B008IFNJZM EBOK, page 23
Elizabeth looked up as the full moon came out from behind the clouds.
“I’m sure Iolana or someone will be coming soon with an update. If not, I will use my speed to go back and get you the latest on his condition.”
***
Nine miles north of Bristow Kentucky a white car pulled up to the one story office building at the Co-Op. It was just after four in the morning and still very dark but the office was lit up. Emma Parker pulled up to the door and turned off the vehicle as she does every weekday morning. As she got out she looked down the gravel road at the rows of warehouses on both sides. She could see a pickup truck down at the last pair and she knew coffee was on and smiled to herself. Matt and Ernie were already down there getting ready for the farmers that would be coming in at five. The boys would be all set to load them up with weed killer chemicals, fertilizer or seed.
She opened the door and went in. She was pleased to see a fresh pot of coffee that was still dripping its last few drops into the glass pot. She filled her cup as well as Matt and Ernie’s cups. She turned on her computer for the early morning invoices she would be printing and pushed her way out the door with the pair of cups for the men. The road down between the warehouses was brighter than usual as she looked up at the full moon. The boys had their truck down by the last warehouse that was used for storing straw. She thought they must have known one of the farmer’s orders coming this morning. She could hear the gravel stones crunch below her feet as she walked. There was no breeze and no sounds. She usually heard the morning birds, but it was still dark and maybe they were not up and ready to sing just yet. The dusk to dawn light above every set of double doors on every warehouse added to the brightness as she walked closer to the last warehouse on the right. The doors were open. She expected the boys to be measuring the straw round bales. They had an instrument on the end of a pole which they would shove in the bales and get a reading of moisture at the center of the bale. A low reading meant the straw was dry and ready to be hauled away for sale to one of their regular customers. If the reading was high, they would paint a date on it and it would not go out because it was still too fresh. She could see a shadow as she turned and entered.
“I brought you boys your coffee.”
No one answered and her eyes glanced up at the shadow. There in front of her was Ernie hanging on a bale hook tool with a rope swinging back and forth. His throat was cut by several gashes and blood was running down the front of him and into a puddle on the floor. Ernie was dead. Someone killed him and hung him up like a side of beef! She screamed and dropped the cups. She ran to the pickup thinking Matt or Ernie’s cell phone must be inside and she could call ‘nine one one’ without having to run all the way back to the office. She placed her hands on the door’s window and looked on the seat. Instead of seeing one of the company’s cell phones, she saw Matt covered in blood still holding the phone. She knew he was dead too. Her panic increased and now she was running for her life back to the office. Her mind kept racing as she ran. She knew the boys must have just got there because of the brewing coffee pot. That also meant that whoever killed them must still be in the immediate area. Could it have been a robbery gone wrong? A few years ago several boys were arrested for trying to steal Ammonia to make the drug called ‘Meth’. Maybe this time the attackers struck back at Matt and Ernie rather than run away. Maybe they were on some kind of illegal drug that made them kill with such brutality. Whatever it was, she was going to call the sheriff and report this as soon as possible and lock herself in her car with the engine running just in case. Her hands trembled and fumbled with the door knob on a door she had opened thousands of times before. She got inside and picked up the phone and punched in the three digit code. She froze as she heard heavy breathing behind her. She turned and could not believe what she saw. Standing in front of her was a creature she saw in many movies but never thought it really existed. She was looking down the snout and into the face of a werewolf. Her eyes locked on the beast’s deep yellow eyes. She screamed only once and she too, was slashed repeatedly and her warm blood began to cover the office floor.
***
Derrick came out of the Merat cave and walked over the Sargent Major and they both sat down. Derrick had no update on Tom’s condition so with Crosley’s blessing, Chelsea re-entered the cave. The Sargent Major had no idea what was being said but he knew his orders and asked nothing regarding the strange comments. Once Chelsea dropped out of sight, she shot through the passages and valleys to bring back an update for Elizabeth. The satellite phone rang in the command tent and Elizabeth went over to answer it. She picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
“Yes this is Detective Wiggins, I am trying to reach Doctor Elizabeth Hart.”
