THIRTY FIVE

Alan and Ellie stood quietly for several moments after the helicopter disappeared over the treetops and the sounds of the rotors faded away. The trees that surrounded the small meadow were hushed and still in prelude to the approaching storm. There was no indication that the area was inhabited by any living thing, and as Ellie gazed at the empty sky where the helicopter had disappeared, she felt strangely spooked in the total silence. It was as if the vehicle had absorbed all the sound in the jungle and carried it away.

Nervously, she pulled her eyes from the sky and allowed them to travel along the edge of the tree line, studying the limp fronds and leaves and the deep shadows that lay beneath them. It was so quiet! What kinds of creatures were lurking in the concealing foliage of the jungle? Were they being watched at this very moment? Was that the reason for the total silence?

Her pulse and respiration increased with sudden apprehension and expectation, but as she watched, nothing presented itself.

Shifting her gaze again, she observed the gently rolling, densely foliated mountain peaks that swelled all around them. They were completely alone, far from the safety of the compound, and the jungle seemed strangely alive and forbidding, like a giant predator, poised to strike.

Alan was watching her with understanding eyes, recognizing the mounting panic in her expression and rapid breath. Reaching out, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and felt her flinch at his unexpected touch. The eyes that darted to his face were unusually wide.

"I know what you’re feeling, Ellie," he said, quietly. "I’ve been through it too when I first came here. When I watched Miguel’s plane fly into the horizon, I can’t even describe how alone and vulnerable I felt. I promise it’ll pass." He gave her an encouraging smile, and moved his hand to caress her cheek. "And you’re not alone. You still have me."

She managed a slight smile in response, grateful for his companionship. After enjoying the conversation and the laughter of others for several days now, being totally alone with Alan again seemed strange, and it made her realize just how much she had craved the company of others. "I guess I’m just being foolish," she said, surprised that her voice did not sound normal. She placed her hand over his. "Having you with me is the only thing that keeps me sane out here. How did you deal with being completely alone like that?"

"By getting busy." He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, then released it, a signal that there were things to be done. "We have a lot to do, and the first thing we need to do is find a suitable location to make camp before the rain hits."

Ellie pulled the elastic band from her hair and tucked it into her front pocket as she gathered her hair again to collect the strands that had come loose. "How long do you think we have?" she asked as she looped the elastic band around her pony tail again.

He glanced at the sky, which was still clear and blue, but he could feel the air pressing down on them, heavy with moisture. "No idea, but it can’t be much longer. I don’t think we have time to build and weatherproof a lean-to before it hits, so we need to find some kind of natural shelter." He opened up the map and verified their position again, memorizing the surrounding terrain and the direction they needed to be heading. They would not go in a straight line toward the provisions they had stored, but would take detours, following the contours of the rugged terrain and seeking animal trails that would provide valuable information about the wildlife in the area. "It would be ideal if we could find some sort of cave or overhanging rock that we could get under." He pointed to an area on the map that indicated a craggy area of the topography. "I think our best chances might be in this area here."

Ellie leaned closer to look at the area beneath his forefinger. "Can we make it that far before the rain hits?"

He shrugged. "We’ll see."

After returning the map to the backpack, Alan lifted it and slipped his arms through the shoulder pads, settling it in the middle of his back so that it lay with relative comfort. The satchel containing the food and water was draped over one shoulder so that it hung on the opposite hip. Last, he reached for the box containing the security sensor that would alert them to the approach of wild animals. Following his lead, Ellie put on her backpack and picked up the small ice chest.

"All set?" he asked, cheerfully.

She nodded in response.

He started walking toward the edge of the meadow, and she fell in step beside him. Within moments, they had moved out of the sunlit meadow and into the perpetual shade of the jungle. Although the long, stretching limbs of the canopy almost completely blocked out the sky, with only small patches of blue showing through, the trees themselves were spaced well apart, allowing plenty of room for them to walk side by side. Occasionally they had to skirt a clump of ferns, a fallen branch, or a young tree growing in the shade of its parent as it reached for the life-giving sun.

"So, what do you think we’ll find out here?" she asked.

"Well, we’ll find out if the dinosaurs have come into the higher elevations, and if they haven’t, then maybe we’ll find out if any of the native species has survived," he replied.

"How likely is that?"

"Impossible to say." He cast a pleasant smile toward her. "Guess we’ll find out."

She fell silent after that, trudging along beside him. Alan appeared to be in his element here. He was relaxed, and it was clear that he was enjoying the hike. His demeanor was calming to her. The sudden panic she had felt earlier was dissipating, and her interest in the project was returning. Recalling her first day on the island and her observations of the primeval atmosphere of the area between the landing strip and the compound, she quickly came to the realization that these mountains were even more primitive. Here, there were no tire ruts to scar the ground, no debris from fallen airplanes, no landing strips or parking lots; no sign that another human being had ever traversed the slopes. It was like stepping back to another time.

Alan was in good spirits, pleased to be investigating the mountains that had eluded him for so long. He was interested in everything, stopping to peruse the soft dirt on the jungle floor in search of footprints and droppings, and Ellie found herself examining the vegetation with equal attention, appreciating nature in its unspoiled habitat. Tall ceiba trees, their large buttress roots anchored firmly in the jungle soil, stretched their towering 150 foot canopies high above the lower growing trees and plants. Beneath the canopy, shade loving ferns and lichens found their niche in the mossy earth. Pink, lavender, and violet terrestrial orchids, nestled in the compost-rich soil, opened their colorful petals to the pollinating insects, while beautiful pink epiphytes clung to other plants without benefit of soil, absorbing moisture and nutrients from the humidity and run-off from their hosts.

"That’s no dinosaur print," Alan said suddenly. Kneeling down, he examined a small foot print in the soft soil.

Ellie leaned over his shoulder to look. "Looks like a raccoon track. One of those little bandits kept getting into our garbage cans last summer, and raided a neighbor’s koi pond. A real nuisance."

"Maybe, but on this island, I think it’s more likely a kinkajou. They spend most of their time in the treetops." Stepping back, he turned his eyes to the tall trees, seeking any sign of a furry creature. "They’re nocturnal," he added, "so I don’t think we’ll be able to spot one."

When their perusal of the tree tops failed to reveal any sign of the kinkajou, Ellie’s eyes fell again on the variety of orchids of varying sizes and colors, and she slipped off the backpack. She unzipped it and removed one of the cameras from it, then snapped several pictures of the flowers. "They’re beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Look how big they are!"

Alan glanced at her then at the orchid, rather bemused by her interest in the flowers. "You’ve seen orchids before."

"Hybrids in a florist shop," she countered.

"You saw some on the way to and from the landing strip, also," he reminded her.

"They weren’t this big or this colorful. I’ve never seen them like this before." She adjusted the aperture to allow more light into the camera, then set up her next shot. "Gorgeous!"

Alan returned his attention to the treetops again, still searching for signs of the animal that had left the tracks, and his sharp eye caught a barely perceptible movement in the treetops. Stepping sideways for a better view through the limbs and foliage, he found not the expected kinkajou, but a mass of tangled fur, tinged with green algae which enabled the creature to blend so completely with its environment that he almost didn’t see it.

