***
Night fell. No one had moved except for minor shifting. Javin peered through the growth. Faint moonglow shimmered from behind a mountain peak lighting the starry sky on that side. It would top soon. They should move as far as they could before then.
There had been no movement from the Toads. No ground or air patrols. Odd. Too quiet. Javin’s uneasiness grew. What was it saying? That he was going to die? He already knew that.
There was something else: a vague feeling of familiarity -- Déjà vu. He couldn’t pinpoint it. Giving up he filed it in the back of his mind to let his subconscious mull it over.
Stupid feeling to have now anyway; nothing I can do about it.
Javin gathered his group and he made hand-signal assignments. Point would rotate every thirty minutes to stay fresh. Flanks would move a bit wider, and everyone would spread a bit, just keeping in eye contact. A tighter group would be easier to spot.
They were ready to move out.
Javin then made what he thought was a crazy decision. It was spur of the moment, something he couldn’t explain. He just had a compelling feeling he couldn’t shrug off, so he followed it. He left his weapon in the glade, det switch in his right hand . . . lucky marble in his left.
Why am I doing this? This is really crazy! The feeling was so intense it couldn't be ignored. Something about holding that marble in his hand outweighed the safety of holding his weapon instead. He could only imagine what his squad thought. They didn’t question, though. He’d brought them home enough times they figured he knew what he was doing. Javin just figured he was going nuts. Well. Not completely. No one but he knew how he’d been given that marble years ago. He still was trying to figure that one out after twenty years. The marble wasn’t magical or anything. It never did anything except help him focus while he was holding or looking into it. It was special in a way he couldn’t describe. It was his lucky marble. To top it off, now it felt like it was getting warmer and starting to glow. A trick of the moonlight?
His team moved slowly to catch the sensors they knew would be in place. Javin wished he could take point. He was the best, but had to hang back to protect the ‘package’.
They hadn’t gone far, when Point held up her hand. Everyone froze. She motioned Second to come up. After a time, they stood and signaled all clear.
One down, how many more to go?
They moved on.
The night remained still, the jungle silence unnerving. Time wasn’t measured in minutes, but by the moon trekking across the sky. By steps growing into klicks.
Two more times they stopped, once by Point, another by Left Flank. Each time the device was successfully circumvented.
Toad technology was simple. Straight-line programming was easily duped. The hardware, though, was virtually indestructible. Just like the Toads; seeming soft and squishy, but hard to kill.
Javin’s nerves suddenly spiked. There was a rustle on right flank. Johnson was gone! They all froze. After a bit, Javin motioned Second over to check it out. He moved silently out to the area, stepped around a bit then turned, shaking his head. He held up a hand. Question?
Javin pointed. Go further.
They all waited, listening. After a time, Second appeared just ahead of where he’d stepped out of sight; shook his head.
Move out! Javin signaled. Eyes hardened but obeyed. They’d never left a comrade before. Javin didn’t like it either, but the nagging feeling was more urgent. They’d been seen. The Toad’s had been watching all along.
Why are they waiting?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was getting closer. Javin’s thumb hovered over the det switch. Just a bit further. One more klick at the most. He thought he could make out the faint glow of the domes up ahead emanating above the tall foliage they could barely walk through.
Time seemed to freeze. Javin’s senses sparkled. A hundred steps and he knew left flank had been taken. There’d been no sound. Javin just couldn’t see him anymore.
He didn’t stop. Did the others know? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the target. He hated that he couldn’t let himself feel for his people.
Feelings didn’t matter, only what he had to do.
A soft breeze swished through the foliage. With it Second was taken. Javin saw the Toad rise up and pull him down and away, the bushes swishing as he was dragged quickly out of their perimeter. Point spun just in time to see. Then she was grabbed. Javin didn’t have to look to know their tail was gone too.
Do they know about the nuke?
Javin stood still. Someone was coming. He could feel it. Someone he thought he should know.
Strange. That feeling again.
Startled, he realized his lucky marble had grown hot. He opened his palm to see small trickles of wriggling light coming from inside. He didn’t know why he wasn’t surprised.
He looked back up. The presence was drawing closer. If it reached him, he instinctively knew he’d not be able to touch off the nuke. Javin sensed a dark power coming closer that would overwhelm him.
A ring of Toads rose in full view, their lanky bodies moving forward about ten paces off.
This is it. Can’t wait any longer.
Javin was surprised it wasn’t harder. He took a deep breath holding both hands out, palms up where the Toads could see; lucky marble in one hand, the det switch in the other.
He thumbed the detonator -- absently noticing his lucky marble flash with searing white . . .