“This is she.”
“Sorry to bother you Doctor, but I have a few routine questions for you.”
“It’s no bother Detective, what do you need to know?”
“Where are you right now?”
“I am at our base camp.”
“In Australia?”
“Yes detective.”
“And where is your brother at this minute?”
Elizabeth paused and thought about her reply.
“He is in the Outback Detective, several miles away from this camp.”
“So he is there with you?”
“Yes, what is this all about?”
“It’s just routine… Tell me what are the two of you doing if I might ask?”
“We are on an assignment assisting the Australian Military.”
Elizabeth responded that way because other responses like looking for Bigfoot or trying to get her brother cured from the werewolf curse would sound like she had lost her mind.
“Really… Can you put one of them on the phone for me?”
Elizabeth looked out the tent and called the Sergeant Major over. He took the phone. She now could only hear his end of the conversation.
“Sir, yes sir… Sargent Major Cooper, sir.”
There was a pause
“We are assisting Thomas Hart and Doctor Elizabeth Hart on a government matter.”
Elizabeth liked his response. It sounded official.
“I am sorry sir, our government has classified this mission and I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this assignment.”
At that moment, Nathan walked into the tent and Elizabeth motioned to him not to speak. He took a sip of his coffee and listened to the Sargent Major continue.
“Yes sir the professor is here as well. Would you like to speak to him?”
The Sargent Major took out his wallet and began to search for something. He found it and handed it to Elizabeth. It was his military identification card.
“Yes sir. I will give her the phone.”
Elizabeth took the phone.
“Yes Detective?”
“If you would be so kind as to fax the page on your passport showing your arrival in Australia along with the same page from your brother’s and Nathan’s passport I would be able to put this inquiry to rest. Do you have my fax number?”
“Yes, it is on your business card which I have on me. What is this all about?”
“Nothing really, oh and fax the Sargent Major’s Identification card as well… It’s just a routine check I have to make.”
“I’ll fax this to you just as soon as we get off the phone.”
“Thank you and sorry to bother you.”
“It’s no bother Detective. Good Bye.”
“Good Bye Doctor.”
Elizabeth went over to the strong box and pulled the documents and then faxed the pages requested proving their location to the Detective along with the military identification card of the Sargent Major. She walked back out to the campfire and handed the card to the Sargent Major. Nathan looked up at Elizabeth.
“What was that all about?”
“He said he was making some kind of routine check.”
Chelsea came into the light covered in sweat.
“May I speak to you?”
“Yes of course.”
“In private?”
“Come with me into the tent and we will talk.”
Crosley handed his woman a towel and she followed Elizabeth into the tent. Elizabeth hung on every word as Chelsea told her everything she had learned from Khu. She was happy her brother was on the road back to being normal and had tears in her eyes regarding the painful process he was involved in. Chelsea hugged her.
“Hey he will recover and be his old self… Remember the psychic, she is batting a thousand percent.”
The satellite phone rang again and Chelsea took it as a cue to leave.
This time is was Doctor Hunsinger her assistant who was in charge of her office until she returned. It was now that the Detective’s earlier call made sense. Three more murders very similar to the butler’s death at her late father’s mansion were on the stainless steel tables in the examining room. She now knew that whoever was responsible for the groundskeeper to be transformed into a werewolf was still in the area back home. She went back to the campfire and later after the Sargent Major returned to oversee his men, she filled them all in on what was going on back in Kentucky.
Chapter 42 Back For Birds
Chelsea listened to the story of the three latest murders back in Kentucky.
“This werewolf has three more days left in this full moon cycle. He will kill again.”
Hadiya and Shawn came over. Shawn had a large bandage over his chest and a new shirt on that still wasn’t buttoned down the front.
Nathan smiled and looked up at the lad.
“So how are you feeling?”
“Great. I think I am in love.”
Hadiya smiled as she held on to his arm.
“I meant how do you feel physically.”
“Good… a little sore but I am getting back to normal.”