Excitedly, he grasped Ellie’s arm, causing her to lose the shot she was setting up. The shutter clicked as her finger pressed the button, and she knew she probably had just taken a good picture of a bare tree trunk. "Alan, you made me waste the shot!"

"Look," he said, pointing upward with his forefinger. "Right up there in the trees," he added when she squinted upward, unable to find what he was seeing.

Ellie moved in front of him, following the direction of his finger, and finally saw the three toed sloth clambering slowly along the tree limbs, browsing on the leaves. "A sloth!"

"Yes. I wasn’t too surprised at the possibility of squirrels or kinkajous surviving, but this is proof that some of the larger mammals have survived as well! They’ve moved into the higher elevations. This is exactly the kind of information I wanted to know."

She raised the camera, adjusted the zoom lens, and snapped a picture of the sloth. It’s small, strangely shaped head turned slowly toward them, observing the two humans with mild interest. Apparently deciding that they intended no harm, it returned to its slow progression through the tree tops, nibbling on the tender leaves and shoots.

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen one of these creatures," Alan told her. "The fact that it lives in the treetops may have something to do with how it’s managed to survive on this island."

"Look how it blends in with the foliage," Ellie pointed out. "Even a raptor would have trouble spotting that creature!" She snapped another picture of it, using the zoom lens to obtain a close-up of its strange looking face. "So does that mean there aren’t any dinosaurs up this high?"

"I haven’t seen any trace of them yet," he replied. "There’s bound to be some, although I’m starting to wonder if they dislike the higher elevations."

"Lighter atmosphere?"

"Possibly. These mountains are not very high, but there could be slight differences in atmospheric conditions that do not affect us. The rugged terrain could also have something to do with it. Animals that big will have some trouble navigating rocky slopes, for instance, especially the bi-peds. There may be smaller species up here, but I expect we’ll see some a little farther down."

They were interrupted by the ominous rumbling of distant thunder, reminding them of the rain storm that was approaching, and both looked up, even though they could see only small patches of blue through the dense canopy. But the atmosphere around them seemed to be growing darker, indicating that the clouds were beginning to encroach upon the sun.

"Looks like we’re going to get wet soon," she commented.

"We’d better start looking for shelter," Alan said, quietly.

Resolutely, Ellie picked up her backpack again, and they resumed their hike through the jungle, seeking a place of refuge from the weather.

"Will rain damage the equipment?" she asked after a short time.

"Well, because of the wet climate here, I thought it might be prudent to bring an empty plastic bag with us that we can put the cameras and the pistol in if necessary."

"Good thinking."

He hefted the small case carrying the sensor device. "I don’t know how watertight this case is, but we can make room for it in the bag. I’m hoping we’ll be able to find someplace where we can stay dry, though."

As they continued their journey, the shade beneath the canopy continued to grow steadily deeper as the storm advanced. At first, the progression had been almost imperceptible, a slow transition as the sun was gradually eclipsed by the storm clouds, but as they continued to drift across the sky, driven by strong upper level winds, a deepening shadow fell upon the jungle, blotting out the light almost completely until they were finally enshrouded in darkness almost as black as night, broken by occasional flashes of lightning.

Neither of them spoke, for to say that they needed to find shelter quickly was merely restating the obvious. In the lead, Alan pushed determinedly through the foliage, constantly aware of Ellie, always beside him in the open areas or close on his heels whenever the spaces closed due to denser foliage. They had seen no more animals in the deepening gloom; they had probably taken shelter, a glaring reminder that they must do the same. But no suitable places presented themselves. He considered trying to form some sort of shelter nestled between the buttress roots of one of the towering ceiba trees using large palm leaves for a roof, but if high winds blew in with the rain, the endeavor would prove a waste of valuable time. So they pressed onward.

The rain had not yet begun as they emerged into a small open meadow, but with a clear view of the sky now, both knew it was only moments away. High above them, angry black clouds rolled and tumbled across the sky, highlighted by zigzagging streaks of lightning.

"This is no good," Alan said, more to himself than to Ellie. "We can’t stay out in the open like this." He pointed to a high rocky cliff. "Maybe we can find some cover over there."

They broke into a run across the open meadow, hurrying through the waist-high grass toward the cliff. In the back of their minds, there was the knowledge that predators, such as raptors, could be hiding in the tall grass, but if they existed at this altitude, it was more likely that they had sought shelter in the jungle.

When they reached the base of the cliff, Alan turned to look behind them; already, he could see a hazy sheet of rain falling on the mountain range, and moving toward them at a rapid pace. Turning away from it, they hurried along the foot of the bluff. "Look for an overhang or a recess or something that can give us some cover," he instructed.

The ground was extremely rocky and littered with debris from previous storms. Limbs and small branches littered the ground, providing many tripping hazards and slowed their progress. Most likely, they had been lost from the trees during previous storms and had collected against the bluff.

They had not gone far when he felt Ellie grab the back of his shirt to gain his attention. "Hey Alan, look at that!"

He stopped and turned back to face her, then followed her pointing hand upward. Above their heads yawned a wide niche in the rocky face, about ten feet up the slope.

"Think its deep enough?"

"Maybe, if we can get up to it," he agreed.

Together, they hurried toward it, searching the rocky area below for a safe way up. The ground was very rough, for there were boulders and outcroppings of rock everywhere, and here and there, a lone tree stood at various positions near the bluff, but none were near enough to provide access to the niche.

They stopped directly beneath the niche, and looked up at the rocky slope beneath it.

"That shouldn’t be too difficult," Alan decided. Reaching out, he placed his hand on one of the rocks that jutted outward from the face of the bluff. It was impossible to determine how deeply the rocks were set in the face of the cliff, but with a little luck and a lot of caution they could utilize them all the way up. "We can use these rocks as footholds. See how they stick out from the ground?"

Ellie tilted her head back, her eyes moving slowly upward with the same scrutiny as Alan. "There are a few saplings that have taken root among the rocks. They will make good handholds."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"This is great! We’ll be safe enough that we shouldn’t even need to use the sensors," Ellie pointed out. "That will extend the life of the batteries for times when we really do need them."

He glanced over his shoulder. The downpour was moving down the slopes and coming toward them. Already, he could smell the fresh scent of rain. "It’ll be dark in there," he noted. Lowering his eyes, he scanned the ground, noticing again the dried debris against the bluff. "We’ll need something to make a fire. Let’s grab some of this wood, and carry it up with us."

There was not a moment to lose now, and neither was sure they would make it inside before it rained, but the thought of a cozy fire was appealing. Working together, they grabbed as much of the dry wood as they could carry, and met back at the area just below the niche. Alan opened his pack and removed a roll of heavy-duty twine, tossed in at the last moment, and quickly wrapped a length of it around it to form a bundle.

"I don’t think we can climb with the ice chest or the sensor case," he said. "We’ll tie them into the bundle and pull them up when we reach the top."

"What if it breaks?" Ellie asked.

He paused to look at her, then replied, "Pray that it doesn’t. If that sensor gets damaged . . . " There was no need to complete the sentence. They both knew what would happen if the valuable tool was lost.

He quickly tied the ice chest and the sensor case to the bundle of firewood and tied the other end of the twine to his belt. With their provisions secured, he began to climb.

