David Golemon - Primeval

Sagli eyed both the young girl and the old woman, then he took Lynn by the arm and pulled her toward the door. Lynn tried to look back, but the Russian kept a steady pressure on her by squeezing her arm so that she knew there would be no more conversation exchanged.

After the two left the store, Marla turned to her grandmother, who was watching the activity outside with interest.

"You don't like that man, do you?" she asked.

Without turning to face the girl, the old woman said, "Russian."

"Grandmother, we do have Russian in our blood. You said it yourself: There are so many Russians in this area of Canada, you can't throw a rock without hitting one."

The old woman just looked at her granddaughter and then smiled. "Come now, help me with the baking. You need to earn your keep before you go back to school."

The girl shook her head and then headed for the back, but the old woman stayed and watched as the newcomers inflated giant Zodiac rubber boats, eight of them in all. Then she watched as the helicopters lifted off and then disappeared over the giant trees. All the while, the Russian who had been in the store watched her through the window.

"Goddamn Russians," was all she said.

Before she turned away, she noticed the face of the smallish woman looking at her. There was something in her stance from that distance that told her that there was trouble. Then the old woman's eyes went to the men loading the supplies onto the boat and she couldn't help but notice the plastic-wrapped items being stored at the bottom of each boat. She knew what they were loading, and they weren't your standard hunting rifles — they were automatic weapons.

She eased herself away from the window and went into a back room just outside of the kitchen. There was an ancient rolltop desk with all the stores financials laid out on its top, and above that on the desk's upper most reaches, was a large radio. She picked up the old-fashioned microphone and then hit the transmit button.

"Charlie, do you have your ears on down there?" she said into the mike and then waited.

"RCMP, Jackson's Bluff," came the answer through the wall-mounted speaker.

"Charlie Kemp, is that you?"

"Helena, how's things up to the camp, eh?"

"Charlie, I think we may need a few of your Mounties up this way. We have visitors, and I don't think they're here for the fishing."

Lynn watched as the first four large Zodiacs pulled onto the rocky shoreline of the river. She had been surprised they had traveled as far as they had after the sun had set as the river was one large twisting and turning roller-coaster ride since they started out from the fishing camp. As the men piled out of the huge rubber craft and their two hundred horse-power Evenrude engines were shut down, Lynn was cognizant of how quiet the woods were around them. The sound of the fast-flowing Stikine helped with masking the sounds of the men unloading equipment, but she could tell that when all was said and done, the wilderness would let you hear for miles around.

As she stood at the rear of the boat, her wrist was grabbed by Dmitri Sagli. He held a Remington.306 hunting rifle with a twelve-power scope in his other hand. His eyes met hers, and then darted away, scanning the area around their landing site.

"I will post no guard on you," he said, finally turning back to look at her. His eyes turned silver in the light of the rising moon. "This area is inaccessible; escaping would only hurry the process of your demise, so once we have made camp, think about what I have said. You may stand a small chance with us, but against a hungry bear, or a pack of wolves, you'll will have no chance at all." He let go of her wrist and then started walking away to the area he had chosen to make camp just inside of the tree line. "We will wait for my partner to join us with the last two boats. We will be here for at least twelve hours; use that time to rest — it will be the last chance you have before we push on to our destination."

Lynn rubbed her wrist and then looked around. She had not noticed before, but Deonovich and several of his mercenaries were also nowhere to be seen; as a matter of fact, she hadn't seen him since they left the fishing village.

Lynn stepped free of the Zodiac and started up the shoreline. She looked at the ancient and very foreboding trees that lined the Stikine, and shivered. She had been in wilderness areas before, but she could never remember being in a place where she felt as though she were an entire world away from civilization. As she looked skyward, she swore she could see every star in the universe as they twinkled and winked far above her. It was like looking at an incoming tide of luminescent water as it rushed to shore.

The men were quick and efficient at setting up large five-man tents. As they worked, Lynn could see that they all shouldered automatic rifles and all kept a wary eye on the river. They also watched the very tree line that held their small camp safely hidden. As they set the last of the tent poles and made their ropes tight, Lynn saw several boxes of large caliber ammunition. What were these men preparing for, a Canadian Mountie's full-scale invasion — or maybe something else?

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my," she said under her breath nervously, trying to take her mind off the pain in her hand.

It was two hours later and Lynn had been supplied with a tin plate with rich beef stew almost overflowing the rim. She had discovered she had been near starvation. She had greedily shoveled the food into her mouth as the Russian mercenaries watched her with large smiles, shaking their heads. After she had eaten, she was shown to a small two-person tent and told that was where she would sleep. Not trusting the men she was currently keeping company with, Lynn silently pulled a small fallen branch into the tent with her. Once inside, she saw that an electric lantern had been placed in with her. She turned it on and saw a brand-new sleeping bag and a large bottle of drinking water, and beside it were three painkillers.

Lynn grimaced as she placed the small tree branch over her knee and tried to break it. The leafy branch was still too green to snap cleanly. She redoubled her effort and was rewarded with a snap. It didn't break through all the way, but she knew it would work out. She bent and twisted the branch until it broke and then she pulled, slicing the limb into two separate pieces, with one end sharper than the other. She smiled and tossed the blunt end away, keeping the small jabbing spear and poking at the air with it. At least she could poke someone's eye out with it if she were attacked in her lonely nylon-built domain.

Now that she was armed, she pulled out of her jacket, it being warm enough outside to make the night at least comfortable. She lay down on the sleeping bag and listened to the little spits of laughter coming from the men outside of her tent as she swallowed the three painkillers. Listening to the men, it was as though these bastards were on a vacation. She shook her head and closed her eyes.

An hour later she awoke to the strangest noise she had ever heard in the field. It seemed as though it came from miles away. As she sat up, she heard men as they unzipped their tents and stepped out, also questioning what it was they were hearing. She didn't understand the Russian language, but knew that the sound unnerved the men.

Lynn stood and cautiously approached the tent's flap and slowly slid the zipper down. She saw men standing around one dwindling fire pit. The soft glow showed her that they were, indeed, looking to the north, far past where the Stikine turned at a sharp angle. As she cocked her head to listen, the men were shushed to silence by Sagli as he stepped from his own large well-appointed tent. He was bare-chested but held the.306 at the ready; he went as far as to pull the bolt back and chamber a round.