CHAPTER 30
Emma watched them go with a feeling of resignation and relief. And for the first time, she felt something else that she loathed: self-doubt.
Fergus drew the short straw and had the near comatose Juan hanging from his side. Andy was on the other side, but the soldier basically carried the weight, and Andy was just there for balance.
Their plan was to head back to the temple, and maybe fight their way in, or hope they could somehow evict the occupants. She really hoped they were successful, and not just for the wellbeing of her colleagues. But also because when she found Ben, that’s where she’d be heading, and if time was short, she wanted to be able to make their way straight to the base of the tepui before the doorway snapped shut again.
Emma walked a few paces toward the edge of the clearing and stared in the direction of the plateau edge. She inhaled, smelling the damp green, the sap, rotting earth, and leaf detritus. There was also the oddly sweet smell of weird blooms, and a unique muskiness she knew came from dinosaur shit.
She checked her sidearm and took a sip from her canteen. Emma took a look at her watch, an old wind-up analog Seiko with a crystal face and demagnetized steel casing that she knew would keep running no matter what the comet threw at them.
It was 5pm; time was growing short. She was now alone, but knew in her heart that this was how it was always going to end up. She gritted her teeth and headed in.
Drake led them through the dense jungle, retracing their steps where they could, and making detours around areas that sounded occupied.
Once they came across a gargantuan creature that was like a giant hippopotamus, except it had a longer neck and a small head. On its back was a row of large triangular plates that moved and changed angles like solar panels to catch rays of sun. A twig snapped and the thing froze. The plates on its back turned from an iridescent green to a drab khaki, and it melted back into the jungle.
Drake was about to lead them on, but Helen reached out a hand. “Wait. Get down.”
They squatted, staying under cover, and in just another few moments, they heard something treading heavily, and a huge intake of air as a creature sniffed deeply. Then from the jungle came a beast from their nightmares.
On two colossal legs, the thing materialized from between the giant jungle tree trunks. Two almost-deformed-looking front arms were held stiffly forward and its body was a deep orange with black stripes on its back. But the colors broke up its shape in the dappled light.
Its massive clawed feet eased it forward, slowly, as it was obviously stalking. It was attempting to be silent, even though the monstrous beast must have weighed in at about 15 tons.
“Giganotosaurus,” Helen breathed.
The monster lowered its head and inhaled again, this time directly over the place where the plant-eater had occupied only moments before. It picked up the trail and slid into the jungle, following the big vegetarian.
Drake didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until his lungs began to burn. They waited another full five minutes until the sounds of the jungle returned.
“Jesus.” He turned, looking back the way they’d come. Never in his life had he cut and run on anyone or anything. But he’d just dropped Emma on her butt, while they held most of the firepower. He felt like a complete asshole.
“Okay,” Helen said.
Drake stayed low and called everyone in. “New plan.”
“Say what?” Ajax scowled.
“Going back for Emma,” he said matter-of-factly.
“No, we’re not,” Ajax shot back.
“I know you’re not; you’re to continue on to the temple. Clear it out. You can either give us another six hours, or not, your choice. Either way, you’re to get everyone down and out of here.”
“Bullshit, man.” Ajax paced away for a few steps and then spun back. “No, no, no, you’re not going either.” He looked panicked. “We need your firepower.”
Drake shook his head. “You’ll be fine.” He turned to Fergus. “You’re in command.”
“You’re not fucking listening. You’re staying.” Ajax’s voice was suddenly dead calm.
“Shut it and get back in line, soldier,” Drake said over his shoulder.
“Don’t make me do this, Drake.” Ajax’s voice now had a menacing edge.
Drake turned slowly to see the big man holding his sidearm loosely in his hand. Drake came to his feet. “What do you think you’re doing?”
To the side, he saw Fergus look like he was about to charge in, and Drake held up a hand to him. He turned back to Ajax.
“Not a good time to be losing it, son.”
“It’s not me that’s losing it, sir.” Ajax’s eyes were wide. “We all stay together. Mission is over, you know that. Priority now is getting us home.” He lowered his brow. “Anything else is command negligence in the field.”
“I see.” He nodded toward Ajax’s weapon. “Put the gun down before you hurt yourself.”
Ajax straightened to his full height. “Your behavior leaves me no choice. I’m assuming command.”
“Bullshit you are,” Fergus growled.
Ajax momentarily pointed the gun at him. “I know you agree with me.” He swung back to Drake. “We’re all going to head to the temple.” The gun was at his side again.
Drake could see the man was agitated, knew he was impulsive. Right now, he was unpredictable. Worst outcome was one of them killed the other. Ajax was right about one thing — they needed all the firepower they had.
“So what’s the plan?” Drake lifted his chin. “You disarm me and take me hostage? How’s that gonna work?”
“This is stupid,” Andy said, peering around from behind the young soldier. Andy tried to sidle around him, and then reached out, just touching his elbow. “Ajax… ”
“Fuck off,” Ajax half-turned and growled, his gun hand coming up.
Big mistake, Drake thought. He moved fast, stepping in close, grabbing the young soldier’s wrist, pushing down and to the left. Then, before Ajax could fully react, Drake snapped his other elbow back to the right and along the man’s jaw. The crack of elbow tip on bone was like a gunshot going off as Ajax’s teeth clacked together.
Ajax dropped his gun but lowered his head and recovered fast. He threw out two rapid blows, both aimed at Drake’s face. But they were slow due to his disorientation and Drake easily blocked both. He then flattened his hand and struck at Ajax’s exposed throat. His fingertips dug in at Ajax’s Adam’s apple.
Drake pulled the blow; if he wanted to, he could have crushed Ajax’s windpipe. As it was, it still would be a painful blow and cut off his air for a few moments. Drake wanted the fight over, but he didn’t want him dead or even permanently incapacitated.
Ajax’s eyes bulged and he gripped his throat. Drake finished him with another blow to the cheekbone. Ajax went down onto his hands and knees.
He stayed down, one hand gripping his throat as he made coughing noises.
“Take it easy, son. Breathe in slowly through your nose.” Drake retrieved his gun and stood over him. “Feel better now?”
Ajax coughed again and his head stayed down.
“Fergus will assume command in my absence. Got it?” Drake stared down at him.
Ajax finally nodded. Drake held out a hand, and Ajax reached up and gripped it. Drake pulled the man in close, almost nose to nose. “When the other guys lose their heads, we keep ours. We are sanity in chaos. Got it?”
Ajax nodded again. “I just wanna—cough—get the fuck outta here.”
“Yeah, we all do.” Drake handed him back his gun, and Ajax took it, but Drake held onto it for a second, looking into his eyes. “We good?”