It was surprisingly easy to climb, for the face of the cliff tilted at a slight angle, allowing him to lean slightly forward as he climbed, using the protrusions as both handholds and footholds. This gradual curve became more pronounced the nearer he got to the rim, and holding onto the thin trunk of a sapling for support, he was able to walk the last few steps on the sloping ground to the mouth of the niche. Turning, he was not surprised to find Ellie right behind him, and farther out in the meadow, he heard the drumming of rain marching toward them, driven by the rising wind. He leaned over to grasp her hand, assisting her over the edge just as the first fat drops of rain struck him in the face.

After untying the twine from his belt, he carefully pulled the bundle upward. Hand over hand, he pulled on the length of twine, feeling it moving back and forth, toward and away from the face of the bluff as the wind gusted strongly, and once the bundle bumped against the rocks, bringing a groan of protest from Alan as he waited for the twine to break and send their possessions clattering back to the ground, but the dreaded consequence did not occur. The twine held, and Ellie reached down to help pull it over the edge when it reached the top.

The wide opening was high enough that they were able to enter it without ducking their heads, and with their possessions clutched in their hands, they dodged into it quickly, the rain pelting the ground behind them. An instant later, the sky opened up and released a torrential downpour.

Ellie saw Alan grinning in the dim light. "Not a moment too soon!"

"Wow, look at that!" Ellie exclaimed.

The rain was coming down in sheets, obscuring their vision as they looked toward the jungle. The trees waved violently in the wind, and leaves and twigs were ripped from the branches. A strong gust blew a splattering of rain drops into the mouth of the crevice, forcing them to take a step backward.

Alan placed the bundle on the floor and untied the twine, then carefully rolled it up again and tucked it into his backpack again. "I almost didn’t bring this along, but thought we might need it for some reason."

He eased the backpack from his shoulders and placed it on the floor beside the other items, positioning all of them far enough back to ensure that they remained safe and dry.

"I sure hope that sloth is holding on for dear life," Ellie joked as she lowered her pack to the floor as well. Then she glanced into the darkness behind her. On a bright day, the light would have probably been able to reach farther into the crevice, but in the darkness of the storm, they could see nothing at all behind them. It was impossible to determine if they were sharing the cave with any other creatures. "I wonder how deep this goes."

"Let’s find out."

Squatting down, Alan unzipped his backpack and reached inside again, feeling around for the flashlight that he could not see. When his fingers made contact with the smooth, hard object, he withdrew it from his backpack and flipped it on, shining the light from side to side and especially at the floor, making certain that the footing was safe.

Following his lead, Ellie removed the other flashlight from her pack, her thumb pressing the switch forward. The twin beams of their powerful flashlights succeeded in pushing back the darkness, the radiance pushing back the intense blackness of the crevice. The air was cooler inside the natural rocky shelter, a welcomed respite from the heat and humidity of the jungle, and they moved toward the rear of it, inspecting it carefully for inhabitants.

It was not quite deep enough to be considered a cave, yet deep enough to provide them with a safe and comfortable refuge from the weather. The floor and ceiling sloped sharply toward each other, meeting in the rear. The flashlights revealed that it was unoccupied.

"I half expected to find some bats in here," Alan confessed. "I didn’t relish the idea of them flying in and out while we were trying to sleep."

"I’m glad there aren’t any," she agreed with a shudder, her flashlight beam still searching the many crevices in the walls and ceiling for anything they might have missed. "I know they’re harmless, but still . . . "

Satisfied that they were alone in the niche, Alan turned back to Ellie. "Good eye," he said, approvingly. "I was looking at ground level, never expecting to find anything suitable higher up than that, so I would have missed it completely."

"I just happened to glance up at the right moment," she told him.

"Well, let’s see about getting a fire built, so we won’t run down the flashlight batteries." Lowering the flashlight beam to the floor of the crevice, he selected a level spot on the ground, far enough back to avoid blowing rain. "I think right about here should do it."

The ground was too hard to dig a fire pit, so working together, they cleared the debris from the selected area, forming a small smooth circle on the rocky ground, then placed a circle of stones to contain the fire they intended to build. Alan withdrew his small hatchet from his pack and cut the dead branches into manageable pieces while Ellie arranged some of it inside the stone circle. The extra was set aside to feed the fire as needed. The dead dry leaves that still clung to the branches were scraped off to use as kindling.

When it was ready, he struck a match and ignited the dry wood and leaves, blowing gently on the tiny flame until it took hold, illuminating the dark dwelling with a soft golden glow. Brushing his hands against his trousers to rub off some of the dirt, he sat down against the stone wall behind him.

"Hungry?" Ellie asked when she felt her empty stomach rumble.

"Starved," came the immediate reply. "I didn’t feel right eating one of those sandwiches in front of everyone else." He reached for the small ice chest that Hammond had provided. "Rather than cooking anything, we can just eat those. Did you put them in the ice chest?"

She looked up from the satchel she had just picked up. "I thought you did."

Their eyes met with the realization that they had left the sandwiches in the large cooler that was by now most of the way back to Costa Rica.

"Oh, well," Alan said, feeling inwardly glad that the remaining sandwiches were gone. "They were getting soggy anyway." He lifted the ice chest, curiously. "Still, it feels like there’s something in here. You don’t suppose Hammond included more surprises for us, do you?"

"I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a sweet old man, and he seems to have taken a liking to the two of us."

Alan opened the small cooler and looked inside, his brow puckered in a curious frown. It was filled with small foil pouches, and he withdrew one to look at the label. "Spicy cheese omelet," he read. "Two servings."

Ellie was instantly intrigued. "Let me see that," she said, reaching for it. He passed it to her, and she examined the pouch. "This is fantastic! Just pour it into the skillet. All the ingredients are already there. What else is in there?"

He passed her the cooler, and she began pulling out other small packets, reading each one with interest.

"Instant mashed potato flakes; just add water. Tuna fish fillets. Even chicken breast, all packaged in these space saving pouches. Look at this." She turned it around so he could see the label. "Pasta with creamy parmesan sauce! All you do is add water and heat. How thoughtful!"

"Well, I’m impressed," Alan said.

"There’s more," Ellie said, withdrawing a box. "A dozen fruit and nut bars. We can save the omelets for breakfast. Let’s see, we have four of those. We also brought some of the cereal, so we can alternate. Let’s have the pasta tonight," she suggested. "We haven’t had pasta since we’ve been here."

"Sounds good," he agreed.

Eagerly, she withdrew the lightweight camping skillet from the satchel and positioned it over the fire. Then, following the directions on the packet, she emptied it into the skillet and added the correct amount of water from one of the bottles. Within minutes, a pleasing aroma wafted through the musty smell of the cave, awakening Alan’s stomach.

"How long does it have to cook?" he asked, leaning over the skillet as she stirred it.

"Not long. Just long enough to get it hot." After a moment, she lifted a sample to her lips and tasted it. "Mmm, perfect. Get the plates."

He found the two lightweight plates they had brought with them, and she divided the servings. Then they settled back to eat, pleased with the additional items to their menu.

