This Green Hell

‘Leave them alone!’ Aimee shouted at the Paraguayan soldier. She waved Tomas closer. ‘He’s okay. He translates for me and has been very helpful.’

Tomas looked from Aimee to Garmadia, who kept his hand on his gun.

‘At ease, cowboy,’ Alex said softly.

When Garmadia didn’t immediately relax, Alex turned to lock eyes with the man. Garmadia slowly took his hand from his holster and folded his arms.

Maria brought her hands up in a placating action. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle anyone. It’s just that until we have a chance to examine the men, we have to remember we’re in a bio-hazardous area and everyone and everything is potentially infectious — including Dr Weir here. We should continue to live off our own food and water for a while.’

Aimee gave the scientist a flat smile. Like Alex, she probably now realised that Maria Vargis hadn’t missed her outstretched hand earlier. She turned to Tomas and said quietly, ‘It’s all right. Could you please ask the men to return to their tents and the doctor will come to examine everyone a little later?’

Tomas frowned for a moment, then nodded slowly and turned to speak to the men. Most shrugged and turned to leave, but a few continued to stare. Tomas spoke to them again, but they ignored him, talking rapidly to each other. Garmadia yelled at them in Spanish and Alex noticed Tomas cringe, as though shielding himself from a blow. The remaining men moved away quickly, but Tomas merely retreated twenty paces.

Alex had counted the men as they left. He examined the clearing: the dried mud churned up by hundreds of footsteps, the surrounding deep jungle, the burnt-out cabins at the rear — his eyes missed nothing.

‘Aimee, where is everyone? There’s supposed to be almost one hundred men down here. I count twenty-five, give or take.’

‘There are twenty-seven still here, counting myself. Another twenty dead or strapped down in isolation, and the rest…’ Aimee looked out into the surrounding green. ‘About a dozen ran off into the jungle; we don’t know where they went. The other forty or so went with the priest, and never came back.’

Garmadia looked both perplexed and annoyed. ‘Forty of the men went with a priest? What priest? We know of no current mission here in the jungle basin area.’

Aimee shook her head wearily. ‘I don’t know. He looked and acted like a priest, sort of. He said he had a mission nearby. He offered to hold a mass for the men, and they went with him last night, and they haven’t come back yet. That’s all I know.’

‘My orders are to ensure that the gas-extraction operation goes back online. How is that possible without any men? Mierda! Where is Alfraedo Desouza, the site manager?’

Garmadia’s voice was getting sharper as he addressed Aimee. Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept quiet. He’d cut the Paraguayan a little slack; the man had a job to do, and it looked like it was going to be a lot harder than he’d expected.

Aimee sighed. ‘Alfraedo’s gone too. He went into the jungle to look for the men who destroyed our equipment, and he never came back. They’re all…just gone.’

She needs to sit down, thought Alex. He put an arm around her shoulders and guided her to the step of her cabin. He felt her lean into him slightly as they walked.

Garmadia followed them. ‘Have you looked for the missing men yet, Dr Weir? Have you questioned the remaining men? They may know—’

‘Fuck off,’ Aimee said, sitting on the step and letting her hair fall over her face.

‘That’s enough,’ Alex said to Garmadia, who looked as if he was about to get into interrogation mode. The edge to his voice pulled the Paraguayan up short and he backed off a step.

Alex kneeled down beside Aimee and spoke softly. ‘So, how’s the holiday going?’

Her mouth turned down and she shut her eyes for a second. ‘The margaritas are warm and the swimming pool is too cold.’ She wiped her nose and gave him a watery smile. ‘I’m glad you came.’

‘I’ll always come for you. Are you up to helping us?’

She nodded.

Alex mouthed good to her, then, still half-kneeling, turned to the group. ‘Sam, you and Mak check the communications and power — I want the generator back up before dark. Franks, you assist Dr Weir and our CDC friends in setting up, and get them anything they need. Captain Garmadia and I will walk the perimeter. One more thing: remember your quarantine procedures.’

This last was greeted with a ‘Yes, boss’ and the HAWCs dispersed.

Alex noticed Chaco edging forward to get a better look at Aimee’s face. He turned to Garmadia. ‘Captain, please pay the boys what we owe them and send them home.’

‘Sorry, they’re not going anywhere,’ Maria Vargis said. ‘Captain Hunter, this is a quarantine zone. You enter, you stay, until we give the all-clear.’

Alex realised he should never have allowed the boys to enter the camp. He thought briefly about arguing with the CDC woman, but she held his gaze and tilted her head, perhaps welcoming any challenge. He sighed and nodded. ‘You’re right.’

To Garmadia he said, ‘Cancel that order. Just tell the boys to stay out of trouble and not to touch anything.’

He looked around the camp again and spotted Tomas. When the man noticed Alex’s eyes on him, he looked as if he were about to flee. Alex gave a friendly smile and waved him over.

‘Senor Tomas, I am pleased to meet you. I am Captain Alex Hunter, a friend of Dr Weir’s.’

Tomas’s eyes slid to Aimee. She nodded to him, and he looked back at Alex.

‘I want to thank you for helping Dr Weir,’ Alex went on. ‘Now, we’re going to see what it is that’s making the men sick, and also try to get the power back on. The sooner we work out what’s happening here, the sooner we can all get back to work, or go home. Okay?’

After a moment, Tomas gave a small nod. Alex held his hand out and Tomas grasped it, flashing a quick, near toothless smile.

Alex glanced at the uneven muddy ground, then at the red stains on Tomas’s and Aimee’s legs. He scanned the camp perimeter, then looked back at Tomas. ‘I need your help, senor. We cannot work on this surface. If it rains again, we will be up to our knees in mud. We need to cover the cleared ground with some matting. Can you organise the men to cut down some fronds and branches to create a thatch…er, like a mat, a cover, over the ground?’

Tomas looked around the clearing and raised his eyebrows. ‘All of it, senor?’

Alex just nodded and smiled.

Tomas gave his best grin in return. ‘Yes, this is a good idea. The men have been complaining about the mud; it coats everything. This will give them something to do and take their mind off the sickness.’

Tomas squelched over to the tents and clapped his hands to call the men together. He seemed to be relishing his authority, Alex thought.

He turned back to Aimee. Maria and Michael Vargis had joined her, and Casey Franks stood a little apart watching the jungle, her weapon cradled loosely in her tanned, bulging arms.

‘We’ve got a bit of work to do, but we’ll get things back online and then see about flying us all home,’ Alex said to Aimee. ‘Maybe a hot shower first. How’s that sound?’

She nodded and opened her mouth, then glanced at the two scientists and paused. She gave Alex a small smile and said, ‘Sounds good. Let’s catch up later.’

NINETEEN

Aimee felt a lump in her throat as she watched Alex disappear with the Paraguayan soldier into the jungle. The green closed around him so quickly it was as if he had been consumed before her eyes.

Maria Vargis stepped up next to her and followed her gaze. ‘Strong, handsome man. You are close friends — lovers once, I think? But not anymore?’ Maria raised her eyebrows and gave Aimee a half-smile.

‘Yes, no…I mean, yes, we used to be friends and still are, but no, not that close anymore. Not like that