Obsidian

Chapter Four

The daylight broke at 5:40 that next morning. I sent a request to Stone to have anyone accompanying my team on the excursion meet at the makeshift cafeteria no later than 6:15 am. Sitting and reading over a report while having a coffee and a premade breakfast burrito out of one of the catering containers, I watched as my group slowly trickled in. Tori was the first to show up and looked very excited to be out of a surgical gown. She had a small backpack that I could see had a water bottle sticking out of it. Her dark hair was pulled back to reveal her glowing face, although a few strands escaped the sides. More noticeable in my state of mind at that moment were the clothes that she had been wearing. They were not inappropriate by any means, but they gave a more revealing extent of her shape as opposed to the standard green, disposable gown that she normally donned.

"Good morning, Dr. Russell," She said, with vigorous spunk in her tone. "Davis."

I finished my sip of coffee, "Good morning, Tori. An early riser, like me, I see."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep that much. I was just eager to get out of the triage room."

The surgical quarters that they had met in the day before were not only considered the lab but also the nursing station that was set up for anyone that had fallen ill, physically hurt, and so on. While I don't remember the room looking equipped to be considered a triage, I was just happy to see that she was ready to take part in the research.

Looking at my clock, we had about ten minutes left before the recommended departure time. Next to show up were men in camouflage fatigues. The first was a man in his mid-forties and accompanying him was a brut, bigger yet dumber-looking version of the first man. The young giant had a nametag on his uniform, revealing the name Woods. The older man, looking annoyed and skeptical from the start had a patch with the name Phillips. I shook both their hands and they explained they were assigned to be guided chaperones, as well as extra hands if needed or to ensure we had no issues while exploring among the wildlife.

Amy and Carl trailed up within a few minutes of each other. Both went to get coffee and I was happy to notice that Amy didn't look as nervous as when I last saw her leaving my tent the night before. Carl, looked like he slept in the same clothes and was on his way to a Frisbee Golf tournament. There was no way he was not blitzed based on the bloodshot eyes he was sporting upon his greeting to me. The long-haired man of Scottish heritage, always in a good mood to his credit, gave me a fist bump and eyed Tori before shaking her hand and winking his approval in my direction as he walked behind her toward the pastry table.

I let everyone grab a quick bite and fill their water or coffee up and just slightly past the time I wanted to leave, I stood up to recommend we start the day.

"So sorry I am late, everyone," the prim and proper British accent spoke from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to see Wendall Stone, out of his fancy tweed and expensive jewelry, and in a matching camouflage uniform, same as Woods and Phillips. "Dr. Stone, I wasn't expecting you to join us."

"Mr. Henrikson prefers I personally attend this rendezvous and report back if anything should prove interesting."

I nodded, still unsure about the true nature of Stone tagging along. While I grabbed my bag and told everyone the bullet points on what we are looking for in the southeast quadrant of the zone, I noticed Carl walk up to Stone. I don't think Stone ever imagined while going through his education that he would one day be huffing through the woods with someone that looked like Carl Friedman.

"Dr. Stone! Righteous. You can hang out with me, Sir. I will be happy to explain anything you are not familiar with along the way."

If Stone had not always kept an emotional stick so far up his ass that his normal face looked unsettled, he may have revealed dismay at the offer from Carl. Instead, Stone gave Carl a painfully forced grin and rose his hand to let Carl lead the way. I turned and let a large smile escape as I walked out of the covered ramada and started towards what may be the discovery I had waited my whole life to find. The adrenaline kicked in as the first rays of the Sun hit my face in contrast to the breeze that was going past the area. I watched Woods and Phillips lead Tori and Amy, followed by the dynamic duo of Stone and Carl. I had confidence it was going to be a good day.