Millinocket 30 July, 1984 0221 Local Time It came from the east and by its unique heavy rotor beat was it heard long before it was ever seen. To most people it was just a helicopter. Yet it was to aircraft as a Volvo is to cars. To pilots it was Pegasus. And to Lecia and Jaret... well, it was worth their brightest smiles. For in its day this helicopter had brought mail from home far away, food, water, desperately needed ammunition and reinforcements, all to beleaguered G.I.s in Vietnam. It had evacuated many of those same G.I.s, saving their lives where other, slower means of travel meant their certain deaths. It was an old helicopter, yet it had been bought and rebuilt by a man who loved it best. Colonel Joseph Sean Kelly, U.S. Army (retired), had once had his own life saved as this very aircraft flew into an NVA bee hive to extract he and seven others of his men from hell in the Asau Valley. And after Vietnam, Colonel Kelly had retired from the Army and gone into business for himself, later buying this most favored of rotorcraft as it became available as military surplus. He had then finished off raising four children, sending all four to college. The Colonel had since died, leaving one order only for his youngest son, Kyle. "So that others may live" were words that the younger Kelly knew all to well, and not once since the death of his father had he failed to take their classic old helo out in answer to a call for help. Jaret was smiling because he knew these things by legend. Lecia was smiling because she knew them by direct military experience. "What kind of helicopter sounds like THAT," Michelle asked. Yet her own smile revealed that she knew the answer, as well. Lecia laughed. "Tell us, Jaret." His smile became a huge, toothy grin. "There's nothing like the sound of an inbound..." Someone's walkie talkie came to life. "Millinocket SPP, Huey 262." "...Huey!" Jaret laughed. The state police duty officer, who was now back at his desk less his momentary gastronomical distress, answered Kyle's call. "Huey 262, Millinocket. Winds from the west at twelve knots, gusting to twenty. Be advised that the landing pad is occupied by one each Aerospatial. Talon requests that you land south to north. Expect marshals and shut down on the deck." 'Marshals' meant that the Huey would be guided down by a man with lighted wands... in this case Jaret. Kyle's reply was heard on everyone's radios. "Land south to north, winds twelve to seventeen knots, and expect marshals. Shut down on the pad. Huey 262, clear." The duty officer took a moment to digest the message before he clicked his microphone twice in reply. Outside a state police SWAT van pulled up, and out stepped a very tall man who was carrying the biggest man-portable gun that Michelle had ever seen. "The 900 Nitro?" she asked Lecia. "Thaz whut it is," Talon replied. "I need your help, by the way." "And how might I help the likes of you?" Lecia smiled before becoming very direct. "I need you to think about remaining here at the post. It's not that I don't think that you're good for the danger. You are. It's that the Huey only holds so many people, and we have to take the best state police shooters." It wasn't exactly a lie. They WOULD be taking plenty of good shots. "You are handling me," Michelle smiled. "Maybe," Talon replied. Most women would have been angry about it. This one, Lecia was ever more surprised to learn, was not one of those. Her smile fell away, but she kept the faith. "I will stay if I must, though I prefer to go." "We'll see about it!" the pilot spoke up in order to be heard above the arrival of the Huey. In a very windy few moments, it was down. Kyle stepped right out, smiling until he saw both his friend's face and the Nitro. "Lecia. ...Jaret. What's this all about?" Talon told him. "Trouble, bud, BIG time. It's way more than I have time to explain, but believe me... it WILL be ugly. The best and worst of all is that I want to swap copilots with you so that you'll be flying with Jaret. He'll be able to guide you through it." "You're serious. You want Kay to help you fly the state police's Bell out of Mary's Bend?" "I sure am. And I sure do." Talon replied. "The wind has died way down, Kyle, but that's not the problem." That drew a direct stare. "Let's have it all." Lecia didn't beat around the bush. "You've heard about all of the disappearances around here, right?" "Un, huh. Tell me what's doing it." "Several twelve to fourteen foot-tall bears that have been mutated and warped into killing monsters by environmental poisoning. We left two of them sleeping at the Bend." "GEEzus!" Kyle exclaimed. "You want to expose Kay to that?" "Listen: I told you that this is bad, and I'm not kidding. The things took off after six friends about four hours