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

The question came out of nowhere, and I sat still, staring at the dwindling fire.

“I’m sorry, was that too far? I’ve read up on you, and I know that your father was Dirk Walker. A legend in certain fields, if my research was correct,” Veronica told me.

“My dad’s been gone a long time. It’s a wonder why I didn’t become a grocery store manager instead of this, but I’m not my father. I’m a professor.” Saying it didn’t make it real, because at this moment, I felt just like him, and I liked it. I was connected to a great puzzle, the same one he’d gone to great lengths to hide. Why had they paid Marta’s father to disperse the Tokens in these bizarre and remote areas? To what end? Had he been that afraid of someone following him? Had he really wanted to leave us behind, with no hopes of reconnecting?

“Molding the minds of the young. If Marcus is any proof of your skill set, you should be proud of your teachings.”

“Marcus was already a special kid. I can’t take any credit.”

“But he’s here with you now, on this wild adventure,” she said.

“He is, but I wish he’d stayed home. I feel like I’m bringing him into something he shouldn’t be part of,” I admitted.

Veronica rose, waving a fly away, and headed toward her tent. “He wants to be here. I only hope you find what you’re looking for, Rex.”

“And you?” I asked, watching her crouch near her tent’s entrance.

“I’m in it for the cash.”

4

The first sight of the stone forest was awe-inspiring. The rocky razor-edge tree-like formations were like nothing I’d ever witnessed before, and it took a while to comprehend what we were seeing. The trees were thick, the lemurs plentiful, but the wild species darted off at the sound of the trucks’ engine carrying through the dense forest.

“How did the forest come to be?” Hunter asked Hasin as we gathered our supplies. The Token’s coordinates were three miles away, and our guides suspected it might take us all day to traverse the distance.

Hasin shrugged. “God created it.”

The elevation increased beyond our location, rising with the stone trees. That was exactly what they looked like: rough gray trees, almost like a forest of spruce that had been frozen into stone by Medusa. It also appeared deadly and impossible to navigate.

“We should have brought a copter in,” Veronica said.

“Nowhere to land,” Haja told her.

“We don’t need to land. I could have lowered our buddy Tripp.” Veronica hefted her pack onto her shoulders and added an elastic to her long blonde hair, pulling it tightly into a tail.

“We’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Tripp said with a smirk. He was in a good mood today, and I guessed the layer of caution around him was lowering. We were becoming his squad, and now that we’d shared a meal around a fire and slept in tents on-site, he considered us more of a team than he had the night before.

“This area looks unique,” Marcus told me.

“Madagascar is much different. Islands often bring completely radical ecosystems with them,” Veronica said. “Deciduous trees here will give way to wet limestone slabs farther into the valleys.”

I glanced at Hasin, and he nodded his agreement. “She is right. This is Tsingy de Bemarah, and Tsingy means where one cannot walk barefoot.”

My boots were broken in; they’d been on numerous adventures with me, and I hoped they’d stand up to the harsh hike we were about to endure.

“Mr. Madison, you should stay with Haja,” Hasin said, leaning against the side of the truck.

Hunter looked at Tripp. “I think he might be right. I’ll only slow you down, and my lungs...”

“I know you want to reclaim this hidden article, but do you trust this man?” Tripp asked.

“I’ll be fine.” Hunter seemed older today, and I wondered just what was wrong with his health. His handkerchief was out again, and he wiped his brow with the embroidered cloth.

“Someone else should stay put,” Tripp said. “Keep you company.” It was obvious that he was thinking we would have safety in numbers, but the two local guides didn’t seem to care one way or the other. “I vote for Veronica.”

“No way.” She crossed her arms, stepping toward the ex-SEAL. “I’m fit and can do this hike in my sleep. My suggestion is the kid stays.”

All eyes fell on Marcus, and he visibly relaxed. “I’ll hang here with Hunter, Rex. You guys get what we came for, and I’ll see you soon.”

I reached into the back of Tripp’s pack and pulled out a handgun, giving it to Marcus. I stared at Haja to see his reaction, but he just shrugged.

“There will be no one to shoot with that, but if it helps you feel better, go for it.” Haja lit a thin, brown-papered cigar and smiled at me as he puffed it.

“Then it’s settled. Time to go.” Hasin was the thinner of the two, but his size betrayed a certain evident strength. He pulled out an assortment of climbing gear and tossed shin guards at Tripp, Veronica, and me. “Put these on. A slip and your leg will be mangled.”

We did as ordered, and I patted Marcus on the shoulder before taking the GPS.

“Good luck, team,” Hunter said from the tailgate. His eyes were haunted, his posture rigid. There was so much riding on our mission, perhaps even farther-reaching than my initial speculations. Selfishly, I wanted to see what had happened to my father, and the rest were invested for financial reasons. Hunter, on the other hand, wanted to see if his life’s passion was real. Did aliens exist, and if so, did we really have the means on Earth to travel to another place to meet them?

We might find out in a couple of weeks, if everything went according to plan. The only issue was the last location that we’d found in the locker at the Caracas airport. Hunter’s team was