Demon Seed

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Camp site

After the morgue officials placed Emily into the back of the ambulance, Ross walked over to the Provincial Police chief, Hector, and asked him when the body would be ready to be sent to her husband in the states.

“It should be ready by tomorrow.  They will properly preserve the body for shipment and it will be taken care of by our embassy for her husband.” Hector explained. “We will do our best to keep it respectful and get her to her spouse quickly.  Please assure him of our sorrow and our assurance that we will figure out what creature did this.”

“Thank you, senor.  I’m sure he will know this but it is reassuring.”  Ross said as he watched the truck pull away.

The phone call Courtney had made yesterday was a really hard one, but she needed to contact Cameron quickly so that he could absorb what happened and make arrangements quickly.  Courtney went back to her tent to lie down until she heard the trucks pull up to the site.

As she left her tent, she saw a very large Mexican man step out of a Provincial Police truck and walk over to Ross and shake his hand.  She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was apparent that the police Chief was disturbed by what he saw and heard.  The technicians walked over to where Emily lay and one man turned and vomited into the sand.

The other technician just laughed and started to lay out a body bag to put her remains in.  They seemed very professional and quickly gathered her body and zipped it into the bag.  This caused Courtney to cry softly again at the thought of not seeing Emily alive again.

The bag was placed gently into the back of the van and the doors closed.  The morgue team drove off and Ross walked away from the police chief and walked towards her.

“Hector assured me that they would get her to Cameron later tomorrow.  They would preserve her body and quickly place her in a cooled container.”  Ross noticed Courtney lightly crying and pulled her into his arms to allow her some comfort.

“I can’t believe this happened.  It must have happened while we were in bed and we never heard a fucking thing!  I am so sorry Emily; I should have been there with her instead of being with you.  I can’t imagine how Cameron is feeling and what she went through before she died!”  Courtney cried into Ross’s chest as he held her.

Ross felt the loss as well, but as a seasoned soldier who has dealt with death many times, he has become immune to the feelings Courtney was experiencing.  He wasn’t cold, he was just able to process it and leave it behind.  The military is no place for sentimental fools I guess.

“Go back to the tent and relax for a bit.  I am going to talk to Meaghan and Tracy and see what needs to be done before dark.” Ross instructed Courtney.  She nodded lightly and walked away.

Ross headed to Meaghan’s equipment tent and saw her standing near the door with a faraway look in her eyes.  “Meaghan, you okay?”

Meaghan seemed to come out of her stupor and focused on Ross.  “I am just thinking about what I said to her last and what she went through.  I am also wondering how Cameron is.  It is just so hard to imagine so many things.” 

Ross just stood there listening to her.  “I was looking at the equipment and noticed that a camera was left on by someone who used it yesterday.”  Meaghan picked up a small camera and plugged it into a nearby computer.  She turned it on and rewound it before she turned to Ross.

“Watch this.  You will see a dark shape come towards Emily’s tent, tear the side and grab her.  The reason we did not hear her scream will become evident when you see this.”

Ross watched the video come on and he began to watch the attack unfold on the screen.  The large creature’s eyes glowed faint red and it was big, at least seven feet tall and had a huge, muscular torso.  It had no clothes on, and did not seem to have any scales or fur.

Ross watched the attack and the monster carrying Emily off with its hand over her mouth.  Or head actually, because its hand was as large as her entire head and could cover her face easily.  It carried her effortlessly away into the night to her gruesome demise.

“So, what do you think?  Ever see anything like that before?  I haven’t and I’m sure anyone who has, is probably dead.  This is just weird Ross.  What are we going to tell Cameron when he asked what killed her or anyone else for that matter?”

Ross stepped away from the screen, looked at Meaghan and walked out of the tent towards his backpack.  He picked it up and walked away from the camp site.  Meaghan watched him go and went back to her work.

Ross walked out of sight of the camp and anyone’s hearing and dug out his satellite phone again.  He dialed the number he did before and waited for the answer.  When the call connected, Ross said the words he hated to say “Get me Gallow!”