“Pull up a stump and join us.”
The pair sat down as Hadiya leaned in.
“I heard you talking about another werewolf attack?”
“Yes. Three people died today back home.”
“Were any of them bitten?”
“No, they all look like they were slashed to death.”
“Then Chelsea is right, he will kill again sometime in the next three remaining days.”
Chelsea looked at Elizabeth.
“Look, suppose this is the creature that turned your father’s groundskeeper and caused his blood to infect your brother… He is smart. He will probably kill some animals during the rest of his cycle, but he will kill at least one more human by biting before it ends.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you so sure that he will kill another person?”
“Because he has to leave the door open for the police to seek another person other than him. He will probably focus in on killing animals far away from his current location while stalking a victim to turn into one of his own. You see, if he succeeds in finding a suitable replacement for himself, at the next full moon cycle the other one will be set up as the area’s killer and he will be free to just move on and no longer be hunted.”
“Yes and then he can start all over again somewhere else. It’s all about victims.”
“Why didn’t he just turn one of the three he killed last night?”
“I don’t know, maybe that was his initial plan… unless it was too close to sunrise and it was running out of time for the evening or maybe he was interrupted… there could be a lot of reasons.”
“That is why I think you should call back there and order the tests. Just in case...”
Elizabeth looked at Nathan.
“It will look like you are just being thorough.”
Elizabeth got up and returned to the command tent and placed the call.
“So Ed, how is it going?”
“Oh hi Elizabeth... We got everyone in again and the FBI folks are here as well.”
“Have you found any bite marks yet?”
“No only deep gashes. It would appear they all bleed to death, except for one of the men who was hung on that hook. That looks like the spinal damage may have been his cause of death long before he bled to death.”
“Could they all be shown?”
“Maybe if the mortuary gave the female some type of turtle neck shirt or other covering to hide her neck injuries. Her wounds are much higher to her face.”
“Would you mind if I asked for an additional test?”
“You’re the boss go ahead and ask.”
“I want the hearts extracted on all three and examined.”
“The FBI boys will love that. They are always asking for all kinds of additional tests. Why would you ask for that? I mean it is pretty obvious what the causes of death are in all three cases.”
“I know but humor me and then bag the hearts and place them in the body bags without putting them back in the bodies with the other organs you must remove.”
“Are you following a hunch?”
Elizabeth didn’t like hiding the truth from her number one doctor.
“Do you want a cranial extraction and test as well?”
“No but maybe next time.”
“God, I hope there isn’t a next time.”
“If there is, then we will add a cranial extraction and test on the next victim. I think if this continues to happen before the police find this killer we will have ran a full range of tests across all the victims leaving no stone unturned.”
“Alright, but do we need to do it to all three or just one?”
“Do all three for me just this one time.”
“Okay but I got to tell you we have had more work since you left than we ever had. I hope you will be returning soon. The paperwork you have to do is killing me. I never knew how many forms are required.”
“That is because the FBI is there. They tend to double the usual amount.”
“Well enjoy your vacation and please hurry back!”
Elizabeth smiled.
“I will my friend.”
She hung up and returned to the campfire.
“Are they going to do it?”
“Yes. They will pull the hearts out on all three.”
“Good that insures that if the werewolf bit one of them and then covered it with gashes, without hearts in those bodies, they will not come back from the dead and turn.”
***
Iolana woke first and took some nourishment from Cinnet’s arm. Cinnet then shook Jerrick until he woke up. Cinnet held up one finger. Neither Iolana nor Jerrick knew what he was telling them. Cinnet took his finger nail and drew a rough outline of the forty-eight states. He then drew an irregular pattern above the states.
“Well it looks like we are either going to Alaska or somewhere in Canada.”
He then pointed to spot that would be considered to be somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. He held up the single finger again and made an arc from that spot into what Iolana thought was Alaska.
Jerrick looked at Iolana.
“I think he is trying to tell us that this next tunnel will take us to somewhere in Alaska and that this jump will be the last before we begin our search for Wolf’s Bane.”
The Meeratt drew the half of the sun and a line.
