SODIUM:1 Harbinger (16 page)

It had taken me more than two hours to get to the top of the summit, but only 20 minutes to come down. The Sun was beginning to get low in the sky and I did not want to be stuck out in the dark by myself. I continued moving at a hurried pace, as much as I was able.

Once along the creeks I was again confronted with a gradual uphill hike. Having already come that way I was familiar with where I was, it gave me confidence in my step. It’s funny how that confidence can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand I was put at ease from the constant unknown. On the other I was left with enough extra brainpower to daydream. And daydreaming was a dangerous distraction as I had found out the day before with the grizzly.

With the urgency of the mission at hand I was able to keep my fantasies to a minimum and made good time. I was soon back around to the ridge where the others lay. The hike up to our new camp was extremely tiring as I had been hurrying to make it back before dark. The last glow of the already set Sun was fading fast when I finally reached them.

I was out of breath and had to sit for a few minutes before I could speak. I told them that Kyle was nowhere to be found, but I did see what I thought was a human hand. This of course sent Susi into a sobbing depression.

I gave her a long hug and whispered to her that just because I had not seen him it did not mean that he was not still out there. It was all I had to offer. I then told of the mother ship and the five cutouts. We were up against a formidable opponent and would have to plan accordingly.

The girls had been fast at work during the day and had gathered quite the stockpile of wild strawberries, gooseberries, pine nuts and a number of different tubers. All were edible according to Bull and Allie, and while some were not the best tasting, they all went down good. It brought a bit of satisfaction to the immense hunger I had been feeling.

I was amazed that it was not too terribly difficult to live off the land. I then briefly thought about the Indians who had been doing it for centuries before being run off by the new Californians just before the Civil War. I was so used to buying everything in a can, bag or box, or from a butcher, that it had never occurred to me that nature offered quite the bounty. It was all providing if you knew where to look.

As I sat and ate, Allie continued to comfort Susi. I began to tell of my other findings. I told of the fact that there were probably five demons, even though we had only seen three. I told of the fact that they were gathering material and stacking it near their ship. I told of the poacher Scott and how he had been bound to a tree and seemingly drugged.

I then told them about the trap that I had almost been caught in and about how we would have to be careful with any approach of the summit, there were bound to be other traps waiting. The alien machines were crafty and we would have to watch our every step. We would also have to be wary on our hikes as they were constantly on patrol.

Bull was emboldened to hear that I had not spotted any weaponry on the mother ship. It was only speculation on my part as there was no reason to be displaying weapons if there was no imminent danger. But it gave us hope none the less.

With Kyle still missing we considered leaving. We could always get the authorities to come back to rescue Scott. But Bull was adamant about freeing the hostage. He was not going to leave a fellow human to the mercy of the mechanical beasts. It was a trait that I had always admired in my friend, he would always stand up for what was right, even in the face of danger.

We talked for several hours, throwing out any idea that came to our minds. We finally came to a consensus that we first needed to reduce their numbers before considering an assault of any kind on the mother ship, that was, if we would be able to get close to it at all without it flying away.

Our initial plan was to try to lure the demons away from their camp one by one. I liked the boulder trap they had nearly gotten me with, but there was no way we could move enough of those large rocks by ourselves without the proper equipment. The demons certainly had strength on their side for setting up something like that.

We would need to be clever. And in order to lure them in we would have to use ourselves as bait. I quickly volunteered as the piece of meat for whatever trap we came up with. After my day’s recon adventure and our battle planning I was charged with adrenaline.

But as Bull and Allie began to talk strategy with each other, my eyelids suddenly became like lead weights. The day’s activity, with only the trout and berries to eat, had left my body weary. I decided I would just rest my eyes for a few minutes as the others talked. In half that time I was fast asleep.

Chapter 12

We were all up at first light, discussing what we might do. Woods Creek was just below our encampment. Our ridge was not visible from the creek and the creek was not visible from Woods Ridge… or by the demons. The terrain on either side of the creek moved steeply uphill and offered many places for an ambush.

It was decided that I would lie in wait until only one demon was visible from upon the ridge. I would then try to draw its attention and lure it down along the creek. Bull, Allie and Susi would be lying in wait with an ambush, along the steepest section. There, they would have good cover and it would be difficult for the demon to reach them. The girls would each have a 9mm, Bull would have his .45 and I would be running for my life.

I hiked up and down the section of creek where we wanted the demon to give chase. I wanted to be as familiar with it as possible… and able to move as fast as I could when I needed as the demons were agile. I was after whatever advantage I could gain. I would be running without my pack which would be a big relief. After a week in the woods my legs felt much stronger than when we started our trek.

I had a surprising amount of energy given the fact that I had hardly eaten for several days. The adrenaline that was coursing through my veins might have had something to do with that feeling. I was all pumped up and ready to take out another alien invader, with only my bat if need be. As a precaution I made my way to a pool in the creek, knelt down and made my call to Minhafa. Again, I was after any advantage that I could gain.

It was mid-morning by the time we decided to set the trap. I made my way to the base of the creek just out of sight of the demon camp, still almost 1000’ away. Allie and Susi got themselves into position to get their best angle of attack. They would stay well protected if the demon began another rock throwing barrage.

Bull had his spot picked out and had moved around on the ridge. He was scanning the demon camp for the lone demon. Two had been moving about all morning and one had just gone around the ridge towards the mother ship.

Always the prepared outdoors-man, Bull had a small signal mirror. He would use it to give me the go ahead signal. From his position he could see me as well as the demons. When ready, he would flash the mirror. When he saw me moving forward he would head for his position just above the creek.

