[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Miguel watched carefully for any signs of trouble.Ryan and Regan wandered off on their own, but their mother caught up with them ten minutes later.“I want to show you something,” she said.She pointed to a valley below them to the south and motioned for them to follow her.“I’ve spotted a herd of animals that are very unique.We call them—”A scream pierced the reddish alien air! A shrill shriek that was earsplitting in its intensity.The members of the expedition were spread out, but everyone jumped at once as though they had received an electric shock.The scream repeated.It was coming from just inside the rainforest.And it was unmistakably human.CHAPTER 10AttackEveryone rushed to the rainforest to investigate, with Miguel and Cam in the lead, putting on an impressive display of pure speed.The unnerving screams continued as the two members of security passed the tree line and entered the thick yellow forest.They searched frantically for whoever was doing the screaming but saw no one.Where was the screamer? The screams were coming from the area in which they were now standing.They were sure of it.Within thirty seconds the other members of the expedition, who had come from different parts of the large clearing at different speeds, had all joined the two men.The screaming stopped abruptly.As quickly as it had begun.Yet they had still failed to find it source.“Are we sure it was a human scream?” asked Cam anxiously.“No doubt about it,” said Donna Morgan, still breathing hard.“It was a woman’s scream.But it wasn’t one of us.Was another expedition here ahead of us?”Cam shook his head.“There’s no one else here.I’m positive.” He raised his eyebrows.“No one from the Prometheus Project at any rate.”“Could whoever was screaming have been dragged off by an animal?” asked Miguel.“No,” said Amanda Resnick.“The animal life here ignores humans completely.”“Let’s spread out and comb the area,” said Miguel.“Look for anything that might help us understand what just happened.”The search had only begun when Bob Zubrin shouted, “I found something.”He was under an exotic tree, with circular yellow leaves the size of Hula Hoops.Everyone joined him in seconds.He picked up a strange, tan-colored object that was roughly spherical and about the size of a soccer-ball and handed it to Miguel.It seemed to be nothing more than a makeshift, uneven ball of padding.Miguel examined it.A black electronic device was buried inside this cushioned cocoon, which was open on one side so a speaker on the device would not be blocked.Miguel reached in and ripped it free of the tape that held it.It was digital tape recorder! It was on but no sound was coming out.Miguel reset it to the beginning and hit the “Play” button.Nothing.He moved it ahead five minutes and tried again.A shrill scream emanated from the recorder at such high volume it almost deafened him.Miguel had a sick look on his face as he quickly hit the “Stop” button.Someone in their group had done this! They had neared the tree line, activated the padded recorder, and tossed it into the dense growth.It had run for four or five minutes until it reached the long stretch of pre-recorded screaming, which it had broadcast with chillingly realistic sound quality.But why would someone do this? There were only two reasons Miguel could think of.As a sick practical joke.Or to create a diversion!Miguel had a very bad feeling about this.He hastily took an inventory of the people around him.Two were missing: Michelle Cooper and Nathaniel Smith.“Let’s get back to the trams,” he ordered.“Now!”As the group turned to retreat, three animals emerged from behind trees, heading straight toward them.They were about the size of wolves with thin gray fur and gleaming silver eyes.Unlike wolves, they didn’t have elongated snouts—or snouts of any kind for that matter—which only seemed to leave more room for massive mouths filled with sharp, jagged teeth.They had four legs that ended in feet that were padded and clawed like those of a leopard.They issued a low-pitched clicking sound that was as intimidating as a rattlesnake’s rattle.Cam and Miguel pushed the others in between them and raised their tranquilizer guns.“So the animals here ignore humans, Amanda!” said Miguel angrily.“Is this what you call being ignored!”“Shut up and pay attention!” she shot back as four more of the animals emerged.“We’ve seen these a dozen times.They’ve ignored us completely.They’re pack animals,” she added as five more animals joined the rest, circling the group of humans threateningly.“No kidding!” snapped Donna Morgan.“Thanks for the news flash!”No one other than Cam and Miguel were armed.Ryan had the same pocketknife he always carried on camping trips in his right pocket, but knew it would be useless in this situation.Instead he searched the ground around him hastily.There were a number of fallen branches in the area and he scooped one up to use as a club.Bob Zubrin and Donna Morgan noticed this and did the same.With the only useful sticks taken the others looked for rocks to use as potential weapons.More and more of the clicking gray predators continued to emerge from deeper in the woods until there were seventeen in all.The circle of carnivores tightened slowly around the humans.Their silver eyes gleamed with an unearthly malevolence and they bared their ferocious teeth, leaving no doubt as to their deadly intentions.Miguel shot one in the chest with a tranquilizer dart.It yelped and backed off along with its pack-mates but they returned to their positions only minutes later.Miguel and Cam quickly squeezed off six more shots.Again the animals backed off, but only temporarily [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]