Robin Cook: Chromosome 6

“Maybe I should get Candace and our new friends,” Melanie said. “They should witness this, and they can help speed things up.”

“Good idea,” Kevin said. He looked at the long row of cages. He knew there were over seventy.

Melanie ran off into the night while Kevin went to the next cage. He noticed that bonobo number one stayed nearby to greet each newly freed animal.

By the time Kevin had released a half dozen more animals, the humans arrived. At first, they were intimidated by the creatures and didn’t know how to act. The animals ignored them except for Warren whom they gave a wide berth. Warren had brought the assault rifle, which Kevin guessed reminded the animals of the dart gun.

“They are so quiet,” Laurie said. “It’s spooky.”

“They’re depressed,” Kevin said. “It could be from the tranquilizer or from having been imprisoned. But don’t go too close. They might be quiet, but they are very strong.”

“What can we do to help?” Candace asked.

“Just open the cage doors,” Kevin said.

With seven people working, it took only a few minutes to get all the cages open. As soon as the last animal had emerged into the night, Kevin motioned for everyone to start toward the bridge.

Bonobo number one, who’d been shadowing Kevin, clapped his hands loudly just as he’d done when Kevin and the women had first come upon him in the cul-de-sac of the marshy field. Then he vocalized raucously before starting after the humans. Immediately the rest of the bonobos quietly followed.

The seven humans led the seventy-one transgenic bonobos in a procession across the clearing to the bridge of their freedom. Arriving at the span, the humans stepped aside. Bonobo number one stopped at the cement stanchion.

“Sta zit arak,” Kevin repeated as he spread his fingers and swept his hand away from his chest for the final time. Then he pointed toward the unexplored African interior.

Bonobo number one bowed his head momentarily before leaping up on top of the stanchion. Looking out over his people, he vocalized for a final time before turning his back on Isla Francesca and crossing the bridge to the mainland. The mass of the bonobos silently followed.

“It’s like watching the Exodus,” Jack quipped.

“Don’t be blasphemous,” Laurie teased. But, as with all teasing, there was an element of truth. She was truly awed by the spectacle.

As if by magic the animals melted into the dark jungle without a sound. One minute they were a restive crowd milling about the base of the bridge; the next minute they were gone like water soaking into a sponge.

The humans didn’t move or talk for a moment. Finally, Kevin broke the silence. “They did it, and I’m pleased,” he said. “Thank you all for helping. Maybe now I can come to terms with what I did in creating them.” He stepped up to the bridge and pressed the red button. With a whine, the bridge retracted.

The group turned away from the stanchion and began to trudge back to the pirogue.

“That was one of the strangest pageants I’ve ever seen,” Jack said.

Halfway to the canoe, Melanie suddenly stopped and cried: “Oh, no! Look!”

Everyone’s eyes darted across the river in the direction she was pointing. Headlight beams from several vehicles could be intermittently seen through the foliage. The vehicles were descending the track leading to the bridge mechanism.

“We can’t get to the boat!” Warren blurted. “They’ll see us.”

“We can’t stay here, either,” Jack said.

“Back to the cages!” Kevin cried.

They all turned and ran toward the bulwark of the jungle. The moment they ducked behind the cages, the headlight beams swept across the clearing as the vehicles turned to the west. The vehicles stopped, but the headlights stayed on and the engines kept running.

“It’s a group of Equatoguinean soldiers,” Kevin said.

“And Siegfried,” Melanie said. “I can recognize him anywhere. And that’s Cameron McIvers’s patrol car.”

A searchlight snapped on. Its high-intensity light played along the row of cages then swept the bank of the river. It quickly found the canoe.

Even fifty yards away, they could hear excited voices responding to the discovery of the boat.

“This is not good,” Jack said. “They know we’re here.”

A sudden and sustained burst of heavy gunfire shattered the tranquility of the night.

“What on earth are they shooting at?” Laurie asked.

“I’m afraid they’re destroying our boat,” Jack said. “I suppose that’s bad news for my deposit.”

“This is no time for humor,” Laurie complained.

An explosion rocked the night air, and a fireball briefly illuminated the soldiers. “That must have been the gas tank,” Kevin said. “So much for our transportation.”

A few minutes later, the searchlight went out. Then the first vehicle made a U-turn and disappeared back up the track leading to Cogo.

“Does anybody have an idea what’s happening?” Jack asked.

“My guess is Siegfried and Cameron are going back to town,” Melanie said. “Knowing we’re on the island, they probably feel pretty confident.”

The headlights on the second vehicle suddenly went out, thrusting the entire area into darkness. Even the moonlight was meager since the moon had sunk low in the western sky.

“I preferred it when we had some idea where they were and what they were doing,” Warren said.

“How big is this island?” Jack asked.

“About six miles long and two wide,” Kevin said. “But…”

“They’re making a fire,” Warren said, interrupting Kevin.

A dot of golden light illuminated part of the bridge mechanism, then flared up into a campfire. The ghostly figures of the soldiers could be seen moving in the periphery of the light.

“Isn’t that nice,” Jack said. “Looks like they’re making themselves at home.”

“What are we going to do?” Laurie questioned despairingly.

“We don’t have a lot of choice with them sitting at the base of the bridge,” Warren said. “I count six of them.”

“Let’s hope they’re not planning on coming over here,” Jack said.

“They won’t come until dawn,” Kevin said. “There’s no way they’d come over here in the dark. Besides, there’s no need. They don’t expect us to be going anywhere.”

“What about swimming across that channel?” Jack said. “It’s only about thirty or forty feet wide and there’s no current to speak of.”

“I’m not a good swimmer,” Warren said nervously. “I told you that.”

“This whole area is also infested with crocodiles,” Kevin said.

“Oh, God!” Laurie said. “Now he tells us.”

“But, listen! We don’t have to swim,” Kevin said. “At least, I don’t think so. The boat that Melanie, Candace, and I used to get here is most likely where we left it, and it’s big enough for all of us.”

“Fantastic!” Jack said. “Where is it?”

“I’m afraid it’s going to require a little hike,” Kevin said. “It’s a little more than a mile, but at least there’s a freshly cleared trail.”

“Sounds like a walk in the park,” Jack said.

“What time is it?” Kevin asked.

“Three-twenty,” Warren said.

“Then we only have approximately an hour and a half before daylight,” Kevin said. “We’d better start now.”

What Jack had facetiously labeled a walk in the park turned out to be one of the most harrowing experiences that any of them had ever had. Unwilling to use the flashlights for the first two to three hundred yards, they had proceeded by a process that could only be termed the blind leading the blind. The interior of the jungle had been entirely devoid of light. It was so utterly dark it had been difficult for anyone to even know whether their eyes were open or not.