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  Jerry could not believe his eyes. The villagers staggered and jerked grotesquely between the huts, and in and out of the block building’s half-open door. They had decomposed considerably in the days they had been gone. Most were bloated with gases, but many had burst and their skin hung in tatters. Their faces, eyes, and hair were rotting away, leaving behind the blackened musculature and the white of exposed bone. A few still wore some rotted article of clothing, but Jerry realized grimly that none of the naked cadavers still possessed genitalia.

  He did not want to go into the village; it truly was a place possessed by death.

  “What are we doing here?” he hissed.

  “I need to look around!” Vogan whispered back. “The virus originated in this village!”

  “It’s too fucking dangerous to go in there!” Jerry pointed out.

  “Both of you be quiet!” Angel demanded in a low growl. “Or we’ll be running again!”

  “There!” Vogan whispered excitedly. “Look, it’s one of your missing miners!” He pointed to one of the cadavers that stumbled out of the building. Unlike the others, this corpse was wearing heavily stained blue jeans and work boots. The rest of its clothing had been torn away, and it was so heavily decomposed that the body’s ethnicity was almost impossible to determine, but the western clothing gave it away.

  Jerry stared at the cadaver until it disappeared into the huts.

  “There’s another one,” Vogan whispered. He pointed out another corpse; it still wore one muddy work boot.

  “Why are they here?” Jerry wondered aloud.

  “The clinic,” Vogan answered quietly. “That block building is a clinic. It’s the only medical facility in this area. The closest hospital would be at Junta. Your miners must have become sick; at least some of them ended up here.”

  “Why wouldn’t they have been taken to Junta?”

  “I don’t know that they weren’t,” Vogan replied. “The virus got there awfully fast! I bet your miners were attacked by the cadavers. If they hadn’t been warned, it would have been a massacre. They probably walked right into the village.”

  “Fuck me,” Jerry mumbled, realizing he and Angel had almost done the same thing.

  “Do you see how important it is that we warn someone in authority now?” Vogan demanded. “Until someone takes this seriously, the virus can spread like wildfire. The cadavers make an excellent carrier. How many miners were there?”

  Jerry thought for a second. “Five Americans, four others,” he answered.

  “It seems we have found at least two of them,” Vogan mused grimly. “It’s going to be pretty tough to identify them now.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that!” Jerry gasped. “This really complicates things.”

  “Under the circumstances, a tentative identification is all you’ll likely get,” observed Vogan. “Your superiors will have to accept our deductions.”

  “You’ve obviously never worked for the agency before; they’ll want proof,” Jerry replied gloomily. “I have to get into that village.”

  “I can circle around and draw them off into the forest,” Angel offered quietly. “But I do not know how long they will follow me, and I cannot be certain that they will all leave,” he warned.

  “It’s too dangerous,” Jerry argued.

  “Only for you, boss. The Kindu will not be able to catch me alone,” Angel retorted. “Once I draw them away, I will circle back to this side of the village and find you. If you must flee, follow the road back towards Junta and I will come to you.” The big guide laid his hand on Jerry’s shoulder and squeezed it lightly. “Watch him, Vogan,” he whispered. He backed silently back into the brush and disappeared.

  “I didn’t know you two were so close,” Vogan observed.

  “We’re not. But if I die, he doesn’t get paid,” Jerry explained.

  The two men hunkered down to wait. It wasn’t long before they heard a metallic banging coming from the other side of the village. The cadavers noticed immediately; they began to groan and staggered off towards the noise. Their low moans slowly diminished into the distance.

  Vogan and Jerry gave the corpses a few minutes, watching to be absolutely sure that the village was deserted.

  “Let’s check it out,” Vogan finally suggested, rising to his feet.

