Onio (22 page)

Opening
the comm line, Parks said, “Abort the mission, major…repeat, abort the mission
now.”

“Affirmative,
Captain,” the major replied and ended the transmission.

Parks
rubbed the stubble on his ebony skin and wondered how much shit he just landed
himself in. On one hand, the CO insisted on secrecy; on the other hand, he
seemed more than willing to compromise the mission’s high security protocol in
order to capture one lonely sasquatch and an AWOL psychologist.
Oh well
,
he thought with a mental shrug,
it’s not like he’s going to bring me up on
charges for seeing to the welfare of my troops.

Hanging
up the sat phone, Parks contemplated his next phone call to Lieutenant Colonel
O’Dell.

***

Thirty-two
miles northwest of where Parks’ commandos gathered in a sealed and dusty cave,
Andy Spiles and Blue Sky walked through a series of tunnels. With the help of a
little judicious gunfire, Andy and Blue were able to seal the tunnel behind
them. Andy felt sure that those who followed would use sniffers, and neither he
nor Blue wanted the soldiers to know exactly which way they went.

Now,
Andy needed to remind himself to close his mouth, which dropped open in
amazement every few feet. Before his father, Steven Spiles, passed away at the
age of fifty-two from a massive heart attack, he was a successful and dedicated
architect. He used to talk to his son about the art of building, and was
especially interested in tunnels, bridges and steeples. He was fond of saying
that, “God was in the details” when it came to building load bearing structures
that used gravity, weight and inertia as the foundation for their almost
uncanny strength.

Well,
he was looking at a prime example of that now. He had no idea who created these
tunnels or how. It looked, in some places, as though the tunnel walls were cut
with laser precision and melded together closely, like pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle. Somehow, although he and the sasquatch were deep within the body of a
mountain, a series of shafts, like a vast elaborate articulated skylight,
allowed the afternoon sunlight to filter in, filling the tunnel with the light
of a late afternoon glow.

It
was simply unbelievable. When he quizzed Blue about it, the sasq looked
pleased, as if he was personally responsible for the architectural feat. “It is
said that my people did this many, many generations ago, Ann,” he said with a
smile.

“It
is said,” he continued, “that these places were built when men came forth from
across the big waters hundreds of years ago. The natives of this land loved our
people and called us brothers, but the new men feared us and considered us
monsters. So in order to survive, my ancestors designed these places in which
to hide. We live here now and have done well, until just recently when your
king decided to wage war on us.” Stopping and turning to face the lieutenant,
the sasq asked, “Why is he doing this terrible thing, Ann?”

Andy
looked away in shame. “First, he’s not my king; he is a colonel for the U.S.
Army. As far as why he’s on this mission, I think it’s because my government
wants to use you and your people as soldiers. You have more strength than
humans do and the way you guys can camouflage yourselves…all of your
extra-sensory perceptions…it’s too tempting, see?”

Blue
was staring down at him with a look of such bewilderment in his eyes, Andy shrugged
and added, “You DO understand why that might be desirable in a soldier, don’t
you?”

Blue
shook his head, “It is taught that the sasq must never harm another, smaller
species. We fight amongst ourselves sometimes, but even that is taboo, and is
only used to defend what is rightfully ours! To use our strength against a
smaller species is against the law!”

The
sasq shook his head in disgust and started walking again. Andy had the distinct
impression that Blue considered him, and the entire human race, beneath his
contempt and cringed with shame as he studied the sasq’s back. Suddenly, the sasquatch
stopped, lifting his right fist in the air. Andy stopped as well and whispered,
“What’s wrong…why are we stopping?”

“Ann,”
Blue muttered urgently. “Get behind me…now!”

The
tone of the sasq’s voice galvanized Andy into motion. Running forward to stand
behind Blue, he stared around the sasq’s back at the, as of yet, invisible
threat. “What is it?” he whispered again, when a blood-curdling snarl filled
the air. It was so loud, Andy’s toes curled with primal fear. Within seconds,
the sight of a grizzly bear running towards them out of the darkness replaced
the sounds.

