The sky had cleared up somewhat and a few stars poked through. The weather report called for intermittent showers through Saturday. The temperature was down into the low fifties and Riley could see his breath puffing as they talked.
Hossey started out with the one remaining question Riley had about the past events. "How did the Synbats escape?"
Merrit looked at Hossey, then glanced around furtively. She spoke in a low whisper. "There was a power failure on Sunday night — actually early Monday morning. In response to the loss of primary power, the security guard lowered the status on the containment on the Synbats. Then those three escapees that Colonel Lewis is using for his cover story arrived at the lab. I don't know why, but they killed the security guard and then broke into the lab. We found all three of their bodies the next morning. The security guard was gone, but they found his body in a van driven by the sister of one of the escapees."
"Shit!" Riley exclaimed. "You mean you already had four dead people when we showed up here Monday morning?"
Merrit moved closer. "The security guard was killed by the convicts, but the three of them were killed by the Synbats."
"Great. That's just fucking great." Riley clenched his fists. He wanted to hit someone or something very badly.
"We thought the collars had terminated them by the time you showed up," Merrit reminded him.
Riley closed his eyes and did a slow count to ten, trying to control his anger. He knew that Merrit was not responsible for making the decision to withhold information from his team.
Hossey summed it up. "So right now the Synbats have killed a whole bunch of people and we've managed to get only one of them, losing a helicopter in the process."
Riley pointed at the TOC. "Doesn't anybody in there realize that it isn't just luck that these things have been a step ahead of us the whole time? The Synbats have had some sort of plan, while we've been pulling stuff out of our hat in reaction to them."
Merrit was confused. "I thought you had a plan now."
Hossey tried to make her understand. "We do, but we're still leaving a lot of initiative up to the Synbats. I've tried telling General Trollers that it isn't as simple as it appears, but he sees it differently. He feels that the attack on the Civil War reenactors was a sign of desperation because Sergeant Major Powers flushed them out of their lair. Trollers thinks they're on the run now. What do you think about the attack on the reenactors?"
Merrit was quiet for a few moments. "I don't think they would have attacked without a purpose. Every move they've made so far had a reason. I think they probably considered the reenactors part of the force that was after them and attacked to strike back. Those men were armed and acting in a military manner. I think it's reasonable to assume that the Synbats couldn't tell the difference between real and simulated."
"But the bottom line is that they are intelligent creatures, right? And they know they're being hunted," Hossey interjected, cutting to the heart of the matter.
"There's no doubt of that," Merrit replied.
"As intelligent creatures who want to survive, what do you think they will do now?"
"They have to find a new lair. They'll need a source of food for the young and someplace to hide for several days at least."
"Then the plan for tomorrow should work?" Hossey wanted to know.
Merrit shook her head. "I really don't know. They know they're being chased, but they certainly can't know the extent of the net around them. As I said before, I think they will try to hide. They already did that once at the cliffs."
"What about escape?" Riley asked.
"To where?" Merrit replied.
"I don't know." Riley thought for a few seconds. "Maybe we ought to go look at the cliff where they were hiding and get an idea of what they were doing. That might help us figure out where they might try to hide next."
Hossey quickly warmed to that idea. "We'll send you in at first light."
The regiment's horses had broken free of their picket line during all the commotion earlier in the evening and disappeared. Now the army people were telling them to vacate the area immediately and go home. Louis spent a fruitless five minutes arguing with some army major. He was damned if he'd leave behind eight valuable horses, six of which weren't even his.
The major had been sympathetic but unyielding. He gave Louis a vague promise that they'd be notified when the park was reopened after the escapees were captured, and then they could come back in and recover their animals. When Louis had asked when that might be, so he could decide whether to stay in the area or go home, the officer had told him to go home.
"Fuck it," Louis muttered. He turned to Jeremiah. "Let's get out of here."
They walked back to the main parking area where their rig was parked. The brothers slid the ramp into their trailer and shut the back doors, making it ready for travel. They got in the cab and Louis started the engine.
"You ready?" he asked. He received no response at all from his brother. Jeremiah had not uttered a word since the attack. As far as Louis was concerned, the sooner they got home the better. The army was full of shit about the escaped prisoners too. Why the hell would escaped prisoners have been up in the trees? And there had been something weird about those "escapees" from the faint glimpses he'd had of them. They hadn't looked quite normal. Louis didn't envy the regimental commander who had volunteered to fly up to Chicago out of Nashville and notify the families of the four dead men.
They followed the army guides who waved them out of the camp and onto Lick Creek Road. Army vehicles, machine guns mounted on top and headlights blazing, were parked all along the road. Louis reached the Trace at the Golden Pond Visitor Center, then followed a soldier's lighted baton and turned right onto Route 68.
At the bridge over Lake Barkley, roadblocks manned by army personnel were set up in center span, blocking any traffic from going out. On the far side of the bridge, the Kentucky State Police had roadblocks facing the other way. Passing the last of the army people, Louis breathed a sigh of relief. He could see helicopters with searchlights flying over the water on either side of the lake. They were damn serious about sealing off the park.
They rolled through Cadiz, then headed east along 68; at I-24 they would turn north for home. Louis decided to drive straight through and get his brother away from this place as fast as possible.
Chapter 18
Three shadowy figures were standing in the tree line, two with something on their backs. Merrit knew she should be feeling fear but for some reason she didn't. Instead she felt almost peaceful. She started walking across the grass toward them, her hands held high, indicating that she didn't have a weapon and meant no harm. The Synbats held their position, their golden eyes unblinking.
Merrit wanted to talk, but she knew they wouldn't understand the words. How could she explain what was happening anyway? They were the hunted and she was one of the hunters. The Synbats finally moved, slowly turning to head back into the deep darkness of the forest. Merrit halted where she was. They all disappeared, except one, which looked over its shoulder at her. She stared. It was no longer a Synbat but a human face — a man. She recognized the face with a start; it was her father. She started walking toward him, drawn by something beyond her control. As she got closer he changed back into the Synbat and the mouth was wide open, fangs bared. She turned and ran.
Robin Merrit almost fell off the chair as she awoke, her head jerking up from the desktop where it had been resting. She was damp with perspiration. Her unfocused eyes swept over to the door of the van, half expecting to see her father standing there. As the fuzz faded from her vision, she recognized Colonel Lewis silhouetted against the glow of lights from the communications console.