It worked, and every time the youngster started to fall behind, Dean was able to ease him into step easily.
Which left Jak, who was adaptable and hardened to almost every kind of environment, to take in the harsh and unwelcoming landscape around them as they traveled. The albino took the pace with ease, and had a loping stride that almost seemed to propel him forward of its own accord as his heavy combat boots appeared to bounce off the dusty surface with each footfall.
In truth, there was little to see. They walked miles between pitifully small patches of scrub, a few sickly trees and patches of crabgrass all that marked the passing of another oasis. But Jak was still pleased to see them, as it boded well for there being some sort of moisture present in the dusty soil, an opportunity of having some plant life from which to glean some moisture if their own canteens ran low.
And where there was scrub, there was also bound to be some kind of animal or reptile life. Certainly there were insects, as they had found themselves attacked individually and as a group by a few stray mutie insects that were derived from mosquitoes but had larger bodies and fibrous wings that beat with a loud hum in the still desert air. They seemed to hunt individually or in pairs, not in swarms, and although they were large and irritating, they were easily frightened away by a wave of the arm and the use of the insect repellent that had been handed to them from the redoubt stores. It was over a hundred years old, and developed for insects that hadn’t been genetically mutated by radiation, but it was obviously still extremely potent.
As they passed the oases, Jak caught sight of small, meerkat creatures diving for cover into their burrows. They seemed small and harmless enough, but Jak knew from long experience that you don’t know the dangers a new animal holds until you have to come up against it.
Likewise the lizard life that he observed, poking their heads above ground from their holes in the dry and dusty earth, cold and expressionless eyes observing the strangers who passed their territory. They seemed to be Gilas, but small and perhaps harmless. One thing for sure—Jak didn’t particularly want to come up against their claws and perhaps venomous tongues.
Also, in the distance and possibly beyond the senses of the others, not as finely honed as Jak’s in the first instance, and dulled further by the monotony of their march, he was sure that there were some packs of either cat or dog type creatures—possibly wild coyote. There were either several packs, or they were being tracked from a distance. Jak noted this at the back of his mind. It was a good reason to be even more triple alert than the others, who had seemed to notice nothing this far.
But there was to be a more immediate problem, and from a most unexpected quarter.
The sun had long since traveled past its peak, and the setting of the angry red orb and a cessation of the heat weren’t far away. The light began to fade as the night fell, and the recce party was able to slacken its pace.
“Another couple of miles and we should be able to camp for the night,” Lonnie croaked in a harsh whisper, the arid air and necessary conservation of their water leaving him with a parched and aching throat.
“Good,” Jak replied. “Make camp before too cold.”
“Yeah,” Lonnie agreed, looking up at the twilight sky, which was clear of any cloud cover. “Gonna be a cold one. Next patch of scrub is about two miles ahead. Should be able to get there and make the camp before it gets too cold.”
“About fucking time,” Mik moaned, “I need to eat and rest.”
“That’s all you ever do anyway,” Tilly retorted.
“Children, children,” Doc chided, chuckling, “please let’s save the arguments until we are safely home.”
But Jak wasn’t listening to the easy banter of the tired people who had rest within sight. His attention was taken by something that was just to the right of the course they were taking.