  He led the way cautiously, and they slowly approached the dwellings of the dead. Abandoned possessions and torn articles of clothing lay scattered about, or half-trodden into the mud. Unidentifiable masses of festering tissue lay here and there, surrounded by masses of crawling, buzzing flies. This close to the village, the smell began to overpower their senses. Jerry stopped and noisily vomited into the mud. He dry heaved until he thought his stomach would bleed. The smell was absolutely overwhelming. Vogan looked green, but he didn’t puke. He helped Jerry recover, and they proceeded.

  “Let’s check out the clinic,” Vogan suggested.

  They approached the clinic and peered through its open doorway. The interior was a dark reeking hole of pestilence and disease. If possible, it smelled even worse. Waves of putrescence and rot emanated from the building, and the buzzing of hundreds of flies filled the air.

  “I’m not sure I can go in there,” Jerry choked out.

  “Let’s get it over with,” Vogan gagged in reply.

  Jerry held one hand over his mouth and nose in a futile attempt to hold the miasma at bay. Bloated flies crawled on his face and hands, and he desperately waved them away. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that the clinic was an absolute shambles, but it contained no bodies or other human remains. Over-turned, stained bedding and furniture lay scattered about. Ripped insect netting hung from the ceiling, and dark, congealed stains covered the floor. His boots made sticky noises as they progressed.

  “Can we get the virus just from being in here?” Jerry breathed.

  “Possibly, we are taking a risk. Don’t touch anything unless you have to,” Vogan warned.

  They quickly searched the building but found nothing out of the ordinary. Jerry was about to give up when he spotted a blood-stained backpack against the far wall. It looked expensive and fairly new. He pointed it out to Vogan. The biologist grabbed it by a strap and carried it outside. Jerry gratefully followed him outside into the fresh air. They cautiously looked around, but the cadavers had not returned.

  “Do you want to look around anymore?” Vogan asked.

  “No, let’s get the fuck out of here!” Jerry urged.

  The pair retreated back into the trees and walked until they were far from the stink of the village. When they finally stopped, Jerry could still faintly smell the stench of carrion; he realized the backpack carried the reek of death.

  Vogan opened the pack and spilled its contents onto the ground. Some clothing and personal articles fell out into the mud. He quickly snatched up a prescription pill bottle and held it up to read its label.

  “Is Timothy Miller one of your missing persons?” the biologist asked.

  “Yeah,” Jerry replied. “That proves the loggers were in Gatou. Let’s just hope that’s enough for my supervisor. I think we’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty on this one!”

  Vogan tossed the pills to Jerry. The agent stowed them in his pack.

  “I hope Angel’s okay,” he mumbled.

  A few minutes later, the guide emerged from the jungle. He was breathing heavily and sweaty, but didn’t look much worse than when he had left them.

  “Are they still chasing you?” Jerry asked.

  “Who knows?” Angel replied. “I led them on a merry chase for the first kilometer or so, and then I left them. I circled far around and back to this side of the village. You two talk much too loudly,” he laughed. “No wonder the Kindu found us. Did you find what you sought?”

  “Sort of,” Jerry answered. He pointed to the pack. “That belonged to one of the loggers. We found his name on a pill bottle.”

  “What now, boss? I still have not shot a Kindu,” Angel pointed
out.

  “Take us to the airstrip,” Jerry suggested. “You can hunt a Kindu on your own time.”

  TO　THE　JOINT　CHIEFS　OF　STAFF　-　CODE　YELLOW　COMMUNIQUE

  COMMUNICATIONS　LOST　WITH　PERSONNEL　SECURE　AREA　B-0304　DRC-C/N　BLUE　MOUNTAIN.　UNABLE　TO　ESTABLISH　CONTACT　ON　SECONDARY　OR　EMERGENCY　CHANNELS.

  SATELLITE　SURVELLIANCE　SHOWS　ALL　PERSONNEL　STILL　ACTIVE　ON　SITE.

  ATTEMPTING　TO　REESTABLISH　CONTACT,　WILL　ADVISE.

  REPORT　ENDS

  Chapter 8

  03:32 p.m. Zulu

  Outside Village of Gatou

  The Congo

  Angel led them back into the trees, and they circled far around Gatou. Once he was sure they were in the clear, they turned to the south, and made for the mines. They covered two miles before Angel stopped to smoke a cigarette. Jerry and Vogan passed a water bottle back and forth.

