Long, Bumpy Ride

Devon slept through the entire landing procedure despite the turbulence. I, on the other hand, had been awoken upon descent.

When we plane stopped taxying, I shook Devon awake.

"We there?" he grunted, rubbing drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, get out." I suppressed a yawn.

He scoffed. "Can't, gate's not open."

The pilots and staff offered us a fond farewell and we thanked then on the way out. The tunnel connecting us to the gate offered little protection against mountain air of Colorado Springs.

I had never been to the Colorado Springs Airport, but it wasn't anything to write home about. It had a tarmac and runway and a building like they all did.

It was nowhere near the scale of the Denver International Airport, but it was just as obnoxious.

Once inside, it was all the same awful experience of wading through people and searching for gates but dulled down because of the small size of the airport.

"Joseph said he'd booked a helicopter for us to take to Gunnison to make the trip quicker," Devon said in my ear.

"Who?" I muttered. There was no reason to be as discreet as we were, but it was a habit hard to break. No one here cared what we were doing or why we were doing it.

He stared at me for a second then furrowed his brow. "Mr. Hassan."

"Oh. Right."

"Are you okay? You seem really distracted."

There had to be somewhere I could get away from him for a couple minutes. He wasn't the problem, I was just a little overwhelmed and needed a minute.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I'm gonna go the bathroom. I'll meet you over there by that . . . I guess it's a bookstore?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "I'll call Joseph and see about that helicopter."

We exchanged waves and I searched out the bathrooms. Locking myself in a family restroom so I'd be alone, I leaned over the sink and took a few breaths.

I splashed some cool water on my face and ran through the plan in my head.

There wasn't much time left, and if we didn't find anything soon it would be too late for Gunnison. We'd already lost so many hours on traveling alone. The xenos would have had plenty of time to recover and find their way to a population.

A whole town within their reach . . . .

As if it might help, I took the beacon out of my bag and stared at that blinking light. It was still working. I wasn't sure how he was going to find me if we kept moving, but within an hour or so, we'd be in Gunnison.

I'd just have to keep it on me at all times until he showed up.

/If he shows up,/ that tiny voice reminded me.

When I was done using the facilities, I felt a little better and I went out to find Devon.

He was right where I'd left him, lounging against the wall next to the bookstore. He stepped up as I approached.

"You all set?"

I nodded. "Good to go."

"Great, but the helicopter is being fueled. You wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"I gave you a sandwich earlier," I said incredulously.

"That was like, four hours ago! I'm starving again."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "You're always eating."

"I'm a growing boy."

"Well, I'm not that hungry right now, but I'm not gonna stop you from eating," I said.

His brow creased and he opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and sighed. "Alright. But when we get to Gunnison, you're eating something."

"Yeah, sure," I muttered.

In reality, I wasn't sure we'd even be able to eat anything when we made it to the town, either. We were already stuck at the airport, and there were a few places to choose from to get a bite to eat.

I wasn't hungry—or, rather, I was too nervous to be hungry—but I would need the strength. We both would.

"Never mind. We're here anyway until the chopper is fueled, I'll just eat something now."

"Oh thank god," Devon groaned, taking my wrist and hauling me toward the nearest Burger King stand. "I'm starving."

"Why are you so excited? You already said you were going to eat here."

He flashed a grin at me. "Not if you weren't going to. I didn't want to be rude and eat in front of you."

Heat flooded my face and I glowered at the tile beneath our feet. "You're a giant idiot."

Devon ordered nothing less than the entire menu and I picked out a modest bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a water.

"So what can I expect going into this?" he asked halfway through his first entrée—nuggets.

Though he'd picked a table far from anyone else, I still looked for potential eavesdroppers and swallowed my bite.

"Is this appropriate airport talk?" I asked.

"Why not? We're not on the plane anymore and no one's paying any attention." He made a vague gesture. "You can tell me what you were going to say earlier."

