Tommy climbed down next to his friend, still working his shoulder back and forth. "You know if this is the place where the boomerang is hidden, we might need some tools for digging and such," he said. His hope was to delay things by a few hours while Jack's men went to the nearest town to buy supplies.
His hopes were dashed the second he saw two of the guards walk around the front of the pickup, carrying backpacks with shovels, picks, a mattock, and crow bars hanging off the sides.
"Oh," Tommy said, realizing his plan was an instant failure.
The guards handed the packs to the three prisoners.
"So I guess you want us to carry these then?"
"Very astute of you," Jack replied. "Now move."
The climb up Mount Yengo might as well have been Everest for Tommy. While Reece and Sean were accustomed to the rigors of exercise, Tommy's lack of fitness revealed itself after the first four minutes of hiking.
The trail was steep in spite of the twists and turns carving up the mountain. Tommy stopped to catch his breath every five minutes but was ushered ahead with a rifle barrel in his back.
"Don't suppose you boys brought us any water?" Reece asked after they'd been hiking for twenty minutes.
The cool mountain air seemed to disappear in the wake of the group's strenuous hike. Thirst scratched their throats as sweat rolled down their faces.
The guards had bottles of water in mesh holders on the sides of their backpacks but offered none to the prisoners. Instead, they casually took intermittent drinks during the ascent.
"He's right," Tommy said in between gasps for air. "It's… it's important to stay… to stay hydrated. You wouldn't want one of us to die from heat stroke, would you?"
"Pretty sure you're going to be just fine," Jack said. "We'll give you some water when you get to the top."
"I… was… afraid… you'd say that." Tommy grunted and kept moving.
Despite Sean's high fitness level, he too started struggling. Most of his exercise regimen revolved around sprint training, some slow jogs, and hitting the weights a few times each week. He wasn't accustomed to carrying forty pounds of gear up a steep incline. In his youth he'd done a little backpacking here and there, but not enough to make a difference in the here and now.
Thirty minutes into the hike, the forest opened up to a wide meadow that stretched three hundred yards from left to right. It was covered in tall golden grasses atop shorter green fescue. Across the meadow, the forest continued up the mountain, but there was no trail to be found.
Reece stopped in a patch of grass and turned around to face the others. "You guys do realize that no one is to go beyond this point, right?"
Jack stepped forward through the ranks and drew his pistol, leveling it at Reece's abdomen. "Keep going."
"You don't understand, mate. That's Aborigine sacred ground just beyond those trees. Bad juju to go up there."
Sean and Tommy exchanged a curious, sidelong glance. They weren't sure if Reece was serious or just trying to catch a breather. There was no way Jack was going to let them stop now, sacred ground or not.
"You and your friends said what we're looking for is up there on the top of that mountain. Now either you're lying, or you're not. So, I can kill you right now and leave all three of you here for the animals to feast on, or you can lead on."
Reece looked back at the two Americans. He sighed. "Okay, mate. It's your funeral."
"Soon—"
"Soon it will be ours?" Sean cut Jack off before he could finish his sentence. "Clever. Thank you so much for that."
Jack spun around with fury in his eyes. He clenched his jaw and then marched ahead behind Reece.
Sean started moving forward. He didn't look at his friend as he spoke. "You'd think these villains would have some original material every once in a while."
Reece reached the edge of the woods and paused for a second. He looked down one side of the boundary and then the other before glancing back at Sean and Tommy.
He had a genuinely scared look on his face, not from the guns pointed at him but from something else. It was almost as if he believed the place was haunted.
"What's the holdup?" Jack asked. "Get on with it."
"Spirits," Reece said. "Spirits of the ancient ones are here."
He looked like he'd seen a ghost, the color in his skin fading to a pale ash.
"There'll be one more if you don't move."
Reece lifted his foot and set it down on the leaves just beyond the meadow. He let out a sigh of relief and then took another step, then another. Gradually, he picked up speed until he was deep inside the forest once more.
The climb steepened for a short while, pushing the travelers to their maximum capacity. Tommy wavered back and forth as he pressed on. He'd almost reached the point of delirium. Sean knew if he didn't get some water soon, he'd probably collapse. They'd not had anything to drink since yesterday, not that he knew of at least. He doubted their captors had taken the time to give them liquids while they slumbered in a drug-induced sleep.
Tommy tripped on a root and fell to the ground. He stayed down for a minute, his breath coming in heavy, labored groans.
"Get him up," Jack ordered to the guards.
Two of the men rushed to Tommy's sides and picked him up, wedging their forearms under his armpits. Tommy wobbled for a second, and Sean stepped up close behind him.
"Let me take his pack," Sean said.
Tommy tried to protest but couldn't muster the energy.
Jack eyed Sean suspiciously as he considered the offer.
"Fine," he said after half a minute. "Give him his friend's pack."
One of the guards slipped Tommy out of the bag and dropped it at Sean's feet. The man stepped back cautiously, keeping his assault rifle aimed at the former agent. It was the guy Sean had been staring at in the back of the truck. Sean tipped his head upward at the guy and fired the same sardonic smirk as he'd done before.
The guard swallowed, trying to keep the stern look on his face. It was too late. The guy was already beaten. Now all Sean needed was the cards to play.
Near the top of the mountain, the ground began to gradually level off. There wasn't much to see in the way of the surrounding countryside. The trees and vegetation around the summit had grown so thick it was nearly impossible to see off the mountain. A large rock formation stood in a small clearing on the other side of the peak. The cleared area couldn't have been more than forty feet across on all sides. Smaller rocks littered the ground near the trees.
Reece slowed his pace as he drew closer to the clearing and stopped short next to a stand of skinny trees. He stared into the rough circle at something in the center.
The others gathered around and immediately caught sight of what had Reece's attention. Tommy was still gasping for air, but he'd recovered enough in the last minute of easy walking to take a look at the anomaly.
A massive flat stone lay across the ground in the middle of the circle. On it was carved a long, skinny figure holding a boomerang over its head. Dark hands surrounded the being, outlined by white.
Sean looked over at Tommy and then at Reece.
"What next?"
Tommy took a cautious step forward and examined the stone. He crouched down to one knee and ran a finger over the smooth surface. He craned his neck and surveyed the area, wondering if there were any other drawings or anything that might be a clue to another step in their journey. He found nothing.
He stood up and turned around to face the group.
"Is this it?" Jack asked, motioning to the big rock with his pistol.
Tommy swallowed. His throat was parched. He needed water badly but managed to say one sentence. "Yeah, I think it might be."
Jack puckered his lips and nodded, scanning the stone from one end to the other. "Okay. Let's get you boys some tools so you can start digging."