**
“That’s the continuation of the river we saw starting with that amazing waterfall,” Martina said.
We were all trying to orient ourselves with what we had seen from the air--but it wasn't easy.
We had other priorities up there.
We had trekked over a small ridge and were looking down at a new valley which was wider than the one where we had crashed. This entire valley was dense with vegetation. It looked like the trees continued unbroken, virgin forest spreading off to the distance just below a long slowly dropping mountain. You could see open space and hear the dull roar of the river flowing beyond the visible mountainside and off into the distance. From our vantage point upon the ridge we could see across the valley we had just left, and the one in front of us. Beyond that in all directions were high peaks that we couldn't see beyond.
“I wonder how far it goes?”
“Farther than you’ve ever been in your life, Tyler,” Martina said.
"From here we can see across the valley at least," Doug said.
"Can you see that?" Martina said, looking across the valley ahead and towards the mountainside climbing ahead of us. Martina was pointing out an area which looked like it had been hit.
"That's definitely unnatural," I said.
"Gotta be the attack site we noticed overhead--looks like a missile attack," Andy said.
"Good, we're headed in the right direction. If they were firing there," Martina said, "there must of been something important there."
We stood a few more minutes staring back where we came from and forwards towards the crater we saw. Everyone was panting and wide-eyed.
"Whataya doin'?! Catchin' flies? Let's go!" Andy said and we headed down the ridge and towards the crater.
What more discussion did we need? It was the only sign of life.
Heading across the valley was not too easy. The ground was soft and wet.
"Man, my goddamned boot came off," I cursed as the bog sucked my boot right off my foot.
Stoneman laughed.
"Glad I can cheer you up," I said.
We had to take a couple of breaks across the valley. Obviously, none of us were used to travelling across distances or surfaces like that. Stoneman kept muttering "Un-be-liev-able" over and over again.
"At least the ground is solid," Doug said as we finally got across the valley and started up the mountainside towards the crater.
"Yeah, it might be steep on the mountainside, but at least it's dry," I said.
"Finally, there it is!" Martina said as we approached the gaping hole in the mountain.
"None too soon," I panted, "it's just getting steeper and steeper.
Our enthusiasm was slightly abated when we arrived at the clearing.
"Look at the size of it!" I marvelled as we arrived at the crater.
It was large and round, devoid of trees apart from charred remains. The crater was surrounded by a circular ridge which spoke to the violence of the aerial attack.
"I guess we got' em good here," Andy said.
Sure enough, it was an entrenched spot where the terrorists had been launching from, or it sure looked like it. There was a sizable crater in the middle with charred wreckage strewn everywhere.
"It must've been a while ago," Martina said, feeling some new foliage which was growing out of the carnage.
"Life always continues, I suppose, no matter how much we try and stop it," Doug said.
"Always the philosopher," Andy said, shaking his head.
We walked slowly over the area. It was hard to distinguish what we were looking at; everything was just a pile of black charcoal with new growth pushing out of it. A large barrel lay in the middle of the blackness. It was probably the artillery that was used to fire at the Earth dome or some target in the safe zone. Whatever it was, it was useless to us now. Other forms were there, maybe the body of artillery, maybe the body of one of the terrorists, it was hard to tell. I did not want to look too closely anyway. Around the edges we found exactly what we were looking for; not one, but actually two rifles. We held them proudly as we picked them up, excited about this archaic technology. The day before, it would have been quite depressing to be stuck with an old-style gun like that, but at that particular moment we were thrilled to find it.
“Do you think they’re operational?” I said.
“Only one way to find out,” Martina said.
She pointed up in the sky and clicked several times with no response.
“Damn it! Wait, where’s the safety on this old thing?”
We looked over the guns.
“I think I have it,” I said, clicking off the safety and firing up in the air. The gunshot echoed throughout the mountains, loud at first, and fading as it bounced off into the distance. The two of us immediately shared a panicked look.
“Man, this is our lucky day,” as I pointed to a cache of bullets on the ground away from the main blast site.
“That may be an exaggeration; we came over here cause of the signs of life. No great surprise that the signs are remnants of terrorists and their weapons.”
"Well, we were lucky none of them survived to carry away the guns," I said, "and you've gotta admit--the day's getting a bit better.
"Yeah--a bit better,” Martina admitted.
“It can’t get worse, right?”
“Hey, we’re still alive. I can tell by how sore I am.”
"So, our treasure hunt was fruitful," Doug said, "what do we do now?"
"Back to the Covert," Martina said.
"What?!" Andy said, "Forget it!"
