Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

It spread across the beige landscape, a few baobab trees jutting from the ground around the region. An animal screamed, and I spotted a lemur on a tree branch, his ringed tail drooping behind him.

“How do you know the guide?” I asked Hunter, and he motioned to a truck across the road as we exited the airport. He didn’t respond.

Tripp stopped near the first escort and slipped him some currency before grabbing his pack again and crossing the road.

There were two men at the truck, one with a green shirt, the other in an orange one; each wore black shorts. “Bonjour,” Hunter said. “Is everything prepared?”

Green shirt nodded. He set a hand on his chest. “I am Haja. This is Hasin.”

“Well met,” Hunter said, and gave them our names. Their eyes lingered on Marcus for a moment, then on Veronica.

“There’s no time like the present. Let’s make a move,” I said, chucking the packs in the back of the truck.

“Would you like to ride up front with me?” Haja asked Veronica, and she was quick to respond.

“Hunter, it would be much more comfortable for you up there.”

“Right. Then it’s settled.” Hunter started for the door and stopped. “Marcus, give Haja the coordinates.”

Marcus glanced at me, seeking guidance, and I answered for him. “Get us near the northern region. You can do that, right?”

Haja nodded cockily. “Not a problem.”

I climbed into the back of the truck, sitting on the wooden bench. I tucked my pack under it, and Veronica came beside me. “You’ll get the last coordinates when we arrive safely,” I told them. I couldn’t risk giving away the location of our first Token, not to strangers. For all I knew, they’d relay the information to friends already waiting at the stone forest. To activate the Bridge, we needed all six of the relics, though we currently only had the accurate locations of five of them.

Tripp was the last to climb in, and he sat heavily, putting himself between Marcus and Hasin. The engine cranked, shaking the entire truck, and Haja started forward, easing his foot on the pedal. “This might be a little bumpy,” he said through the open window between us.

The sun was high and hot, and Hasin opened a cooler, kicking it across the truck bed toward the center. There were six bottles of water, along with a bunch of green-bottled beers. Tripp took one of those and snapped the cap off on the edge of the old truck. He offered it to me, and I shook my head.

“I’ll have one,” Veronica said, and took it from Tripp. He found another, while Marcus and I settled for water.

“How long is the drive?” Tripp asked Hasin.

“Three hours,” he said.

“Damn. I’ll admit I’ve been on worse roads than Madagascar, but not many. But rarely did we have refreshments like this.” Tripp lifted the beer and gulped from it.

I hadn’t been here before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I learned quickly enough. We drove through town, and I watched as a group of children were let out of school. They shouted and ran from the whitewashed building, dashing for their daily dose of freedom. Ten minutes later, houses became exceedingly sparse along the roads, and the trees grew thicker.

We passed only a handful of cars on the road, fewer the farther inland we went. Judging by the sun and the maps Marcus and I had reviewed, we were heading southeast toward the stone forest. I’d seen pictures before, but we weren’t going to the tourist location, with public washrooms and guided tours.

“Have you seen Madagascar before?” I asked Veronica.

“Sure. Couple times. Stone forest is quite the sight, but not for everyone. Tends to be dangerous. Between the suspension bridge and the rock climbing, it can be a bit of a test,” she said. “What can you tell me about our prize?”

I glanced at Hasin, but he and Tripp were in conversation and on their second beer. I kept my voice quiet. “There’s an artifact located inside. Something valuable.”

“It would have to be, with Hunter Madison chasing after it. I didn’t think anyone lived out there in the forest. Are you suggesting there’s an ancient village?” she asked.

“I can’t know for sure, but… this isn’t the original location of the artifact,” I admitted.

This piqued her interest. “How interesting. So these six stops we’re planning on making… did someone spread out a collection or something?”

She was smart; I had to give her that. “Along those lines.”

The truck lurched, and I peered over the front of the vehicle. The sun was bright, and I struggled to see why Haja would stop in the middle of nowhere.

Hasin rose, jumping from the truck, and Tripp followed him.

“I sense trouble,” Marcus said, pointing down the road, and then I saw the other vehicles. The lead one stopped a hundred yards away, pulled sideways to block the road. Three men hopped out, hardly more than boys, but I didn’t like the look of them.

“Toss my pack,” Tripp called from the rear of our truck, and I threw it over, the bag landing with a hefty thump. He unzipped it, shoving a handgun into his belt behind his back.

“What’s going on?” I asked Haja through the window.

“Stay put. I will deal with this. Mr. Madison, do you have any ariary?” he asked Hunter.

It took me a second to remember that was their local currency. “Some. What do you need? Who are these men?”

Haja sighed. “They control the passes. Any hunting is done so with their permission.”

“Hunting?” I whispered, and it all clicked. I opened a crate near the window and found three long rifles, along with sacks. “They’re poachers. What do you hunt?”

Haja shrugged, and told me, “Lemurs.”

“You hired poachers to bring us in?” I asked Hunter, and he frowned at me.

“How else did you expect to get to the illegal passes of the conservation region? We do what’s necessary to complete our mission,” he stated firmly.

Haja opened his door and climbed out, taking the