“The people who kidnapped me brought me down here with them. I didn’t understand at first. I mean, I didn’t know anything at all about Thomas or what he was up to. They held me forever, it seemed like. They’d interrogate me, sometimes hurt me, but I didn’t know anything. Finally, I started making up stuff just to get them to stop, but I think they knew I was lying.” He swallowed hard. “I thought they were going to kill me, but one day they told me I was going on a trip, and they brought me out here.”
“I don’t get it,” Dane said. “Weren’t they taking a risk bringing you along?”
Andy managed a rueful laugh. “What danger am I? They’ve got all these fancy weapons, and they all look like… them.” He pointed at Matt and Willis. “And you guys.” He nodded at Dane and Bones. “They didn’t even handcuff me or anything. Just shoved me into the plane, then the helicopter, and so forth. When we got to the edge of nowhere, the girl told me I was free to run away any time I wanted. Everybody laughed like it was some big joke, which it was. I’m useless.”
“What girl are you talking about?”
“Her name’s Tam, or at least, that’s what they call her. She’s in charge, but I don’t think the guys in her group like that very much. She questioned me at different times along the way, stuff about Thomas. I tried to bluff her into believing I knew some final clue, thinking she’d keep me alive, but she didn’t buy it. They kept making little comments about getting rid of me. We’d see a caiman and this one guy, Cy, would say it looked hungry for professor meat, stuff like that. I was starting to wish they’d just go ahead and get it over with. I hate this place.” He glanced up at the trees and shuddered.
“So, how did you manage to get away?” Dane could not conceive that this little academic had outfought or outwitted his captors.
“She let me go.”
“She let you go. Just like that?” Bones interjected, suspicion heavy in every word.
Andy shook his head. “We got up to the top of that hill, or whatever you call it,” He indicated the terraces, “and we found the tunnel.”
Bones did a double-take. “What tunnel…”
“That can wait.” Dane said. “One thing at a time. Go ahead, Andy.”
“So, the others started going down into the tunnel, and the girl told them to give her five minutes, because she had something she needed to do. She took me down into the ditch, fired her gun off into the woods, and then gave me a canteen and told me to stay hidden until she came back for me, and that’s exactly what I did until you got here.”
“That’s odd.” Dane rubbed his chin. “Do you know anything about her? Anything at all?”
“She’s a killer. She doesn’t know I saw, but I watched her bash a guy’s skull in with a rock because he put his hands on her. She told the others a native had done it. I don’t know if they believed her, or if they just didn’t care. Every one of them is cold-blooded.”
Dane remembered finding the body of the dead man. “How many of them are there?”
“Eight,” Andy said after a moment’s thought. “There were eleven, including me. Tam killed the one guy and an anaconda got another.” He shivered. “Two of the remaining guys are guides, locals, but they seem as nasty as the rest of the group.”
“So, five professionals at most. I’ll take those odds.” Bones patted his M-16. “Do they have any idea we’re after them?”
Andy shook his head. “I don’t think so. At least, they didn’t let on that anyone was after them. I heard one of them, Kennedy, say they had the only map, so I’m guessing they think they’re in this alone.”
“Good.” Dane smiled. “Let them go on thinking that. How far ahead of us are they?”
“Less than a day. It was just this morning she let me go. I don’t think I’d have lasted through the night, though. I already drank all the water she left me and lost the canteen while trying to get to you.”
“It’s all right. We’re glad you found us.” Kaylin gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Dane disagreed, but there was no point in saying so. Andy wasn’t cut out for this environment, and was liable to get himself killed. Dane doubted the professor was even capable of walking quietly in the woods.
“I will not go!” Simáo, like the others, had been listening in silence, but now he was on his feet. “That hole is the… the doorway to the land of the dead ones! You will all die if you go there.”
Dane contemplated this turn. They didn’t need Simáo. Frankly, they had really only needed his boats, but his services as guide had come with the rental. He had been of some use at the outset, but as soon as they left the beaten path, he had been of little help.
“Can you find your way back to the boats?” The man nodded. “Bones, the ScanoGen boats. Could you hotwire one if you had to?” Bones rolled his eyes, which, coming from Bones, was a strong affirmative. “All right. Give him back his rifle.” Bones gave him a quizzical look, but handed the weapon back to Simáo.
“I want you,” Dane said to the guide, “to take Andy here back to the boats. If you ration them, your provisions will hold the two of you long enough to get back to your village. Look out for him until we come back, and I’ll double what we paid you.”
Simáo nodded vigorously. He likely would have agreed to anything that would get him out of this place and away from the “dead ones,” whoever they were.
Dane turned to Kaylin, but she waved him away.
“Don’t even bother, Maddock. I’m staying with you all the way.”
“But we know where the ScanoGen people are now, and we’re headed right for them. You’ll be safest if you keep as far away from them as possible.”
“I’m safest with you.” Her tone was hot, but her eyes were soft. “I always have been.”
Dane could tell it was pointless to press the argument any farther. They bade Andy and Simáo goodbye and good luck, and headed down into the ditch.
The climb to the top terrace was a challenging one, and they were all scratched and dirty when they reached the top. Dane took a breather and looked around. The mound on which they stood was below the level of the tallest trees. All he could see in every direction was dark green.
Chunks of sod and rotten wood lay strewn about, indicating the opening to the tunnel had been camouflaged prior to the arrival of ScanoGen. Less work for us, Dane thought.
The way down was a dark, sloping passage with no obvious steps or handholds. Dane leaned closer for a better look, and crinkled his nose at the dank, musty air.
“Too bad there’s no rain,” Bones said, kneeling down next to him. “This would make one hell of a waterslide.”
Dane chuckled. “Actually, I know we haven’t had any luck since we left the main branch of the Xingu, but if we can get a signal, we should try to raise Corey on the sat phone before we go down there. Maybe Jimmy can pinpoint our location before we go in.”
“What’s the matter, Maddock?” Bones elbowed him. “Afraid we’re going to get us a little Jules Verne action going on underground? Maybe slide to the center of the earth?”
“Afraid we’ll get to the bottom and have no way back up is more like it. I’m surprised the ScanoGen people didn’t secure a rope before they went down, in case they had to climb back out.”
“Well, we can’t all be as smart as you, Maddock.”
Matt tried, but was unable to get any connection with the sat phone. Dane wondered what Corey was thinking right now, sitting and waiting for them to check in, and hearing nothing. Everyone took a moment to secure their packs and get ready to move.