B008IFNJZM EBOK (42 page)

             
“Fine...”

             
“We will have to walk the rest of the way.  There are too many rocks for me to pull you along.”

             
The pair looked across the valley and could see Berdy and the girls waving.  They were across from the ledge.

             
Just then the motion detectors went off followed by a roar that shook the whole valley.

             
“We’ve got incoming!  The detectors are going off and it is either one cat as long as a city bus or a whole pack coming out of that pond!”

             
The girls grabbed Berdy and shot across the field and into the lift.  Shawn signaled them to take the lift up and send it back down for them as they made their way around the boulders separating them from the base of the ledge.  A dozen males were now speeding into the lit part of the valley.

             
Crosley waited for the lift to make it up so he could send it back down.  Nathan came over the headset.

             
“Damn!  There are a lot more of these animals down here than we were led to believe!”

             
“Yeah, there could be another whole valley on the other side of that far wall!”

             
The two female vampires transformed and flew out of the lift to save time.  Once the lift was up to the ledge, Crosley pulled Berdy out and began to send it back down to Shawn and Platt.  The lead alpha male noticed the movement of the cage and now the entire pack began charging the area.  As soon as the cage dropped low enough, the two men grabbed the bottom.

             
“Okay pull us up now.  There is no time to get inside!”

             
Crosley reversed the wench and the cage with the two men hanging on to the bottom began to rise.

             
One of the large males jumped up and slapped against Shawn’s boot cutting it with its claws.  He tried to fold his legs back and waited for the next strike.  Berdy, Hadiya and Chelsea leaned over the side and started firing the tranquilizer darts at the pack.  There was at least seven males all trying to jump up at the two men.  The cats were clever as a pair of them stood side by side and a third jumped off their backs for more lift.  The cage was now on the surface and on its side in the elevated cave.  The men from the waist up were still being pulled along as Crosley assisted them by pulling them farther inside.  Platt rolled over and Berdy gave him a rifle.  A large male made it up to the ledge with one of his front paws landing on the heel of Shawn’s boot.

             
Everybody fired darts at the large male and it couldn’t get a foot hold and fell over the side and back into the valley.  Shawn was thrown a rifle and now all of the team was shooting over the side.  By the time the last of the animals was knocked out, eight Bunyips lay asleep in the valley below.

             
“Damn!”

             
“Are you alright Shawn?”

             
“This is the second pair of boots ruined in the last three days!”

             
Crosley was not as easily humored by the comment and got on the radio headset.

             
“Hey Professor, I thought you said that the total number of males would probably be four from the lake side and five from the other lair?”

             
“That was based on the amount of food in this valley.  I never considered the Bunyips having access to another food supply beyond what was here in this valley.”

             
“Well you were right about one thing.  They were here in less than two minutes.”

             
Platt looked over the side and down at all the large drugged animals.

             
“Berdy you should have thrown me a fifty caliber.”

             
“If the Meeratts weren’t helping Tom, believe me you wouldn’t have had to ask.”

             
“Well pretty soon we are not going to have a choice.  We are running out of darts for the other weapons.”

             
Crosley checked to see the clip in his weapon was now empty as the smoke continued to come out of the barrel.

             
“Now what?”

             
“Now we are going to need another team meeting.  This mission may have to be aborted.”

***

             
Jerrick leaned against the bank after being ejected into a much warmer pond.  Another leg of the return trip was complete.  The next one would be the last one and it would be a long one.  He figured it would be at least ten more hours in the tube.  Iolana came out of the tube and came over to him.  He inspected her ‘pregnant’ look.  She had placed Jerrick’s shirt with its cargo under her t-shirt while in the tube.  She climbed out first and adjusted her bundle and began to walk to the next tube with water still pouring off of her.

             
“What are you doing?”

             
“There is only one way out of this cavern so I am going to take it.”

             
“Wait how about getting some rest… a meal might be nice as well.”

             
Cinnet came out of the tube and splashed into the pool.

             
“You two can rest, I think if I leave right now I can make it.”

             
Cinnet came up on the shore and past several of the green topped mushrooms.  He shook his head that she was sitting on the right tray to continue on.

             
“I can’t go another eight hours.”

             
“You and Cinnet can eat and rest, I am going on now.”

             
Iolana put the circular platform over the entrance and shot out of sight.

             
Jerrick indicated with hand gestures, that he was too exhausted to go on.  The Meeratt nodded and the two decided to eat and get some rest before continuing on.

***

             
Nathan and Elizabeth listened to all the events that transpired with the team.  The Sargent Major was called in and was ordered to get more tranquilizer darts as soon as possible.  He was curious about the order as he examined the document.

             
“Excuse me sir, but are you sure you want this strength for your darts?  This is much higher and maybe even fatal to Dodo birds.”

             
“There are other animals down there much larger than Dodos Sargent Major.”

             
“Well you must understand sir, when we shipped the birds back they only told me about you sending germinated seeds for some kind of tree and mushroom spores to be sent to a sterile lab facility.  They said nothing about other animals and you are also requesting two tear gas rifles.”

             
Your government officials have been told of other animals that we might be able to bring up but we are still investigating the feasibility of those additional specimens.”

             
Crosley could see that something had to be added.