ago. We need to get the other helicopter and we need to get them. The state police shooters are carrying serious firepower, and I wouldn't risk Kay if I didn't think that I'd be able to take good care of her." Kyle met Lecia's eyes, trading stares. "She's completing shutdown. Let me see if she's done." "Yes." Lecia knew that it would be his answer. He loved his wife so much that he would not make the tough decision for her. "Who is Kay?" Michelle very quietly asked Talon as the now heavy-hearted Kyle walked back to his aircraft. "Her name's actually Kayleen, and he's known her since kindergarten. She's his wife. Little thing, though she's very brave. She's also a good hand with a helicopter." "I see. If by any means I get to go with you, I want to stay with you." Lecia knew what that meant. "If you mean that you want to go down into Mary's Bend, you won't be. I mean to fast rope down with two of the state police troopers, where we'll set up a perimeter while Kayleen comes down on the winch line and starts up the Bell. We have to make it go really quickly. Unless you know how to fast rope, and long rope, you can't go." "Now I know that you're handling me!" Michelle laughed in chagrin. "You'll do things my way?" "To coign a phrase, 'it will be your way or the highway.' I would rather not be caught with my thumb out in the air." "We'll make room for you somehow," Lecia nodded in understanding. She knew that Michelle didn't care one way or another about her thumb. Her family, her life as she saw it, was cut off and endangered. She would not sit, or even stand by and wait for the outcome of their shared current events. Kyle then returned. With him came a very short, lithe woman who had to be Kay. They were a striking pair. He was almost six feet tall with tousled brown hair and blue eyes, and he gave the appearance of a man who would rather die than live without his wife. In turn, she had flaxen hair and blue eyes, and she had to be two inches shorter than five feet tall. Michelle smiled as she saw them coming, whispering to Lecia. "She almost gives you the impression that she could fly without the help of a helicopter." That made Talon laugh. "Hi, Lecia." "Kay. You know the score?" "Yes, Kyle told me that it will be dangerous." "That it will. How much fuel do you need?" Kay answered right away. "Four hundred pounds, presuming that you want to take every man that we can. That will be about as many pounds less than a full fuel load for us." "Gives you just less than four hours operating time at mean power?" Lecia then asked. "Between five and ten minutes less in this air, yes," Kay replied. It was humid, and that was good for her Huey's fuel consumption. "Jaret, let's pump it out of our helicopter. It will be easier to fly it out of here on one engine if it's lighter." "Right, boss. ...C'mon, Kay." And both copilots left to tend to the fuel transfer. Lecia spoke again. "Kyle, this is Michelle Carpentier, the wife of Dr. Alain Carpentier of Canada." "Ma'am," Kyle replied. "I go by Michelle," she smiled. That got his attention. He spoke then to Talon. "She's going with us?" "That she is. Her husband and son are out there, Kyle. She's very cool under stress, and so I want to take her back out with us if we have room." "You've been out already?" he asked Michelle. "Yes. ...Lecia, how much have you told him?" "Not enough." And in a fast few minutes, Talon fully briefed her Huey pilot. He was stunned. "You say that Atlantic Coast Paper Company is responsible for all of this?" "Yeah. It's why I called you. Captain Aguilar and I were not about to ask them for a second helicopter and trust them to give it to us." "You say that he's asking for other help?" "He is, but it's a long shot that we could get them by daybreak, or even Noon. We could get them a bit faster if he alerts the governor. I still think that it's way too slow, though. ...Here he comes, now." The Captain spoke then. "Well, I gave the state attorney general the rundown, and he's going to brief Governor Rowan. I also called Bangor and asked for their helo, and a medevac. They can't come here before daybreak, though." "That's about the best case scenario that I'd come up for them," Lecia replied. "Yeah. Nighttime's a bad time to give up your air assets if you're commanding a police post. He even has two of 'em, and he's still being tight about it. The medevac, it might get here sooner. ...How long have you and Jaret been flying today?" "I plead the Fifth," Lecia replied with a straight stare. The captain met her eyes and made his decision. "I want you back here by daybreak. My regular pilots will take over the Bell and the Kellys can go on home." "Understood," Talon nodded in agreement. The copilots then returned. "Good to go," Jaret reported. Kyle just