They ate in silence for several minutes until Alan finally asked, "Do you realize our tagging mission is the first expedition on these islands without a single fatality?"

"Yeah, you’re right. We had some problems, but everyone pulled together and got the job done without anyone getting killed."

"That Mitch seemed determined to make himself into a statistic, though," he added with a distasteful expression. "Did you see the way he kept wandering off while we were walking toward the pickup point? He could have been picked off as an easy meal by any predator we happened across. He’s just lucky we didn’t cross paths with anything more dangerous than those compies."

Ellie smiled, understanding that Alan’s criticism had less to do with Mitch’s wandering than it did with his interest in her. Inwardly, she was pleased by his obvious jealousy, but she elected to keep that to herself. "Yeah, he didn’t seem to grasp how dangerous this place is," she replied.

Alan jabbed his fork at the pasta a bit more forceful than necessary. "People like that are what cause these catastrophes on this island."

"Yeah, they’re just really stupid," Ellie agreed, still smiling to herself.

Apparently satisfied that she was suitably disgusted with the sharpshooter’s careless behavior, he put it out of his mind. "This is good," he said, indicating the pasta.

"I’d heard they were making things like this as a convenience to campers and hikers, but it never occurred to me to request any from Miguel. I’m not even sure where you buy them."

Outside, the wind was beginning to die down, and the atmosphere became lighter as the clouds unloaded their moisture on the ground below. The rain continued throughout the remainder of the day, and it quickly became apparent that they would be spending the night in the shelter that nature had provided for them.

After the plates and the skillet had been washed and set aside to dry, Alan retrieved his ever-present notebook from his backpack and began jotting down the events of the day. While he did that, Ellie pulled MacFarland’s journal from her backpack and thumbed through it.

Alan glanced up at one point to collect his thoughts, and noticed it on her lap. "You brought the journal?"

"Yeah. I’m not sure why, but I was uncomfortable leaving it behind. Plus, I knew you’d be writing in your notebook, and while you do that I thought I’d go through it and mark the most important pages. That way, when we hand the journal over to Hammond, we can go right to the pages he needs to deal with."

"Good idea."

He dropped his eyes to the current page of his notebook and continued to record the sighting of the sloth and the kinkajou tracks, while Ellie busied herself rereading the journal and marking the pages she believed most important with strips of paper. After a while, the light began to fade again as evening approached. Ellie’s eyes grew tired and she returned the journal to her backpack and stood up to stretch. Then she moved toward the mouth of the crevice.

It was still raining outside, but the gale had been reduced to a soothing gentle shower. The trees and shrubs stood motionless, as if waiting for the rain to stop.

"It sure rains a lot here," she commented.

Alan did not look up, but she could hear his amused smile in his response. "Must be why they call it a ‘rain forest’," he replied.

"Ya think?" she asked with a grin.

After a few more moments, he closed the notebook and returned it to his backpack. "It’s hard to see in here to read or write," he said, rubbing his tired eyes.

"It’s getting dark outside," she told him.

"Still raining," he observed, joining her near the entrance to watch the rain coming down. "Doesn’t look like it wants to ease up any time soon."

"I hope the helicopter made it back before it struck," Ellie said, worriedly.

"Well, they were pretty far ahead of it. I’m sure they’re all dining at a nice restaurant in San Jose about now. Then they’ll go to sleep on a nice soft mattress instead of the hard rocky ground we’ll be on. You could have been there with them," he reminded her as an afterthought.

Turning her head, she looked up into his face, illuminated by the flickering firelight behind them. "I’d rather be here with you, sleeping on the hard rocky ground and eating out of a foil pouch," she told him.

She felt his arms slip around her waist, gently urging her to lean back against him, a request she was only too happy to grant. "I’m glad you stayed, too," he said, his breath soft against her hair.

They stood like that for a long time, watching the rain falling, until the darkness made it impossible to see. Because of the rain and the clouds, there was no moon, and after a while they decided to retire for the night and get an early start in the morning.

THIRTY SIX

Alan’s first impression upon waking was a slight musty smell, reminding him of the first few nights he had spent at the compound. It had taken more than a week to make the living quarters habitable, but he presumed he had eventually gotten accustomed to the smell of dust and mildew that lingered for weeks afterward. Open windows and liberal applications of cleaners had eventually conquered the smells, and he knew he was fortunate that he was not extremely sensitive to the allergens which gave many people headaches and sniffles. Here, the musty smell contained a distinctly earthen odor, and the ground beneath him was hard and rocky.

It had been a rather rough night, tossing and turning in an attempt to find a comfortable position on the small rocks that were firmly embedded in the floor and which pressed against any area of contact. The thin blanket on which he had slept provided no barrier at all, and he felt mildly surprised that he had managed at some point to drift off, in spite of the discomfort.

The air inside the niche was quiet, calm and very still. There was no crackling of the camp fire they had built the evening before, indicating that it had died out at some point during the night. There had been no real need to build it up again; the niche was not deep enough to be very much cooler than the outside air.

Had he been more comfortable, he might have been tempted to simply turn over and go back to sleep, but the pointed tip of the sandstone rock jabbing into his shoulder blade left no such luxury. Shifting his weight from that rock and onto another, he opened his eyes and was not surprised to find that it was dusky inside their shelter. The large opening was bright with morning light and some of that light pushed back the total blackness that they would have seen inside a cave. Farther out, he could see sunlight on the trees, but because the niche faced north, the sunlight did not penetrate their shelter.

Raising his wrist, he glanced at the luminous hands on his watch: eight forty. They had slept longer than he had intended and longer than he had expected, given the hardness of the rocky ground beneath their makeshift beds. The rocks were the upper portions of much larger rocks beneath the surface, and therefore impossible to excavate to make a smoother sleeping surface. Their choices had been few: either sleep on the rocks, or in the pouring rain.

Feeling surprisingly refreshed, he drew a deep breath and released it in a yawn as he sat up and dragged his fingers through his ever-lengthening hair. The first thing he intended to do when he returned to civilization again was to pay a visit to a barber! His hand lowered to his cheek, where he scratched at the stubble that bristled there. He had brought a razor and planned to occasionally shave if they found a campsite near a water source, but he would not use their drinking water for such unnecessary activities. Ellie would just have to tolerate looking at his scruffiness for a while.

At the thought of her, he glanced across the fire pit, where she still slept, and his gaze lingered fondly on her for several moments, deciding that there was no need to awaken her just yet. She was lying on her side, her arm folded beneath her head as a pillow, her expression serine. Her long flaxen hair fanned out on the floor around her head like a silky halo. God, she was beautiful.

She clearly needed the rest, so he quietly stood up and stretched the stiffness out of his back as he made his way to the mouth of the niche to gaze out at the mountain region of Isla Sorna that had been out of his reach for so long.

It was a beautiful morning, much different from the tumultuous storm that had chased them into their shelter the evening before. Morning mist blanketed the low areas. The trees and grass glistened with dew and residual raindrops, and the treetops were alive with birds that chirped and fluttered from limb to limb. In the meadow near the edge of the jungle, a group of parrots were gathering at a puddle of water, bathing and splashing in the glistening moisture, sending up sprays of glistening droplets. The air smelled fresh and clean, and he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with nature’s goodness. Somewhere deep inside the jungle, he heard the loud calls of a howler monkey, and made a mental note to jot that down as another species that had survived the introduction of the foreign, human-engineered species.