Since Allie was also the prepared outdoors-woman she also had packed a signal mirror. I was given her mirror to use to try to draw the demon’s attention, from as much of a distance as I could. With all the pieces of the plan in place and with the single demon visible on the ridge, Bull decided it was time to go. A set of bright flashes from his signal mirror set the plan in motion.

As I began moving into full view of the demon camp I knew I was in for a wild ride. If anything were to go wrong, such as a slip and fall, or if any other mishap were to slow me down, I could easily be overtaken by the beast before reaching the others.

I got to within 800’ when I began flashing the demon with the bright sunlight from a cloudless sunny day. The demon was facing away from me when I began. It stopped doing whatever it was doing when it noticed the glow reflecting off of the terrain around it.

It slowly turned its body around until the eyes were facing directly at me. For almost a minute it just stood and stared as if daring me to come closer. Once I had its full attention I began to jump up and down and swing my bat around in as cocky a manner as I could.

It then began to slowly move downhill in my direction. I turned and began to move away while still making as much of a commotion as I could. As the demon came towards me it began to pick up speed and I knew it was time to get down the creek.

I turned and ran back towards the cover I had left just moments before. I stopped and gave one last look back to make sure I was indeed being pursued. Our plans and my fears were both confirmed. I could see the demon was in a full charge and was gaining on me fast.

I turned again and began the run for my life, down along the creek, bounding from rock to rock and open space to open space. I felt good about my lead and the fact that I knew exactly where I was going.

But that feeling did not last as the first barrage of fist sized rocks started to strike around me. Any of the projectiles coming from the demon could prove instantly deadly, or at best could stop my progress cold, allowing the beast to catch up.

I had nowhere to hide as I ran and jumped while moving down the creek. Distance and the fact that I was naturally moving from side to side were my only defense. The demon continued its run at full speed as it picked up and launched its missiles.

It was covering three times the ground I was and it was gaining on me fast. With each step closer it got the more accurate its throws became. I was beginning to believe that I had cut it to close when our ambush area finally began coming into view.

One of the small rocks burst on a boulder as I was passing, showering me with bits of painful debris. Just one of those throws properly placed could spray me in the face with enough debris to halt my run. I was within 100’ of the ambush when a rock brushed my side leaving a small scrape on my ribs as it tore a hole in my shirt.

I began to bob and weave as much as possible while still trying to keep my balance and speed. My goal was to reach a stack of boulders where I would be provided a moments protection while the others opened fire. The run seemed to take an eternity.

As I reached 60’ the demon decided to use the boulder against me. It began to relentlessly target the side of the boulder as I approached. I would have to run directly through the frag in order to make it behind cover.

The rocks shattered one after another as I got closer to the boulder. As I raised my arms and bat to try to shield my face I heard the first shots being fired. The last of the rocks hit and sprayed the ground before me just as I reached the boulders.

Our timing could not have been better. The girls and Bull had the demon caught in the crossfire as I hid behind my stone shield. The demon moved closer to their positions. They had the high ground and it would have to fully expose itself to their fire to make any attempt at an assault.

After a few deep breaths I peered around the boulder to see what was happening. The demon was fully in the water of the creek and keeping itself close to several large boulders, just under Bull’s position.

Neither Bull nor the girls had a good shot at the demon where it was, but only if it stayed in that position. Its only attempt at an attack was to throw the occasional stone up in their direction. It was unable to achieve an accurate throw without exposing itself.

After a few minutes I began to wonder if we were just in a waiting game with the other demons perhaps circling around to out flank us. I decided that I would have to make a move to try to draw it out before we lost our advantage.

I stepped further behind the boulder and began to slowly climb up the steep sides of the creek’s embankment. Susi had given me her .22, so I felt if I was able to get into a good position I might be able to flush the demon out into the open… or to at least aggravate it.

The demon kept up its occasional throw towards Bull or the girls. Bull would throw back down a rock of his own just to let it know he was still there. With their limited amount of ammo they had to shoot sparingly.

I was in full view of the demon for several minutes as I made my climb, but the demon was preoccupied with the others. It didn’t notice my maneuver. I moved along the embankment’s upper edge to a point directly across from the demon. I would be able to pick away at it with Susi’s .22 while maintaining cover behind a large tree.

I took careful aim with the .22 and when I pulled the trigger I was delighted to see a quarter inch sized hole pop open in the flat surface of the demons body. The demon spun around. It then let loose of a rock that skimmed the same edge of the tree from where I had just fired a shot.

It then bolted across the creek in an attempted full assault of my position. I did not have the extreme high banks as on the other side. The break in cover was all Bull, Allie and Susi needed to cut loose with a deadly barrage from their guns.

The demon jerked violently with each hit as it attempted to climb the terrain up to my position. It was only four feet from my tree when a round went through what must have been a vital part. The machine stopped its ascent and began to shutter and vibrate as its systems failed.

Bull and the girls stopped their firing which gave me the opening to get in another home run swing. I rounded the tree, raised my bat and came down as hard as I could on the flat section just above the demon’s eyes. My swing was well placed as the machine stopped all movement and then rolled backwards down to the creek bed. I followed behind it, sliding down the embankment and landing hard on the rocks beside the downed menace.

I sprang to my feet and began to relentlessly bash the lifeless machine with my Hillerich & Bradsby S44. No amount of home runs could replace the feeling I got while smashing the guts out of the demonic mechanical beast. I had opened a wide hole in its side when I noticed the green canister inside. It began to leak out the same destructive green fog I had seen two nights before.

I stepped back and tripped over a rock in my attempt to get away just as the canister began to spray a heavy stream of the green fog upwards. In my haste I had dropped my bat and was reaching back for it when a giant hand grabbed my other arm and began to drag me away.