Minutes to Burn

Chapter 26

27 Dec 07

MISSION DAY 3

The morning came fast and glorious, breaking over the distant arc of the ocean and turning the water to a dappled sheet of orange and yel-low. A scattering of cirrus clouds textured the sky. Derek sat on one of the cruise boxes, the toe of his boot stirring the sand. Again, he'd been unable to sleep. Finally, thoughts of Jacqueline had driven him from the tent into the open, where he could breathe better.

From beneath heavy lids, he watched the beach around him take shape with the light. Quickly, even the cliff walls of Punta Berlanga were visible. Sailors had painted or chiseled the names of their ships on the lava in a kind of antiquated graffiti-1836 Gabbiano, St. George, Wander-lure. Juan's grave sat sadly unadorned. It was like all the other recently formed mounds, except hidden in its rocky wash was a bloody corpse.

Twenty yards off, a bull sea lion wallowed ashore on muscular flip-pers. He barked, shuddered so his fat rolled heavily around his body, and bellied down into the sand to draw some warmth from the sun. His coarse whiskers sloped down, waving in the breeze and matching the wiggle of the small nubs of his ears. He pushed his flippers flat against his side where his blubber was thinnest and lazed over to one side, turning a deep brown eye in Derek's direction.

Closer to Derek, a female waddled ashore, her pup struggling to keep up with her. She stopped a few feet from Derek, keeping her distance from the male. A yellow warbler lit on her head, hopping and pecking at flies.

The tents rustled with the sounds of morning. The soldiers' internal clocks were nearly impeccable; they rose at first light, regardless of time zone.

Szabla stumbled over something and cursed.

Cameron stepped from her tent and stretched, scratching her hair. Behind her, she heard Rex emerge from his tent. He went down to the water's edge immediately, filled a jar from a reddish patch of water, and held it up to note its tint. In the distance, a wave slapped the lava shore, sending a row of spouts up through the blowholes.

The others emerged and gathered around Cameron, watching the sea lion and her pup. Tank was on his feet, but he grimaced as he lifted his foot to rest it on a cruise box.

"Shit, LT," Szabla said. "You get any sleep? You look like hell."

Derek looked up at the green humps of the highlands in the distance. "I slept fine."

A tiny wasp flew near Cameron, and she swatted it, ducking. It flew in a mad circle and came back at her head. "Bahia Avispa," she said with a grimace. "Wasp Bay."

The wasp buzzed near Szabla and she shot out her hand, catching it. She shook her fist, threw the dazed insect down, and ground it into the sand with her boot.

Justin walked down to the ocean and splashed water over his face. On his way back, he looked down at the loose laces of his boot. He turned to sit on a nearby rock to tie them when the rock erupted in a flurry of barks. He leapt up just as the male sea lion spun around, snapping jaws inches from his ass. Justin sprinted back to the group, losing his boot along the way. The sea lion waddled after him a few furious steps, his bumped head bouncing on his thick neck, barking his displeasure.

Justin pressed his hand to his chest, ignoring the others' laughter. The male sea lion slowed, turning a nasty glare in Justin's direction. He slid down onto his belly, emitting a few more barks for good measure. Szabla tried to imitate Justin's startled expression but deteriorated into more laughter. Savage flipped a cigarette into his mouth and lit it with a quick flash of his lighter.

Justin pulled his boot back on, hopping on one leg. "Jesus, that got my clock going," he said, his face still red.

"Don't mind him," Diego said, his lips pressed together in a smile. "He's just more territorial because he's not part of a colony." He glanced up the empty beach. "I wonder where the rest of the colony is. There weren't very many sea lions out on the tuff cones."

"Do you keep track of that?" Szabla asked. "I thought you were a her-petologist."

"Galapagos inclines everyone to pursue avocational interest across the beams."

"Boards," Cameron corrected with a smile.

"Ah, yes. Across the boards. When my turtles were hatching at Punta Cormorant, there were at least four botanists trying to muscle in on the action." Diego smiled good-naturedly. "No one wanted to miss out on the fun."

The female sea lion rolled onto her back, nearly squashing Cameron's foot. She sidestepped and walked to the nearby sea lion pup, leaning over to pet it. Its head was slick against her palm.

Diego cursed at her sharply, and Cameron straightened up. "What?" she asked.

Rex looked away with irritation. "You can't touch them."

"I don't see why… "

The pup moved toward its mother, but the mother rolled away from it. She barked at it a few times, then waddled to the water, leaving her pup behind.

"The scent. You can't…" Diego stopped, exasperated and upset. "You left your scent on it. The mother won't care for it now."

Cameron's eyes widened. "I didn't know," she said.

"Then ask," Rex said. "Or keep your goddamn hands in your pock-ets."

"It was a mistake," Justin said. "Back the fuck off."

"A few rules," Diego said, trying to keep the anger from his voice. "Don't touch or feed any of the animals. When you go anywhere, walk single-file to reduce the chance of disrupting mating grounds or buried eggs. Do not, under any circumstances, go up to the active caldera. Don't take any souvenirs, and don't leave anything behind."

Savage sucked hard on the cigarette, dropped the butt, and heeled it into the sand. Diego walked over and picked up the cigarette butt, holding it up for the others to see. "Not anything," he said. "If just one tobacco plant springs up, there's nothing in the island's ecology to stop it from spreading everywhere. It's a risk we don't take."

The pup rolled onto its stomach, its head rotating back and forth as it searched for its mother. They all did their best to ignore it.

Derek rubbed sleep from one of his eyes. "Me and Cameron-" His head had been turned toward his shoulder, causing Cameron's transmit-ter to vibrate, but she whispered a command to still it. "Me and Cam'll head up and scout stable locations for a base camp."

"The edge of the Scalesia forest is probably the safest region of the island," Diego said. "The fields near the village."

"How many live in the village?" Derek asked.

Diego shrugged. "A few, maybe none. Last I heard, Ramoncito's par-ents were still here. The island has been less than hospitable, especially these past few months."

"I believe Frank set his camp near the village," Rex said. "I'll take a look through it. See what he left behind."

"I'll join you," Diego said. "I'd like to check if anyone's here, make sure the livestock are secure."

Derek glanced at his watch. "That's fine. When we get back, we'll set the first GPS unit and scout locations. The rest of you wait here. We'll muster at 0800." He gazed up at the white smudge of the sun. "And make sure you hydrate heavily," he added. "It's gonna be a hot fucker."

The sea lion pup waddled a few feet toward the surf. Tilting its head back, it brayed softly in the direction its mother had disappeared. It took all Cameron had to turn her back on it and follow Derek off the beach.