He looked up at Hunter, who just shrugged.
"It always ends this way," he said.
Hunter gathered up all the usable weapons, handed six of them to Joxx, and then began pushing him back into the woods behind the ditch.
The stunned SG officer accepted his burden without complaint and began stumbling along the path that led into the trees. Once under the cover of the thick hemlocks, the trail split into several different directions. Hunter had taken this mind ring trip more than three dozen times; he knew the way by heart. He was able to steer Joxx by nudging him on the shoulder, indicating which direction he wanted him to go.
It took a few minutes of trooping through the thick forest for Joxx to regain his composure. Then he began talking.
"The punishment for this is death, you know," he told Hunter over his shoulder. "I don't care how big a hero you are. Once the Imperial Court realizes that what you have done here amounts to kidnapping a Special — well, the only question will be, just how they will choose to execute you."
Hunter wasn't paying him much attention. He had to remain alert here. Noises were all around them. In front, the high, ethereal screaming never stopped. Behind them were the unmuffled engines of more Saracen armored cars, roaring across the fields. Then, right on cue, a new noise from overhead. Hunter was expecting it by now, but Joxx was clearly startled and stopped dead in his tracks. Hunter just pushed him forward again. They did not have to worry about this particular noise — at least not at that moment.
After about five minutes of marching, they reached a clearing. Another patch of very thick woods lay about a hundred yards beyond. In between was a bog.
Hunter didn't like this part. He had learned that there were two kinds of bogs in this very green land. Some were shallow, just a foot or two deep. Others were bottomless, or at least seemed that way. Their water was always dirty and always cold. The smell of decaying peat around them was pungent.
Just another name for a swamp, he thought, as always.
They reached the slightly raised edge of the bog and finally stopped. Joxx turned to look at Hunter as if to say, What now? Hunter just pointed forward. It took a moment for Joxx to realize that he wanted him to plunge into the cold water and get across that way.
"But I'll freeze to death," he complained. "If these things are possible as you claim—"
Hunter just told him, "I've done this many times. It's the only way to get to where we have to go."
With that, Hunter pushed him. Joxx hit the water feetfirst and immediately went in up to his neck. Only by instinct did he raise the weapons and ammo belts above his head.
Hunter jumped in as well; the water was more than five feet deep and as always, absolutely black. He strapped the few salvaged weapons to his back and began pushing Joxx. They clumsily splashed across, Joxx doing all he could to remain on his feet. The noise of more Saracen armored cars came up behind them, but after a few seconds, they faded in the distance. Ahead, the smell of iodine became more intense with each step.
They eventually reached the far end of the bog. Hunter climbed out but had to lift Joxx out of the dirty water; the SG commander was carrying such a load he couldn't boost himself up. Once out, he collapsed on the slimy bank.
"You brought me to this hellish place just to drown me?" he sputtered. "Or is poisoning my airways your favorite means of dispatch?"
"Just get up and keep walking," Hunter told him.
"I seem to recall a provision of Empire law," Joxx said. "That in a case of imperial kidnapping, upon recovery, the victim gets to choose the means of execution for his captor. I will savor that thought for as long as you keep me here. It will energize me, dreaming up the most painful ways for you to die."
Hunter didn't reply; there wasn't any time. He knew this coming part all too well.
He picked Joxx up and roughly pushed him forward.
They entered the next woodland area. It was twice as thick as the last, and the path was less defined. It made no difference. Hunter knew the way. They reached a small stream. Joxx splashed across with little complaint, happy that the water was only a foot deep.
They reached the other side, and that's when Hunter stopped. He made Joxx stop, too. They were under an overgrown hazel tree. Hunter put his hand to Joxx's mouth just as the SG officer was about to cry out in protest.
The air all around them started to shake. Then the sound from above came again. Very intense, very loud, like two great pieces of steel spinning madly in the wind, which was close to the truth.
Hunter looked south of their position, and there it was: a flying machine that moved by means of two long, steel blades whirling around a very noisy engine. The machine could stop, go left, go right, and move straight ahead. The only thing it couldn't do was move very fast.
Joxx took one look at the flying devil and nearly passed out. The ancientness of the machine alone made it fright-ening. It looked so primitive; how could it possibly fly? How could it stay airborne? It seemed impossible to tell.
Hunter held Joxx in place, his hand firmly pressed against his mouth. Once again, the SG officer slowly got the message. He froze as the strange aerial machine went right over their heads. It was dark green in color, almost an attempt to blend in with the overabundance of emerald everywhere in this strange place. There was a symbol adhered to the narrow part of its aft fuselage. It was a solid red circle with a smaller blue circle in its center. The same emblem as seen on the Saracens.
"It almost spotted me the last half dozen times," Hunter told Joxx as the craft slowly moved away. "And I believe somehow it can hear people moving on the ground."
"I'd wager they would have cut you up in those rotating blades, if they had caught you," Joxx said. "It's an execution style that has a certain ring to it."
They moved on.
Five more minutes of zigzagging through the very thick forest ensued. The iodine smell became more intense with each step; now the wind didn't have to blow in any certain direction for them to smell it. The noise from the woods in front of them rose up again as well. The high pitched whine, the crackling sounds, interspersed now with the shouts of men in accents so thick, Hunter always had trouble understanding them.
They crossed another standing bog. This one was shallow and the water not quite as murky. Beyond was a relatively clear patch of ground with an even thicker forest behind. It was here that the noise and the smell was coming from.
Hunter stopped their march once again.
"In a moment, two guys are going to come out of that hedge," he told Joxx. "They are not enemies, though they might seem it. Just keep your mouth shut and go with it."
Joxx took a moment to catch his breath and gather himself. He looked strange because he had lost his cap somehow, and his hair was actually tousled and unkempt. He was close to being worn out already.
"At least tell me what planet this is," he whined. "What country? You owe me that, maccus."
Hunter replied, "Not a chance. It took me a long time to get to the heart of this matter and boil it all down to this. You have no choice but to take my word for it. It will all unfold for you slowly, just so you won't have any excuses of not keeping up."
Joxx took a long look around.
"This is a land of rivers and forests and mountains and bogs. It appears to be ancient Earth."
Hunter didn't confirm or deny the guess. He changed the subject.
"Get ready for our friends," he said. "And don't give them any back talk. They are in a highly stressful situation here, and in their own slang, they've got itchy trigger fingers."
He was staring intently into the high grass before them. As always, two men suddenly appeared out of the hedge, assault rifles up and ready.