"The common rabble doesn't need to know anything about our work."

"They can't even hear us even if they did care one iota about us. They wouldn't even know what we're talking about, either," he insisted, pointing a fry at me.

I remained unconvinced.

"C'mon, tell me!"

"I mean, there's not much to say that you don't already know."

A wadded-up straw wrapper hit me in the forehead and I glared concentrated rage at Devon, only to have it diffused by his goofy smirk.

"C'mon, regale me with your knowledge. You're the expert here."

Sinking into my chair, I fiddled with a napkin. "We already went over this."

"Yeah, we couldn't talk on the plane! C'mon . . . unless you really just don't want to talk about it, then that's fine," he added in afterthought.

Anything left of my appetite fled. I pushed the last few bites of my burger away and pressed my fingertips against my forehead, throat dry and lips pursed.

"No, it's not that . . . Alright, I'll try to fill in any blanks."

Like a giddy child, he wiggled in his seat and leaned closer to listen.

"They're ambush predators . . . wait for you to get close. Hide in the shadows. They blend in so well in the dark . . . by the time you realize one's there, it's too late," I muttered, pressing my fingertips against my forehead.

He took a drink of his soda, his eyes not leaving me.

"They're unrelenting. Unpredictable. And fast . . . so fast . . ."

/There was no more air left in my lungs to scream—it landed on top of me, driving the breath from my chest—its claws dug into my body and yanked—/

I closed my eyes against the flashback and focused on my fries.

Devon reached out and rapped his knuckles on the table, grabbing my attention. I sucked in my breath in surprise, my eyes refocusing on his hand before I looked up at his face.

My fingers were trembling and I put my hands in my lap.

"I'm sorry. I get it," he said, his voice soft.

Swallowing hard, I pulled myself back from my thoughts and shoved the memory back down into the vault.

In closing, I said, "Our only hope is if the predator survived and his weapons were on that plane."

"There's really nothing we can do?" Devon asked with his mouth full.

"Our sidearms won't do any damage. Maybe if we can get a hold of some heavier firepower we might be okay. Swat gear from Gunnison, maybe."

He nodded and said, "That could probably be arranged. Finish your food!"

"Yeah, okay Dad," I shot back, reluctantly finishing off my meal.

All the food did was sit like a smoldering coal at the bottom of my stomach as I replayed that first encounter and my subsequent capture over and over again in my head.

Soon enough, though, we were boarding the helicopter.

The ride saved hours' worth of driving that we didn't have. It was loud, but it was gorgeous. I'd never seen the mountains from above before since I'd been strapped to a gurney during my last helicopter ride.

I found myself in awe as I leaned over, watching the evergreens go by beneath us. We were just in time to catch the aspens changing colors, and I'd forgotten how much I'd enjoyed that back home in Estes.

It would have been even prettier with a layer of snow, but it was better for us that there wasn't. Another month or so, though, and it would have been.

We touched down atop the city's hospital, abreast of the emergency chopper. Devon and I jogged for the door, ducking against the wind created by the rotors.

They were in the midst of adding another wing, so there was construction and safety equipment everywhere.

As promised, the sheriff was waiting for us just inside the roof access, ready to see us out of the enormous hospital; he was bundled up against the cold in a puffy police jacket. His dark features were soft, and his greeting smile was reserved and worried.

"Evening, agents. My name's Eddie Morales, I'm the sheriff here in town."

"Nichole Shain," I said, shaking his hand. "This is my partner, Devon Hart."

He shook Morales' hand as well, grinning, and said, "Pleasure to meet you."

Morales led us outside the hospital to the curb where his car was parked, the air frosted for autumn.

He said, "I wish I could be more help, but I don't know much about the crash. You said one of your planes carrying precious cargo went down in the forest a few miles out?"

"That's correct, Sheriff," I said, gripping my backpack tightly.

"Well, then maybe it has something to do with my missing hunters," Morales said.