Lowering his eyes, he looked down at the ground, some ten feet below, and was reminded that they had as of yet seen no indications that the dinosaurs were in the higher elevations. Had there been predators at this higher altitude, the niche would have served a temporary home base, allowing them to travel about for several miles in all directions without the burden of carrying their gear with them, returning each night to sleep in safety. The unfortunate reality was that it would be impossible to find such a lucky shelter each time they stopped for the night. Most nights, they would be out in the open, exposed to the animals and to the elements. But with John Hammond’s sensing device, they would at least be forewarned of approaching animals, and that would allow them to rest in relative safety.

The ledge was slightly damp from last night’s rain, but was rocky with no mud, a perfect perch to observe the meadow. Lowering himself to the ground, he dangled his legs over the sandstone edge and watched the parrots in the meadow as they continued to bathe and flutter in the puddles of water. In the serenity of the calm morning, he half expected to see a herd of deer materialize from the trees to graze in the tall meadow grass. Instead, he was reminded that they had yet to see any ground dwelling mammals on this island, even in these higher elevations. Had none survived the introduction of the non-native species, or had they grown more cautious because of the dangerous predators that were now at the top of the food chain?

A hand gripped his shoulder, bringing him out of his reverie, and he looked up as Ellie sat down beside him. "Good morning," she said, cheerfully.

"Morning," he responded. "I hope I didn’t wake you up."

"No, the howler monkey woke me up. Noisy little bugger."

"I need to remember to write it down in my journal this evening. Looks like there are several native species that have managed to survive. So far we’ve seen a sloth, tracks from some other small creature, probably a kinkajou, and we’re hearing howler monkeys. That’s good news."

"That’s very good news," she agreed, hoping that the presence of some native species indicated that they were safe, at least for a while. She turned her attention to the landscape. "It’s pretty here. Have you seen anything of interest yet this morning?"

"Nah, I’ve just been watching some parrots taking a bath in the meadow and wishing I could join them." He paused, thoughtfully, then added, "You’ll notice that the only species we’ve seen so far are the ones who live in the treetops."

She gave him an accusing glance, her hopes for a few days of safe passage suddenly dashed. "You just had to say that, didn’t you?"

"Sorry."

"So what about that? Do you think they’ve been wiped out, or could they be hiding somewhere, more alert and cautious than before?"

He gave a small shrug. "Either is a possibility. Of course, I’m not sure exactly what species were native to this island. Costa Rica and Central America have many different kinds of monkeys, sloths, jaguars, deer, and peccaries, but that doesn’t mean that all of them were on this island."

Ellie was quiet for several moments as she observed the scenery and thought about Alan’s words. "Not knowing what species were here before makes it impossible to figure out how many of them might have survived," she said, breaking the silence. "We know there are no monkeys in the areas around the compound, or we would have heard them."

He nodded. "Mm-hmm. That’s true. The only mammals I’ve seen there have been an occasional mouse, and I suspect the compies have made short work of those. The monkeys, as well as other species, most likely were scattered throughout the island at one point, but I think the leaders recognized the danger of living in close proximity with the dinosaurs and moved their troupes up here to protect their young."

"That would make sense," Ellie agreed. "Monkeys and primates are smart."

"Part of the reason I wanted to come up here was to determine if some of the native species survived, but primarily I wanted to know if there were other species of dinosaurs that might have come into these regions. It’s obvious that the larger dinosaur species cannot make it up here, like the long-necks or the T-Rexes. I don’t think they could negotiate the slopes, and are probably staying in the flat-lands where the footing is better. On the other hand, these mountains don’t have the high rugged peaks that we see in the Rockies. These have a gentler slope and are densely foliated, so it’s quite conceivable that some of the smaller species might have made their way up here."

"Like compies and raptors."

"That’s what we’re here to find out. Just because we haven’t seen them yet doesn’t mean they aren’t here. In fact, I’d be very surprised if there aren’t some up here."

They fell silent for a while, enjoying the scenery and each other’s company and thinking about the ramifications of introducing a dangerous new species into the island’s eco system, not to mention the danger to them. Alan’s observations that they had of yet seen no ground dwelling mammals was chilling, and reminded her of what he had often said; no place on this island is safe.

After a while, Ellie broke the silence, "Well, I guess I’d better fix us something for breakfast. How does one of those spicy omelets sound?"

"Sounds as good as anything else." He stood up and offered a hand to help Ellie up.

She slipped her hand in his and stood up, brushing at the slight wetness on the back of her jeans with her other hand. Together, they went back inside the niche.

While Alan built up the fire again, Ellie opened the foil pouches and poured them into the skillet. When the fire was ready, she placed the skillet over the flames and set the small tin coffee pot beside it to heat.

On the other side of the fire, Alan knelt down and rolled up his bedroll and began stowing his equipment in preparation for their departure from the niche.

Ellie watched with a small sigh, silently wishing they could stay there a little longer, but did not voice a verbal objection. The whole purpose of coming to the mountains was to investigate the wildlife, and they could not do it from a safe perch overlooking one small meadow.

Following his lead, she quickly began putting away the items she had taken from her pack the evening before. By the time she was finished, the omelets were ready, so she carefully transferred them from the skillet to their plates. They each poured their own coffee, and settled back to eat.

As with the pasta the night before, the prepackaged eggs were surprisingly good, but not as good as freshly made.

"Not bad, but it tastes a bit like artificial eggs," Ellie said. "A little more cheese might have helped the flavor a bit, if we had some."

"And some fresh onions and peppers," Alan replied. He swallowed the first bite and speared a second with the fork. "There isn’t much spice to these ‘spicy omelets’. I guess it’ll fill us up, though, and out here, I guess beggars can’t be choosers."

"It’s not that bad!" Ellie protested.

"Your’s are better."

Alan managed to consume most of the packaged omelet, and tossed the leftovers over the edge. Some critter would probably find it and finish it for them.

After slipping into their backpacks and securing the rest of their gear with the twine once again, they stepped to the edge of the niche and paused to look down at the ground, some ten feet below. Climbing up had been fairly easy, but in their haste to beat the storm, they had overlooked the fact that getting down might be a bit more difficult.

"It didn’t seem so far down when we were climbing up," Ellie commented.

"That’s because we were looking up instead of down. Those rocks will be slippery wet from the rain," Alan added, then shrugged with apparent acceptance. "Well, ten feet won’t kill us if we fall."

"Might hurt a bit, though," Ellie mused.

Carefully, Alan guided the equipment over the edge and lowered it to the ground below. Releasing the rest of the twine and allowing it to fall, he said, "Okay, let’s see if we can get down without breaking anything."

He stepped to the side of the niche where he could find handholds of rocks and saplings, and began the slow descent. As he had predicted, the rocks were slippery with rainwater and mud, and more than once his hand or foot slipped, giving him a heart stopping moment before he managed to catch himself. When he was close enough to the bottom, he simply jumped the rest of the way, then stepped back to watch Ellie as she maneuvered the descent. He kept a close eye on her, intending to break her fall if she slipped.