  “I need to use the SPC Array to contact my bush pilot and report to the main office,” Jerry stated.

  “Much too dangerous,” Vogan countered.

  “I thought you said that electro-magnetism crap was just a theory,” Jerry stated.

  “I’m fairly sure that I’m right,” Vogan explained. “It’s the only explanation that makes any sense.”

  “Well, I can’t operate without my communications gear,” Jerry complained. “I need to report what we’ve found and see what my orders are. I can’t just operate independently out here. That’s not how the agency works.”

  “I strongly suggest you wait until we are far away from Gatou before you fire that thing up,” Vogan warned. “Unless you fancy another run through the jungle.”

  “It’s pretty important that I contact the home office,” Jerry responded.

  “Those things are still close, I’m telling you that…” Vogan began again. He stopped suddenly to listen. Angel jerked swiftly upright and dropped his cigarette. Gunfire echoed dimly through the trees.

  “Was that a gun?” Jerry asked.

  “AK-47,” Angel answered. “It is not close. They are to the west.”

  “Who’s shooting out here?” Jerry asked.

  “Regular Army, rebels, villagers, who knows?” Vogan replied. “Everybody in Africa has an AK-47,” he complained.

  The gun fired again and again in the distance, then the shots faded away.

  “Should we go check it out?” Jerry asked tentatively.

  “You should never go towards the sound of automatic gunfire in Africa,” Vogan warned.

  “He is right, boss,” Angel agreed.

  “It could be survivors from Gatou,” Jerry suggested. “We haven’t found anybody alive besides the Pygmies out here.”

  “Whoever it is, they’re drawing the cadavers towards themselves by firing their guns,” Vogan pointed out.

  “This whole situation is impossible,” Jerry complained. “I can’t use the fucking communications array and we can’t find anyone alive to talk to. How am I supposed to operate under these conditions?”

  “Let’s keep moving,” Vogan advised.

  Angel led them out again to the south.

  They hadn’t gone very far when the guide stopped them. He held up his hand and advanced alone, carefully examining the muddy ground.

  “What is it?” Jerry asked.

  “Many men have come this way, not too long ago,” Angel explained. He pointed to faint prints in the mud, “One of them is a Congolese, but I don’t recognize these tracks, I’ve never seen them before.”

  “Cadavers?” Vogan asked.

  “No,” Angel answered. He turned aside to follow the prints for a moment, then bent down and picked up a discarded wrapper of some sort. He carefully unrolled the crumpled paper and foil and studied it closely. Finally, he passed it to Jerry.

  “What language is that?” he asked.

  “It’s Chinese,” Jerry replied. “That’s a Chinese cigarette pack. How many, Angel?”

  “I’m not positive, ten, maybe twelve men,” the guide replied.

  “Wait a minute,” Vogan began. “What are the Chinese doing here?” Both he and Angel looked at Jerry for an answer.

  “It’s complicated,” the field agent explained.

  “Try me,” Vogan prompted.

  Jerry shook his head and began, “China is the end point for almost all the illegal exports that go out of the Congo; ivory, diamonds, lumber, exotic animals, and furs; you guys know this shit. It gives them leverage with some of the non-government factions in-country. China is constantly trying to exert political influence by aiding the rebels. The DRC is technically inside the United States sphere of influence. We have a lot of mining interests here, and minerals are what make the Congo important; not the rain-forest like everyone stateside believes.”

  “That doesn’t explain why they would be here now,” Vogan countered.

  “Let me continue,” Jerry suggested. “The most important mineral in the Congo is cobalt ore. Eighty percent of the world’s cobalt reserves are located in the Congo. The Chinese are very interested in that ore reserve.”

  “Why cobalt?” Vogan asked.

  “Cobalt ore is used to make tantalum,” Jerry explained.

