Minutes to Burn

Justin helped Szabla get the tent straightened out and they ran a sup-plies check. Tank and Savage strained to get the log back in line with the others around the fire, and Cameron helped Rex and Diego test their equipment.

The mantid body sprawled in the grass, attracting insects and birds. After Rex and Diego examined it, taking copious notes, Tank and Savage dragged the body a few hundred yards east of the camp and built a small pyre around it, using firewood and leaves. It took a few tries to get the body ignited, but once it got going, it burned quickly, crackling like a fly in a bug zapper. The fire rose like a teepee, a cone of light fighting off the dusk. They came back, rinsed with water from the canteen, and rubbed gel into their hands.

Derek's transmitter vibrated four times before he took note. Lethargi-cally, he tilted his head to his shoulder. "Mitchell. Public." The others gathered around quickly.

"Mitchell, it's Mako here." If Mako was waiting for a response, he didn't get one. "I just got a call from a colonel at Fort Detrick. Strickland. Do you know the name?"

Derek shook his head.

"No," Cameron said into her transmitter. "We don't."

"They're getting heavy into the science over there. Some kind of virus you guys are exposed to. Said it had to do with the mutated animal you were describing. That Denton fellow from the New Center's been leaning on Strickland and our old friend the Secretary of the Navy to get you guys extracted. Said you're in grave danger."

"Deja fuckin' vu," Savage growled.

"Problem is, that little rumble you kids just felt originated off the coast of Colombia. A significant number of our air assets were on the ground in Bogota. We sustained heavy damages; they're still sorting through the wreckage. I've been on the phone this last hour trying to find anything to pull you guys off that rock, but looks like we're snake eyes for the time being. The good news is, I managed to block out a Blackhawk and a C-130 for 2200 on the thirty-first. We'll have you out in fifty-two hours."

"We might be insect shit in fifty-two hours," Justin grumbled.

Derek and Mako stood off in silence, each waiting for the other to speak next.

"I'm sorry, soldier," Mako finally said. "It's the best we can do." He clicked out.

The others sat quietly for a few moments. Szabla rose and went to her tent.

Cameron walked over to Derek, stopping with one boot on the log beside him. "I'm gonna go check on the Estradas again, make sure they're all right," she said.

"Are you asking or telling me?" Derek said, his eyes not leaving the larva.

"Derek," Cameron said. "She's six months pregnant. I'm gonna go check on them."

Derek studied her for a few moments. "I'm not going with you. Grab a buddy."

Cameron signaled Justin with a flick of her head, and he followed her across the field to the road. They walked side by side, the watchtower looming ahead. In a few places, the ground had buckled up in scarps, four- to five-inch lips in the road.

"Derek is not Derek," Justin said after a few moments. "We might need to think about doing something."

Cameron did not respond.

They reached the bloque house and Cameron called out, anxious to see the couple. There was no answer. The air around them took on another shade of gray as the sun dipped out of sight behind a row of plantain trees.

Cameron called out again, noticing the strain in her voice.

They passed beneath the window and turned the corner. Cameron stepped through the doorway into the house. She stopped dead in her tracks, momentarily blocking Justin's view. He stepped around her, then also froze.

Ramon's body dangled from the ceiling near the fireplace, his face a deep blue above the noose. The chair lay on its side beneath his feet. The wall near the bed was splattered with crimson. Floreana lay on the mat-tress, draped in a bloody sheet. On the floor near the foot of the mat-tress was a gnarled little creature. Cameron looked at its still-moist head, the small broken claw curled up at the end of a stumpy limb.

She felt her stomach rising in her gullet. Justin leaned over, hands on his knees, sucking air until he regained control. He and Cameron stood beside each other for what must have been fifteen minutes, staring at the three bodies, stilling their emotions, sweating in the thick air.

Finally, Cameron crossed to the mattress. Justin reached after her and said her name once, but she did not slow. She reached down and grabbed a clean part of the sheet. Slowly, she pulled it off Floreana, revealing her lower body.

Cameron emitted a small, almost animal sound, a cry deep in her throat that rose sharp and faded quickly. She raised a hand to her face where it hovered, unsure of what to do. She looked down and saw that her other hand was clutching her belly.