“It’s time to go, Desiree.”
“I know. Do you even have a plan?”
“No, I’m afraid I do not.”
Desiree got up. “I thought so. Come, let’s go to our deaths.”
Clayton got up. “A little melodramatic, aren’t we?”
They strolled to Desiree’s pick up truck.
“Perhaps, but I have been close to death. My statement may be exaggerated, but it’s accurate,” Desiree said as she looked at Clayton.
“In the thousand years I’ve been alive, I’ve been at death’s door more than once as well.”
“I know, I saved you from certain death during the purge over three hundred years ago.”
Clayton stopped walking. “Only because Maryl had you save me so you could befriend me for three hundred years and extract secrets for her!”
“And you don’t think that at some point, I became fond of you despite your blood type and the history of the animosity between our two tribes? You can trust me now, Clayton!”
Clayton got to the car and opened the passenger door. “If I didn’t trust you, you would be dead by now. Get in and take us to Maryl’s.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes. Clayton looked around the inside. “Where did you get this pick up truck?”
“I stole it from one of the humans after I escaped Maryl’s treachery.”
For the rest of the way, each kept silent, each one taut with emotions, neither one could bring to the surface. The tension only increased as nighttime approached, and Maryl’s estate loomed a few miles ahead.
“We need to be at least four miles outside of her sniffing zone, Desiree.”
“I know. The problem lies with you and not me. Maryl and her O negative forces will, no doubt, smell you. They will think I would be one of the troops. Do you have any morsel, any kernel of an idea of how you can overcome your smell?”
“No.” Clayton drummed his fingers on the dashboard, thinking. “I just wish there were a way I could get in undetected. How about I parachute myself from a helicopter?” Clayton joked.
Desiree slammed on her brakes and pulled over. “That’s it!”
“What’s it? Do you know someone with a helicopter?”
“No, something better!”
She got out of the truck with Clayton in tow. Desiree opened the extended cab and showed Clayton the spelunking equipment.
“You want to go cave diving? I am unaware of any caves in this region,” Clayton said as he picked up a pair of socks. “The humans you told me about were serious about cave diving. These are neoprene socks. (8) The novice uses wool socks.”
“And you would know this how?”
“I did some cave diving in my thousand years, Desiree.”
Desiree picked up two helmets and two headlights and gave one of each to Clayton.
“We don’t need their boots, wet suits, or under suits and over suits because of our thick skin. But we will need these waist belts for extra batteries if we do end up finding a cave, which is highly unlikely. We have great eyesight, but if there is a total void of light, we will need to use the headlights,” Clayton said with authority.
Desiree looked at the rope that sprawled over the seat. “Will this be enough rope?”
“I don’t know how far down we would have to descend. I hope so.”
Desiree looked around the equipment. “Now, we need to find a cave.”
“Can you show me the campsite where the humans were?”
“Yes. We’re over the four-mile marker, but the human campsite is only two miles from Maryl’s place.”
“Okay, this is what you’ll need to do, Desiree.” He took the items she was holding and put it back in the backseat. “You won’t need those. I need you to go to the campsite and look around, especially if their tent is still in one piece.”
“What will I be looking for?”
“Maps. If the humanoids were on Maryl’s terrain unannounced, they knew something no one else did.”
“I don’t understand why Maryl and the others didn’t smell the two humans. Both of them did not have O negative blood.”
“I don’t know. You need to get going. While daylight is still several hours away, we still need to find a cave, go down, and come back out. I have no idea of how long we will be down there if a cavern even exists.”
“Okay, the campsite isn’t far. It’s about two miles from here. You stay here while I check out the camping area.”
Desiree drove as fast as she could. She found the spot from the last time she was there and pulled over. She took a second to marvel at the landscape below. There were plenty of hills, grasslands, and just over the horizon, she knew the tree that saved her life was perched unsteadily on a slope, eager to rescue someone else. Just over the first hill was where she needed to go. The trek down was difficult to navigate from the deep slope below.
It didn’t take her long to find the grounds. The skeletal remains were still there. Both tents had been torn apart, possibly by the animals looking for food. Thankfully, the tents were still where they were initially located. She tore whatever was left of the first yellow tent and looked on the ground. She found a picture of the human’s wife and three children, some books, glasses, but no map.
The other green canvas tent was thicker, and less ripped up as she tore a large hole in the side. She saw some of the cave diving equipment, a blow-up mattress, and some magazines. She did not find any map.
“I wonder what kind of magazines humans read,” Desiree said as she picked up the stack. One by one, Desiree went through the magazines. She got disgusted with the humans and their frivolous ideas of what an idyllic lifestyle should be. She threw them to the ground.
“What the hell?” she said as she saw something protruding out from one of the publications. It was a map. She wasn’t sure it was the map. She grabbed it but could not discern what it said.
It