             
“Sargent Major, there are crocs down there… big ones and we need to hit some of them with high doses because their bodies do not let that much of the dose actually penetrate their hide.  We also think we can keep them at bay with the tear gas.  You know a croc on land can move at over thirty miles an hour.   We see the gas as a quick way to stop any sudden movements by them. ”

             
“I see sir.  I will phone this in for you right away.”

             
“Thank you Sargent Major.”

             
“Oh Sargent Major, how long do you think it will take to get a shipment?”

             
“If my command is aware of this as a possible requirement, they should be able to air drop this to you tomorrow.  I will let you know what they say.”

             
“Thank you Sargent Major.”
             
The highest ranking military man left the room.  The team agreed to suspend operations in the valleys until both Tom was returned to them and definitely not do any more operations until they were restocked with the order of darts.  Nathan explained that when operations resumed, the men would be responsible to lay plastic down around the mushrooms to collect the spores and briefed on the dangers of getting too close to the stem.  The three women and Tom would be responsible for collecting the Dodo bird droppings for the seeds of the calvaria tree.  The main problem would be how to address the Bunyips and keeping them out of the valley during those future operations.  If Tom, Jerrick and Iolana were able to join in the operation, someone could be posted just beyond the motion sensors ready with the rifles to keep the cats from entering the valley.  Gas masks were already in the military inventory with the Sargent Major.  They were in the inventory initially for another reason, poor air quality but until now, there was no need to make use of that hardware.  The team felt comfortable in taking a rest period for a day or two until all the members were once again able to participate in the project.  Millions were possible if each extinct or new species were brought up to the surface.

             
The satellite phone rang and Elizabeth picked up the receiver.  It was Bill Decker senior.

             
“Hi Doctor Decker what can I do for you?”

             
“That creature struck again last night.  This time it was on the other side of route 64.”

             
Elizabeth stood up.

             
“Was anyone hurt?”

             
“No thank God, only several farm animals.”

             
Elizabeth repeated the news to Nathan as the others were leaving the command tent.

             
“What did you tell the police?”

             
“Well I had to tell them it was a  wolf.  If I tried to tell them it was a werewolf, it would be like an airline pilot telling the FAA he wanted to file an UFO report.  You know what happens to pilots that make such a report?  They are driven out of their jobs.  I can’t risk building a business all these years for my son and have that happen.”

             
Chelsea and Crosley were told what had happened back in Kentucky.  Chelsea stepped up to Elizabeth.

             
“He is going to strike back there again.
             
“He has probably selected his next victim from someone near to that location.  Someone needs to keep an eye on that farmer and his family and any close neighbors near there.  He will be back only this time to find a ‘scape goat’ for his previous killings.”

             
Elizabeth shared Chelsea’s thoughts with the veterinarian and he agreed to make up something for the game warden and the police so that someone would patrol the area for a repeat of the incident claiming a wolf or a pack of wolves were in the area.  She hung up the phone and sat down.

             
“Who knows they might get lucky and either blow its head off or big enough hole in its chest to keep him down forever.  If they do kill him it won’t be until the next full moon cycle before it regenerates and strikes again.”

             
Elizabeth and Nathan picked Chelsea’s mind about other things she believed to be facts about werewolves and Elizabeth kept thinking on how lucky her brother would be if the treatment Tom was going through paid off.

             
Iolana came out of the water and leaned against the bank and smiling out at the valley.  She had made it!  She dragged herself up on the bank and removed Jerrick’s shirt filled with the Wolf’s Bane.  She pressed down on the soaked package to push some of the water out.  She was tired and hungry and just sat there trying to catch her breath.  She pulled herself up to the base of the rock tunnel she just was shot out of looking back at the pond as the ripple of water from her splash began to fade away.  Suddenly she heard a loud roar to her right and slowly turned her head toward the waterfall.  She didn’t know how she could muster up the energy to dart away from a Bunyip so she figured she would transform into a bat and fly up to the Meeratt ledge and to safety if threatened.  She froze in shock to see it wasn’t a Bunyip but a werewolf!

             
The animal had come from behind the waterfall and darted across the valley not noticing her or catching a scent of her presence.  Her mind was hit with thousands of thoughts simultaneously.  Did the attempt at curing Tom fail?  How could there be another down here?  Why didn’t Khu or the Meeratts tip them off to another pentagram victim?  It didn’t seem interested in her, why?  Where was it going so quickly?  She quickly locked in on the thought it was Tom and the beast just failed to see her and didn’t notice her.  The next question she answered to herself was where was it going?  Who else was on the short list of people Tom loved?  In her own mind the thought that maybe Tom didn’t really love her did cross her mind.  The answer to the previous question came quickly.  It was going after Tom’s sister Elizabeth!  Iolana jumped up and with a burst of speed, could only make it half way across this valley.  She reasoned it had to be night time above the ground and if she could just catch up, maybe the tranquilizer darts could stop it and return Tom to his treatment room.  She stopped with her hands on her legs and looking across the valley.   The werewolf was down on all fours and about to enter the cave.  She yelled in the hope to stop it and cause it turn on her.  By the time it made it back to her location, she would try with a single burst of speed to make it follow her back to the village.  She wasn’t sure if she had the energy to make her quick plan work but she had to try.  She kept yelling at the creature but it entered the passage to the next valley without even looking back.