The Eden Created, and the Hell to Create it

Chapter 2: A Beachside Pyramid

The squad of marines hid in the tree line, observing the object for what felt like hours, but was in reality only a few seconds. Jack stood up and began to slowly approach the tall, gleaming, silver pyramid. It stood only a foot taller than him, a proud 6'2, and was about as wide on all 3 sides. Jack reached out a gloved hand to touch the strange device, only to feel a slight vibration hum through his body as he touched it. He removed his glove placed his bear hand on its side, and found it cooler to the touch than he had expected. He removed his gas mask as he then tapped the bottom of it with his boot. "I think this might be it!" he called over as he waved over to his men sitting behind him.
"Excellent work, Staff Sergeant!" exclaimed the muffled voice of Lieutenant Patrick, as everyone else gathered around it, removing their gas masks. "Now let's see if anyone is home shall we?" Patrick removed his helmet and handed off his rifle before politely to Lance Corporal Kachima knocking on the pyramid. "Uh, hello?" he asked, inspecting the pyramid closer. "Excuse me! Is there a representative that I can speak to? I am Lieutenant Patrick Aullmen of the United States Marines, here to open up diplomatic communications with your leader."
Sgt Dillion walked to the side of Jack. "How long do you think he's fixin' to keep this up?" he whispered, hiding his face from the officer.
"Until he sees me place the breaching charge in about 5 seconds," Jack responded by pulling out a large plate-shaped device with a timer, antenna, and a lot of plastic explosives on it, and walking over to the lieutenant who seemed to think that they had opened up a dialogue.
"Now if you could please provide a representative..." Jack nudged past the officer and began to affix the explosive. "Uh, staff sergeant... What are you doing?" The look of concern and dread washed over the face of Patrick as Jack set the timer.
"Sorry to interrupt your negotiation, sir." Jack pressed the start button on the timer before taking Patrick by the shoulder and walking with him away from the device. "I just don't think you knocked loud enough." The explosion nearly took the pants off of Patrick, as well as nearly making him void his bowels, while also startling him at how little force he felt after the explosion. He thought being as close as they were they would have at least been pushed back onto the ground. "It's a shape charge, sir. All the energy of the explosion is forced inward on our target." Jack joyfully slapped the young man on the arm and smiled before turning to the pyramid. A wave of disappointment hit him like a snowball in winter. With all the power of the shaped charge, all he managed to do was scorch the surface of the strange pyramid.
"Do you have anything louder, Staff Sergeant?" joked Patrick, before grabbing his radio and calling back to their command. Jack approached the strange pyramid and placed his hand on the surface where the explosive once stood. he quickly jerked his hand away but was surprised to find it was not because it was hot. it wasn't even warm. it was just as cold as it was before. Jack studied the object inquisitively hoping to ascertain some purpose from it, when he noticed a weird shudder out of the corner of his eye as if light itself was folding. he narrowed his focus to the spot where he thought he saw something but saw nothing. the only thing he felt at that moment was the cold of the pyramid and the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched.
"Staff Sergeant!" Jack's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of his overly eager lieutenant. "Just got word from the COC. We are to meet up with a second team for relief." Jack looked over to the lieutenant, then back to the spot that occupied the back of his mind like a nagging parasite. He let the thought drift away as he walked to rejoin the squad.
"We have to go to them? they couldn't send a boat?" Jack was partially not surprised by this, but it certainly didn't make it any more tolerable. if there was one thing that somehow never seemed to cross the minds of those endowed with rank it was common sense. He motioned to Dillion, who hurriedly jogged over to him.
"I don't know, that's just what they told me," responded Patrick
"Then next time ask them! force them to think" Jack turned to his sergeant, who wore a puzzled yet concerned look on his face while the lieutenant continued to talk into the radio. Jack could almost hear the question before it was asked.
"Jack, I got a bad feelin' about this place," Dillion seldom used Jack's first name unless something truly upset or concerned him.
"I think I know what you mean,"  They both took an inquisitive look into the forest.
"I don't think we're alone out here," Dillion said. "I feel crazy sayin' this but I think we're being watched."
"No, I feel it too." Jack turned around to see if the lieutenant was able to derive anything from the COC when he saw it again. A shudder out of the corner of his eye. he quickly turned around to try and find the culprit but there was nothing there. "Did you see that!?" Jack asked. Dillion shook his head, oblivious to the strange occurrence. he walked slowly step by step towards where he thought he had seen the anomaly. A small bush, roughly half his size. Each step closer filled him with an anxiety he had not felt in a very long time. five feet, then 3 feet, then 1 foot. He reached his hand out to touch where he thought he had seen it, as he put his left hand on his sidearm, and began to slowly draw it up in anticipation.