Iolana looked back at the drawing.
“And I suppose this is to tell us we will be arriving at either sunrise or sunset.”
“Yes and there is no way to find out which one it will be.”
Iolana rolled up her dirt bag sleeping roll.
“There’s only one way to find out for sure.”
Jerrick climbed up on the tray for the next tunnel and shot down the next passage. Iolana and Cinnet would soon follow.
***
Nathan gave Elizabeth a light kiss and gently shook her. She rolled over and smiled up at Nathan.
“What time is it?”
“About four in the morning...”
` “Chelsea met with Khu and the elder Meeratt, Boyat. “
“How is Tom?”
“He is still trying to change but the urges are becoming less and the pentagram on his chest is becoming less and less noticeable.”
“Poor Tom... he certainly didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Chelsea made her last trip for the evening and negotiated a deal with the senior Meeratt. He will let the guides go into the first valley and extract as many Dodo birds as they need to fill their quota.”
“What was the price for this arrangement?”
“Two more rubies... It seems Khu had told Iolana about how they hold the value of ruby stones high in priority so Iolana stripped all the rubies from the ladies’ jewelry. Many of the Bigfoot sightings are because the senior members of their village go out into the mountains looking for those stones.”
Elizabeth remembered Nathan telling her that the secret to entering their world was the insertion of a ruby into a depression in the sandstone. It made sense to her. After all, rubies are the third hardest stone in the world and probably never wear out as a key.
“I thought you might help cook and serve a meal for the men. They are going back into the first valley with their cages.”
“Sure.”
Elizabeth came out and joined the ‘mess’ cook as he too was preparing breakfast for the Sargent Major’s men. She smiled when she saw Platt coming down the serving line with his crutch.
“How’s that side and your leg doing this morning?”
“Good thanks for your help.”
“You know as your doctor, I would rather have you get another day or two of rest before putting weight on that side.”
“The men will need me. According to Chelsea, the senior Meeratt is the only one who can control the Bunyips in that valley and he won’t be there. He will be in all day with your brother and Khu. They will need protection.”
“I’m sure Iolana or someone will be coming soon with an update. If not, I will use my speed to go back and get you the latest on his condition.”
***
Nine miles north of Bristow Kentucky a white car pulled up to the one story office building at the Co-Op. It was just after four in the morning and still very dark but the office was lit up. Emma Parker pulled up to the door and turned off the vehicle as she does every weekday morning. As she got out she looked down the gravel road at the rows of warehouses on both sides. She could see a pickup truck down at the last pair and she knew coffee was on and smiled to herself. Matt and Ernie were already down there getting ready for the farmers that would be coming in at five. The boys would be all set to load them up with weed killer chemicals, fertilizer or seed.
She opened the door and went in. She was pleased to see a fresh pot of coffee that was still dripping its last few drops into the glass pot. She filled her cup as well as Matt and Ernie’s cups. She turned on her computer for the early morning invoices she would be printing and pushed her way out the door with the pair of cups for the men. The road down between the warehouses was brighter than usual as she looked up at the full moon. The boys had their truck down by the last warehouse that was used for storing straw. She thought they must have known one of the farmer’s orders coming this morning. She could hear the gravel stones crunch below her feet as she walked. There was no breeze and no sounds. She usually heard the morning birds, but it was still dark and maybe they were not up and ready to sing just yet. The dusk to dawn light above every set of double doors on every warehouse added to the brightness as she walked closer to the last warehouse on the right. The doors were open. She expected the boys to be measuring the straw round bales. They had an instrument on the end of a pole which they would shove in the bales and get a reading of moisture at the center of the bale. A low reading meant the straw was dry and ready to be hauled away for sale to one of their regular customers. If the reading was high, they would paint a date on it and it would not go out because it was still too fresh. She could see a shadow as she turned and entered.
“I brought you boys your coffee.”
