Chameleon by Otto Gramm (new reading .TXT) 📕

“This means danger”, a clear voice sounded right in Alex’s head. At once, the men heard a faint noise. Branch crackling somewhere in the distance. Then was another. Alex became all ears and didn’t notice that the hand was removed from his mouth. Attentively watching the glade, he caught every sound and immediately identified it with an incredible accuracy. A group of four soldiers slowly paced through the jungle. They approached the thickets through which the fugitive had once noticed a golden flare. Could they see something too?

“They won’t see anything.”

Alex remembered his mysterious interlocutor and, whirling, almost lost balance. “Stand still!” man’s voice uttered strictly, when his hand caught him on the fly once again. As soon as the fugitive took a more stable position, Kyle climbed onto a nearby branch.

The noises came closer. Yet, they were not too loud to drown the sounds of the forest. Even if none of those who hid in the tree were a tracker, he would have recognized the invasion by alarming cries of langurs and flying birds. Nevertheless, Alex was not listening. He forgot about the soldiers. Now his attention was fully engrossed by the one who waited next to him. His exhausted, yet active mind had sorted out many versions and hypotheses. Was Kyle once a lab escapee too? Or he’s a result of some schizophrenic genius like Warren? Or maybe he came from far more distant places? What did he want then? What if Alex, after barely returned his name, would become some Three-two-three, or even worse – a nameless victim of unearthly experiences? The thoughts of the ex-lab subject were rushing away from reality, drawing scenes of violence and infernal torment, borrowed from the laboratory and amplified by his overexcited fantasy.

This brain-jumble made Alex feel dizzy. He needed to calm down immediately; otherwise, he would end up falling off this branch.

“He said he’s not interested in me as a lab object,” as Alex stopped at this, he refocused on observation...

The first thing he noticed was that his companion had disappeared somewhere.

However, he came back pretty soon. The fugitive beheld with surprise as the black figure strode lightly and gracefully from branch to branch, silent, like a panther. “He’s obviously from the planet of apes,” he thought purposely to be heard. Kyle without saying a word held out a handful of small, white fruits, resembling the heads of young garlic. After some hesitation, Alex grabbed them all and stuffed into his mouth. Though the berries were tender and juicy, it was a hard task to chew them and swallow for a person fed exclusively through a probe or a dropper for long time. With this, as he later realized, stupid trick Alex only wanted to show that he was not afraid of Kyle. “What’s the point poisoning me after all?” he thought, annoyed with his ridiculous look in the eyes of his new acquaintance.

– Please, chew quietly. – Kyle’s voice sounded again in his head. – It will be a shame if they catch you hearing your slurp.

– You mean us. – Alex answered mentally.

– Since I look like a resident from the planet of apes, I’ll pretend to be a cute monkey. Perhaps they will not notice me.

The fugitive made a curved smile. Whatever it was, but the fact that this man had a sense of humor was reassuring. After Alex hardly chewed and swallowed the food, he returned to the observation. It did not take much time to understand that the military had found the path through the bushes and were slowly making their way to the clearing.

“Why the hell do we need them?” he asked himself rather than his invader.

“You will see,” was the answer.

Soon a man came out from the thicket, armed and equipped with the latest technology. Some details were new to Alex. Stretched out on a wide branch, he had an excellent range of vision: the entire glade was perfectly exposed. In addition, the man was well disguised with leaves and sprouts and his dirty closes were now a good camouflage. Then suddenly he remembered about the thermal scan. As soon as he looked at Kyle, the latter immediately reassured him:

– Do not worry. They will not even think of directing their technics towards us.

Their mental dialogue continued.

– Do you control them?

– Yes, but I’m not as cruel and omnipotent as you have imagined. Although many of your telepaths and psychics are still very far to my level. Sorry, for bragging.

– That’s okay. We never evolved after all. – He grinned.

The first soldier has already approached the pagoda and carefully studied the ruins. The radio quietly hissed, but they didn’t addressed to him. Short answer “Roger that”. Again a hiss. Silence. Two more people came out to the clearing and slowly strode behind their leader.

– They will never catch up with me at this rate. – Alex made a thought.

– They have already rummaged through all the territory that you could cover physically. This glade was found only now. They are cautious of your ambush or a trap here.

– That is nonsense! They are four men, armed to the teeth. Do they think I’m such an idiot to attack?

Kyle shrugged uncertainly.

– I feel insulted again.

Finally, the last soldier emerged from the thicket. After a good search of the ruins and their surroundings, all four crowded right under the fugitive and the man in black. They started a little talk, which was constantly interrupted by the radio. From their conversation, Alex and Kyle learned that the search for the “object” was not yet crowned with success. In the clearing, they had found his old traces that led to the thick jungle where the soldiers didn’t really want to go. (Alex without questioning Kyle guessed that it was his doing.) Therefore, settled down on ruins, they made a small smoke break.

