In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 17: I Want Kids

Devon followed the tire tracks until they stopped. The defined pattern in the dirt road was easy to follow and it surprised her when they stopped short. Footprints were scattered around the tire treads and there was even a sliding impression where she had slipped and fallen to the ground.

She stopped and took a moment to rest. With her hands on her knees she bent over and tried to regulate her breathing. Her vision danced and her head spun. It didn't take a medic to know that her body was aching to shut down.

Straightening up she turned off the road and pushed her way into the brush.

Nothing looked familiar. The trees were beginning to blur together, and she worried she wouldn't be able to find Teh. A small mirthless laugh bubbled up and she shook her head. Wouldn't it be something if she came out here to rescue Teh and ended up getting lost herself?

The individual first aid kit she had taken from Joom thumped against her thigh as she stepped over roots and bushes. Devon was moving fast, probably too fast, but stealth wasn't her main goal. Her hope was that the grenade was enough to scare off the gunmen and they would be long gone.

What if they have Teh?

She couldn't think that way. A defeatist attitude like that would only slow her down. Teh was probably just sidelined by something ridiculous like a twisted ankle. She would show up and he would be embarrassed. They would limp back to the camp together and it would end up as a not so funny memory.

Leaves and sticks crunched under her boots and she stumbled a bit. The terrain was rougher this time around. Looking up she tried to find something she could remember—a particularly gnarled tree or a strange looking bush. Something that she could use to give her an inkling that she was moving in the right direction.

The late afternoon light gave the jungle a reddish orange filter and in any other situation she might have found it beautiful. It reminded her of a painting. Something warm and soft rather than the sinister situation she was actually in.

Devon tripped over a root and caught herself on a tree. Her hand struck something besides smooth bark—a gash had opened up on the trunk and the wounded bark had peeled up so that it pierced her palm.

Lifting her hand away she could see a definite bullet hole. It wasn't a through and through and the brass from the crushed bullet glinted in the low light. Devon felt her stomach drop and she gingerly touched the scarred tree truck. The bullet was buried too deep for her to remove it by hand. Judging by the side of the tree the bullet was in, it must have come from Ben or Nok's P90's.

She moved around the tree and instinctively ducked her head. Crouching, she moved forward carefully and tried to listen for any sounds. Above her some birds were calling and in the distance ahead she could hear a small animal foraging around in the underbrush. These were all good signs that there was no activity from the gunmen. But that also meant that Teh wasn't moving around ahead either.

Moving forward she finally saw the depression where they had been attacked. Hiding behind a tree she paused and peered around to look.

The smell of gunpowder was still lingering in the air. Most of the trees in the area had been shredded by the gunfire and the area beyond the downed tree looked like a blackened warzone. The grenade had sent shrapnel in every direction and bits of metal glinted where they had been embedded. Casting around she found a thick branch. It was about the size of her forearm and she felt better with it in her hand.

There was no movement, so Devon continued forward and slipped down the hill they had only recently scrambled up. The downed tree was in front of her. It was in a lot worse shape than when they first encountered it. Now it resembled something akin to a wooden version of swiss cheese.