فصل پنجم

Chapter 5: Into the Darkness

It was nearly a half hour before Jaime stirred. About five minutes before Jaime woke, Tessa began convulsing, and then her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out. I struggled back to her and even tried to kick the RESAT, but I was too weak.

Jaime groaned, then his eyes opened.

“Jaime,” I said.

He looked at me.

“Help.”

He sat up and looked around at the fallen guards. “What happened?” “Turn this off,” I gasped.

He walked on his knees over to me. His hands were still bound behind his back.

“I can unfasten it,” Jaime said.

“No. If they’re unfastened without being turned off, they power up to full. It could kill me.” “How do you turn it off?”

“The guard right there put it on me. He should have the control.” Jaime crawled over to him and felt through his pockets. “I think I found it.” “Push it,” I said.

My RESAT powered down. I took a deep breath, then pulsed as hard as I could, melting my wristbands. Then I crawled over to Carvelle and turned off Tessa’s RESAT. She immediately gasped for air, as if she’d just come up from under water. I detached the machine and threw it into the jungle, then put my head against her chest. To my relief her heart was beating.

“Cut me loose,” Jaime said.

I stood up and walked over to him. Careful not to touch him, I grabbed his bands and melted through them.

“Gracias,” he said. He stretched out his arms, then rubbed his wrists. “Muchas gracias.” I went back to Tessa. Her eyes were still closed. I gently rubbed her face, wiping the mud off her cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened. She looked into my eyes, still too weak to speak.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She took another few breaths, then said softly, “Yeah.” “Let me take care of your bands.” I grabbed her bands and pulsed. With the enhancement of Tessa’s returning power the band didn’t melt, it vaporized. She brought her hands to her face and began sobbing. I put my arms around her and she fell against me, her face buried against my chest. When she had settled a little, I asked, “Are you okay?” “I thought I was going to die,” she said.

“What happened?” Jaime asked. “How are the Elgen guards all dead?” I turned back to him. “Your remote fell out of your pocket. I pushed it.” Jaime looked at me with admiration. “You are very clever,” he said. “Very, very clever.” He looked at the radio and papers scattered around the campsite and his expression turned grave. “Were we compromised?” “I don’t know. I heard them say that they didn’t have radio coverage here.” “Madre de Dios,” he said. “Esquivar una bala. We were lucky. We need to get out of here. The Elgen usually travel like lobos. And their radios have tracking devices. We need to leave before these guards are found missing.” “Where do we go?”

“We need to radio the voice,” Jaime said. “But we cannot carry the tower. We will have to find a mountain.” “Where?”

“West of here. It is also in the direction of the mountain pass the army will take to Lima.” “How long will it take us to get there?” “To the mountain it is several days without packs. But we have much to carry. The radio and decoder are very heavy. I will need a gun and ammunition. And we will need food.” He sighed. “It took me a month to carry all this in. We must leave in minutes. We must burn everything we do not take.” “But won’t they see the smoke?” Tessa said.

“Yes, but it is too much for us to carry,” Jaime said. “We must take that chance and be gone before they arrive.” “I’ll start the fire,” I said.

“No, we must be ready to go before we start a fire. In case they are near.” “What do we need to do?” Tessa asked, forcing herself to her feet.

“Help me pack the supplies,” he said to Tessa. “Michael, the Elgen have helped us. Please gather what they have dropped into a pile. Then we will soak it with gasoline.” “On it,” I said.

Jaime and Tessa disappeared into the tent while I walked around the camp and picked up all the papers and books the Elgen had already brought out. I piled them in the center of the clearing, then dragged some logs over and made a fire pit.

As I was finishing, Jaime and Tessa came out carrying three large backpacks. Jaime took two of the guards’ utility belts and fastened them around his waist. I took one of the backpacks from Jaime, and we carried the packs outside the clearing. I turned back toward the camp. “Are we ready to start the fire?” “Sí,” Jaime said.

Laying down my pack, I went back and emptied three five-gallon cans of gasoline over the pit. Then I created a lightning ball and threw it onto the pile. It burst into flames as tall as me. Black smoke began rising above the canopy.

“Pronto,” Jaime said. “We have just revealed our location. We must go.” I started to put my pack back on when I had an idea. “Wait. The turret guns.” “What about them?” Jaime said.

“Can you put them on a delay?”

“A delay? Why?” Then a knowing smile lit his face. “Ah, entiendo.” He went over and punched something in on the sentries’ computer. As he returned he picked up the remote, pushed it, then tossed it into the bushes. “Thirty seconds should be enough.” “What did he do?” Tessa asked.

“He put the sentry on a delay. That way if an Elgen patrol walks into the camp, it will give them time so they’ll all be within range.” “You are clever,” Tessa said.

“Come, clever boy,” Jaime said. “Vámonos!”