"It would be more logical ...." Seth began.
"Fuck logic! I'm not leaving him here." She glanced at Niles, who was standing guard. "You take him back. Me and Seth will finish the sweep."
Niles stared at her in dismay. "You will be down two men ...."
"Do it!" she growled. "You can catch up to us when you've left him with the medics."
Niles looked at Seth questioningly. Danika felt like punching both of them for questioning a direct order. Shestillfelt like knocking the shit out of them when Seth agreed with a nod. Seth helped Niles get Dane to his feet and hoist him onto his shoulder.
Doubt shook her as she watched Niles head back toward base camp with Dane over his shoulder, anxiety that Dane might lose too much blood before he could get attention and uneasiness that some of the natives had slipped through their net and might attack them.
There was nothing else she could do, however. As Seth had pointed out, all of them couldn't go back without leaving a hole wide enough to make the entire exercise a waste of time.
Struggling to dismiss them from her mind, she straightened and surveyed the area around them. "You and Niles checked all of the bodies to make sure they were dead?"
Seth nodded. "By my count, nigh a dozen escaped."
"We'll get them if they didn't run far enough," Danika responded grimly. Reuel's orders had been to drive them back if possible, to kill as necessary. Despite the two previous attacks, she'd been more inclined to hope they could drive the barbarians back without being forced to slaughter them.Thiswas personal now, though! They'd filled Dane full of holes and she had no idea whether he could survive it or not. She was going to shoot any of them she could catch in her sights and let the gods sort the bastards out!
She and Seth spaced themselves a bit further apart to close the gaps as much as they could. It was important to stay within sight of partners if possible, though, and they hadn't gone far before Danika noticed that Seth had shouldered his rifle and was collecting the natives' weapons as he came across them. She finally halted and tried to use hand signals to figure out what he was doing. It didn't comfort her when she discovered he was out of munitions. She was less than a dozen shots from empty herself and then she'd be down to her knife and the few shots left in her pistol.
That explained why Niles and Seth had leapt into the trees. They hadn't had anything left to throw at the damned savages! She just wished they'd thought it important enough to inform her!
Damn it!
Not that it would've made any difference. They still had to finish the sweep.
Pushing that worry from her mind, she pressed on, trying to close the gap between them and the other squads.
They came upon the small pool she'd glimpsed the day before. It didn't look to be more than ten feet across and maybe fifteen wide. The branches of the giant trees surrounding it formed an umbrella above it, which explained why they hadn't spotted it from the air.
Water spilled into the pool from the mouth of what appeared to be a small cave, trickled from the pool into a narrow groove on one side that she thought must be the source of the tiny stream they'd been using for water and spilled more gustily into a larger branch leading off in the other direction. Danika stopped, studying the black hole for a long moment, trying to discern any movement, and glanced toward Seth. Signaling him to approach from the other side, she began making her way carefully around the pool toward the cave entrance, surveying the area for any sign of the savages, or animals, for that matter. There were several fairly large flat stones near the entrance that looked to be stained with blood. She couldn't be certain that it was blood, though, or think of an explanation if it was unless the natives had used them when cleaning a kill. Dismissing it for the moment, expecting any moment to hear the war cries of the savages, she focused on approaching the cave entrance as quietly as possible. When they'd positioned themselves on either side, she signaled Seth to use his infrared vision to search the interior.
He eased closer, took several quick scans and then stepped into the entrance. Irritation flickered through Danika. "See anything?" she asked on a breath of sound.
Seth shook his head. "Deep."
Shit, Danika thought, wondering if they should take the time to search it further or move on and return to search it more thoroughly!
Seth didn't wait for a decision. He moved deeper into the small cavern. Danika's anxiety and irritation deepened. After standing indecisively for a few moments more, she slipped quickly through the entrance, hugging the wall to keep from silhouetting herself in the light at the opening. She was just in time to see Seth disappearing into the gloom at the back where the cavern narrowed so sharply there was barely enough room for Seth to squeeze through.
While she was still trying to decide whether to follow him or keep watch at the entrance, he returned. Relieved, she left the cavern and surveyed the area in front of it, moving close enough to examine the stains.
It was definitely blood--yellow like the savages'--but then the beasts some of the men had brought down the day before also had yellow blood so she was no closer to an answer about the presence of the blood.
Shrugging it off for a later time, she and Seth made their way around either side of the knob of rock that housed the cavern and continued their sweep until they reached the farthest point for their sweep a few yards beyond. They settled there to await further orders.
"What did you make of that?" Danika asked.
Seth glanced at her but shrugged, focusing on scanning the jungle beyond them. "There were markings on the walls inside, drawings. It is a place the savages have been, but I did not see any sign that they had been there recently."
Danika considered it. "Some sort of sacred place to them, maybe? The primitives on my home world built sacred places of stones where they worshipped their gods and made sacrifices to them. Those flat stones at the entrance could be altars. Maybe that explains the attacks? They don't want us close to their sacred place?"
Seth's lips thinned. "And mayhap they simply do not want us here at all? Some of the drawings looked much like the Andorians. Mayhap they made friends with the savages and the natives are guarding against all others?"
She supposed one guess was as good as another.
Niles joined them after a few minutes.
