Read Online Scrapyard Ship 4 Realms of Time by Mark Wayne McGinnis - Free Book Online Page B

is?”
    “ Looks like it. But below ground,” Jason said. “Let’s set up camp here and investigate first light.”
    “ You got it, Cap,” Billy replied, and hustled off to join the other SEALs.
    Within half an hour, three large fires were blazing. One by one their tent-like enclosures, called Retractable Camp Modules, or RCMs, unfolded and took position in a circular perimeter around the fires. No less than five SEALs and five rhino-warriors were assigned revolving four-hour sentry duty shifts. The rhinos were all business, first helping with the fires and then preparing the game to be cooked on the open fire. Jason hadn’t noticed they’d been hunting along the way. Three antelopes, skinned, disemboweled, rubbed with oils and seasoning, then skewered from end to end, were being positioned over the centermost fire.
    As the meat popped and sizzled, its juices dripping into the fire, dark smoke rose into the air. The aroma was spectacular and Jason felt his stomach growl. The rhinos had brought in large rocks for everyone to sit on. Everyone sat, helmets off but within easy reach. Jason was the last one to take a seat and found himself sitting between Bristol and Rizzo.
    Rizzo gestured toward the distant rocky ridge. “Cradle of humankind.”
    “ What’s that?” Jason asked.
    “ Taung Child …”
    “ I’ve heard of that,” Jason replied.
    “ History major in college,” Rizzo said, taking a bite. The meat’s juices dripped off his chin.
    Jason hadn’t considered that Rizzo was academically oriented. “Where’d you go to college?”
    “ Columbia. Always loved anything to do with history and archeology.”
    “ So what’s this about the Taung Child?”
    “ This place is considered by many to be the birthplace of humanity. A child’s skull was discovered in caves near Johannesburg somewhere around 1924. When it was realized the skull’s characteristics weren’t ape, and had divergent humanistic properties, this area, Taung, became a hotbed of activity for archeologists around the world.”
    Jason was handed a platter and began to eat. He already knew the rhinos were skillful at preparing game and he thoroughly enjoyed his first bite of antelope. He looked around to the others and saw Dira sitting across from him, mostly obscured by the blazing fire at the center of the circle. She was talking to one of the SEALs Jason didn’t personally know and was animated, using her hands to describe something. When she noticed Jason staring at her, she furrowed her brow and turned her body to the side. She was obviously still mad about something—Jason couldn’t even remember what.
    Bristol was done eating and flung a large bone into the fire. Others followed suit and when Jason finished, he too pitched his bones into the blaze. As the sun disappeared below the landscape and darkness crept into the camp, the horizon began to brighten with fluctuating colors, not unlike an aurora borealis, but this night display was constantly moving, wavering.
    Bristol said, “You’re looking at the nearest time flux. Not visible during the day, they’re like curtains separating realms of time. If we sit here long enough, we’d find ourselves in another time period.”
    Jason nodded and continued watching the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
    Bristol glanced toward the anomaly, scratched at something on his back and abruptly stood. He stretched and said, “I’m beat. My bunk is calling.” He fetched up his helmet and disappeared into one of the RCMs.
    “ Odd kid,” Jason said.
    “ Oh yeah. Creepy loaner,” Rizzo added.
    One by one everyone left the warmth of the fire and made their way into their RCMs. Jason wasn’t tired and walked the perimeter of the camp, every so often crossing paths with one of the SEAL or rhino sentries. A SEAL and rhino-warrior stood together in the distance, both looking out toward the dark plains.
    As he approached, Jason asked, “What’s caught your interest?”
    The two turned toward Jason;