"Staff Sergeant!" The loud shout caused Jack to jump back and look back at the young lieutenant, then quickly back to the spot. ignoring the lieutenant he leaned forward, pushing aside some of the branches on the bush to look behind it more clearly, his heart racing as he found... nothing. nothing was there. he looked up, left and right but found nothing, until he looked down. there, in the sand were two fresh imprints. they weren't exactly footprints, unless whoever made them wore extremely square-toed boots, and walked around on his toes, but there was a definite angular shape to it. The disturbed sand also showed evidence that somehow while making no noise this person managed to jump, but where? Looking up yielded nothing. not a scrape on a branch, or anyone hanging. he looked around and behind the prints and found that there weren't even any prints leading up to them, as if this person jumped into that spot from who knows where, landed without shifting his feet, and then launched himself to who knows where else.
Jack's mind began to race as he began to frantically look around him, hoping to find some evidence of whoever was standing at that spot, how long they had stood there, what all they saw, and most importantly, whether were they armed. did his entire squad and himself have a gun to their head the entire time they were here? were they being watched since the moment they entered the jungle, or only just now that they found this mysterious pyramid? did they take their use of explosives to try and enter the pyramid as a threat? Is that why they left, to go get reinforcements?
"Jack, are you ok?" Dillion's voice snapped Jack out of his trance. he looked over from his initial hyperfixation to his comrade only for him to notice how heavily he was sweating, and how now the entire squad was looking at him.
"We're not alone out here anymore, Dillion," Jack whispered, hoping to keep this revelation from the rest of the unblooded.
"Are you sure?" Dillion slowly walked over to where Jack was franticly investigating quickly noticing the prints and coming to the same conclusion.
"Have you seen any weird bending of light, like a curtain blowing in the wind?" Jack struggled to find other ways to describe the anomalies he kept seeing.
"Just some weird heat waves." Dillion began to realize that it was currently sixty degrees and cloudy, and his face went pale. "Oh my god." Hurredly he racked the bolt to his rifle, chambering a round.
"Keep calm, but make sure everyone stays on their toes." Jack turned and slowly made his way to the lieutenant who now looked more confused than ever.
"What's your deal, Staff Sergeant?" The lieutenant's apparent disappointment showed blatantly on his face, as well as in his voice. He aggressively pushed the radio into his pouch. "They didn't want to expend the resources when the rally point is less than a day of hiking away. They want us there by sundown."
Jack lightly gestured to the men lining up to move out once again. "You tell them that?" The men were exhausted. seeing as most of them were green, and still wearing their first pair of issued socks. "Give me that damned thing." Jack snatched the radio out of the lieutenant as he struggled to get the pouch secured around his belt. "COC, COC, this is Joker, are you reading me alright?"
"Joker, this is the COC," the radio crackled to life and the sound of a young radio operator came through "We got you loud and clear, send your traffic."
"You do realize you've had us out here searching for a week, and now you want us to travel another 30 miles in less than 5 hours." Jack's felt anger fuming in him as he continued.
"That an an A-firm, Joker. Is there an issue with that?" Jack took a long deep breath before answering again. As Staff Sergeant Jack berated and scolded the operator on the other end of the radio, Sgt Dillion rallied together the troops still awaiting orders to move.
"Isn't that a pleasant earful?" Dillion said. The few troops that were sitting down stood up to join the group circle forming around the sergeant. "Corpsman, is everyone in tip-top shape?" He asked, despite noticing the slight limp in several of the men.
"A few sores, and a blister here and there," the young corpsman Jessica Walters responded. "Nothing to keep them off their feet." She tightened the laces of her boot, clearly having just changed her socks. She wasn't green, but she was still unblooded. smart, and quick as a whip, she almost religiously took care of herself. when she hiked, she changed her socks constantly, drank tons of water, and attempted to pass on the same practices to the Marines assigned to her care, although her pleads often fell on deaf ears as Marines, being Marines, almost seemed to find new and bold ways to destroy their bodies.
Dillion gave a half-hearted nod "Alright. get your helmet back on. got some bad news for you all." Jessica brushed her dark red hair back behind her ears, before placing the green and black digital camouflage helmet firmly on her head and fastening the mask back onto her face, all while the Marines began to lean forward in anticipation for the coming disappointing words that hung on Sargent Dillion's tongue. "Top and I found evidence of possible activity," Dillion waited for the murmurs and gasps to settle down before continuing. "We don't know how long they've been watching us, or how many of them there are, but that's all the more reason to be vigilant on this Ruck back."
