AZ Mystery - chapter 4
Date: 2/25/2024,
Categories:
Science-Fiction ,
Alien,
Author: Limnophile
... clifftops, and instinctively shouldered my carbine and clicked it off safe. I heard a repeating ‘thump’ noise. It didn’t sound mechanical, more like somebody pounding nails slowly. Since I was alone, the safest thing would be to stay back and look with the drone.
I took out one of my combat meals and got it ready. Salmon, pasta, and vegetables. Not my favorite, but it would do. I had eleven more meals of several kinds, and would make sure to save my two beloved enchilada and rice meals for rougher times. They were my favorite and would lift my spirits if things were going badly.
I looked at the mound of gear and saw packs from three other Rangers. I had water for a week or more, food for a month, and more ammo than I could carry. We had even brought along a couple of AT4 anti-tank rockets, in case the enemy had an armored vehicle or bunker.
Since I was in charge of the squad, I had brought the snacks. A lot of sergeants got granola bars or trail mix. I liked hard candy, so we had a kilo of it. Being by myself now, there were mints and root beer barrels to last me a month or two.
I ate three candies in the time it took the drone to recharge. It was just another part of military life, long periods of boredom.
I sent the drone to look over the cliff where I saw the smoke. I was surprised to see four people around a small fire. One of them was a man hitting a coconut with a rock, making the pounding noise.
A little girl sat on a log next to an old man. An old ...
... lady sat near them as they ate something. They were a motley mix. The girl and the old man were dressed in American-style clothing. The other two looked like villagers from some stone-age tribe. I didn’t see any weapons, unless you counted the rock and what looked like a primitive hatchet. They obviously weren’t the enemy.
I lowered the drone down to get a closer look, and the little girl waved and said something to the others. They looked up as the drone got too close to a tree. One of the drone’s propellers hit a branch, and I saw it spin and hit the ground through the camera. I couldn’t get it to take off, but I could still see them. The younger of the men picked it up and waved. He had a large woven bag of some kind wrapped around him like a purse. It covered his abdomen, but I could see his muscular legs and part of his … masculine equipment. I liked what I saw.
One of them wrote in the dirt with a stick. “SOS HELP!” I sympathized. I really did. I walked over to the cliff in their direction. I heard them yelling. “HEY! Help us! Hello? HEY!”
I shouted to them, “HEY! One at a time! Who are you? Where are we?”
The old man answered, “There are four of us. We don’t know where we are. Can you help us get out of here?”
I smiled to myself. “Sure! Get away from the wall! At least a hundred meters! Stay away until you hear a big boom!”
I walked back to the wreck to get one of my favorite items, and did some quick figuring in my head. “Stone wall one meter thick, no ...