14 Operation Hog-Nose (1/2)
They drive along a bumpy dirt road and pull off to the side into a section of land already populated with several cars. Trees surround the oblong field and an improvised car lot. The people camping in the area stop what they are doing as the truck drives up. Some men rush out of a tent large enough to stand in that shaded them from the bright sun.
When one of the men see Ika and Turner, he raises a hand and walks over. His men become less tense, lower their weapons, and slowly approach behind their leader.
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A door slams and jerks Sia from her sleep. She flinches to the side and lifts her head up from her bent arm. Her eyes crack open. She turns her head to the side as she tries to listen for the reason she woke up. Her shallow breathing transforms into yawning, and she sits up. She paws at her crusty eyes.
”Hahahaha. Well, it hasn't been that long.”
”We usually stick to the west side of that river.”
”--weather has been pleasant.”
She can hear multiple conversations happening outside the truck. Familiar and unfamiliar voices converse with each other. They must have stopped at a populated camp.
She rolls off the flat uncomfortable seat onto shaky legs. When she can finally rely on her legs to do their ordained task, she walks to the other end of the truck and hops out. Her backpack makes her unsteady, and she stumbles. Luckily, nobody is paying her any attention.
Everyone is occupied with talking, eating, or cleaning their weapons. She looks closer at Turner and squints at whatever he's doing with his knife.
'Polishing it? Seducing it? I don't think that's appropriate,' she thinks while smiling to herself.
She pauses a moment and looks to her left by way of habit. Remembering there is no one to share the joke with, she frowns at herself. She takes a step away from the truck, but then realizes she has no idea where she should be.
She looks around at the well-traveled dirt paths, tall grass, tents, and trees. It looks vaguely familiar to a campground site she might have visited before all of this while enjoying nature with her friends. She can almost picture her high school friends in their shorts and tank tops. They'd be pushing each other in the parking lot, or using punctured water bottles as spray guns. Sia sees a boulder with a flat top; the perfect outdoor seat. After sitting, she can see most of the camp and its inhabitants still busy with their activities.
'Hey, Lil Puter. Have you found any updates for Aliyah Chen?'
NEGATIVE
Sia sighs and digs the toe of her boot into the dirt. She wonders what her family is doing right now. Is her sister an adult now? Is she having lunch with her coworkers? Or is she hiding from creatures? Is she afraid for her life every day? Is she alone?
Her breath hiccups a moment. She pretends to be interested in the soil and tiny pebbles strewn across the ground.
'This is just a moment. It'll pass...This is just a moment. It'll pass.'
Sia thinks her mantra while running a hand along the rock at a slow pace. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply. Breaking down now would only encourage people to ask questions. Questions she can't answer. She opens her eyes slowly, blinking away her tears, and focuses on the cool surface of the stone.
She tunes into their conversation when she hears someone exclaim something about a strange beast.
”Definitely not! I wouldn't travel along the east side for any deal. I doubt anyone is left waiting around for you.”
”--stalking around Coldstone.”
”Nothing is worth risking your life. You can't contact them to change the meet?”
”No. It's beyond our control. We can only hope they heard of the beast and altered their course in time. We'll just take the long way around.” Turner replies.
Sia gets closer to the group, along the outside, and stands behind them all.
”No one has heard back from Davis's group, but it's been confirmed Ralph's squad was the one slaughtered.”
”Ralph? That's a scouting party right?” Turner says looking at Ika.
Ika nods and stares intently at the man talking with them.
”Dennis sent out the three of them to-”
”Three?” Turner holds up two fingers, '”Davis and Ralph and—”
”Kelly's. All three from different directions with different objectives. Kelly's people already hightailed it out of there when Ralph's squad was done in, and with Davis off the radar…We can assume he left as well.”
”Or they're dead too.”
They're all silent.
”And none of you have seen it?”
”Just the report by Kelly and the carnage they all described. White as sheets.”
”Kelly ain't easy to scare.”
”I've done time with him. He's no slouch. It must have been a mess.”
”Does that mean we aren't going?” Sia loudly says causing everyone to turn around and look at her.
Sia grinds her teeth to stop herself from laughing and backing off from the group.
”Does this mean we aren't going?” she repeats.
Turner looks at Ika, then back at Sia, ”Plans are the same as before. Get you to your group and head back to Warts.”
Sia jerks her head toward the unfamiliar man, ”He said there is something out killing people. What if they've already left? What if we get killed trying to get to them, but they've already fled the area?”
Turner shrugs, ”Then we'll head back to Warts.”
He says it slowly like he is talking to a child.