My heart sank. It was already starting.

"You got some missing people?" Devon asked, glancing at me.

"A couple. Buddy Benson and his little boy Sam went hunting early this morning and his wife says he hasn't come back yet," Morales explained.

"When was he due back?" I asked.

"I guess Buddy told her he'd be back hours ago, but we haven't heard anything, haven't seen hide nor hair of him." Morales stopped at his car.

"He usually punctual, then?" Devon wondered.

The sheriff nodded. "Always has been. I went looking for him myself earlier, but all I found was his empty Jeep."

Devon nodded and said, "You think they might have been caught up in the crash and injured?"

"It's a possibility, yes. The plan he gave his wife coincides with the projected coordinates your team faxed over earlier." Morales sounded grave.

Devon and I shared knowing looks and I rubbed my face in exasperation. This was already off to a wonderful start.

Continuing, the sheriff said, "Deputy Ray is in the process of organizing a search party and we hope to comb the forest as soon as possible."

"Since we'll be in the area, mind if we join the party?" I asked, cutting off whatever Devon was about to say.

Morales looked at me in surprise and asked, "You want to help find them?"

"Finding your two missing citizens and our plane might be one in the same," I pointed out. "It's imperative we find them and the cargo, and if they're alive we need to know what they saw."

He gave me a long look, trying to decide what that meant, then shrugged and motioned to the SUV, ignoring my use of the word 'if'.

There probably wasn't even an if. As much as it pained me to think of a small child being caught up in this mess, I knew it was likely they were gone already.

"Sure. We'll head out there now unless you want to stop somewhere first? You did just land, after all."

"No," I said, forcing a smile. "We'll be fine."

"You heard the lady," Devon said, loading into the passenger seat. "Sweet ride."

"As you wish," Morales said.

I took my seat in the back, content to distance myself from the two men and their conversations. I pulled my backpack around to sit in my lap, thinking again of Wolf's beacon.

How I wished there was some way I'd know he was on his way. A feedback ping or something—anything—but I was left guessing and wondering.

I was too far into my own thoughts to focus on the mission and being a proper agent, so I was glad Devon was there and more than willing to chat it up with the sheriff.

How old was the kid? How long ago was the crash? I couldn't remember the timeline exactly, so it was a toss-up on how long we had left.

At the bare minimum, a queen could potentially exist in eight hours. Maybe longer, but definitely not shorter. We had a full queen laying eggs within that time back in Estes.

I tried to split the day up into bullet points.

I'd made it to work around seven, Weyland had taken the xenos and the predator around, what? Seven thirty? Eight? Then that whole shitstorm with Mindy and the xeno-huggers.

That put the crash around noon or one. It had taken us five or so hours to travel, and the clock was preparing to strike six thirty. Darkness was creeping in, so any incubated chestbursters would be . . .

Already out. Close to maturity. If that was the reason for their disappearance, anyway. It was still a possibility that they were just lost, or had been caught in the crash.

That was a little too optimistic for me. Too many ifs.

Then there was the matter of how far away the plane had crashed. If it was close, and the xenos were alive, they could have found the town already, infiltrated the area.

They'd need a nest.

At the very least, I could take solace in the fact that it was too early for a queen. They would only be able to reproduce so much before a queen was able to mutate.

So many ifs.

"How was your flight out here?" Morales asked, speaking loud enough to pull me from my thoughts.

I jolted at the sudden intrusion, looking around the vehicle. For a second or two, I had completely forgotten where I was.

"Not bad," Devon answered. "Had to fly coach so that was pretty meh, but the helicopter ride wasn't too bad. Never been on one of those before."

"I have," I almost whispered, rubbing my legs. "Too loud for my tastes."

"I imagine you can't talk about the mission?"

"No," I said quickly.

Devon leaned into Morales and said, "Between you and me, it's aliens."

I glared daggers at the back of Devon's head and kneed his seat, but Morales laughed. "Oh, yeah alright. I'll be sure to keep that one a secret . . . Aliens."