"And how long is this ruck back, Sargent?" asked the more senior of the unblooded. A Corporal named Charlie Chathwick had only been assigned to their squad shortly after Dillion and Jack's last major tour of duty. A non-commissioned officer who had unfortunately no prior leadership or combat experience, but was clever enough, and knowledgeable on military tactics, and disciplines. A decent enough leader, and a well-needed iron fist when needed.
Dillion drooped his head low, dreading the unfortunate update they all eagerly awaited. "30 miles," he sighed out. wave upon wave of moans and 'this is bullshit' came from the squad. "And they expect us at the rally point by sundown." Shouts and objections immediately became more vocal.
"Who do they think we are, the green berets?" came the voice of Lance Corporal Kachima.
"No, they think we're Marines!" Jack interrupted. "Good news, we're not traveling 30 miles. The COC and I came to an understanding. We're only going 15, and meeting our relief team there." Several sighs of relief seemed to come from out as the news broke. "But as the sergeant said, there is a good chance we're being watched, so helmets and masks on, and rifles ready. I don't want to get caught by surprise by anything going forward. Rah?"
"Rah!" responded the group, and a symphony of weapon charging came from the group as they strapped their masks to their faces, and fell in line to start making their way out.
The final miles seemed to last forever. each mile longer than the last. Jack felt he could see a new shimmer every couple of steps and it took every instinct imaginable to not immediately shoot in that direction. At least it was almost over. They approached the clearing located approximately 15 miles from the original rally point. They arrived quite a bit earlier than the relief so they set up in a small defensive circle and waited until nightfall.
A few hours passed as Jack walked back and forth, patrolling his lines when he finally saw the silhouettes of the relief squad. He held up a small LED and flashed the code they both agreed on. Four flashes each one second in duration with a one-second pause between each flash. They responded with the same. "That's them," Jack stated. "The rest of you stay in cover. Dillion, LT, and I will go say hi.
"Staff Sergeant, Those aren't Marine uniforms," stated Lance Corporal Kachima. "Not a Military issue either. These guys are packing some serious firepower."
"Special ops maybe. The file was very 'need to know'" responded the lieutenant. "Let's get everyone ready to get out of here, Staff Sergeant" Jack was hardly paying attention. An almost paranoia plagued his mind, and he found himself continuously checking his peripherals. He hadn't seen anything in a while, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the jungle, or because they moved outside the area of the pyramid. "Staff Sargeant!" Jack snapped back to reality and turned to acknowledge Lieutenant Patrick. "What is going on with you, you haven't been yourself since the beach."
Jack waved off his accusations before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his packet of smokes. "Don't worry, I'm fine." He said pulling one from the pack and placing it in his mouth without thinking.
"Is that Contraband?" Patrick was both disgusted and yet not surprised. Jack let out an annoyed sigh, not even humoring the idea of responding and lighting the cigarette. He was not planning on dropping the guard of his men until they were safely behind friendly lines. He turned his head back to the platoon and gave the universal signal for 'not gonna happen.' Dillion rose from his spot and stood beside Jack as the relief squad slowly approached.
"They're sure taking their sweet time," he commented. "With the firepower they're packing you'd think they were planning on trouble." Dillion wasn't kidding. high caliber rifles, explosives, breaching tools, and belt-fed monstrosities.
The platoon had finally approached their line, and Lieutenant Patrick went to meet their platoon leader. a heavier-set individual, sporting a rather expensive rifle, and a flashy nickel-coated high-caliber pistol. Jack took to the left side of Patrick, and Dillion to the right. "You're late," Jack stated.
"You're early," said the man, slightly out of breath. "Wasn't my idea to change the rally point!" He poked a fat gloved finger onto Jack's armor vest and Jack swiped it away.
"You spend a week in the jungle, you can pick the rally point next time." He rebuttled flicking his cigarette butt at the fat merc's vest. The chubby man turned beat red. he looked like he was about to fly into a tirade until Patrick interrupted.
"Anyways, The pyramid we found is about 15 miles to the west on the beach," he said, pointing off into the distance. "We didn't notice anything out of the ordinary."
"Except the shimmers." Jack interrupted.
"But there was nothing concrete." Patrick took off his helmet letting loose his short blonde hair. "Any questions?"
The lead merc shrugged and turned to his companions who shared an affirmative nod "Nothing from us. We're ready to take over from here."
"Excellent! We'll get out of your way" Patrick said turning around, staring daggers at Jack. A grin slowly crept across the face of the merc. Jack began to turn back towards his men when suddenly out of the corner of Jack's eye he noticed something else. It wasn't a shimmer this was shiny. Jack turned back to see what it was only to see what the Merc was grinning about. He had taken his big shiny pistol and aimed it right towards the back of the head of Lieutenant Patrick.