The Portal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 2) (28 page)

As Zane let out a sigh, a voice barked from his radio. “Zane? Do you read?”

He reached down and pulled it out of his pocket. “This is Watson, over.”

“What’s going on down there?” It was Tocchet.

“We ran into a little trouble, but I think we’re all clear now.”

“Copy that. We couldn’t reach you earlier, so I started heading in your direction. While en route I heard a shot fired.”

Zane frowned. “Why were you trying to reach us? Is there a problem?”

“No problem at all.” After a brief pause, he said, “In fact, I have good news. We think Osak may have found a way inside the mountain.”

ZANE LOOKED OVER at Artur as they moved west down the buffer. Pain was scrawled across his face, but on a positive note, he had been able to keep pace. They still hadn’t removed the arrow. Jorge and Zane both thought it would be better to let one of the Green Berets take a look first. Both had extensive medical training, and the decision was better left in their hands.

“Looks like we have two at twelve o’clock,” Brett said.

Zane looked up. Tocchet was coming toward them, and someone was walking at his side. The setting sun cast them as silhouettes, so at this point, he couldn’t tell more than that it was a woman. “Who is that with him?”

“It looks like Dr. Mills,” Brett said.

As they drew closer, the familiar shape of the anthropologist came into view.

“How is our patient?” Katiya asked as she rushed toward them.

“He’s hanging in there,” Zane said.

“When you told me he was injured, I called down Dr. Mills,” Tocchet explained. “She told me before that her father was a doctor.”

Zane looked at her. “Anthropologist, biologist, and now general practitioner?”

“And there’s a lot more you still don’t know.” She moved to Artur’s side and saw that the makeshift bandage was soaked in blood. “Oh my.”

“As you can see, he took an arrow to his upper arm,” Jorge said. “I used a shirt to wrap up the wound, but I’m not sure it will last.”

Katiya leaned closer. “You did a fine job. I’ll take a closer look when we get back.” She looked up at Artur. “How do you feel?”

“I’m not going to lie. It’s killing me, but I’ll be fine.”

“I was worried we might have been dealing with poisoned tips,” Zane said.

“He wouldn’t be walking now if they had been,” Katiya said. “The use of poison-tipped arrows isn’t particularly widespread anymore, but out here anything is possible.” She looked at him. “Who did this?”

“My guess would be the Dawanis.”

“Could you tell how many there were?”

“Too many to count,” Zane said. “The jungle was crawling with them.”

“Glad you all made it out alive.”

As Katiya made a couple of quick adjustments to the bandage, Zane glanced over at the slope. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the vines. They seemed thicker here. A few of the primary branches were the size of tree trunks.

“So what did Osak find, exactly?” Brett asked as Katiya finished up and the group began walking again.

“We’re not sure. He somehow got ahead of us, and when he came back, he told us he’d found a way into the mountain.”

“So you never saw what he was talking about?” Zane asked.

“Not yet. We followed him to a ravine. There was a trail that ran back through some shrub, but that’s as far as I got. We discovered our radios weren’t working, so Sergeant Bennett sent Sergeant Tocchet back to establish contact with you guys.”

“He didn’t describe it at all?” Brett asked.

Katiya shook her head. “Max said he couldn’t understand all the details. Apparently Osak kept using a word he wasn’t familiar with.”

Zane suddenly noticed that Tocchet had begun to slow. Just ahead on the right was a ravine that cut into the mountain. Each side was guarded by a rocky ridge, and the center was filled with what appeared to be an impenetrable mass of shrubs and vines. “Talk about a briar patch,” he said.

Tocchet waited for them to catch up then said, “Not sure we could even hack our way through if we had to.”

Katiya pointed toward an opening. “Thankfully, we won’t need to. There’s our trail.”

Tocchet led the way in, and the others followed in single file. Zane entered last, right behind Katiya.

Once inside, he realized that the thick vegetation wasn’t really a mix of plants. There might be a few small shrubs, but the bulk of the growth was the same vine that seemed to cover the mountain. It was so thick in places that he doubted he could even stick a hand through.

Katiya caught Zane’s attention then pointed up. “It’s like a tunnel in here.”