Though the two of them had a five-minute hardy-har-har fest over Devon's stupid joke-not-joke, but I didn't participate in the merriment.

Devon might have dealt with his pre-mission jitters by cracking jokes and making nice with the locals, but I liked peace and quiet. I supposed that was why we worked so well. He handled the social nonsense so I could brood.

I glanced up front and the two men were busy having bro moments so I chanced a peek inside my bag, carefully unzipping it just enough so I could fish around for the beacon.

That light was still blinking. That had to be a good sign—it meant he hadn't cut off the signal.

A bone fragment poked out from its wrappings. I pulled the fabric away and ran my fingers over the smooth, bleached surface.

/I can do this. I've done it before,/ I reminded myself.

I carefully tucked the trophy into the inside pocket and closed the bag.

The small town buildings eventually gave way to woods and my chest tightened. I turned my gaze away from the trees and shifted to the edge of my seat.

"Sheriff?" I called to the front.

"Call me Eddie, Ms. Shain."

Though I had no real intention of doing so, I said, "Eddie, then—have you noticed anything strange happening in town the past few hours?"

Might as well pretend to be an agent for a little while longer. Distract me from the coming search.

"Besides Buddy and Sam going missing—well, no. Not really."

Devon jumped on it before I could. "Doesn't sound like nothing."

The sheriff fidgeted in his seat some and then shook his head. "One of my officers found an arm at the entrance to the sewers. We're not sure who it belongs to, but one of the homeless that squats down there, his dog was chewing on it."

"That's gross," Devon muttered. Professional as always.

Ignoring him, I pressed, "Anything else you can think of?"

Eddie looked at me in the rearview mirror and scrunched his face. "Why? Was there something dangerous on the plane? An animal?"

"I told you, aliens," Devon snickered. I kicked his seat again.

This time, Eddie didn't laugh but offered a terse chuckle. "There you go again."

"Yeah, he's a real laugh riot," I said, rolling my eyes.

I was going to beat the shit out of my partner before the night ended, I already knew it.

We pulled up to a large group of people and cars, all milling about and huddled up against the cold. All of the able-bodied citizens of Gunnison seemed to be present at the trail's start.

The deputy, Ray as Eddie had called him, was setting up teams as we parked.

"Eddie," Ray called, raising his hand.

"We ready to get started?" the sheriff asked, clapping his deputy over the shoulder.

"Sure are. These your agents?"

He spread his arm toward us. "Yes, agents Shain and Hart, fresh from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They've offered to help with the search since it might be related to their missing plane out here."

"The more the merrier. I'll get you some flashlights."

As he left, Devon and I turned to Eddie and I asked, "How much does he know?"

"Only as much as I know about it. We've all kind of put two and two together, that they might have been hurt by the crash," he explained, passing us some flashlights handed to him by Ray.

"You two can stay with our group. We're going to fan out and go as long as we can," Ray said.

"We'll keep an eye out for anything that might be your crash, hope one can lead to the other," Eddie added.

I motioned to the other citizens. "And them?"

"We haven't told them anything, if that's what you're asking," Eddie assured, sounding almost insulted by the question.

Devon nodded. "Probably best. The less people we involve, the better."

Ray and Eddie relayed the plan to the rest of the party and I fastened my bag's waist strap around my midsection to keep it secure.

Palms clammy and throat tight, I stared into the looming trees and tried to keep my knees from shaking. My heart was thundering in my chest as my eyes darted around, searching for danger.

Everything around me tunneled and the words the officers spoke faded into obscurity. It had been years since I'd last set foot in a forest, and my legs felt as if I was going to collapse at any second.

Those things were in there. Watching. Waiting. Silently biding their time until they could strike and send us all into chaos. There were so many people around, and the sun was setting fast.

Now more than ever, I was desperate to see Wolf again.