nodded. "Take your seat and set up our radios. I'll join you in a minute." "Right." The Huey pilot then turned and motioned the state police SWAT team to him, speaking up once everyone was there. "Who do we have here?" Captain Aguilar replied. "We have two insert teams. One is Lecia's group of four, two pilots and two shooters, Sergeant George Niedar on Rifle One and Sergeant David Makey on Rifle Two. Both are armed with fifty caliber Remington automatics like the Navy SEaLs give to their snipers. They're also packing four concussion grenades each, and a grenade launcher with tear gas rounds. ...You guys got two extra squad communications sets for the ladies?" "Yes sir," the taller of the two officers replied, stepping forward and producing an odd looking light headset with an attached boom microphone. This was in turn attached by line to a small transceiver of about the size of a pack of cigarettes. One wore the headset normally and attached the transceiver to his or her field gear so that its six inch flexible wire antenna dangled out of the way of anything that could damage it. Each member of both teams would wear a rig like this that allowed them to talk to one another and the helicopter pilots, who had the correct frequencies written down on data cards that the SWAT officers handed them. The cards themselves contained a fair amount of tactical information that was very well organized into columns, and Lecia and Kay each received one in addition to their com' sets. Lastly, they were each given a small survival vest that was combined with their rappelling harness. That left only one thing to be attended to. Captain Aguilar once again spoke. "Lecia, what do you want for weapons?" "Got anything that shoots thermal expanders?" "Yep," the captain told her. And he motion to a trooper to bring him the gun. It was a short Ruger automatic shotgun with a thirty round drum magazine, and its ammo was exploding magnesium 3.5 inch hollow point rounds. They looked like they'd hurt the hell out of whatever they hit. "You might want to alternate the mags with something that will rip and tear." "Load it for me," Lecia told the officer who held it. He began to do so, right away. "You want some of these?" Sergeant Makey asked as he held out a concussion grenade. "Same as you have. Make sure that you bend the pins, okay?" "I been in the army just like you, ma'am." "I can tell," Talon smiled. It fell away to a frown a few seconds later. "Oh, man. I HATE this business!" Captain Aguilar agreed. "Yeah. ...Kay?" "I suppose that I should at least carry a pistol. I'm not very good with them, though." One of the SWAT officers spoke up. "Take this, ma'am." It was a cut down twelve gauge pump shotgun of about sixteen inches in total length, a more modern version of Old Bess herself. "Wow!" Kay replied, accepting the weapon and a haversack of spare rounds. "You know how to use that, ma'am?" "Oh, yes. It holds five rounds, or six with one in the chamber. This one has just the five, I see." The officer smiled, seeing that lithe little Kay was a big enough person to be competent with big bore firearms. "Yes, ma'am. It has a standard ten pound trigger pull. Recoil's about what you might expect if you've ever fired a twelve gauge with a short, single barrel. You've got normal mid' grain pellet rounds, but they'll hurt whatever you hit with them. Just be careful to identify whatever you aim at, okay?" "I will. Thank-you!" Kay smiled. "Yes, ma'am." The captain then introduced the other four officers. "Kyle, your second team is comprised of the Nitro man and three more Remington men to guard him by quarters. They have a tear gas gun and concussion grenades, as well. That's eight people, total." Kyle thought it over. "That's not quite a full load. We can go ahead and take Michelle. I— GEEzus! Is that a Browning magnum shotgun?" "Yes," Michelle quietly replied. "I'm good with it." "In a maneuvering helicopter?" Kyle asked. "Lecia's had harnesses. Does yours?" "Yeah. I can see that you know what you're doing. ...Let's get everyone aboard, Michelle and the Nitro team first so that the Bell crew can get out without going over you. You three have your ropes all rigged?" Niedar spoke up. "Two left, two right. Four total. You sure you know how to use the ropes, ma'am?" "At least as well as you do," Lecia replied. "All right. Tear gas guns on the doors, and we'll lay it in downwind of the Bell before we rope in. That should drive away any of the animals on that side of the bird, and we'll then go down with the Nitro team supporting us with fire from above. You two are going to screen the upwind sectors. I'll line up on the downwind side, and we'll call for Kay when we're ready. Listen for changes and be ready to bug out by long lines. You got your