Tracers Work Both Ways

Kurt made grave markers from real estate signs. He drove the signs into the head of each grave before he and Scooter began their walk back to the fuel depot. Scooter moved ahead quickly with his normal tactical caution. Kurt just steadily walked along, staring at nothing. When Kurt arrived at the north bank of the Trout River he turned right. Scooter stood making hand signals indicating that Kurt should stop. He pointed to the shoreline. Kurt scanned the shoreline with his rifle sight. A hundred meters away he saw a troop of baboons. They were digging in the river’s sandy mud and eating whatever it was that they dug up. Kurt fired his carbine once from a standing position. The bullet missed one of the baboons by less than a foot. The animals darted away from the shore and Kurt fired three more times after them. Hopefully they’re scared enough to hide for awhile. The pair ran across the baboon feeding area and toward the zoo maintenance yard. Scooter stopped behind a vehicle and pointed. The Cape Buffalo that they had seen earlier had moved south and were very near the route that the men needed to take to the trail through the woods. Kurt fired at the ground near the three animals and they began to slowly move north. The biggest one kept looking at Kurt and Scooter as he walked. When the Cape Buffalo had moved a hundred feet from where they were Kurt and Scooter took off in a sprint for the trail. The biggest animal reacted by bellowing a terrifying sound and trotting to intercept the men. Kurt fired at the animal. He knew he hit it but the bullets’ only effects were to infuriate the creature further. Kurt and Scooter were on a dead run when they skidded to a stop to avoid the three trip wires. Kurt looked back to see the enormous bull charging at an unbelievable speed. Its head was down and mucous was slinging from its snout. They cleared the wires and ran another fifty feet before they dove off the trail into the muck. As soon as their bodies splashed into the ooze, a deafening explosion erupted to their rear. The blast tossed Kurt back onto the trail, where he lay dazed for several minutes. Kurt shook his head. His ears were ringing from the blast. He looked to where the buffalo was and only saw smoke settling toward the ground. When he stood his legs felt weak. He checked himself closely and decided that he wasn’t bleeding. He tested his arms and legs and felt his chest and head without discovering injuries. Kurt found Scooter hanging upside down from a tree. His right leg was wedged in the fork of the tree six feet off the ground. Scooter was dripping with thick black mud. Blood was running from his nose and ears. Kurt put his ear to Scooter’s chest. He realized then that his hearing was damaged. Kurt tired to feel Scooter’s pulse with his fingers but the adrenalin in his body was keeping his fingers from working properly. Kurt instinctively put his lips on Scooter’s neck. A pulse! He moved to the other side of the tree and lifted Scooter’s leg free. He reached around the tree and grabbed the kid’s arm as he fell, so that he fell on his side. Kurt lifted Scooter and draped him over his shoulders. He began running east on the trail. When he got to the next trap he slogged thorough the knee-deep mud until they were clear of the danger. Once he was back on the trail he resumed running. I lost Linda. I lost Brad. Because I sat on my ass. I’m not loosing Scooter! The man with the cigarette they had met before appeared, put Scooter on his shoulders and began running east. Kurt followed. They avoided the last trip wire and ran to the pumping station. The man laid Scooter down gently onto a cot inside an open-walled tent. Another man arrived and Kurt watched as the two examined Scooter. One had a stethoscope and a flashlight. He checked Scooter’s eyes. The other was removing Scooter’s boots. Kurt saw the first man say something to him. He couldn’t hear. Everything began to spin and then sudden darkness overcame him.