No one answered and her eyes glanced up at the shadow. There in front of her was Ernie hanging on a bale hook tool with a rope swinging back and forth. His throat was cut by several gashes and blood was running down the front of him and into a puddle on the floor. Ernie was dead. Someone killed him and hung him up like a side of beef! She screamed and dropped the cups. She ran to the pickup thinking Matt or Ernie’s cell phone must be inside and she could call ‘nine one one’ without having to run all the way back to the office. She placed her hands on the door’s window and looked on the seat. Instead of seeing one of the company’s cell phones, she saw Matt covered in blood still holding the phone. She knew he was dead too. Her panic increased and now she was running for her life back to the office. Her mind kept racing as she ran. She knew the boys must have just got there because of the brewing coffee pot. That also meant that whoever killed them must still be in the immediate area. Could it have been a robbery gone wrong? A few years ago several boys were arrested for trying to steal Ammonia to make the drug called ‘Meth’. Maybe this time the attackers struck back at Matt and Ernie rather than run away. Maybe they were on some kind of illegal drug that made them kill with such brutality. Whatever it was, she was going to call the sheriff and report this as soon as possible and lock herself in her car with the engine running just in case. Her hands trembled and fumbled with the door knob on a door she had opened thousands of times before. She got inside and picked up the phone and punched in the three digit code. She froze as she heard heavy breathing behind her. She turned and could not believe what she saw. Standing in front of her was a creature she saw in many movies but never thought it really existed. She was looking down the snout and into the face of a werewolf. Her eyes locked on the beast’s deep yellow eyes. She screamed only once and she too, was slashed repeatedly and her warm blood began to cover the office floor.
***
Derrick came out of the Merat cave and walked over the Sargent Major and they both sat down. Derrick had no update on Tom’s condition so with Crosley’s blessing, Chelsea re-entered the cave. The Sargent Major had no idea what was being said but he knew his orders and asked nothing regarding the strange comments. Once Chelsea dropped out of sight, she shot through the passages and valleys to bring back an update for Elizabeth. The satellite phone rang in the command tent and Elizabeth went over to answer it. She picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
“Yes this is Detective Wiggins, I am trying to reach Doctor Elizabeth Hart.”
“This is she.”
“Sorry to bother you Doctor, but I have a few routine questions for you.”
“It’s no bother Detective, what do you need to know?”
“Where are you right now?”
“I am at our base camp.”
“In Australia?”
“Yes detective.”
“And where is your brother at this minute?”
Elizabeth paused and thought about her reply.
“He is in the Outback Detective, several miles away from this camp.”
“So he is there with you?”
“Yes, what is this all about?”
“It’s just routine… Tell me what are the two of you doing if I might ask?”
“We are on an assignment assisting the Australian Military.”
Elizabeth responded that way because other responses like looking for Bigfoot or trying to get her brother cured from the werewolf curse would sound like she had lost her mind.
“Really… Can you put one of them on the phone for me?”
Elizabeth looked out the tent and called the Sergeant Major over. He took the phone. She now could only hear his end of the conversation.
“Sir, yes sir… Sargent Major Cooper, sir.”
There was a pause
“We are assisting Thomas Hart and Doctor Elizabeth Hart on a government matter.”
Elizabeth liked his response. It sounded official.
“I am sorry sir, our government has classified this mission and I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this assignment.”
At that moment, Nathan walked into the tent and Elizabeth motioned to him not to speak. He took a sip of his coffee and listened to the Sargent Major continue.
“Yes sir the professor is here as well. Would you like to speak to him?”
The Sargent Major took out his wallet and began to search for something. He found it and handed it to Elizabeth. It was his military identification card.
“Yes sir. I will give her the phone.”
Elizabeth took the phone.
“Yes Detective?”
“If you would be so kind as to fax the page on your passport showing your arrival in Australia along with the same page from your brother’s and Nathan’s passport I would be able to put this inquiry to rest. Do you have my fax number?”
“Yes, it is on your business card which I have on me. What is this all about?”
“Nothing really, oh and fax the Sargent Major’s Identification card as well… It’s just a routine check I have to make.”
“I’ll fax this to you just as soon as we get off the phone.”
“Thank you and sorry to bother you.”