Zane tilted his head back. She was right. The vines curled overhead, forming a tightly fitted roof, so tight that it blotted out the sky. The whole structure had a bizarre feel. “If this is the entrance, I’m not sure I want to go in,” he said, only half joking. “Who do you think cut this out?”

Katiya slowed so that the two could walk together. “I wondered the same thing. At first, I thought it was the animals passing through, but it seems way too smooth for that.”

“It reminds me of one of those covered plant tunnels in an arboretum.” He pulled out a flashlight and shone it on some of the limbs as they passed by. “The strange thing is that they don’t look cut. It’s almost as though they grew this way. Only that can’t be possible.”

After they rounded a turn, Katiya squeezed his arm. “Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to speak earlier. I wanted to make sure Artur was okay.”

Zane held up a hand. “Don’t even think twice. We’re all more worried about his health than anything else. How did he look?”

“I think he’s going to be fine. I’m ninety percent sure it missed all the arteries in that part of the arm, but I want to have a closer look before I jump to any conclusions.”

“Are you going to recommend we take the arrow out?”

Katiya pressed her lips together tightly. “That’s part of what I’m going to look at. Again, if it isn’t near an artery, it will be better to pull it out and sew him up.”

The trail suddenly narrowed ahead, leaving only enough room for one person to pass through at a time, so Zane placed his hand on Katiya’s waist and guided her forward. She smiled at him as she continued past.

He followed her through, and as they neared the end of the tight stretch, he saw a vine dangling out into the path. It seemed oddly out of place. It reminded him of well-coiffed men with one rogue strand of hair sticking out.

Unable to resist, Zane reached out to push the vine back into place. Then, as his fingers were about to make contact, a tendril at the end curled away from him. He stopped, a scowl crossing his face. He reached out again, and once again the tendril curled back. He remembered reading about the phenomenon of certain plants moving when stimulated. The Venus flytrap was one the article had mentioned. When an insect touched the trigger bristle, the two giant leaves would slam shut, trapping the unfortunate bug inside.

Only that was movement after contact. How could a plant sense that it was
about
to be touched?

“Something wrong?” Katiya asked.

“No, everything’s fine.” After taking one last glance, he continued on. “I was just looking at some of the vines. Is it just me or do some of these plants seem a little strange?”

“You know, it’s funny you say that,” she said, “because I’ve been thinking the same thing. As I mentioned before, I’ve studied the flora and fauna of the Amazon for a long time.” She gestured toward the plants that encircled the trail. “But I don’t recognize this particular species. At first, I thought it was a strangler fig, but now I’m not so sure. It almost looks like a strangler fig on steroids, larger and more powerful than the ones I’m familiar with.”

Zane looked at her. “Strangler figs? That’s really the name?”

She smiled. “Yes, they’re part of the genus Ficus. It’s one of the most fascinating plants in the rainforest.”

“So they really do strangle?”

“In a sense, yes. If there is such a thing as a malevolent plant, the strangler fig is it.” She gave a little laugh. “But the most amazing thing about them is how they start out.”

Zane was amazed at her unending fount of knowledge. “Tell me more.”

She seemed pleased at his interest. “Okay, it all starts with animal poop.”

“Animal poop?”

“Yep, the life history of a strangler fig begins when a canopy-dwelling animal, perhaps a bird or a monkey, releases feces containing a seed. The seed ends up in the crotch of a tree and germinates there. After germination, the plant sends its massive roots all the way down the trunk and into the soil. Over time, those roots begin to suck up all the moisture, robbing the host tree’s roots of that same resource. At the same time, the roots cover and squeeze the tree’s trunk. And if that weren’t enough, the strangler fig sprouts leaves that block out the leaves of its host, sapping up all the nutrients provided by the sun.”

“Doesn’t sound like this ends well for the tree,” Zane said.

“Often it doesn’t. Many of the hosts end up dying. What was once a majestic tree morphs into a column of strangler fig vines wrapped around a dead trunk.”

“Good grief. A plant that preys on other plants.”

“It’s not all bad though. The dying tree will often develop holes and crannies, the perfect breeding cavities for various species of birds and mammals.”

Zane grabbed one of the vines along the trail and shook it. “And you think these are relatives of the strangler fig?”