"No, she's right," I said, "it's another trek, but we got what we wanted here. We've got weapons. Wandering away from the Covert is only going to make it harder for military dispatch to track us down."
"What about the damn terrorists!" Andy said, "They can find us too."
"Sure," I said, "I'm not suggesting we pic-nic on top of the friggin' craft!"
"Yeah," Doug said, "there looked to be a lot of plateaus and maybe even caves or things on the mountains on the other side. We could find a good hiding spot and wait."
"Exactly,” I said, "why didn't you pay attention when I said this before Stoneman!"
"Aw shut up and let's head back," Andy said, starting to head down the mountainside already.
On the way back we didn’t talk much. We knew how much energy the trek took the first time.
"Damn friggin' bugs!" Martina said.
"This is one thing I like less than the fresh air," I added.
Through the boggy valley the insects were irritating. It made a tough trek even tougher.
We concentrated on the mountains beyond the ridge; beyond the claustrophobic mass of trees we had to trudge through. We didn’t want to lose perspective of where we were and where we were headed. I saw a little animal leaping over my head. It was tiny with a bushy tail and its agility was amazing. It leapt from one tree branch to another, traversing the expanse of trees nearly as quickly as if it were flying—chirping all the way.
"Look at that stupid thing," Andy said, "laughing at us."
“I wouldn’t mind being as agile as that thing,” I said.
“Well, you’re not; so let’s get going,” Martina said. She was focused and had a good head of steam going, in no mood for idle musings. She continued around the mountainside, setting the pace, and led the way across the valley and up the ridge where we had been able to look at the area.
"It doesn't seem nearly as far from here," Doug said, looking back to the crater and forward to the next valley where we had crash-landed. He was panting heavily; stopping and bending over.
"You're in crappy shape for a young recruit," Andy said.
Our pace became slower and more cautious as we crossed over the ridge and traversed the valley back towards the meadow where we crash-landed the Covert.
“I hope we don’t have any unwelcome visitors,” I whispered.
“Maybe the cavalry is here,” Martina said.
/>
"It's not far at all now," Doug said, looking in all directions.
We were upon the meadow and could see the Covert just across it.
Martina grabbed my arm and said quietly:
"Wait, wait--we're covered by trees here."
Just ahead of us was open marsh with no more tree cover. There were rocks where we could cross over but we'd be clearly visible from the air.
Everyone stopped and listened for any sounds.
There was nothing, just a gentle wind and the flowing water.
Martina was scouring the cliff beyond the meadow.
"There must be someplace."
"How about that?" I said, pointing to the distance. Up the mountainside there was a plateau which looked promising.
"Good vantage spot," Andy said, "and good hiding spot."
"We're gonna have to find a way to make our way around the meadow, to the cliff on the other side," I said.
"It's not that far," Doug said.
"Without getting shot jackass!" Andy said.
"Can ya shut up Stoneman!" Martina said. "If we stay along the right here; along the edge of the trees in the valley--out of the opening of the marshy areas--it'll be a bit longer but--"
"--a lot safer." I said. "I agree."
Heading out, I kept looking up through the trees, half-hoping for a government search party--and half-dreading a terrorist attack. This valley was much smaller, and even though we took a roundabout way, we made it across fairly quickly. The cliff face was easy to climb. It took us little time to climb up. As we reached the plateau, I turned and noticed how we had a clear view of the meadow, and more importantly, the Covert. There were even some rocks in front of us to hide behind while we were keeping watch. It was perfect.
“Good spot, eh guys?” Doug said, beaming.
“Absolutely,” Martina said.
It was getting late in the day and the sun was disappearing beyond the mountains. Shadows grew and spread over the wilderness. We all hunkered down together, watching dusk unfold from our little clearing--in both awe and fear. The temperature cooled as we sat in a circle sucking on our tasteless energy packs. They were a functional but uninspiring bit of technology in this timeless, primitive landscape.
We took turns standing up, looking over the rocks at the Covert below, until the last rays of sunshine slowly disappeared, leaving the Covert, the meadow, and even the vast mountains under a blanket of darkness. The vast array of stars that decorate the night sky suddenly came out to play. I think it comforted all of us. Suddenly, the space station did not seem so far away. As the light gave way to the dark, strange sounds and cool winds made the night in the wilderness of Earth not nearly as inviting as the day.
“We better try and get some sleep,” I said.
“Easy to say, not so easy to do,” Martina said.
“Yeah, I’m pretty wound up,” Doug said.
“Tired too though,” Andy added. "Where the hell's the rescue party!"