– Why don’t they just hit it with napalm? Let him burn to all hell! – The youngest viciously vomited with a cloud of smoke.

– Our Bobby’s scared! – Sniffed another. – What are you afraid of more, man, lunatic, or traps?

– Fuck you!

– Shut up all of you! – Came the hoarse voice of the commander. After giving a light to the last soldier, he tucked the lighter behind the strap on his helmet. – Better check your silencers. We have an order not to make any noise. So, it’s not gonna work with napalm, Bobby.

– Who the hell will hear us here? – Another soldier barked, swatting the mosquitos. – In this godforsaken piece of green shit!

– Look, our silent boy can talk!

Someone gave a quiet giggle and the bickering continued.

With the corner of his eye, Alex noticed Kyle was missing again. He quickly glanced around the neighboring empty branches and felt a small panic. His anxiety grew a hundredfold when he saw the black figure slip down and start silently making his way from the middle gate to the pagoda behind which the military had an halt.

– You can only keep your mouth open! – The silent soldier snapped. – And who yesterday almost wet himself from hearing a macaque cry?

– What did you say, Jet? – Bobby tossed the gun away and moved to the guy whose head and shoulders ware above his.

However, the commander barred his way.

– Calm down or you’ll lose all your limbs! – He growled in a low voice, as he extinguished his cigarette on the stone. – Either I’ll tear them off, or you’ll lose them there... – He nodded toward the wilds. – ...with such a discipline.

Kyle approached the squad. He was already within their vision but nobody even turned his head in his direction.

– I didn’t sign up to risk my ass this way! Let the scientists themselves look for him. It’s their fault he’s escaped. – The youngest was finishing smoking, delaying the others.

The black silhouette came out on a thin strip of light, very close. Either they really did not see him, or they were all in this together.

– You did sign up, Burt. SEALS are not your guard.

Kyle stopped right behind the commander. His hand rose, his fingers clenched into a fist... Something metallic glittered.

Alex’s heart stopped. Clutching at the branch, he expected a bloody drama to begin.

 – Nobody’s here to discuss orders. – The conversation continued, as if nothing was happening.  – Believe me, if those who run this project with the lunatic call you on the carpet, you’ll lose more than several limbs.

A tiny screen lit up. Kyle moved his hand up and down and the scanning beam displayed on a transparent screen all the contents of the soldier’s bags and pockets. As he stopped at one point, the picture blinked, giving hundreds of frames per second. He found a cell phone, which Alex, of course, did not know, but he guessed that Kyle was stealing information.

– I’d better be in a tax police! – Bert muttered sullenly. The group gave a small cackle. The cigarette butts were tossed away and all four slowly headed toward the jungle. Kyle, also finished, silently retreated into the shadows.

Alex watched the squad disappeared in the bushes. Then he looked at Kyle. A mysterious metal object was already hidden under the sleeve.

– Still not armed! – He sent him a thought.    

– That’s not for you. – He replied in an undertone, while straightening his clothes and not even looking up.

– Third time insulted! – Alex mumbled. – What about the reinforcement they asked for?

– The other troops will encircle these thickets from other sides. You’ve heard that. They will not be bored there.

– How interesting... – As Alex let go of the branch and stepped down, the antigravity shield caught him in half a meter from the ground. – What’s that for? – He growled when Kyle put him on a solid ground.

– You didn’t tuck up well. – He explained – You’d twist your ankle.

– Thanks!

– Feeling insulted again? Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Here. – He handed him a cigarette. – I do not approve of smoking, actually, but I think now you need it more than the glucose.

Alex’s countenance changed. For a few seconds, he stared, mesmerized at the white and yellow paper tube that literally shone on a background of green woods and Kyle’s black clothes, like a rare and precious artifact. When did he smoke last time?

– You’ll learn this later. – Was the answer when Alex finally had the courage to accept the offering. Kyle tossed him a lighter. Alex caught it and paused for a while, examining two of new items in his hands. Then he rose the cigarette to his lips, struck the lighter and froze again. Now the ex-lab prisoner stared at the backside of his palms – his bruised and blackened broken nails, covering only four of his fingertips meanwhile the other six had firmly glued transparent smooth plates.

– You didn’t have them when we found you. – Kyle explained, as he noticed his shifted brows. – Your toes didn’t have any. Do not worry. They’ll grow.

Alex glanced at his feet and saw the same corneal substitute. So that’s why it became so easier to walk. Alex put the lighter to his mouth again.

– You are some slick pickpocket! – He cast a sidelong glance at Kyle.

– He would end up losing them in the woods anyway. – The man replied jokingly.

– I’m talking about the bracelet.

– I prefer knowing the face of the enemy.

– That’s why you scanned his ass?

Kyle chuckled.

– Did you find what you were looking for?

– I just copied the data. We’ll check and crack it later. You suspected that I could be one of them. What made you change your mind?

Alex tilted his head back and blissfully exhaled a cloud of