“They seem similar, and yet I’ve never seen stranglers spread over such a large area. Generally they attack one solitary tree and spend their entire life cycle in that one place. These seem to be running everywhere.”

Zane was about to ask her another question when he saw lights ahead. A minute later, they entered a large clearing. It was bordered on three sides by the vines; the fourth side, directly ahead, butted up against the rocky base of the mountain. Most of the group was already gathered there.

At the sound of their arrival, Bennett came over to them. The soldier’s eyes widened when he saw Artur’s blood-soaked bandage. “Let’s get him over here.” He pointed to a flat boulder where they had piled some of their packs.

“Oh my gosh, what happened?” Amanda asked, rushing over to help lower the Brazilian onto the rock.

“An arrow,” Zane said.

Katiya asked Tocchet to retrieve the medical kit. After sitting down, she slowly unraveled the bandage. She pulled out a flashlight, clicked it on, and began to examine the wound.

Bennett pulled Zane to the side. “Who did this?”

“We came under attack by an indigenous tribe,” Zane replied. “I’m convinced it was the Dawanis. Fortunately we sent them running, but I have no doubt they’ll be back.”

Bennett gestured toward the rock face. “Sir, I need to show you something.”

After making sure Artur was attended to, Zane followed the Green Beret to the base of the mountain. There was a row of bushes, and just beyond, Zane saw a stone slab partially blocking an opening in the rock face. Max Cameron was down on one knee, shining a flashlight into the gap.

“The indigenous boy entered about ten minutes ago to see what he could find,” Bennett said.

Zane looked down at Max. “See anything?”

The linguist spoke without looking up. “Just rock walls.” He leaned closer and tilted his head. “But I do hear something. I think he’s on his way back.”

Seconds later, Osak crawled out of the dark interior and spoke to Max in an excited tone. Zane watched the boy’s face carefully. He didn’t seem upset, which was a good sign.

After he finished, Max turned to Zane and Bennett. “He says the tunnel goes straight back from here. The floor is flat and smooth, easy to travel on.”

“Excellent,” Bennett replied.

“One problem though,” Max continued. “He eventually came to a body of water and was unable to go any further.”

“Water?” Zane asked. “Inside the mountain?”

“That’s what he said.”

Zane frowned. “Was it a stream? A lake?”

“He couldn’t tell. He says one minute he was walking on stone and the next he was up to his knees in water.”

Bennett looked at Zane. “Hopefully we can get a better idea of what we’re dealing with once we take some lights in there. I’m assuming you want us to go in tonight?”

“Yes, at least some of us.” Zane looked back at Artur, sitting on the boulder. Katiya was cleaning the wound with a wet cloth. “I’ll go check on our patient first, and then you and I will take the boy back in to see what we can learn about the body of water he found.”

“Yes, sir. Roger that.”

As Bennett stooped to gather his things, Zane reached into his pack and pulled out a flashlight. How the rest of the night played out would depend on Artur’s condition. If the injury wasn’t serious, he preferred to enter the mountain tonight. On the other hand, if the Brazilian was doing poorly, it might be best to give him a night of rest. That might also give Brett enough time to fix the sat phone.

Zane clicked on his flashlight and left Max at the entrance. As he stepped past the bushes, his beam swung across the clearing. He stopped. Something wasn’t right. He swung the beam back, this time more slowly. Eventually it illuminated the opening in the plant wall, the one they had just walked out of a few minutes earlier. He frowned and took a few steps in that direction. He held the beam there, his eyes soaking in the details.

What’s wrong with this picture?

And then it hit him. The opening was smaller than it had been before. Or was it?

He approached more closely, stopping a few feet away. The opening appeared to be the size of a normal house door, and yet he could have sworn that when he and Katiya had come through earlier they’d been walking side by side with room to spare.

Probably your mind playing tricks on you.

Zane turned to rejoin the others. As his light swept away from the opening, he could have sworn he saw several of the tendrils moving.

ZANE CROSSED TO the flat stone where Katiya and Amanda were working on Artur. Two puncture wounds marred the Brazilian’s upper arm. Amanda held him still as Katiya finished stitching him up.