The Descent

Their veneer  of religious vocation had rubbed  away,  leaving  tired,  angry,  frightened gunmen.  The  rough  way  they  dumped  the  wetbags  and  boxes  spoke  volumes.  Their escape attempt  was not going well.

After  a  few  minutes,  Walker  returned  his  attention  to  the  scientists.  'Tell  me,'  he said, 'how many people did you lose along the way?'

'None,' said Pia. 'Until now.'

Walker  made  no  apology  as  the  geologist  Ruiz  was  dragged  from  the  room  by  the heels.  'I'm  impressed,'  he  said.  'You  managed  to  come  hundreds  of  miles  through  a wilderness without a single casualty. Unarmed.'

'Ike  knows what he's doing,' said Pia.

'Crockett's here?'

'He's  exploring,'  Troy  quickly  inserted.  'He  goes  off  days  at  a  time.  He's  looking  for

Cache V. For food.'

'He's  wasting  his  time.'  Walker  turned  his  head  to  the  black  lieutenant.  'Take  five men,' he said. 'Locate our friend. We don't need any more surprises.'

The  soldier said, 'You don't hunt that man, sir. Our troops have  had  enough,  the  last month.'

'I will not have  him roaming at large.'

'Why are you doing this?' Ali demanded. 'What's he done to you?'

'It's what I've  done to him  that's  the  problem.  Crockett's  not  the  sort  to  forgive  and forget. He's out there  watching us right now.'

'He'll run off. There's  nothing here for him anymore. He said we've  given up.'

'Then why  the tears?'

'You don't have  to do this,' Ali told him softly.

Walker  grew  brisk.  'No  live  catches,  Lieutenant,  do  you  hear  me?  Crockett's  first commandment.'

'Yes  sir,' the lieutenant breathed  out. He tagged five of his men and they  started  into the building.

After  the  search  team  left,  Walker  closed  his  eyes.  A  soldier  pulled  a  knife  from  his boot  sheath  and  slit  open  a  box  of  MREs  and  gestured  at  the  scientists.  It  was  up  to Troy  to feebly  carry  packets  to his comrades. Twiggs kissed his, then tore it open  with his teeth.

Ali's  first  bite  of  processed  military  spaghetti  was  delicious.  She  made  her  bites small. She sipped her water.

Twiggs vomited. Then started  over  again.

The  room  was  beginning  to  fill  up.  More  wounded  were  brought   in.  Two   men mounted  a  machine  gun  at  the  window.  All  told,  including  herself  and  her  comrades, Ali  counted  fewer  than  twenty-five  people  remaining  from  the  original  hundred  and fifty who had started  the journey.

Walker opened his bloodshot eyes.  'Bring  everything  inside,'  he  ordered.  'The  boats, too. They're  vulnerable, and they  announce our presence.'

'But  there's  twelve  of  them  out  there.'  Fifteen  less  than  they'd  started  with,  Ali realized. What had happened out there?

'Bring them in,' said Walker. 'We're going to fort up a few days.  This  is  the  answer  to our prayers,  a toehold in this evil place.'

The  soldier's pig eyes  disagreed. He threw  his salute. Walker's hold was slipping.

'How did you find us?' Pia asked.

'We saw your  light,' said Walker.

'Our light?'

Ike's  oil lamps, thought Ali. It  had been her secret  with him. A beacon to the world.

'You found Cache V,' said Spurrier.

'Haddie got half,' said Walker.

'Call it the devil's due,' said a voice, and Montgomery  Shoat entered  the room.

'You? You're  still alive?' said Ali. She  couldn't  hide  her  distaste.  Being  abandoned  by the  soldiers  was  one  thing.  But  Shoat  was  a  fellow  civilian,  and  had  known  Walker's dirty  scheme. His betrayal  felt worse.

'It's  been  quite  the  excursion,'  said  Shoat.  He  had  a  black  eye  and  yellow  bruises along  one  cheek,  obviously  from  a  beating.  'Haddie's  been  picking  us  to  pieces  for weeks.  And the boys have  been working double-time to fit me in. I'm  starting  to  think we may  not complete our grand tour of the sub-Pacific.'

Walker was in no mood for a court jester. 'Is this coastline inhabited?'

'I've  only seen three  of them,' Ali said.

'Three  villages?'

'Three  hadals.'

'That's  all?  No  villages?'  Walker's  black  beard  parted  in  a  smile.  'Then  we've  lost them, thank the Lord. They'll  never  be able to track  us across  open  water.  We're  safe. We have  food for another two months. And we have  Shoat's homing device.'

Shoat  wagged  a  finger  at  the  colonel.  'Ah-ah,'  he  said.  'Not  yet.  You  agreed.  Three more days  to the west.  Then we'll talk about retreat.'

'Where's  the  girl?'  asked  Ali.  As  more  of  the  mercenaries  came  in,  she  saw  the clawed  hands  and  hadal  ears  and  pieces  of  male  and  female  genitalia  dangling  from their  belts  and  rucksacks  and  rifles.  Yeats's  poem  echoed  in  her  mind:  The  center cannot  hold;...  The  blood-dimmed  tide  is  loosed,  and  everywhere  the  ceremony  of innocence  is drowned....

'I  misjudged  her,'  Walker  rasped.  He  needed  morphine.  Ali  suspected  what  the soldiers had probably done with it.

'You killed her,' Ali said.