Blue
let out a roar that was almost as loud as the bear’s and tossed Andy back
against the wall with one hand. Andy landed on his own heavy pack and scrambled
backwards like a crab. He grabbed his pistol out of its holster and tried to
take aim, but Blue was in the way. Andy watched, helplessly, as the bear rose
up on its hind feet, growling and pawing at the air. It stood at least nine
feet tall, and each of its massive paws sported claws as long as butcher
knives. Those claws glistened in the ambient light, and Andy held his breath as
Blue ducked under one of the bear’s mighty swipes.

Andy
shoved his pistol back in the holster and grabbed for the rifle that rested in
its scabbard, next to the duffle bag. He chambered a round with shaking fingers
and moved to stand to the side of the battling opponents, so he could get off a
good shot without blowing the sasquatch to smithereens. It was almost
impossible though, as Blue and the bear moved in a circle of thrust and parry,
never still long enough for Andy to fire his weapon.

The
bear, grunting querulously, took swipe after swipe at the bobbing, weaving sasq,
while Andy moved in the opposite direction, trying in vain to find an opening.
Then, with a roar of triumph, the bear hit its mark. Blood filled the air as
one of its paws raked across Blues right shoulder, like the tines of a massive
rake through tender soil. Blue screamed in pain and the bear roared in answer.

Andy
saw the white of the sasq’s collarbone and winced in sympathy. Blue’s arm went
limp and his face drained of all color, but still he fought on. The bear,
sensing its opponent’s weakness, swiped its massive paw again, and this time
red furrows opened on Blue’s rib cage. Blue fell backwards, finally giving Andy
the opening he needed. He fired the rifle, hitting the bear center mass.

Instead
of keeling over backwards, however, or running away to lick its wound, the bear
grunted and studied this new threat with steely determination. Andy cocked the
rifle again and fired, this time hitting the bear high up on its neck, but the
bear charged with a howl of fury. Andy fired again, backing away as fast as he
could, but missed this time and fell over a rock, landing hard on his back.

He
could hear Blue screaming in the distance as the bear’s mouth, studded with
fangs, blood and saliva, filled his world. He shot one more time and felt the
bear’s blood fall over him like a warm, summer rain, but it was too late. The
bear’s mouth descended upon him like a buzz saw, and after a brief, violent
struggle, Lieutenant Spiles lay still and broken upon the tunnel’s stone floor.

***

If
he were still alive he would have been gratified to see the bear’s hide pierced
by a ten-foot spear, and he would have been filled with wonder at the sight of
eight full-blooded sasq warriors, accompanied by their human queen, as they
stood and stared down at his ruined body.

The
little lieutenant was not alive however, and Tanah’s son, Blue Sky, wept with
pity even as the tribe’s medics tended his wounds and his mother, the queen,
rained kisses on his fevered brow.

Chapter 26

Mel
watched as Onio walked over and pulled his spear out of the bear’s body. Smiles
the dog was barking maniacally and snarling at the bear’s dead carcass. She saw
Onio glance over at Tanah’s son, who wept as if his heart might break, and
observed the look of compassion on the warrior’s face. She realized, with a sinking
heart, that she had fallen in love with the mixed breed sasq over the last two
weeks since they first met. Her cheeks burned even as her eyes devoured his
body; the clean contours of his back muscles, his somewhat sweaty but glossy
dark brown hair, the flash of his white teeth.

Falling
Waters approached, knife in hand, to butcher the bear for meat. They had
traveled many miles over the last few days, since the hovercraft took them to a
tunnel, southeast and far above the hidden city buried beneath the earth’s
crust. When asked, Onio told her that they were still in Montana. No more than
a half hour later, the traveling companions climbed an incline and came out
into the open air. Mel blinked against a bright, late winter, sunlit day, and
breathed deeply of the crisp mountain air.