radios and harnesses? ...Put 'em on now!" Both did so, as did Talon and Kay. "What does 'bug out by long lines' mean?" Michelle asked the captain. "It means that they'll be prepared to hook up very quickly to the ends of the same ropes down which they'll go to get into Mary's Bend. Kyle will then lift them straight out with the collective." "I see." Lecia lastly spoke to Kay. "Listen: I want you to come straight to me or one of the officers if the helicopter won't start, we're under attack, and we have to get out on the ropes. A long line employment can be pretty damn scary, and I want you to hook up on the same rope with one of us." "I understand, Lecia, and I'll make sure that I call you first." "Right. It's not smart to just appear behind someone who's trying to drive off an assaulting enemy with gunfire." "Michelle and Nitro Team, get aboard," Captain Aguilar ordered. They then climbed into the Huey, then the Bell quartet joined them. It was like a sardine can, Kyle saw as he checked them, but it would do. "Close doors," he commanded. And once that was done, he sat in his pilot's seat and did a quick communications check as he himself strapped in. "Copilot?" "On it," Jaret replied. "Start the engine. ...Who's on back aft?" "I am," Michelle replied. She would be the only one who would remain aboard after the Nitro Team left. "Good," Kyle agreed. "Are you in your harness?" "Yes, Kyle. I don't have a lanyard yet, but I will once the Bell team has left." "Very well. ...Jaret?" the pilot asked after a few more moments. "Looking good. Ready to engage rotor." "Pilot's aircraft." Kyle then flipped his navigation lights on and off to let the police outside know that he was about to engage his rotor and lift off. In less than a minute, the Huey was airborne. Jo-Mary Mountain 0400 It was down to just Dr. Quest, Dr. Carpentier, John and Ramona. Drew had been killed by the Destroyer as he fought to protect Alain, who had in turn been fighting for Benton and the Penobscot duo. After fleeing from the Piscataquis' camp, all five humans ran for two miles, firing at the three pursuing ursas with everything that they had. They then found themselves in a kind of low hollow, above which two more ursas appeared on the axis of their escape from the monsters that had followed them from the village. Dr. Quest fired an anestha dart at the more threatening of the two newcomers, staggering it. John, who was carrying Alain's shotgun, took the other newcomer on with direct fire. Drew bought it when both ran out of ammunition and were forced to reload as Alain shifted his fire in order to cover them. The ursa that Benton had shot had rushed he and John, Alain saw it and finished it off with his last red dart, the Destroyer rushed at Alain, and Drew came between them with his shotgun roaring and his sidearm flashing in the dark. Dr. Carpentier heard the pilot's death agony come from close behind him, turning just in time to have blood and miasma hit him in the face. Two more shotguns then fired, and the doctor felt someone— it would had to have been Ramona, since she was the only one who was unarmed and able— pull him out from under the throes of the horror above. Lucky for all that Dr. Carpentier instinctively reached out and found the copilot's fallen shotgun. He had given his own Browning to John, who had very intelligently held his last four shots until Benton had fired his. The Penobscot then fired four times, driving off a smaller creature as Dr. Quest reloaded. "Stand up!" Ramona cried as she saw the Destroyer rip Drew's head of with its jaws and swallow it whole. "My God!" Alain exclaimed in disbelief. He then rolled over and quickly found his feet, where he saw that two of the ursas were down by anestha and gunfire. The Destroyer roared then in bloodied victory, and it once again moved forwards. Dr. Carpentier saw that Benton was down to using his shotgun, his anestha rifle discarded only God knew where. He wasn't even sure how many darts that he himself still carried. In an incredible act that was ninety percent courage, ten percent impulse, and one hundred percent crazy, Dr. Carpentier pushed Ramona away towards John, dodged the Destroyer, grabbed Drew's bag of ammunition that he saw laying in the moonlight, and escaped on an angle towards Dr. Quest, who loosed a single round at the face of the smaller ursa that came howling in the dark. "Run! Follow John!" Benton shouted. Alain did so, loading his Remington pump shotgun on the fly. No one noticed the sound of the Huey as it passed by a mile to the east, too far away for the fliers to have in turn seen the flashes of the ground-based gunfire. Piscataquis' Camp 0400 In the now sealed off tunnel beneath the Piscataquis' camp, Jordan was beginning to loose consciousness. He