Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Wait,” Terry whispered. “Where’s Gerald?”
Immediately the three men stared at the spot where Gerald had been crouching, looking down into the narrow, somewhat shallow gorge.
“Where’d he go?” Pete asked, his voice no more than a whisper.
Terry took a step toward the edge of the ridge and then halted abruptly, his hand going to the M4 strapped around his neck. “There’s blood on the ground.”
The men gripped their rifles and formed a loose circle, going back-to-back as they surveyed their surroundings.
“Moving to the ridgeline,” Terry announced, taking slow, careful steps toward the spot where Gerald had last been seen.
Diego’s respect for Terry went up another notch. Terry was determined to look out for his fellow teammate. Duncan desperately wanted to lead the others, but he was clearly reluctant to go near the gorge. His gaze was fixed on the forest. The vultures and the last appearance of the owl had traumatized him. His hands trembled so much that his rifle was visibly shaking. Pete moved in sync with Terry, covering his back, but Duncan stayed where he was, his head swiveling from one side to the other.
Diego was patient. He didn’t like leaving Leila for too long, but she was safe. He had not received any indication from his wildlife spies that others were hunting her. He also trusted her abilities. Leila had already proved herself in battle. She might be injured, and he wasn’t discounting how badly she was hurt, but she would fight if she had to. He believed her safe where she was. That gave him time to manage the soldiers hunting her.
Terry, his finger on the trigger, crouched low to examine the ground. “There’s fresh blood here. It looks as if he fell off the edge.” He peered down, stiffened and then rose. “It’s hard to see with this fog. It seems to be getting thicker, but I’m sure his body is down there.”
“What?” Pete said, whirling around. “Is he alive?”
“I don’t think so. He’s lying on top of the mass of beetles. Those are bodies down there for sure. It’s no wonder the vultures took flight with Gerald falling on top of them,” Terry reasoned. He continued to study the motionless body, trying to see through the swirling gray of the fog. “He isn’t moving.”
“We need to get out of here,” Duncan proclaimed urgently, still not changing his position. “Right now.”
“We have to check,” Terry said. “We have to ensure he’s really dead and doesn’t need our help.”
“Screw that,” Duncan shouted, suddenly turning his weapon toward Terry.
“Think about it, Duncan,” Pete said. “We can’t just go back and tell the commander we left his body here. He’s going to send someone to check on this site. If Gerald is still alive, and we’ve just left him to die, we’re all going to be court-martialed.”
Duncan swore, his voice harsh as he uttered one foul curse after another. “If you’re going to go down there, get to it. I’ve got to get to a medic.” He backed farther away from the ridge, separating himself from the other two.
If he were Pete and Terry, Diego wouldn’t trust that Duncan wouldn’t attempt to kill them. Neither of the two soldiers seemed to consider that Duncan might be that close to losing all courage.
Terry set his pack on the ground and rummaged through it, coming up with rope, which he securely anchored. “I’ll go down.”
“Make it fast,” Duncan muttered and took a few more steps to put distance between him and the others. Twice his finger stroked the trigger of his rifle, his narrowed gaze on Terry.
Diego didn’t want to shoot him. He preferred to add to the legend of the mountains, but he wasn’t going to allow the man to murder the one decent soldier on the team. Keeping his eye on Duncan, Diego began to circle around to get behind him. Pete was concerned with protecting Terry from falling as he rappelled down the side of the gorge. It wasn’t particularly deep, but it was steep. Diego didn’t want either of the two men paying attention to the retreating Duncan.
To ensure Duncan didn’t decide to shoot his fellow soldiers, Diego gave an order to the bobcat. He didn’t want to spook Duncan into firing but did want his concentration to be on the eyes shining at him through the swirling fog. Bobcats were nocturnal creatures, and as a rule their various vocalizations added to the eerie reputation of the Appalachian Mountains.
The cat wasn’t happy with Diego summoning him from his den during daylight hours. He answered the call reluctantly, made his appearance and was already retreating when Diego sent out another call for aid. Diego’s summons sounded like a male challenging the other male for territory, but the notes were slightly off. Just enough for the bobcat to know Diego’s call.