  Angel and Vogan looked at Jerry. “And?” the biologist suggested.

  “Tantalum is a primary material used in the fabrication of electronic components for computers and cell phones,” the field agent finally concluded.

  “I see,” Vogan observed.

  “China is the world’s fastest growing market for those electronics; plus, they are important for military applications as well,” Jerry expounded.

  “I wonder if the Chinese have something to do with the virus,” Vogan posited. “If the area’s population and military was seriously disrupted, it would be easier to exploit the situation.”

  “Damn,” Jerry growled.

  “Could they do that?” Angel asked.

  “I don’t know,” Vogan answered. “It’s possible, but remember, this has happened here before. I don’t think the Chinese caused the virus, but they may be exploiting it.”

  The three men were silent for a few seconds, and then Jerry spoke. “Now I have to use the communications array. This is a matter of national security, I don’t have any choice!”

  “It will attract the cadavers,” Vogan warned.

  “I’ll take my chances,” Jerry replied. He pulled out the SPC Array and reinserted the battery. He opened the screen and depressed the power button.

  Attention of Regional Supervisor - Central Africa

  Case 5-8G Additional

  Missing miners located at village of Gatou, at least two verified as deceased. All five are believed dead. Identification of bodies impossible due to advanced decomposition, but one identified as Miller, Timothy, through personal possessions

  It is possible that the others were transported to the hospital at Junta, suggest contact with staff there to verify

  Activity by Chinese agents strongly suspected in this area, can attempt to verify, please advise. The Chinese may be using the viral outbreak to extend their influence in region

  Virus widespread this region, all villagers at Gatou verified as deceased and reanimated. STRONGLY SUGGEST IMMEDIATE QUARANTINE OF THIS REGION!!!

  Doctor Vogan has determined that the cadavers are attracted to electro-magnetic field emissions. Use of this comm array is extremely dangerous to us! Please respond immediately Proceeding to Kinshasa

  FA Foster - Gatou DRC

  A/O Field Agent Foster.

  Proceed to verify the presence of Chinese nationals, report to this office immediately. Priority One.

  Be advised, missing logger, Johnson, Rick D. was suspected of espionage for the Chinese, and had been scheduled for extraction and interrogation. You are still under orders to ascertain location of Johnson.

  Procure bodies of deceased loggers for identification through dental records and forward IDs to this office ASAP.

  Word reports
as previously advised!!!

  Johannesburg, SA, Regional Supervisor Sharpe.

  Chapter 9

  05:06 p.m. Zulu

  Southeast of Gatou

  The Congo

  “This is just fucking great!” Jerry screamed as he slammed the screen shut. He almost threw the SPC Array into the jungle, then yanked out the battery and shoved it back into its bag. He paced away and stood staring into the trees.

  “What is it?” Vogan asked.

  “They want me to go after the Chinese,” Jerry answered. “And they want the logger’s bodies for identification! The fuckers are totally disregarding my reports on the reanimation. They don’t believe us. Not a word. I guarantee my supervisor is deleting every report I’m submitting. I’m done! They’ll yank my creds as soon as I get back and throw me in a psych ward!”

  “Not if we prove the reanimation is real!” Vogan countered. “Don’t worry about any of that. I’ll prove you were telling the truth. The virus itself may expand to a pandemic, that’s our real problem!”

  “Well, I still have to follow orders,” Jerry explained. “Which means I have to track down whoever dropped that cigarette wrapper and see what the hell he’s doing here! Then we can deal with the bodies. One fucking disaster at a time.”

  Jerry turned to Angel, “Can you lead me to the Chinese?”

  “Sure, boss,” the guide replied. “They’re not trying to hide their tracks.”

  “I don’t want them to know we are tracking them; I just need to verify that the Chinese are here, and figure out where they are headed. I don’t want a confrontation!” Jerry emphasized.

  “I’ll do my best, boss, but trying to catch up to them means we may run right into them if they stop. I could do it alone, but you are very noisy,” Angel explained.