had been tired to begin the night with. Then there was the morphine that Dr. Quest had given him for his broken ankle. That in combination with the fact that he had shed his covers in order to move and help Rachel left him light-headed and cold in addition to fatigued. And he was having trouble concentrating in spite of the fact that he was very softly crying as he continued to do what little that he could to dig his golden-haired lady out from under the collapse of the tunnel entrance. She in turn had not moved so much as a muscle or made so much as one sound since being struck on the head by the falling tunnel debris. It was terrifying for the young man, though it did not show above his concern for Rachel even as he recalled the sequence of events of her injuring for the tenth time. Ramona had not been gone for longer than one minute, and he and Rachel were still smiling from the joke that she had told, when the first screams, shots, and roars were heard outside and above. In less than two seconds, Mrs. Quest's expression had turned from one of fondness and humor, right through shock and confusion, to knowledge and concern. The lady next took up her weapons and moved to help those outside, almost instantly covering the ten feet from where she and Jordan had been to the foot of the ladder that led up and out of the tunnel. There had then come a noise like crashing amid the continuing sounds of gunfire and screaming, then a kind of heavy thud, and the entire vertical tunnel shaft fell in, covering and injuring Rachel. Jordan had instantly gone to help her, reaching her in less than two minutes even as he himself was so hurt. He had found her to be breathing, though unresponsive, and he briefly considered the fact that she might be better off covered by the earth which would have had to have been keeping her warm. No good, he recalled. The tunnel roof was unstable, threatening to come down on both Jordan and Rachel. He knew it would be fatal if it did so, and so he had begun to do what he could to dig her out. The problem with that was that for every double handful of dirt that he moved, just as much would slide down from above and replace it. There was lantern light in the tunnel, but it had just the one entrance. The boy briefly recalled that another of the Piscataquis' homes had been less than thirty feet from the one that had existed over this very tunnel, though there was no telling if it had a tunnel of its own, or that the tunnel came anywhere nearby if it was there at all. And so with little more than no hope at all, Jordan continued to try to remain awake and alive as he sat beside Rachel and wept as he made almost no real progress at helping her, having no idea that the other tunnel DID exist and that the Piscataquis were even then working as quickly and carefully as they could to reach him. Mary's Bend 0400 The state police's Bell patrol helicopter was still there. Jaret lit it with the spotlight as Kyle circled the site with his Huey. The grounded aircraft was even secured as if for wind. The problem was that, while the helicopter appeared to be in good shape, the two monsters that had been left at Mary's Bend were nowhere to be seen. "Damn it!" Lecia swore. This, she knew, meant nothing but evil for someone. She had no idea that that someone had been running from the things as she and her two field teams flew by fat, dumb, and at least less terrified. Talon didn't hesitate as she spoke over the Huey's intercom. "All right. Kyle, hover upwind of the Bell, nose on it." "Ready," he almost immediately replied. "Doors coming open," Lecia said as she removed her headset and handed it to Michelle. She then had to shout in order to be heard above the awesome rotor beat of her ride. "Shooters, lay in your tear gas!" In less than two minutes, the far side of the Bend was a solid mass of white gas moving away very slowly with the wind. "Bell team away!" Lecia called. And she and her two officers went down their ropes so fast that Michelle would later say that they FELL out of the Huey. The Nitro man took command, ordering Michelle to tell Kyle to rotate them so that they could all fire from the same doorway. "Turn around!" he then told her. And in another two seconds she felt him snap a lanyard onto the back of her safety harness. "Clear left!" Sergeant Niedar called from the ground. "Clear right!" Sergeant Makey replied. "Clear aft! Standing by for Kay!" Lecia added. "On the way!" Michelle replied over the intercom. "On the way!" Kyle called over the radio. Five seconds later, Lecia spoke once more over her squad personal communications set. "Kay, do a walk around! The rotors are secured from the storm!" "I see it, Lecia!" It seemed like it took forever, though in reality it was only five minutes. Kay did her walk around, removing the rotor ties and turbine caps. She checked the engine inlets, then stowed everything before opening the left side cockpit door and taking her seat. She then flipped on the main battery and did a voltage check, turned on the red dome lights, then found the checklists and ran down the one for preflight. There were two agreements to be verified, plus the main systems to be set up. The little copilot's hands literally flew through the sequence, after which she made the call. "Heads down! Engines are starting up, rotor disengaged!" In two more minutes, Kay was ready. "Engaging rotor!" Lecia spoke to her officers. "Shooters stay low! Stand by to board!" "Left side standing by!" "Standing by, right!" "Ready, Lecia!" Kay called a few moments later. "Kyle, go for altitude and get clear! Shooters, take your seats and cover your doors!" Talon then stood up, rushing in low underneath the deadly rotor blades and seeing her officers doing the same thing, though even lower. She made sure that they were secured before she herself opened the right cockpit door and sat in the pilot's seat. She didn't even bother strapping in. She simply called "pilot's aircraft!" and lifted off. Once she was safely above the Bend, she gave the helicopter back to Kay, only then strapping herself in and donning a headset. "Jaret?" "Go, boss," the copilot called from the nearby Huey. "I got a bad feeling about all of this," Lecia told him. "Yeah. I feel it, too. You maybe want to split up?" Talon replied immediately. "You're damn right I do. You guys go for Dr. Quest's cabin on Jo-Mary Lakes. Act on anything that you find there and stay the hell in communications with me in case I need you at the Piscataquis' camp." "Go for the cabin on Southern Jo-Mary Lakes, act if necessary, and stand by in any event. Huey 262 clear." "Very well. ...Millinocket SPP, Air One?" Captain Aguilar's voice was heard in everyone's headsets. "We copy you in the air, One. Concur with your plan to split up." Talon grinned, silently thanking God and the captain for His help and his confidence. "Will proceed and advise. Air One clear." "Millinocket SPP clear," Captain Aguilar replied. Jo-Mary Mountain 0500 Dr. Quest didn't feel as though he was going to make it. Of the four survivors who still ran from the ursas, he was the least well conditioned. Still, he ran on through the surreal forest night, firing and reloading in turn with John and Alain as everyone dodged darkened trees and fought not to go down on the storm-dampened ground. IF ONLY WE COULD REACH THE CABIN! Benton exclaimed to himself, heaving as he tried to get enough air. Alain still carried his anestha gun, and there was enough anestha at the cabin to quickly enough fill four or five new green darts. The problem, however, was in getting there. John had a few minutes earlier shouted that there was just over a mile left to go, but the creatures gave them no quarter. They had even begun to get smart about it, consistently pursuing from just outside of effective guns range. This left all four humans with the impression that they were being herded like cows to a slaughter. ...OR LIKE A CALF BY A COWBOY ON A CUTTING HORSE, Dr. Quest personally thought. THAT SOUND, he then heard as he ran. LIKE A HELICOPTER FLYING FAR OFF IN THE DISTANCE, YET IT ALMOST SEEMS TO BE COMING CLOSER. DEAR GOD, LET IT BE LECIA! The doctor was deprived of any more time to think about it. Almost as if sent by Satan himself, a bloody ursa appeared directly ahead of Alain, and to that one's left another that was Benton's own problem. Both scientists fired, with John adding his stinging retribution first on one monster, then the other. Alain's target gave way first and all four humans ran through the opening, hearing the Destroyer roaring in dismay. NO LUCK NEXT TIME, OLD BOY! Benton again exclaimed to himself. He certainly wasn't smiling about it. Something big and ugly appeared to close on him from the left. His friends were all running to his right, and so he was almost certain that it was an ursa on the other side. The doctor then jumped a rock, ran around a tree, and there was the monster. Three fast shots from two guns made it back away, and everyone once again ran past. Piscataquis' Camp 0530 Willem Marten was not a name that one normally associated with a Native American. As these things went, and being the next oldest member of his tribe, the 58 year-old man who now led his people after the death of their elder was the grandson of a German-American father and a Piscataquis mother. And in spite of being only three-quarters Piscataquis, he was quite capable and fully trusted. Like his good friend John Hawkes he was educated, with both having graduated from the same university. For a fact, it had been Willem who by his good example motivated John to work very hard for an education. Both were progressive of mind and great of heart, though the older man had never quite had the younger's fire to engage outsiders on matters the likes of this one with the Atlantic Coast Paper Company. Willem easily understood why it was necessary, but he could not, and did not, agree with John's borderline violent and borderline illegal methods for dealing with it. He believed that it would cost the young man his life, and that it would cost the Penobscots their finest leader and brightest hope for integration with the outside world. Willem shook off the unspeakable thought and stared once more at the wall where four surviving Piscataquis men were working to join their tunnel with that of the one where Rachel and Jordan were trapped. They had been at their task for just over three hours and were somewhere within one more hour of breaking through when a sixth man came down from the surface and reported that a helicopter was circling the camp. This one, Willem knew, would be able to land in an area that had been cleared of yet one more wrecked home. The new elder continued to look at his tunnel party for a few more moments before meeting the newcomer's eyes. "I had expected them to come. Let them land and I will join you in in a few minutes." The younger Piscataquis simply nodded and turned to carry out his instructions. Willem looked to the oldest of the four diggers. "How much longer?" "Ten minutes or two hours. I cannot be sure. It would help if they would make some noise." The elder himself simply nodded. That no noise was heard was not good news. "Continue to keep this pace and I will return in a few minutes with help from the helicopter." "It will be needed." In the right seat of Air One, Lecia landed and stared in stunned disbelief at the awesome hulks that were the two sleeping ursas. "God! ...Shooters, bring your weapons and the medical kit. Kay, stay here and monitor us. Lift off at the first sign of trouble." "Yes, Lecia." All three Air One team members then got out and ducked under the running rotors of their aircraft. Talon gave orders right away, looking at the monsters. "Potassium chloride shots on both of 'em. Use the prescribed lethal dosage and add a CC for good measure." "Right," Sergeant Niedar agreed. And he and Sergeant Makey left to tend to it right away. A tall and very dignified man appeared. It was Willem. "There are two of your people trapped below ground here. The others are all missing." Talon frowned at the news. "Your name, sir?" "Willem Marten. I am the oldest surviving Piscataquis." Lecia knew the correct reply. "Honored elder. Who here may we help? And please, who is trapped and who is missing?" "My people can care for our own. As for your people, trapped are one woman of high bearing and bright demeanor, as well as a dark-haired boy with very blue eyes and a broken ankle. They have made no sound and we are trying to reach them by digging from a nearby tunnel. Missing are John Hawkes and Ramona Mariah of the Penobscot tribe, as well as Drs. Quest and Carpentier and one state police pilot." Lecia winced at the report. "A moment, honored elder. ...Kay?" "Go ahead?" "Call Jaret. Tell him that he's looking for five survivors of an attack on this camp. Both of our doctors are in that group, and it's my guess that they're heading for Southern Jo-Mary Lakes. Tell him to relay that news to Millinocket SPP if you can't contact them yourself." "Will advise and report." "Shooters?" Lecia asked, looking at her officers. "Done," Niedar replied over his squad communications set. But before Makey could say anything, one of the Piscataquis tunnelers emerged and cried out. "We are through!" "Come!" Willem said to Lecia, who keyed her own com' set... "Kay, I'm going below ground! Shooters, guard the helicopter!" "Rifle One, standing by." "Rifle Two is done and standing by." Talon spoke as she stepped inside the still standing Piscataquis home that led to the tunnels below. "Roger, Two! ...Kay, Prepare to lift off with casualties!" "Roger, Lecia. Be advised that I'm in contact with Millinoc—" Kay's transmission was cut off as Talon went down the ladder to the underground world below. "Here," Willem gestured at a small opening in the tunnel's back wall. Lecia went through and was brought up short. Two Piscataquis were coming towards her very carefully carrying Jordan, who was unresponsive. The Piscataquis who had come up and called had joined a forth man who was working at the base of what looked like a cave-in. Between them could be seen someone whom Lecia took to be Dr. Quest's wife. "Oh, God!" "Help us!" the older of the two Indians cried. Both Willem and Lecia did so, right away. End Part VIII