𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑹𝒀 - James Conrad

eight

8|packard

"Fox Five, come back." The radio roared to life, surprising everyone. "Is there anyone out there?"

"Hey! This is Fox Five. We hear you." Slivko said excitedly down the communication device. "Yeah! We're on a boat. We're on a boat headed up north on a river."

"A boat?" Mills voice became easier to hear. "Where'd y'all get a boat?"

"We met this, like, crazy Santa Claus, time traveler guy from World War two. You'll meet him." Hank and Dorothy both chuckled at Slivko's description of the man.

"What kind of boat y'all got?"

"It's more of, like, a plane than a boat, really." Slivko laughed, seeming happy to hear his friend. "Let's call it a "ploat". We're on a ploat."

"We need their location, Slivko." Conrad reminded the excited soldier.

"Send up a flare so we can find you."

"Roger that, Fox Five." Colonel Packard answered instead.

"There!" Nieves pointed at the flare in the sky just in front of them. They all laughed excitedly.

"I repeat we have a visual." Slivko said happily to his Colonel. "Two klicks to our north."

"Roger that, Fox Five. Fox One out."

"We're going home!" Nieves grinned, the first time anyone had seen the man happy. But that did not last long. A strange bird swooped down and grabbed the Landsat Field Supervisor, taking him off the boat as more attacked him.

"Get down!" Conrad and Slivko aimed their weapons but it was too late, the man was dragged away into the distance as the birds ripped him apart. "He's gone."

"I don't get paid enough." Dorothy paled as she hid back into the sheltered part of the boat.

"Everybody, grab your gear. We have to keep moving." Conrad ordered as they all watched the horrific scene still playing in the sky. "We'll go ashore, meet up with Packard."

"No, no. Wait a minute!" Brooks freaked out. "Is nobody gonna say anything about the-"

"He's gone." Hank cut the geologist off. "And he ain't coming back. There's nothing to say."

"You're doing good." Dorothy patted James arm, smiling up at him as he stared down at her. She could see the worry deep in his eyes as he did not know what to do.

"Thank you." He mumbled to her before addressing the whole group. "Their flare was only two klicks north. They should be here soon."

The group left the boat after docking it and filled up their water cannisters while resting in the cover of the trees. Dorothy pulled off her shoes and stood in the water till it was up to her ankles. She was happy she decided to wear baggy shorts and an oversized shirt to the jungle with the heat.

"Careful." Conrad approached her, not trusting anything that could be in the water.

"I'll be fine." She chuckled as she crouched down to splash the water on her face. She could feel him watching her, keeping an eye out for any danger. "I am being serious about the being fine part. I'm a doctor, I know all the weak areas of a human and it's pretty much the same on animals."

"Sometimes I question your sanity." The rustling of the trees near them got louder but their fear turned to joy when the soldiers walked through the bushes.

"Slivko!" Mills ran over to his friend, quickly embracing him. Everyone greeted the other group, happy to see more people alive.

"What's your count?" Conrad asked Packard as he glanced at Dorothy who was finally coming out the water.

"What you see is what I got." Packard looked back at his soldier.

"Any injured?" Dorothy spoke up, pulling on her shoes and ready to get to work if needed.

"A few scratches." She nodded and wandered through the crowd, asking if anyone needed medical care.

"Good to meet you, fellas." Hank greeted the soldiers.

"Who the hell is this?"

"We picked up a hitch hiker."

"Lieutenant Hank Marlow of the 45th Pursuit Squad of the 15th." Hank introduced himself fully.

"You've been here since World War two?" Packard said with shock, looking over the man.

"Yes sir. I miss the parade?"

"I'll be damned." The Colonel chuckled at the strange man. "Snap to, Lieutenant."

"We're gonna get him home, sir." Conrad stated after they had done their salutes. "If we follow this river, we'll make it to the boat, and we'll make it to the north shore in time."

"That sounds good." Packard glanced down at his feet, obviously hiding something. "But we're not leaving yet. Still got a man out there, Conrad."

"Wait a second. You got someone out there?"

"Chapman." He answered. "He's with the downed Sea Stallion just west of here."

"West? We can't go west!" Hank screeched. "That's where the skull things live. We have an old saying here. "East is best, west is worse". That's why we say it. You know, southwest, we could talk about that. But you're gonna need a lot more guns if you're gonna go west."

"Guys I think we should listen to Hank." Dorothy spoke up, everyone's attention shifting to her. "This is crazy. We just witnessed a man getting ripped apart by birds."

"Hey. Your job is finding lost men, right?" Packard ignored her and looked at James.

"Okay, sir." Conrad caved in to his commands. "But if we reach that position and he's not there, we don't send out a search party. We're back here by nightfall, understood? In twenty-four hours, we have to be on the other side of this island."

"Roger that. Hear you loud and clear." He agreed before addressing the soldiers. "All right, you heard the man. Moving out in ten."