Page 40 of Monstrous Hunt
Head cocked, Rizan stared at me intently. “How so?”
“He’s tracking alien sightings to try and find us. So most of his sightings should be in our general area. Maybe he already has a lead on where another Myrm crash might be.”
His eyes flared, flashing brilliant emerald. “Ask if she can get a map of his locations. If he’s figured out our original mission’s coordinates, then I agree this human may be able to suggest a second crash site.”
My fingers flew over the keyboard typing up the response. “Let’s see what she says.”
I cleaned out the rest of my folders to kill a little time, not sure how quickly Holly might be able to reply. But she must have been waiting anxiously at her computer. “She sent a picture of his map.”
Blinking several times, Rizan didn’t move closer to see the screen. “Got it.”
I wasn’t sure how, at first, until I realized he must have been able to connect directly into my laptop without even touching it. He clicked his beak, shaking his head ruefully. “The human does have our original site marked on his map. Several people in a nearby village reported a large, dark blob, blacker than the night sky.”
“The space whale,” I whispered, staring at the map with colorful push pins marking different spots. “Sierra Madre Occidental makes sense for alien sightings. The mountainous region makes it one of the least populated areas in Central America.”
Kroktl leaned over my shoulder and pointed to one of the blue push pins. “This spot matches our coordinates for the original mission.”
There were five other push pins scattered around it. I wasn’t sure of the scale of the map, but from the little I knew of the area, I guessed they were remote locations. There wouldn’t be many roads in the area, though… I zoomed in on the picture of the map and opened Google to search for some of the place names. “There’s a train that passes through the mountains, connecting the coast to central Chihuahua. Evidently, it’s become quite a tourist attraction. There are towns along the way with hotels and shopping.”
Chills raced down my arms. “If the Myrm can get carried by a host down to the train, then it’ll be easy for them to spread. Not just to people native to the area, either.”
“Myrm have just as much access to Earth’s technology and news sources as we do. While the first wave is primarily reconnaissance, they choose their landing spots to encourage rapid transmission.” Rizan leaned closer and drew a red squiggly line across the map with the tip of his finger. A feat made even more impressive by the fact that my MacBook didn’t even have a touchscreen. “This is the train. Which means…” He crossed off the other pushpins one by one. “None of these supposed sightings would have been Myrm because they’re too far away from the train. The sites aren’t the right combination of remote yet also readily accessible to human spread.”
Leaving one lone pin a short distance from a town called Creel.
“They could start by infecting fauna only,” Lohr said.
“True,” Rizan admitted. “They generally prefer to spread via birds since migratory habits encourage their movement across larger areas. But it’s worth checking it out.”
“Agreed,” Snryx replied. “We don’t have much else to go on right now.”
A heavy silence filled the room, surprising me. I thought they’d leap into action, eager to demonstrate the squad’s lethal abilities before the Myrm could spread. Then it dawned on me.
They’re worried about what to do with me.
* * *
KROKTL
:I’m not leaving her.:
No one objected but we all knew the risk. Breaking up the squad was an equally bad idea. If another squad attacked and Axxol was investigating the crash site, I wouldn’t be able to get her to safety. I’d have to kill the entire squad—while also trying to keep her safe.
I’d do anything to protect her. But I also had to be realistic.
At the last house, I’d been confident that I could kill while Lohr protected her with his shell, but Axxol had interfered. I’d been furious at the time, but maybe whisking her away had saved her life. The CEOT could have rammed Lohr over the same way and killed her before I could’ve disengaged from the speedy YRR.
:We can’t risk exposing her to Myrm.:Snryx said.:Besides, another jump could kill both her and the youngling.:
:Jumping to investigate the second site will likely draw DSC’s notice,:Rizan added.:Axxol claims to have lost them, but they’ll certainly pick up on another electromagnetic pulse, especially from this region.:
I ground my jaws, trying to hold back the raptor’s roar of fury at the thought of our mate being in danger yet again.:Then a squad will be sent to investigate. She’ll be at risk if we keep her here.:
:We could travel cross-country rather than jump,:Lohr said.:At your max speed, traveling at night, you could make it in approximately seven days.:
:Bullshit,:I retorted.:You said it would take us three nights to get here from the caves. The pushpin on the map is over three-thousand kilometers away!:
:Yourmax speed,:Lohr replied mildly.:I can follow along at the rear, or better yet, act as a decoy to draw any other squad off your trail.:
