Part 25 (1/2)

AUGUST 14, 3:12 A. M.

AMAZON JUNGLE.

Atop the island knoll, Nate stood with the other civilians, ringed by the Ranger team, which was now down to eight members.One for each of the civilians, Nate thought,like personal bodyguards.

”How about using another of your napalm bombs to clear a path through the b.u.g.g.e.rs?” Frank asked, standing near Captain Waxman. ”Roll it down the slope, then duck for cover.”

”We'd all be dead. If the heat blast didn't fry us, then we'd be pinned down between a burning forest and the poisonous b.a.s.t.a.r.ds:”

Frank sighed, staring out into the dark forests. ”How about your grenades? We could lob them in series, creating a swath through them.”

Waxman frowned. ”It'd be risky to deploy them so close to us, and no guarantee that it would kill enough of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds among all these tree trunks. I say we hold the hill, try to last until daybreak:”

Frank crossed his arms, little pleased with this plan.

Around the knoll, occasional fiery blasts from the flamethrowers ignited the night as Corporal Okamoto and Private Camera maintained sentry posts on either slope. Though it had been half an hour since sight-ing one of them, the beasts were still out there. The surrounding forests had gone deathly quiet, no monkey calls, no birdsong. Even the insects seemed to have died down to a whispery buzz and whine.

But beyond the reach of their flashlights, the leaves still rustled as unseen lurkers crept through the underbrush.

Night scopes focused on the surrounding waters revealed creatures still hopping into and out of the stream. Nathan's earlier a.s.sessment seemed to be accurate. The creatures, gill-breathers, needed to return to the waters occasionally to revive themselves.

Nearby, Manny knelt in the leaf-strewn dirt, working by flashlight. Kelly and Kouwe stood behind his shoulder. Earlier, Manny had risked his life to dash into the forest's fringe to collect one of the beasts stunned by a blast of flame. Though partially charbroiled, it was a decent specimen. The creature was about a foot long from the tip of its tail to its razor-toothed mouth. Large black eyes protruded, giving it a nearly 360-degree view of its surroundings. Strong articulated limbs ended in webbed and suckered toes almost as long as the body itself.

As the others watched, Manny was performing a rapid dissection. The Brazilian biologist worked deftly with a scalpel and forceps from Kelly's med kit.

”This thing is amazing,” Manny finally mumbled.

Nate joined Kelly and Kouwe as the biologist explained.

”It's clearly some form of chimera. An amalgam of more than one species.

”How so?” Kelly asked.

Manny s.h.i.+fted aside and pointed with his thumb forceps. ”Nathan was right. Though its skin is not scaled like a fish, it definitely has the breathing system of an aquatic species. Gills, no lungs. But its legs-noticethe band-ing on the skin-are definitely amphibious. The striping pattern is very characteristic of Phobobates trivittatus, the striped poison-dart frog, the largest and most toxic member of the frog family.”

”So you're saying it's some mutated form of this species?” Nate asked.

”I thought so at first. It looks almost like a tadpole whose growth was arrested at the stage where gills were still present and only its hind legs had formed. But as I dissected further, I became less convinced.

First, and most obvious, is that its size is way out of proportion. This thing must weigh close to five pounds. Monstrously gigantic for even the largest species of dart frog:'

Manny rolled the dissected creature over and pointed to its eyes and teeth. ”Additionally, its skull structure is all misshapen. Rather than flat-tened horizontally like a frog's, the cranium is flattened vertically, more like a fish's. In fact, the skull conformation, jaw, and teeth are almost identical in size and shape to a common Amazonian river predator-Serrasalmus rhombeus:”Manny glanced up from his handiwork. ”The black piranha:”

Kelly leaned away. ”That's impossible:”

”If this thing weren't right in front of me, I'd agree:” Manny sat back. ”I've worked with Amazonian species all my life, and I've seen nothing like it. A true chimera. A single creature that shares the biological features of both frog and fish:”

Nate eyed the creature. ”How could that be?”

Manny shook his head. ”I don't know. But how does a man regenerate a limb? I think the presence of such a chimera suggests we're on the right trail. Something is out there, something your father's expedition discov-ered, something with a distinct mutating ability.”

Nate stared at the dissected ruins.What the h.e.l.l was out there?

A call arose from Private Camera. Her sentry post faced the northern slope of the knoll. ”They're on the move again!”

Nate straightened. The rustling from her side of the forest had grown louder. It sounded as if the entire jungle were stirring.

Camera flamed the lower slope. Her fiery jets pushed back the dark-ness. Reflected in the fire were hundreds of tiny eyes, covering both the forest floor and the trees. One of the creatures sprang from its perch on the limb of a palm tree and bounded into the fire zone. There was a short chat-ter of automatic rifle fire, and the creature was shredded to a b.l.o.o.d.y mush.

”Everybody back!” Camera called. ”They're coming!”

From the trees and underbrush, small bodies started to leap and bound toward them, oblivious to the fire and bullets. The creatures were determined to overrun them with their sheer numbers.

Nate flashed back on the Indian ma.s.sacre site. It was happening all over again. He swung his shotgun from his shoulder, aimed, and blasted a creature in midair as it leaped from a branch over Carrera's head.

Gobbets of flesh rained down. As a group, they were forced to vacate the knoll's summit and retreat down the southern face. Gunfire and flames lit the night. Flashlights danced, making every shadow s.h.i.+ft and jerk.

Leading the charge down the southern slope, Corporal Okamoto swathed jets of fire before them. ”It still looks clear this way!” he called out.

Nate risked a peek his way. Distantly through the forest, he could make out the other fork of the stream below as it swept around the southern flank of the hill.

”Why aren't any of the creatures on this side of the hill?” Anna asked, her face flushed.

Zane answered, his eyes wide as he kept glancing behind him. ”They probably rallied all their numbers on the far side for this final a.s.sault:”

Nate stared toward the stream below. It was wide, smooth, and quiet, but he knew better. He remembered the large capybara rodent flushed from the forest and racing along the river, where it was set upon by the predators. ”They're herding us,” he mumbled.

”What?” Kelly asked.

”They want us close to the water. The pack is driving us to the river:”

Manny heard him. ”I think Nate's right. Despite their ability to move on land for short distances, they're basically aquatic. They'd want their meal as close to water as possible before taking it down:”

Kelly looked behind her to the line of Rangers flaming and firing along their back trail. ”What choice do we have?”

Down the slope, Okamoto slowed as they neared the river, clearly sus-picious of the water, too. The corporal turned to Captain Waxman behind him. ”Sir, I'll try to cross first. Like last time.”

Waxman nodded. ”Careful, corporal:”

Okamoto headed for the stream.

”No!” Nate called. ”I'm sure it's a trap:”

Okamoto glanced to him, then to his captain, who waved him forward again.

”We have to get off this island,” Waxman said.

”Wait,” Manny said, stepping forward, his voice pained. ”I . . . I can send Tor-tor instead:”