The howler monkey sounded his noisy calls again, and this time was answered by another call from the opposite direction. Alan instinctively turned to look in that direction, even though he knew he would be unable to see the creature.

"I’d hate to wake up to that every morning!" Ellie said as her feet finally touched the ground. "I know they’re just establishing their boundaries with the other troupes, but they are loud!"

"They are pretty annoying," Alan agreed. Stooping, he untied the ice chest and sensor case from the twine and returned it to the pack again. Then he unfolded his ever-present and well-worn map, marked their location in pencil, notated the direction he had placed the sack of supplies, and began to plot their course for the day. "There are areas that we’ll have to detour somewhat from a straight path, but that won’t be a problem, thanks to Hammond’s surprise groceries." He smiled at her. "Are you up for a hike?"

"Absolutely!" she responded.

Together, they moved off across the meadow. The bathing parrots watched them approach, but only a few of them retreated into the trees when they got too close, most choosing to merely move a short distance away and watch them with a cautious eye as they passed. It occurred to Ellie that in this remote area of the island, they had probably never seen humans before and were uncertain if they were dangerous. As soon as they were past, the birds returned to the puddles to resume their morning bath.

There were many low spots in the meadow, all of them filled with standing water, and the grasses were still wet from the rain showers and from the morning dew. No matter how carefully they navigated their way across it, it was inevitable that they would step into many unseen puddles beneath the grass, and others that were seen were simply too wide to be avoided without altering their course. Ellie was wearing shorts, but their shoes and Alan’s jeans from the knees down were quickly soaked.

As they reached the tree line on the edge of the meadow, Alan stepped ahead of Ellie and entered first. It was not really a conscious decision, but rather an automatic reaction to protect her from any unknown dangers that might be lurking in the shadows. His eyes and ears were alert as he moved from the bright sunlight into the filtered sunlight beneath the trees, but all was calm and quiet.

In the lower light, knee high meadow grass gave way to sparse clumps of short, shade tolerant grasses that existed in the dappled sunlight which penetrated the canopy in long, slanted ribbons, and glistened in the lingering mist. The air was not as oppressive as it had been the day before in the prelude to the storm, but it was just as wet. This time, however, the moisture had less to do with humidity than it did with the raindrops that dripped from the foliage each time it was disturbed. Low growing shrubs and young saplings grew thick, forcing the two humans to push their way through them, and within minutes, they were soaked from head to foot.

Ellie pulled the elastic loop from its usual place in her pocket, gathered her wet hair and bound it securely with the loop. "This is not the most pleasant way to take a shower," she quipped, trying to avoid the dripping fronds as they moved beneath them.

"Yeah, but we should be out of it soon," he replied, rubbing his forearm against his face in a vane attempt to remove some of the moisture.

As Alan had said, they soon reached the darker part of the jungle, where very little sunlight managed to find its way through the leaves of the towering trees, and only a few saplings and shrubs struggled to grow without the life-giving sun. With more space to maneuver, Ellie moved up to walk beside him on the moist, spongy ground.

They traveled for hours through terrain that was widely changeable; easily traversed mountain meadows were scattered about, followed by areas of dense forest, and they quickly realized that they were not making very good time.

When they stopped for lunch, the moisture was beginning to dry from the tall grass and from Alan’s jeans, but their feet were so wet that they decided to change into dry socks. After putting her shoes back on and retying the laces, Ellie opened a large can of pork and beans, and they ate them cold while they rested. The empty can was placed in a plastic bag they had designated as a trash sack to be carried with them. The mountains were pristine; they would not litter the beauty of it with trash that might become a hazard to the animals. Items that were bio-degradable would be buried in the soft dirt, but plastic bottles and tin cans would be taken with them.

After they had eaten and rested, they resumed their hike.

-()-

By late afternoon, they had not seen any animals of any kind, mammal or dinosaur. They trudged through the jungle, maintaining a distance of five or six paces apart to broaden their search. They were not trying to keep a brisk pace, but instead walked slow enough to keep an attentive eye on the mossy ground in search of tracks or droppings and an alert ear to the surrounding jungle, but Ellie realized that Alan did not realistically expect to find anything dangerous just yet or he would never have allowed so much space to exist between them. He never said anything to that end, but she knew if he had felt there was a probability of danger nearby, he would have kept her close at his side. That unspoken revelation inspired confidence that he felt that, for the time being at least, they were relatively safe.

She tried to do her part by helping in the search for tracks, but found she was easily distracted by her own thoughts. Lifting her head, she looked to her right, at the man who walked a short distance away, his eyes riveted to the ground briefly before looking up again to look cautiously around, and then lowering his eyes again. It had not been so very long ago when she had felt as though her life had ended with the death of her family. The sadness and depression that had lingered after the accident seemed like such a long time ago. Her trip to the island had accomplished its purpose; she had finally healed, both physically and emotionally, and with Alan’s declaration of love for her, she had a future she could look forward to. She would never forget the family she had had with Mark, but even then she had known that Alan would always hold that special place in her heart that no one else could touch. Being at his side again seemed as natural as breathing.

With a sigh, she brought herself back to the present, returning her eyes to the mossy ground beneath her feet. A fallen tree lay across her path, a former towering giant now reduced to disintegrating remains, and she climbed over its rough, crumbling surface with ease and settled on the other side again. Alan circled the root end of it, his eyes still riveted on the ground, and he paused briefly, examining the depression where the roots had once held a foothold deep in the ground, apparently looking for a burrow of some kind, then, finding nothing of interest, he cast another quick glance around them before resuming his walk.

They spoke little as they walked, for they did not want to disturb any wildlife that might inhabit the area, but Ellie had come to the conclusion that there was nothing of interest in this area.

The afternoon dragged on with little alteration in their course or their surroundings. Alan occasionally conferred with his map, but seemed satisfied with the direction in which they were traveling. The terrain changed very little. They were deep inside the forest with the dense canopy overhead. Sometimes they traveled up small inclines or down shallow gullies, and Ellie realized that they were not moving over the mountain range at this point, but following its natural line.

Finally, Ellie glanced at her watch, confirming what she already knew; it was growing late. They were deep inside the jungle and could see only small patches of sky through the canopy, but the deepening shade indicated the waning sun. Soon darkness would overtake them, and they would need to be settled in their camp with the safety of Hammond’s sensors around them. Ideally, Ellie hoped for another niche or cave, something with solid sides and perhaps some elevation to give them ultimate protection, but so far they had not even passed a bluff or anything else that would offer one-sided protection. She knew that Alan hoped to find some natural structure to place at their backs, but at the moment finding such a precipice was looking more and more remote.

Alan continued to push through the jungle while she trudged wearily a few yards away. Her feet ached and her legs were scratched from pushing through occasional areas of dense underbrush. She decided that tomorrow she would put on a pair of jeans to protect her legs. Her stomach rumbled irritably in its emptiness.