The glint of flashlights, the low murmur of the citizens, even the chill in the air and way the wind blew through the leaves was enough to set my teeth on edge.

/Too many people,/ I thought. /We should stick together, not spread out./

Gently, a breeze rustled my hair and the cold seeped past my clothes, settling into my bones. I was rooted to the spot, the trees before me rising up as if to swallow me.

The evening shadows moved between the branches, daunting and cruel. From inside my mind came the slow crescendo of building screeches and wails.

/"What are they?"/

/"Run! Run!"/

/"Don't look back!"/

All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. My breaths came in short huffs and a tremble started deep in my chest, radiating out to my shoulders and rocking my frame.

A pressure formed behind my eyes and I couldn't stop my lip from quivering.

I was lost in that devouring darkness, my eyes prickling with held-back tears as the memories came unbidden, the voices of my dead friends reverberating around my skull.

/"Nichole wait!"/

/But I couldn't wait—they were coming—I wouldn't survive if I turned back—just had to keep running and make it to safety—survive—survive!/

I clenched my eyes shut and breathed in and out through my clenched teeth. I had to focus. Focus on my grounding—but everything I heard, saw, and felt just reminded me of back then.

Stop spiraling—I just had to calm down and stop spiraling—

A hand lighted on my shoulder and I was wrenched from the black memories with a violent jolt, a half-scream permeating the air before I could stifle it.

My partner could do nothing as I grabbed him, twisting his arm around and throwing him to the ground. He grunted and wheezed, staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Devon," I exhaled, reaching out to help him only to pull back out of shame. "I'm . . . I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to."

He raised a hand and picked himself up off the ground. "Hey, don't worry about it. I should know better. That was . . . that was a solid takedown. No one's getting the jump on you," he said, stretching his back and groaning.

"I'm . . . I'm so sor—"

"Nah, nah. We're cool. Really. I'm not even mad, just impressed." He smiled at me and touched my arm. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, I said, "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

Eddie walked over, concern etched across his face. "Is everything okay? She looks like she's just seen a ghost and she really nailed you."

With a chuckle, Devon said, "Oh, that? Ah, I let her get one good one in before we start a mission. Keeps me on my toes and loosens her up. Like a warm-up stretch before the big game."

The sheriff did not seem like he bought it.

Before either of them could pry further for an answer, a harried woman handed me a sheet of paper and I lifted it up to see in the dying sunlight.

She told me, "Here, a picture so you know who to look for. Thank you so much for helping me find them."

"Of course, Mrs. Benson," I said, assuming she was the wife.

Swallowing hard, I showed the picture to Devon. He studied it and huffed in amusement. "Guy certainly looks like a Buddy. Kid's cute. Hope we can find them.

"Yeah, me too," I said, my voice low and lacking conviction.

Ray and Eddie signaled for the search to begin, announcing that it was going to be dark soon. When I didn't immediately move out, Devon set his hand on my upper arm and pulled me away from the crowd by a few feet.

"You don't have to come. Someone can take you back to town and you can book us some rooms at a motel. Or something," he said, all traces of his previous mirth gone.

I glanced up to read his expression and saw the same look he'd wore when he found me incapacitated in the labs.

Taking a deep breath, I shifted my gaze to the woods and balled my hands into tight fists, my fingernails biting into the flesh. "No. I'm fine."

Eddie and Ray came over to see what we were doing and Devon took up a more professional position next to me as they asked, "Is something the matter, agents?"

Devon turned to me for the answer and I squared my shoulders. "No, nothing's wrong. Just had a bad experience in the forest back home. I'm from Estes Park."

Recognition flashed in his eyes. "Estes Park? No kidding? Man, I heard about that . . . I thought your name sounded familiar."

I looked away. "Yup, that would be me."

Devon cut in. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

It took me another split second to dispel any lingering doubts and fears, but then I was following the two police officers into the woods with Devon at my side, always keeping a watchful eye on me.