In
the distance, she could see a vast expanse of water, and she shielded her eyes
against the glare. The group was high up on a mountain ledge, and unless a
plane flew closely overhead, Mel knew that they were invisible to human eyes.
Still, she felt exposed and vulnerable. Spotting a small airplane flying away
from them across the water, her hand flew to her mouth in fear, but Onio placed
his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s
all right, Mel. I don’t think anyone can see us up here, and our scouts have
not heard nor felt the vibrations from the black bird machines. We will travel
this path for less than a half mile and then go down into a different tunnel,”
he murmured.

To
Mel’s profound shock, Onio’s touch sent waves of heat through her body and her
knees grew weak. She nodded and continued to stare into the far distance. She
had grown to care for these strange creatures. Onio, who had essentially
kidnapped her and risked his life in order to keep her safe from his own folly.
Wolf, Bouldar’s bodyguard, was steadfast and ever vigilant over First Son’s
safety and, by extension, hers, as well. Pony, Falling Waters, and Tanah, the
fierce and loving human woman who had made a life for herself amongst the sasquatch
people.

This
overwhelming rush of sexual desire, however, was new and unwelcome. She chose
to stay with the sasq people out of grief, fear and the inability to envision a
life spent alone and silent in the world. Now though, her body and soul yearned
for something she barely understood. Worse, she did not believe her feelings
were reciprocated. Onio maintained a formal, almost aloof distance from his
small human charge. Over the last few days, Mel found herself walking along
beside Wolf or Tanah more often than not. She wondered if she had given offence
somehow, or if the mixed breed sasquatch now regretted his decision to bring
her along on this quest.

***

Onio
studied Melody’s profile as she stared out over the lake into the far distance.
He did not know what she was thinking, but worried for her safety and at his
wisdom in bringing her along. At first, the skinny blond girl was a curiosity
to him…a half-felt compulsion to gain access and understanding into his human
blood. Now though, things had changed.

This
girl was so brave and so beautiful it literally astonished him. History taught
that the small humans and the sasq had mated over the years, but sadly, not to
the benefit of either species. Whole wars were fought and many lives lost over
the taking of a human mate. Onio shook his head. The mission they now undertook
had its basis in the long-ago kidnapping of a human girl by Two Horses himself.

For
him to indulge in the very thing that caused so much strife within the clans
was a crime and a complication neither he nor any of his sasq companions
wanted. Although he knew, deep in his heart, that he was beginning to love the
human girl, he had decided, nevertheless, to keep as much distance between
himself and Melody as possible. He missed her company though, and stood next to
her, following her gaze as she stared fixedly at a pair of eagles, soaring on
the wind currents high above them.

“It’s
beautiful here,” she whispered, blushing. It was the first time in a day and a
half that Onio had been alone with her.

“Yes,”
he replied. “This is the southernmost part of the lake the Indian people call
Flathead. It is said that its waters are so deep that parts of it bubble up on
the other side of the world. Strange things are seen and heard here…perhaps now
we know why, eh?”

The
humor in Onio’s voice caused Mel to turn and look at him in surprise. It seemed
as if he was trying to reach out…to include her again in his sense of wonder at
the world around them. Smiling, she nodded and thanked Wolf, who approached
with the water skin and a piece of dried meat.

All
of the sasq seemed to relish their first glimpse of the sun and the feel of
fresh air on their skin. They stood on the stone ledge in silence, turning
their faces up to the heavens and breathing deeply of the crisp mountain air.
Then, to their astonishment, the deep blue waters below began to hiss and
bubble in agitated waves. They watched as fish jumped out of the water and
birds flew away screeching in alarm.

A
high-pitched whining pierced the air and some of the sasq warriors lifted their
spears and clubs in readiness. The very stones beneath their feet vibrated
briefly in a frenzied crescendo, and then sasquatch and humans alike gasped as
the pointed nose cone of an almost invisible spaceship breeched the water.