Part 31 (1/2)

Frank lowered his binoculars as the tail end of the cloud droned over them. ”What are they doing?

Migrating or something?”

Nate shook his head. ”No. This behavior makes no sense:'

”But they're gone now,” Captain Waxman said, ready to dismiss the aerial show.

Nate nodded, but he glanced to the east, one eye narrowed. ”Yes, butwhere are they going?”

Frank caught Nate's glance. Something did lie to the east:the other half of their party. Frank swallowed back his sudden fear.Kelly . . .

7:28 PM.

As the day darkened into twilight, Kelly heard a strange noise, a sharp whirring or whine. She walked around the Brazil nut tree. Squinting her eyes, she tried to focus on its source.

”You hear it, too?” Kouwe asked, meeting her on the far side of the trunk.

Nearby, the two Rangers stood with weapons raised. Others stood by the camp's large bonfire, feeding more dry branches and bamboo to the flames. With the threat of someone stalking around their camp, they wanted as much light as possible. Stacked beside the fire was a large pile of additional fodder for the flames, enough to last the night.

”That noise . . . it's getting louder,” Kelly mumbled. ”What is it?”

Kouwe c.o.c.ked his head. ”I'm not sure.”

By now, others heard the noise, too. It rose quickly to a feverish pitch. Everyone started glancing to the sky.

Kelly pointed to the rosy gloaming to the west. ”Look!”

Cast against the glow of the setting sun, a dark shadow climbed the skies, a black cloud, spreading and sweeping toward them.

”A swarm of locusts;” Kouwe said, his voice tight with suspicion. ”They'll do that sometimes in mating season, but it's the wrong time of the year. And I've never seen a swarm this big:”

”Is it a threat?” Jorgensen asked from a few steps away.

”Not usually. More a pest for gardens and jungle farms. A large enough cloud of locusts can strip leaf,vegetable, and fruit from a spot in mere minutes.”

”What about people?” Richard Zane asked.

”Not much of a threat. They're herbivorous, but they can bite a little when panicked. It's nothing more than a pinp.r.i.c.k:” Kouwe eyed the swarm. ”Still. . .”

”What?” Kelly asked.

”I don't like the coincidence of such a swarm appearing after finding the Ban-ali mark.”

”Surely there can't be any connection,” Anna said at Richard's side.

Manny approached with Tor-tor. The great cat whined in chorus with the locusts, edgy and padding a slow circle around his master. ”Professor, you aren't thinking the locusts might be like the piranha creatures? Some new threat from the jungle, another attack?”

Kouwe glanced to the biologist. ”First there was the mark at the village, then piranhas. Now a mark here, and a strange swarm rises:” Kouwe strode over to his pack. ”It's a coincidence that we shouldn't dismiss:”

Kelly felt a cold certainty that the professor was right.

”What can we do?” Jorgensen asked. His fellow soldier, Private Car-rera, kept watch with him. The front edge of the swarm disappeared into the twilight gloom overhead, one shadow merging with another.

”First shelter. . .” Kouwe glanced up, his eyes narrowing with concen-tration. ”They're almost here.

Everyone into their hammocks! Close the mosquito netting tight and keep your flesh away from the fabric.”

Zane protested. ”But-”

”Now!” Kouwe barked. He began to dig more purposefully in his pack.

”Do as he says!” Jorgensen ordered, shouldering his useless weapon.

Kelly was already moving. She ducked into her tent of mosquito net-ting, glad that they had set up camp earlier. She closed the opening and positioned a stone atop the flap to hold the cheesecloth netting in place. Once secure, she clambered onto her hammock, tucking her legs and arms tight around herself, keeping her head ducked from the tent's top.

She glanced around her. The rest of her party were digging in, too, each hammock a solitary island of shrouded material. Only one member of the camp was still outside.

”Professor Kouwe!” Jorgensen called from his spot. The soldier began to clamber out of his netted tent.

”Stay!” Kouwe ordered as he rummaged in his pack.

Jorgensen froze with indecision. ”What're you doing?”

”Preparing to fight fire with fire:” Suddenly, from clear skies, it began to rain. The canopy rattled with the familiar sounds of heavy drops striking leaves. But it was not water that cascaded from the skies. Large black insects pelted through the dense canopy and dove earthward.

The swarm had reached them.

Kelly saw one insect land on her netting. It was three inches long, its black carapace s.h.i.+ning like oil in the firelight. Trebled wings twitched on its back as it fought to keep its perch. She balled her limbs tighter around herself. She had seen locusts and cicadas before, but nothing like this mon-strous bug. It had no eyes. Its face was all clas.h.i.+ng mandibles, gnas.h.i.+ng at the air. Though blind, it was not senseless. Long antennae probed through the netting's mesh, swiveling like a pair of divining rods. Other of its brethren struck the netting with little smacks, clinging with segmented black legs.

A cry of pain drew her attention to Kouwe. The professor stood five yards away, still crouched by the fire. He swatted a locust on his arm.

”Professor!” Jorgensen called out.

”Stay where you are!” Kouwe fought the leather tie on a tiny bag. Kelly saw the blood dripping from his arm from the locust's bite. Even from here, she could tell it was a deep wound. She prayed the bugs were not venomous, like the piranhas. Kouwe crouched closer to the fire, his skin ruddy and aglow. But the flames' intense heat and smoke seemed to keep the worst of the swarm at bay.

All around the forest, locusts flitted and whined. With each breath, more and more filled the s.p.a.ce.

”They're chewing through the netting!” Zane cried in panic.

Kelly turned her attention to the bugs closer at hand. The first attacker had retracted its antennae and was indeed gnas.h.i.+ng at the netting, slicing through with its razored jaws. Before it could burrow inside, Kelly struck out with the back of her hand and knocked it away. She didn't kill it, but her netting was protected from further damage. She went to work on the other clinging insects.

”Smack them loose!” she yelled back to the others. ”Don't give them a chance to bite through!”

Another yelp erupted from nearby. ”G.o.dd.a.m.n it!” It was Manny. A loud slap sounded, followed by more swearing.