“It’s no bother Detective. Good Bye.”
“Good Bye Doctor.”
Elizabeth went over to the strong box and pulled the documents and then faxed the pages requested proving their location to the Detective along with the military identification card of the Sargent Major. She walked back out to the campfire and handed the card to the Sargent Major. Nathan looked up at Elizabeth.
“What was that all about?”
“He said he was making some kind of routine check.”
Chelsea came into the light covered in sweat.
“May I speak to you?”
“Yes of course.”
“In private?”
“Come with me into the tent and we will talk.”
Crosley handed his woman a towel and she followed Elizabeth into the tent. Elizabeth hung on every word as Chelsea told her everything she had learned from Khu. She was happy her brother was on the road back to being normal and had tears in her eyes regarding the painful process he was involved in. Chelsea hugged her.
“Hey he will recover and be his old self… Remember the psychic, she is batting a thousand percent.”
The satellite phone rang again and Chelsea took it as a cue to leave.
This time is was Doctor Hunsinger her assistant who was in charge of her office until she returned. It was now that the Detective’s earlier call made sense. Three more murders very similar to the butler’s death at her late father’s mansion were on the stainless steel tables in the examining room. She now knew that whoever was responsible for the groundskeeper to be transformed into a werewolf was still in the area back home. She went back to the campfire and later after the Sargent Major returned to oversee his men, she filled them all in on what was going on back in Kentucky.
Chapter 42 Back For Birds
Chelsea listened to the story of the three latest murders back in Kentucky.
“This werewolf has three more days left in this full moon cycle. He will kill again.”
Hadiya and Shawn came over. Shawn had a large bandage over his chest and a new shirt on that still wasn’t buttoned down the front.
Nathan smiled and looked up at the lad.
“So how are you feeling?”
“Great. I think I am in love.”
Hadiya smiled as she held on to his arm.
“I meant how do you feel physically.”
“Good… a little sore but I am getting back to normal.”
“Pull up a stump and join us.”
The pair sat down as Hadiya leaned in.
“I heard you talking about another werewolf attack?”
“Yes. Three people died today back home.”
“Were any of them bitten?”
“No, they all look like they were slashed to death.”
“Then Chelsea is right, he will kill again sometime in the next three remaining days.”
Chelsea looked at Elizabeth.
“Look, suppose this is the creature that turned your father’s groundskeeper and caused his blood to infect your brother… He is smart. He will probably kill some animals during the rest of his cycle, but he will kill at least one more human by biting before it ends.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you so sure that he will kill another person?”
“Because he has to leave the door open for the police to seek another person other than him. He will probably focus in on killing animals far away from his current location while stalking a victim to turn into one of his own. You see, if he succeeds in finding a suitable replacement for himself, at the next full moon cycle the other one will be set up as the area’s killer and he will be free to just move on and no longer be hunted.”
“Yes and then he can start all over again somewhere else. It’s all about victims.”
“Why didn’t he just turn one of the three he killed last night?”
“I don’t know, maybe that was his initial plan… unless it was too close to sunrise and it was running out of time for the evening or maybe he was interrupted… there could be a lot of reasons.”
“That is why I think you should call back there and order the tests. Just in case...”
Elizabeth looked at Nathan.
“It will look like you are just being thorough.”
Elizabeth got up and returned to the command tent and placed the call.
“So Ed, how is it going?”
“Oh hi Elizabeth... We got everyone in again and the FBI folks are here as well.”
“Have you found any bite marks yet?”
“No only deep gashes. It would appear they all bleed to death, except for one of the men who was hung on that hook. That looks like the spinal damage may have been his cause of death long before he bled to death.”
“Could they all be shown?”
“Maybe if the mortuary gave the female some type of turtle neck shirt or other covering to hide her neck injuries. Her wounds are much higher to her face.”
“Would you mind if I asked for an additional test?”
“You’re the boss go ahead and ask.”
“I want the hearts extracted on all three and examined.”
