Authors: John James Gregory
“Tom and Iolana, but you and I will be on his right flank and Berdy and Jerrick will be on his left flank.”
“And Shawn?’
“He and Hadiya will be pulling up the rear.”
The top hatches of all the cutters were open and Crosley supervised each pair of team members as they got situated in their vehicle. Finally, all the members were ready and Crosley read off the positions each craft would have in their convoy.
“Alright gentlemen… Everyone put your ear pieces in one ear and an ear plug in the other. As soon as we do a radio check, we’ll move out. Once we get the team going into the next cave across, we will leave a few of you behind and the rest will travel back to our starting point and get back up on the ledge for a rest period. Those in the guard position get ready... and now drivers let’s pull out.”
The three lead vehicles began to move into the tall grass.
Tom looked down at his feet and he could see the water half way up his boots.
From the ledge up above, the others could see the tops of the vehicles and the red flag on the lead vehicle.
The convoy moved slowly and as quietly as possible until all the grass cutters were in the weeds.
“Now remember men, if we come under attack we will ‘circle the wagons’ as tightly as possible.
Or if one of us gets tipped over we will surround that unit and give cover fire.”
***
Elizabeth was topside sitting in front of the monitors and also with a radio on.
Suddenly, she picked up a horrific sound.
It was like a mixture of a growl and a scream.
Her mind raced and the pictures that she recalled made her jump up.
She shut the monitors off and went to the front of the tent and began to scan for the Sargent Major.
The ranking officer noticed the look on her face and came over.
“May we be of some assistance?”
“Yes, I will need you and two of your men.
Do you have any trained medics?”
“Yes madam, we have several here.”
“Good, I will need you and two men.”
“Has someone been injured?”
“Not yet, but I think there is a possibility of just that happening in the near future.
I am a doctor and we must get down to the team and be ready if an attack happens.”
“An attack Doctor?
An attack from what?”
“I am worried that my brother may soon come under attack by an animal. “
The Sergeant Major has no idea of what the team’s mission is or what is underground.
I will need two of your men armed with rifles and a portable stretcher.
“We really have no orders to assist you down below.”
“All I need is you and two of your men to help me carry some medical supplies down about a mile or two into the cave.
You can drop them off there and I will call for others back from the team to carry them the rest of the way.
You and your men can then return to the surface.”
“I’ll get two men.
Besides medical supplies and rifles, do they need lights?”
“Yes.”
Elizabeth went to get her medical bag and the Sargent gave the orders.
The Sargent was surprised that this expedition was in a cave that long and that there was a probability in the doctor’s mind that animals of some kind were down that deep.
Elizabeth didn’t share anything else with the military or anyone else about the thought that had flashed through her mind.
When Elizabeth was sitting watching the monitors and heard the animal scream, she had a picture flash through her mind of her brother at the zoo and the way all the animals acted in his presence.
She was sure it was only a matter of time before the group in the tall grass would come under attack and the target of those creatures would be her brother.
She went back in the tent and located her medical bag.
When no one was near her, she clicked on her mic.
“The convoy crossing the valley will come under attack.
Tom, remember the zoo!”
***
Tom realized the meaning of his sister’s warning. He clicked on his headset.
“Gentlemen, what my sister just transmitted is true. Because of my condition, all animals become violent around me except for wolves and bats. Be ready for anything.”
The passengers in each of the grass cutters readied their rifles and began to scan the area around them. The team in the grass continued to move silently as possible through the tall grass under the watchful eye of those up on the ledge.
“This is Derrick up on the ledge gentlemen, I’ve got four tails and the backs of four males coming in your direction at nine o’clock.”
Crosley came on his radio.
“Time to circle the wagons gentlemen... Everyone come forward and build it around Tom’s cutter.”
Each team could see their position on screen as well as Tom’s vehicle. They all fell into the trail of bent grass that was hardly noticeable to the average person but stood out to the men because of their years of tracking experience as professional guides.
Even Hadiya stopped assisting Shawn in moving their vehicle and readied a tranquilizer weapon.
“Derrick here…The tails have dropped down out of sight.”
All the guides knew what that meant. If a tiger is in a playful mood they tend to wag their tails. If a tiger was stalking its next meal, the tail would drop down and all movement would stop. Derrick had just told the team that they were about to be attacked.
“This is Shawn… How close together are the attackers?”
“The diameter of their attack circle is about twenty feet.”
That told Shawn that they were in a tight formation.
“How far behind the others am I?”
“Twenty or thirty feet Shawn”
Shawn stopped his grass cutter and turned it ninety degrees to the left. He pushed the unit another ten feet and again stopped. Hadiya handed Shawn the rifle and took the second one down of its hangers.
“What are you doing?”
“We have no idea how thick their hide is. Our best chance to stop them is a shot to the side of the creature… Not a head-on shot. Are you with me?”
Hadiya smiled as she cocked the second rifle.
“I don’t have any other plans at the present.”
Shawn smiled and almost forgot what he was about to do. He opened the hatch above them as he stopped to give Hadiya one last warm look.
“You stay here and keep this thing steady.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am a terrible shot down on one knee and I want to see these things. I am going to stand on the roof of our cage.”
“Is it strong enough to hold your?”