how did you guess?'
'Everything ties back to that prehistoric tree. I think Manny was quite correct that the specimen behaves like an ant tree. But he's wrong about who the ants are here:'
'What do you mean?' Manny asked.
'The mutated beasts are just biological tools supplied by the tree for its true workers:' Kouwe stared around him. 'The Ban-ali:'
A stunned silence spread over the group.
Kouwe continued, 'The tribesmen here are the soldier ants in this relationship. The Ban-ali name the tree Yagga, their word for mother. One who gives birth . . . a caretaker. Countless generations ago, most likely during the first migration of people into South America, the tribe must have stumbled upon the tree's remarkable healing ability and became enthralled by it. Becoming ban-yin-slaves. Each serving the other in a complex web of defense and offense:'
Nate felt sickened by this comparison. Humans used like ants.
'This grove is prehistoric,' the professor finished. 'It might trace its heritage back to Pangaea, when South America and Africa were joined. Its species may have been around when man first walked upright. Throughout the ages, there are hundreds of myths of such trees, from all corners of the world. The maternal guardian. Perhaps this encounter here was not the first:'
This thought sank into the others. Nate didn't think even his father had extrapolated the history of the Yagga to this end. It was disturbing.
Sergeant Kostos shifted his M-16 to his other shoulder. 'Enough history lessons. I thought we were supposed to be developing an alternate plan. A way to escape if we can't raise someone on the radio:'
'The sergeant is right:' Kouwe turned. 'You never did tell us, Nate. What happened to your father and the others? How did Gerald Clark escape?'
Nate took a deep breath and turned back to the computer. He scrolled down to the last entry and read it aloud.
'April 18
We've gathered enough powders to chance an escape tonight. After what
we've learned, we must attempt a break for civilization. We dare not wait
any longer. We'll dust our bodies black and flee with the setting moon. Illia
knows paths that will quickly get us past any trackers and out of these
lands, but the trek back to civilization will be hard and not without threat.
Still, we have no choice . . . not after the birth. We'll try tonight. May God
watch over us all'
Nate straightened from the laptop, turning to the others. 'They al: attempted to flee, not just Gerald Clark:'
Across the many faces, Nate saw the same expression. Only Gerald Clark made it back to civilization.
'So they all left,' Kelly mumbled.
Nate nodded. 'Even a Ban-ali woman, a skilled tracker named Illia. She had fallen in love and married Gerald Clark. He took her with him:'
'What happened to them?' Anna said.
Nate shook his head. 'That was the last entry. There is no more:'
Kelly's expression saddened. 'Then they didn't make it . . . only Gerald Clark.'
'I could ask Dakii for more details,' Kouwe said.
'Dakii?'
Kouwe pointed below. 'The tribesman who guided us here. Between what I know of the Ban-ali language and his smattering of English, I might be able to find out what happened to the others, how they died:'
Nate nodded, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the details.
Manny spoke up. 'But what made them flee that night? Why the hint at some urgency in that last note?'
Nate took a deep breath. 'It's why I wanted everyone to hear this. My father came to some frightening conclusions about the Ban-ali. Something he needed to relay to the outside world:'
'What?' Kouwe asked.
Nate wasn't sure where to begin. 'It took years of living with the Banali for my father to begin piecing facts together. He noticed that the isolated tribe showed some hints of remarkable advancements over their Indian counterparts in the greater Amazon. The invention of the pulley and wheel. A few of the homes even have crude elevators, using large boulders and counterweights. And other advancements that seemed strange considering the isolated nature of this tribe. He spent much of his time examining the way the Ban-ali think, the way they teach their children. He was fascinated by all this:'
'So what happened?' Kelly asked.
'Gerald Clark fell in love with Illia. They married during the second year of the group's incarceration here. During the third, they conceived a baby. During the fourth year, Illia gave birth:' He stared hard at the gathered faces. 'The child was stillborn, rife with mutations:' Nate recalled his father's words. ' `A genetic monster: '
Kelly cringed.
Nate pointed to the laptop. 'There are more details in the files. My father and the medical doctor of the group began to formulate a frightening conclusion. The tree hadn't just mutated the lower species. It had also been changing the Ban-ali over the years, subtly heightening their cognitive abilities, their reflexes, even their eyesight. While outwardly they appeared the same, the tree was improving the species. My father suspected that the Banali were heading genetically away from mankind. One of the definitions that separates different species is an inability to breed together:'
'The stillborn child . . :' Manny had paled.
Nate nodded. 'My father came to believe that the Ban-ali were near to leaving Homo sapiens behind, becoming their own species.'
'Dear God,' Kelly gasped.
'It was why their need to escape became urgent. This corruption of mankind in the valley has to be stopped:'
No one spoke for a full minute.
Anna's voice, full of horror, whispered, 'What are we going to do?'
'We're going to get that damn GPS working,' Kostos said harshly. 'Then we're gonna bug out of this damn place:'
'And in the meantime,' Camera added, 'we should gather as much of that repellent powder as possible, just in case:'
Kelly cleared her voice and stood up. 'We're all forgetting one vital thing. The disease spreading across the Americas. How do we cure it? What did Gerald Clark bring out of this valley?' Kelly turned to Nate. 'In your father's notes, is there any mention of a contagious disease here?'
'No, with the inherent healing properties of the Yagga tree, everyone remained incredibly healthy. The only suggestion is the taboo against one of the Chosen, the Ban-ali, leaving the tribe. A shadowed curse upon he who leaves and all he encounters. My father had dismissed this as a myth to frighten anyone from leaving:'
Manny mumbled, 'The curse upon he who leaves and all he encounters . . . that sounds like our contagion:'
Kelly turned back to Nate. 'But if true, where did the disease come from? What triggered Clark's body to suddenly become riddled with tumors? What made him contagious?'
'I wager it has something to do with the Yagga tree's healing sap,' Zane said. 'Maybe it keeps the disease in check here. When we leave, we need to make sure we collect a generous sample. That's clearly vital:'
Kelly ignored Zane, her gaze unfocused. 'We're missing something . . . something important,' she said, low and quiet. Nate doubted anyone else heard her.
'I can see if Dakii will cooperate,' Kouwe said. 'See if he has any answers-both to the final fate of the others and about this mysterious disease:'
'Good. Then we have a working plan for now,' Sergeant Kostos said by the door. He pointed around the room and assigned missions for each of them. 'Olin will work on the GPS. At daybreak, Kouwe and Anna, our Indian experts, will act as Intel. Gather as much information as possible. Manny, Camera, and I'll search out where the
