Transmission

“I got the call that you were coming from the President a couple of hours ago. It will be a little cramped with so many of you here, but I’ve had rooms prepared for you all, and I’m working to arrange transport for your team to the rainforest. You should be aware that the Colombian government isn’t entirely happy about this, but we’re working to smooth the way for you.”

It didn’t sound good that the government of the country where they were looking didn’t like them being there. By that point, Kevin was too tired to worry about it. He fell asleep almost as soon as the embassy staff showed him to a room, and didn’t wake up again until he heard Professor Brewster’s voice shouting from outside.

“Come on, everyone! The embassy has managed to get us some transport, and we need to be ready to go before everyone else beats us to the prize!”

Kevin did his best to get ready in a hurry. Even so, by the time he got out there, most of the others were already ready. Professor Brewster had acquired a khaki shirt and trousers that made him look the way someone might think an explorer looked if they’d only ever seen pictures of them. His mother was wearing her normal clothes, augmented by a wide sun hat. Ted just looked like Ted.

“Quickly,” Professor Brewster said, clapping his hands. “Quickly! We can’t allow anyone else any more of a head start.”

He hurried off, trying to get everyone out of the hotel.

“Will everyone else already be at the capsule?” Kevin asked Ted. Professor Brewster might be in charge of the expedition, but Ted was the one who knew what he was doing. Half of the people there already seemed to be looking to him to find out what to do.

The former soldier shook his head. “I doubt it. The rainforest at night is tricky. It’s easy to get turned around, even without the wildlife. The sensible move was for everyone to stay put overnight, then move this morning.”

Kevin guessed it was also the move they’d all made, at least if the sold out hotels were anything to go by. There must be people from all around the world trying to find the escape pod, and all because of the numbers he’d managed to translate.

“Well, kid,” Ted said. “You’ve brought us this far. I guess it’s time to find out what’s at the end of all of it.”

They went downstairs, to where it turned out that the embassy had managed to find them trucks and SUVs, a couple of old Jeeps, and a few older cars.

“Just stay close,” Ted said, as he picked out a Jeep and jumped into the driver’s seat.

They drove, sticking together in a convoy that snaked back at the speed of the slowest car, which was, Kevin thought, pretty slow. A part of him didn’t mind that too much, because Colombia was beautiful. More of him wanted to curse the slow vehicles and the increasingly pitted roads, because he wanted to see the vessel the aliens had used to carry themselves. He wanted to see the outcome of everything he’d done.

They kept going, and as they got nearer to the area of rainforest the coordinates pointed to, the roads got worse. Then, as trees started to hem the road in on either side, they were blocked entirely by traffic, and it took Kevin a few moments to realize what was going on.

A truck lay on its side in the middle of the road, another having dents in it big enough to suggest a collision. There were more trucks and cars all around, with people standing there waiting, or trying to work out what to do, or arguing in a dozen languages. Kevin recognized some of the people there, and he knew who they had to be.

“Aren’t they the other research groups?” Kevin asked, as they pulled up. He saw Ted nod, but before the former soldier could say anything, Professor Brewster was there, moving up from another vehicle.

“Why are we stopped?” he asked.

“You can see why,” Ted said.

“But can’t we just drive around them?” Professor Brewster asked.

Ted gestured to the trees that grew close by either side of the road. “If you can do it, be my guest.”

Professor Brewster looked as though he might say something, then shook his head and set off to join the argument.

“Do you think it will make any difference?” Kevin’s mother asked.

Ted shrugged.

Ahead, Professor Brewster started arguing with half a dozen other people, some pointing fingers as they tried to work out exactly who was responsible for dealing with the problems there. Since Kevin couldn’t imagine the research institute’s director settling for talking to someone who wasn’t in charge, he guessed that the other people there arguing on the muddy road must be directors of their own organizations. Sometimes adults made no sense.

He jumped down from the Jeep, as much because he wanted to see what was going on as because he actually thought he could help. He walked forward to where two or three people were arguing over a winch, while a crowd of bored-looking scientists and soldiers looked on.

“If you have a winch, why isn’t anyone using it?” he asked.