts together. As much as he wanted to talk to him, he’d compare notes with the corpsman later. “The entire time they just kept reassuring me that I was safe, that I was okay.”
“Did you learn who they are?” asked Corporal Lee. “Where are we?”
Colton shook his head. “All in all, it was a short conversation. I mean, I guess it was a conversation. That doesn’t matter. They kept expressing friendship and said that they’d guide us to the ship.”
“And you have no idea who they are?” asked Garrett. “How is that even possible?”
“Captain, what I just experienced was completely unique,” said Colton, “and I’m not really sure how to explain it. What I do know is that at least for now, they, whoever ‘they’ are, and I truly have no idea, are on our side.”
“Captain, Commander, with all due respect, if they’re going to lead us out of here, we need to get moving. I don’t like what I’m seeing up in that sky and the winds are really starting to pick up,” said Corporal Lee. “We need to move out.”
“Get two stretchers pulled together,” said Garrett. She then turned back to Colton. “So, we just leave now? What, have we been granted safe passage? You do know what’s waiting for us in that jungle, don’t you? Battle shock can make the brain do weird things.”
Colton shook his head. “I know I’m not making any sense, but later we can talk about it at length. You did see the light? I mean this isn’t just in my head. Lee is right. At a minimum we’re going to get drenched. There’s probably some cover further up in those boulders, but I certainly have no intention of hanging around here. For the moment, we seem to have an escort, and I want to take full advantage of that.”
The two stretchers were quickly assembled. Lockridge was gently laid on one, Blake on the other. Corporal Lee and Private Hill took the point, with Logan and Diaz guarding their rear. It didn’t take long before Private Hill found the game trail they’d followed on their way in. Battered and nearly exhausted, they began their journey back to the Eclipse.
The wind rapidly grew in strength, buffeting the trees all around them, and making so much noise that they could hardly hear anything else. This put Colton on edge. He kept expecting that each time they rounded a curve in the trail, they’d find those prehistoric nightmares waiting for them.
As he trudged on, Colton had been trying to place the voice/non voice. It was that kid in A Charlie Brown Christmas reading about the shepherds. Yup, he was crazy. But better to die in crazy hope than to be paralyzed with despair.
He and Garrett took turns, constantly glancing up through the swaying branches to see if their escort was still with them. The light from the craft remained as bright as it had been before, revealing very little of its true shape. There was still a general feeling of calmness with the team, which Colton knew was somehow being induced by their new friends.
Suddenly Corporal Lee reached out, grabbed onto Private Hill’s shoulder, and drug him backwards. Both men hit the ground hard as a giant tree crashed to the ground not twenty feet in front of them. Two of the larger branches landed right where Hill had been walking.
At almost the same time, the rain started to fall. It was a gentle, warm rain, but there were no guarantees that it would stay that way. All of them remembered the stream that was waiting for them up ahead, a stream that lay between them and the beach. If the rain turned into a downpour, the gentle stream they’d crossed earlier in the day could quickly turn into a raging torrent. This would effectively strand them in a jungle they knew they couldn’t survive in.
“My guess is that this is going to get worse before it gets better, and there’s no telling how long this storm will be on us,” said Garrett. “We have to find cover, somewhere to hunker down and ride this thing out.”
“Agreed,” said Colton. “We’ve got to get out of these trees. If the storm is as widespread as I think it is, MacKay will have moved the Eclipse away from the shore and out into deeper water. Even if we did push on, and somehow managed to make it back to the boats, we’d have nowhere to go.”
Corporal Lee and Private Hill joined the two officers, Hill a little shaken by his close call with the falling tree. “Corporal,” said Colton, “we’re going to leave the trail here and head towards that rock face that’s been running parallel to us. Hopefully, we’ll find some large boulders to take shelter under, or maybe even an overhang. You, Hill, and I will lead the team.”
“What about our friends?” asked Garrett. “How do you think they’ll interpret our change in direction?”
Colton glanced up at the hovering craft, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I have no idea what they’ll think. Right now, I can’t worry about that. Frankly, nothing has made any sense to me ever since that energy wave rolled over us. And this little foray into the jungle has put the icing on the cake. We watched a giant flower eat one of the largest lizards I’ve ever seen; we’ve been attacked by dinosaurs, supposedly extinct for millions of years; and are now being escorted back to our ship by beings who are apparently far more advanced than we are. I have no clue where we are, or what’s happened to us, but without a shadow of a doubt, it’s clear we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“What do you mean?” said Corporal Lee, not understanding what Colton was trying to say. Colton just stared at him.
“He’s in his upper twenties, Commander. Pretty sure he didn’t follow your Wizard of Oz movie reference,” said Garrett.
“I’ll explain it to him later. We need to get out of here,” said Colton. Corporal Lee and Private Hill pulled machetes out of their backpacks and began to cut a path through the jungle, doing their best to avoid areas of dense undergrowth. The soaking rain steadily grew in intensity, the wind pushing against them no matter which direction they went. Their progress was slow at best.
About forty yards in, the trees fell back, opening into a clearing that stretched roughly sixty feet across. Looking above the tree line on the other side of the clearing, they could see that the massive cliff face that they were trying to reach was close at hand. Corporal Lee pointed to a dark spot about a hundred feet up on the cliff. “Could be a cave.”
Colton tried to get a clear view of it, but the rain, mixed with the mist that had dogged them the entire day, made it impossible. “Could be,” said Colton. “Hopefully we’ll find something closer to the ground.”
Hill started out across the clearing, closely followed by Colton. On the ground, in the leaves just in front of them, Colton thought he saw something move. “Hold up!” he ordered.
Hill came to a sudden stop, his hand instinctively moving to his holstered pistol. “You see something, Commander?”
“Something moved, right there,” he said, pointing to the ground a few feet in front of Hill. “Not sure if it was a branch or something else.” At that moment, the dull, gray light that blanketed the jungle began to grow brighter. Colton looked up to see that the craft that had been following them had rapidly descended, hovering directly above them.
Suddenly Hill jumped back, knocking into Colton. “Look at that!”
Both men watched as a thick, grayish-black tail, at least four feet in length, quickly disappeared under several long, broad leaves that lay across the ground in front of them. Just before it vanished from sight, they saw a curved claw the size of a garden scythe at the end of the tail, the light from the craft above reflecting off it. They continued to stare at the spot where it had been, looking for any movement at all, but everything remained still.