Alan knew that Ellie was growing tired, but to her credit she had not complained. It had always been that way with her. Some of his best and brightest students in the cool comfort of the classroom, both male and female, wilted in the heat of the badlands and the hard manual labor that accompanied the field of paleontology. But not Ellie. When there was work to do, she was there, pitching in, enduring the discomforts and everything else that went with the task, always willing and never a whiner. He was tired too, but it was imperative that they find the safest spot possible to bed down for the night, preferably some place with something solid at their backs, such as a cliff face or a cluster of boulders. As he walked, he glanced frequently at the map he carried, but felt dissatisfied with the geography that was incorporated on the page.

Finally, he came to a stop, scrutinizing a particular location on it with a frown. "This map isn’t entirely topographically correct," he said, more to himself than to her. "There should have been a rock formation here that we could have camped beside, but I’m starting to think that whoever drew this map just placed features that he thought would look nice, instead of what was actually there."

Ellie moved closer to observe the map, but was too tired to pinpoint the details he was looking for. "Well, maybe they didn’t map all the details of the whole island," she suggested. "That would have involved an extensive hike to get all the details in the heavily foliated areas, wouldn’t it?"

"They would have done it from the air, but I agree, the foliage would have made that difficult. Looks like they didn’t get all the details of the deeper regions. Guess we’ll just have to make due with what we can find." He looked up into the treetops. "We’re losing the light."

"Yeah, I know," Ellie agreed. "We haven’t seen any predators yet plus we’ve got the sensors, so maybe we’ll be safe if we camped here."

Alan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, understanding her weariness. She looked like she was about to drop any moment, but her safety was more important. Just because they had not seen any predators yet did not mean they weren’t there. "Let’s go a little farther and see if we can find a better spot."

Her sigh was barely audible, but she made no verbal comment. Instead, she shifted the weight of her load in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, and fell in step behind him again. Fortunately, he did not go far. Fifteen minutes later, a narrow ravine appeared through the trees, and Alan walked all the way to the edge, his eyes examining the deep, rock-strewn chasm that lay in front of him.

Ellie paused beside him, tired and drained. "Is that on the map?"

"No. Seems to confirm that they charted the island from the air, and this ravine is pretty well concealed under the trees."

The ravine was a jagged crevice split into the soil, and appeared to be about thirty feet across, maybe twenty feet deep, much too far to jump and too steep to descend.  Young trees and ferns maintained a determined foothold among the rocks and boulders along the nearly sheer sides below, all the way to the bottom.  Beautiful and picturesque, it could have been a picture from a postcard, but at the moment, it presented an impassable obstacle.

Ellie picked up a pebble and tossed it into the chasm, and they listened as it clattered down the sloping sides to the bottom. She knew they would have to find a way around it, which meant more walking, something she was not enthusiastic about at the moment. "What do we do now?"

"Well, there’s no way we can get down it, so we’ll have to go around," he said, giving the answer she had known he would give. He wiped the back of his hand across his brow, and she knew that it was not high on his list of preferred activities either. "However, we don’t have to do it tonight. In fact, I think this will be a good spot to make camp. Not exactly a solid wall behind us, but I suppose a ravine will accomplish the same idea of keeping things from sneaking up behind us. You haven’t taken up sleep walking, have you?"

"Not that I know of." Ellie dropped to the ground and slowly removed the backpack, then set it aside before going flat, spread-eagled. After a full day of walking, it felt good to lie down, and the earth beneath her back was cool.

Alan smiled. "Tired?" he asked as he slipped off his own pack and placed it beside the rest of the gear.

"Exhausted!"

Yeah, me too."

Alan placed his gear near Ellie’s, and reached into the ice chest for the bottles of water that they had placed there. One of them was passed to Ellie. He opened the other and took a long drink.

Ellie uncapped the bottle, and sat up to take a drink.

Alan took another long drink of cold water from the bottle, grateful that Hammond had provided them with the blue ice packets. But he knew that in this heat, even the old man’s best scientists had not been able to create ice packets that would hold their temperature very long, a few more days at best. Then they would be drinking warm water.

After her thirst was quenched, Ellie recapped her bottle and set it on the ground beside her. Bending her knees, she untied her shoelaces and pulled them off. Her socks quickly followed, then she lay back down to rest.

"Don’t get too comfortable," Alan advised. "Unfortunately, we still have some work to do." Kneeling down, he opened the sensor case and removed one of the small sensors from its nest. "We need to get these in place."

"Any idea how to do it?" she asked without getting up, turning her head so that she could watch him.

"Not really," he admitted. "But Hammond said the thing is simple to operate, so I guess we’ll figure it out."

"’Figuring it out’ isn’t good enough, especially when the man trying to figure it out doesn’t get along well with modern electronics. Maybe there are some instructions."

Alan was examining the sensor he held between his thumb and forefinger and did not respond to her suggestion, so with a low groan as her body protested the termination of its rest, she sat up again and scooted closer to look. The corner of a slip of paper was tucked into the edge of the panel, so she gave it a tug and pulled it free.

"Men," she said, teasingly giving him an affectionate nudge with her elbow. "They never want to read the instructions, and then they can’t figure out why it won’t work." She unfolded the paper, and began to read. "Okay, the sensor discs attach to the rods, which are pushed into the ground at intervals around the camp."

"What rods?" Alan asked.

"Look under the panel."

Alan carefully lifted the control panel out of the case and found the thin, lightweight aluminum rods that were hinged, so that they could be unfolded. Also tucked beneath the panel was the extra battery pack that Hammond had told him would be there.

She continued, still reading from the instruction sheet: "Each sensor has its own number, which corresponds with the numbers on the control panel, so we have to make sure to place them consecutively, #1, #2, #3, etc."

Alan unfolded one of the rods, extending it to a height of about two feet. It was stabilized by a wing nut that was tightened to keep it from collapsing. "I didn’t even know those were in there."

"Of course not,’ she retorted with an amused smile and a wink. "You didn’t read the instructions."

"Okay, okay," he muttered, but he could not help smiling in response. Ellie’s smile was irresistible.

"However," she continued, "it also says they can be attached to the trees at whatever height is desired, but I think it’ll be better to use the rods."

"I agree. Some pretty dangerous predators are small, and we don’t want them to simply pass beneath the laser." He removed the rest of the rods and divided them up between them, and they spent the next few minutes unfolding the rods and tightening the nuts. When they were done, Alan gathered up his stack. "Let’s get these things in place."

"How far out do you want to put them?"

"Well, Hammond said it will transmit up to fifty yards, but as an added precaution, lets make it less than that, perhaps about forty yards. That should give us enough time to react while giving enough leeway for variations in transmitting capabilities. I’ll measure it off with the measuring tape, and we’ll take it around the camp. We’ll place the first one at the edge of the ravine on the right and take it around the camp, with the last one also at the edge of the ravine on our left."

"Sounds good."

Alan retrieved the measuring tape from his backpack and used it to measure out forty yards from where he intended to place the console, where he pushed the first rod into the ground at the edge of the ravine and attached sensor #1 to it. Then they worked their way around the perimeter, completely circling the camp, and making certain that each sensor had nothing to obstruct its line of sight with the next sensor. When they were finished, Alan flipped on the control panel, and a tiny green indicator light came on, apparently indicating that it was armed and activated.

"All right, walk between a couple of the sensors and see what happens," he suggested.