“The FBI boys will love that. They are always asking for all kinds of additional tests. Why would you ask for that? I mean it is pretty obvious what the causes of death are in all three cases.”
“I know but humor me and then bag the hearts and place them in the body bags without putting them back in the bodies with the other organs you must remove.”
“Are you following a hunch?”
Elizabeth didn’t like hiding the truth from her number one doctor.
“Do you want a cranial extraction and test as well?”
“No but maybe next time.”
“God, I hope there isn’t a next time.”
“If there is, then we will add a cranial extraction and test on the next victim. I think if this continues to happen before the police find this killer we will have ran a full range of tests across all the victims leaving no stone unturned.”
“Alright, but do we need to do it to all three or just one?”
“Do all three for me just this one time.”
“Okay but I got to tell you we have had more work since you left than we ever had. I hope you will be returning soon. The paperwork you have to do is killing me. I never knew how many forms are required.”
“That is because the FBI is there. They tend to double the usual amount.”
“Well enjoy your vacation and please hurry back!”
Elizabeth smiled.
“I will my friend.”
She hung up and returned to the campfire.
“Are they going to do it?”
“Yes. They will pull the hearts out on all three.”
“Good that insures that if the werewolf bit one of them and then covered it with gashes, without hearts in those bodies, they will not come back from the dead and turn.”
***
Iolana woke first and took some nourishment from Cinnet’s arm. Cinnet then shook Jerrick until he woke up. Cinnet held up one finger. Neither Iolana nor Jerrick knew what he was telling them. Cinnet took his finger nail and drew a rough outline of the forty-eight states. He then drew an irregular pattern above the states.
“Well it looks like we are either going to Alaska or somewhere in Canada.”
He then pointed to spot that would be considered to be somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. He held up the single finger again and made an arc from that spot into what Iolana thought was Alaska.
Jerrick looked at Iolana.
“I think he is trying to tell us that this next tunnel will take us to somewhere in Alaska and that this jump will be the last before we begin our search for Wolf’s Bane.”
The Meeratt drew the half of the sun and a line.
Iolana looked back at the drawing.
“And I suppose this is to tell us we will be arriving at either sunrise or sunset.”
“Yes and there is no way to find out which one it will be.”
Iolana rolled up her dirt bag sleeping roll.
“There’s only one way to find out for sure.”
Jerrick climbed up on the tray for the next tunnel and shot down the next passage. Iolana and Cinnet would soon follow.
***
Nathan gave Elizabeth a light kiss and gently shook her. She rolled over and smiled up at Nathan.
“What time is it?”
“About four in the morning...”
` “Chelsea met with Khu and the elder Meeratt, Boyat. “
“How is Tom?”
“He is still trying to change but the urges are becoming less and the pentagram on his chest is becoming less and less noticeable.”
“Poor Tom... he certainly didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Chelsea made her last trip for the evening and negotiated a deal with the senior Meeratt. He will let the guides go into the first valley and extract as many Dodo birds as they need to fill their quota.”
“What was the price for this arrangement?”
“Two more rubies... It seems Khu had told Iolana about how they hold the value of ruby stones high in priority so Iolana stripped all the rubies from the ladies’ jewelry. Many of the Bigfoot sightings are because the senior members of their village go out into the mountains looking for those stones.”
Elizabeth remembered Nathan telling her that the secret to entering their world was the insertion of a ruby into a depression in the sandstone. It made sense to her. After all, rubies are the third hardest stone in the world and probably never wear out as a key.
“I thought you might help cook and serve a meal for the men. They are going back into the first valley with their cages.”
“Sure.”
Elizabeth came out and joined the ‘mess’ cook as he too was preparing breakfast for the Sargent Major’s men. She smiled when she saw Platt coming down the serving line with his crutch.
“How’s that side and your leg doing this morning?”
“Good thanks for your help.”
“You know as your doctor, I would rather have you get another day or two of rest before putting weight on that side.”
“The men will need me. According to Chelsea, the senior Meeratt is the only one who can control the Bunyips in that valley and he won’t be there. He will be in all day with your brother and Khu. They will need protection.”
