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With his helmet lamp slicing a path forward into the blackness, Ben led the
way across the empty cavern floor, heading for the lights of Alpha Base. He
was careful to stop frequently and listen. Even though he could not see them,
he knew the threemimi'swee hunters, armed with knives and spears, had fanned
out to either side, watching for any signs of thecrak'an . They moved without
lights and were as silent as phantoms. The only thing Ben could hear was the
scrape of Harry's boots on the rock behind him.
Ben switched his pistol to his other hand and wiped his palm on his trousers
leg. The fires had heated up the cavern and the pall of smoke made it
difficult to breathe. He licked at his cracked lips and removed his canteen,
flipping the top with his thumb. Careful to no more than wet his mouth, he
took a quick swig, then whispered to Harry, "I expected lots of those monsters
to be still around."
"Maybe the heat and the smoke are keeping them away."
"I don't like it. This is just too damned easy. One thing I've learned when
things look fine shit happens!"
Harry shrugged. "Be careful what you wish for, buddy."
A noise to the right drew their attention. "It's Nob'cobi," Harry said.
"C'mon. He's found something."
Ben followed Harry's bouncing lantern across the uneven floor. Nob'cobi was
crouched by a steaming pile of dung. He had a fistful of it in front of his
nose. He turned to Harry and spoke in hushed tones.
Harry translated. "He says it's fresh."
"Well, that's good." Ben crinkled his nose at the odor. "I'd hate to think it
had spoiled."
"He estimates it's less than an hour old. There's other spoor too. He's
guessing that it's a group of at least five of them. Two of them male."
"He can tell all that from sniffing shit?"
"It's their job."
"What should we do, then? Circle away from them?"
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Harry knelt and conversed in whispers with Nob'cobi. The other two hunters
stood yards away, scanning the periphery, ears twitching forward and back.
Finally Harry stood and returned to Ben. "The plan is to follow the group.
They seem to be aiming for the base. Thecrak'an travel in tight pods. As they
march, any stragglers they encounter will either join the pod or be killed by
them. So the wake of this pod should be relatively free of stray beasts."
"Yeah," Ben mumbled, kicking at the pile of damp spoor, "but if they turn
back this way, we becomecrak'an shit ourselves."
Khalid watched Linda closely, making sure she set the wires correctly. Good.
She was learning. This was the ninth charge. She had set the last three after
he demonstrated with the first two. This time, her hands hardly shook.
As he finished his charge, he watched as she furtively glanced at her watch.
He knew it was still another hour before Jason's timer ran out, and with only
six more charges to set, they were making good time. "Now push the yellow
button on the transceiver," he said to her, pointing over her shoulder. "Good,
now it's activated and awaiting my signal."
As they neared the base, Ben could see the pod ofcrak'an through the
darkness, their triangular heads and bristled crests outlined by the lights of
the camp, now just yards away.
The pod totaled seven two more had joined the group during the hour of travel
to the base. Led by the larger of the two males, the pod of females traveled
in a loose array, or "harem," as Harry described it. The smaller male,
nicknamed "Tiny Tim," trailed them. He seemed to be guarding the pod's
backside and frequently turned and ventured a ways behind the pod. He seemed
to sense that something was amiss, frequently whirling back, scenting the air
behind the group.
"Edgy son of a bitch," Harry whispered in Ben's ear as he crouched behind a
boulder next to him.
Ben nodded, wary of even speaking, fearful of attracting the beast's
attention. The journey had been tense. During the trek, the pod had
encountered a solitary belligerent male. It was attacked by the group in a
sharklike frenzy and torn to meaty ribbons.
Remembering the sight, Ben shivered. Out here in the middle of the open
cavern floor, there were few places to hide. If they should attract the pod's
attention . . . He shook his head, forcing the image from his mind.
He peeked around the boulder. He could see that the pod was just now entering
the periphery of the base, fading into the shadows of the remaining buildings.
"It's clear," Harry said softly, waving to the trio ofmimi'swee hunters.
"Let's go."
Ben stood from his crouch and stepped to follow Harry. As he rounded the
boulder, his foot slipped in an unseen hole and he fell. As his pistol struck
the rocky floor, he saw the flash of muzzle fire from its barrel, and an
explosive shot rang out across the cavern.
Christ, Ben thought, so much for a quiet entrance.
He watched as a reptilian snout reemerged from the shadows of the base ahead,
darting back and forth, searching. Tiny Tim stepped back out into the light.
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Jason squirmed in his ropes as the gunshot echoed across the cavern. He
chewed at his gag, but he couldn't even move his tongue, and breathing through
his mouth was all but impossible. He pulled deeply through his nose, panicked
that he couldn't get enough air. Around him, shadows danced in the flickering
light.
His first thought was that Khalid had shot Linda, and his heart pounded in
his chest. Then a volley of gunfire from an automatic weapon echoed across the
cavern. It wasn't Khalid! He struggled again with his gag. Maybe he could work
free of it, call to whoever it was for help.
More gunfire erupted.
Was it coming closer? He listened. Blood thundered in his ears, making it
hard to judge.
More blasts.
Yes! He struggled more frantically. Then a thought occurred to him and he
froze.
What were they firing at?
Ben slammed into the entryway of one of the few concrete buildings still
standing. Nob'cobi pounced in behind him, breathing hard. A quick scan
revealed the building to be a dormitory cots lined both walls. But Ben ignored
the room and took a quick peek back out the entryway. He saw the tail of one
of thecrak'an disappear around the far corner.
Good. Luckily, it had been one of the slower females that had pursued them. A
few quick moves and they had lost her. But what about Harry? Had he made it to
the base?
Volleys of automatic fire flared to the south.
Ben clenched a fist. Okay, at least he was still alive and fighting. He
considered his options, rubbing at his forehead. He could try to make it to
Harry, but it would be damned difficult to find him. Or he could try to get to
Blakely's office and retrieve the statue. That was the wisest plan, but he
hated leaving Harry and the other hunters on their own.
Still, what could he do? His one pistol would be little help. No, he'd just
have to hope Harry and the others could manage. Besides, Harry knew the base
well and knew where Ben would be heading.
He pushed open the door of the building, leaned out, and took a moment to get
his bearings. Spotting the elevator shaft off to the left, and the lake just
past a set of trampled tents, he centered himself. Okay, he knew roughly where
he was. Blakely's office was less than half a mile away. That's if the bridge
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