Ellie walked away from the camp, and when she broke the laser, a red light on the control panel began flashing urgently, indicating that she had broken beam #4, and an alarm sounded, emitting a beeping noise similar to that of an alarm clock, certain to wake them up during the night if danger threatened. Alan pressed the button below it to stop it. The red light went out, and the green indicator light came on once again.

"Works!" he called, triumphantly.

When she returned to the camp, he said, "Looks like the beam on each sensor travels to its right, Beam #4 pointing toward rod #5, Beam #5 running toward rod #6, and so on."

"I had wondered about that," she said as she folded her legs and sat down again. She looked into the darkening jungle that surrounded them. "I feel a lot better having this invisible fence around us."

"Safety is the main reason I didn’t have Miguel drop me off up here. I couldn’t work out the details of how I was going to rest and sleep on my own. Even with you here, I figured we would be sleeping in shifts, but I’m glad we don’t have to do that."

"But we would have done it," she said, agreeably. "We’re in this thing together, and I fully expected then and still expect to share the load. We’re a team."

"Yes," he said, softly. The mood between them began to change, and he moved closer to her and placed his hand affectionately against the side of her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. "We’ve always been a good team." She leaned into his touch, intensifying the physical contact, and she placed her hand lightly over his. After gazing at her for several moments, he lowered his eyes to her lips. She was wearing no make-up and no lipstick, but he didn’t care. In his eyes, she had never been more beautiful. Or desirable.

Ellie felt her pulse increase with anticipation, and when he leaned forward, she tipped her head slightly to receive his kiss.

The feel of his lips on hers was comfortable and familiar, as if each had been created just for the other, and at first, the kiss was slow and tender, their lips moving softly against each other with relaxed affection. Slowly, the kiss became more urgent. Her hand found its way into his hair, clutching gently at the long, lank strands, and she felt his hand slip behind her back, urging her to move closer. She was only too happy to oblige, pressing close against him, her arms wrapped tightly around him. The kiss intensified until it reached a passionate level that awakened both their bodies with desire long denied.

Alan abruptly broke the kiss, and his lips made their way down her throat, seeking a deeper intimacy. "Ellie," he said softly against her skin.

"Yes," she whispered back, tipping her head to the side to expose her throat to his lips’ gentle caresses. The stubble of beard that he had not shaved off was rough against the soft skin of her neck, but she barely noticed. All her senses were focused on the hungry kisses as they made their way lower to the hollow of her throat above the collarbone.

The silence of the jungle was abruptly broken by a blood-curdling howl so near that they both jumped apart and looked up, startled by the unexpected interruption.

They both knew instantly that it was just another howler monkey, announcing his presence to the rest of the jungle, a morning and evening ritual for the noisy creatures, but it served as a reminder to the two humans that there were few places on the island where it was safe to let their guard down. Looking into Alan’s eyes, Ellie knew what he was thinking.

Regretfully, he rested his forehead against hers as their breathing and their awareness of their surroundings began to return, and he silently scolded himself for instigating an activity that could have dire consequences. After a few moments in this tender position, he raised his head so he could see into her eyes. "I’m sorry, Ellie. I shouldn’t have started . . . . damn, if anything had come into this camp . . . . Until we’re safe, we can’t . . . "

"We were safe enough last night," she pointed out, frustration evident in her voice. "We were totally safe inside that depression."

"I know," he said with a slight smile. "Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind as I was lying there with you just on the other side of the fire. It was a very hard surface with rocks pushing at me from all angles. Surely you must have noticed? One or the other of us would have had to deal with those rocks poking in inconvenient places. Not exactly the perfect conditions for an intimate experience."

She could not help laughing softly, in spite of her disappointment. She had heard him tossing and turning, and knew that he was as awake as she had been for much of the night.

"When it happens, I want to be able to concentrate only on you," he told her.

"Well, I know you’re right," she admitted. "It doesn’t make it any easier, but I understand why we can’t. It’s just that it’s been so long."

"I know. It has been for me, too."

She placed her hands on his cheeks and leaned forward to kiss him quickly on the lips, then backed away. "Now that we’re together again, I suppose I can wait a while longer. I certainly don’t want any rude interruptions."

"Especially since these interruptions can be fatal."

Ellie turned her back to him, opening up the packs to examine their food supplies to busy her hands. She knew he was right about the danger they were constantly in, but the disappointment was almost overwhelming. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that he felt the same way, for he had directed his attention elsewhere, gazing toward the narrow ravine, deep in thought. Turning back to the task of preparing supper, she felt her heart rate return to normal, but she could not help but think of what could have been happening at that very moment had the howler not brought them back to alertness.

Campsites as safe as the niche would be few and far between, and she could not help but feel disappointed that they had allowed the opportunity to slip away.

Irritably, she swatted at a gnat that buzzed around her eyes, irrationally taking out her frustration on the insect. She knew she would have to content herself with the knowledge that it would happen eventually.

After supper had been consumed, Alan settled back to jot a few notes down in his journal by the flickering light of the campfire while Ellie cleaned the plates and cooking utensils and put them away.

She was more tired than she had realized, and kept yawning. "I think I’ll go ahead and turn in," she said as she removed the blanket from her pack and spread it on the ground.

He looked up. "I’m almost finished. There isn’t enough light to write by, so I just wanted to get a few thoughts down before I forget them." He tipped his head back, looking up at the dark canopy. Moonlight and starlight was unable to penetrate the dense canopy overhead, lending an eerie feel to the campsite. "I’m going to extinguish the fire instead of letting it burn out, like we did last night. I’d hate for a stray ember to catch a dead branch in one of those trees."

"Good idea," she agreed as she stretched out on the ground.

The mossy ground, covered with forest compost, was soft and almost spongy beneath her, and she turned on her side, facing away from the fire, grateful for the more comfortable bed than what they had endured the night before. But as tired as she was, sleep would not come.

A short time later, she heard Alan close his journal and return it to his pack, then he tossed some dirt on the fire to put it out and opened his own blanket for the night. He sighed with apparent comfort as he stretched out on the blanket. A short time later, she heard him turn over, facing the jungle on the other side.

The minutes ticked past, and although she felt sleepy, her eyes would not close. Instead, she gazed toward the stakes they had placed at intervals, even though the darkness was too intense to see them. In fact, it was every bit as dark out here in the jungle as it was in the niche, the main difference being the protective walls around them and the added height that offered total seclusion. Here, she felt exposed and vulnerable, even with the sensors that she could not see. She knew they were there, standing guard over them, ready to alert them of impending danger. They should have been a comfort, but all her senses seemed especially alert tonight, directed toward the predatory feel of the jungle that seemed to press close around them, waiting for the alarm to sound. Was it working properly?

Lifting her head, she glanced toward the control panel, placed on the ground between her and Alan. The tiny green light was just visible, not large or intense enough to give off any significant light, but just enough to show that it was active. Satisfied, she laid her head back down and stared into the jungle again.

A tree frog began to trill nearby, calling for a mate, and somewhere in the distance a tropical screech owl shrieked in the tree tops, sending a nervous tingle down Ellie’s spine. On the other side of the fire, she heard Alan stir slightly, then settle again, and she wondered if he shared her uneasiness.

All the while, she continued to stare into the darkness, waiting.