Necropolis

When Doctors Novatney and Lightfoot arrived at Lake of Two Peaks, Jim had already established a perimeter and base camp. Jim had thought it best for his men to take positions at the forest's edge, in the trees, and surrounding the site of the latest attacks.

Doctor Lightfoot had briefed Doctor Novatney on the true severity during the chopper ride in--all six had gone missing--Jim's men had found the other two heads shortly after the chopper had departed West Glacier and the Doctors were en route.

In the clearing surrounding the lake, Doctor Lightfoot stood in the wind-washed grass watching the chopper depart while Doctor Novatney squatted on her haunches, having walked over to the campsite immediately after exiting the chopper with her pack. She was examining the campsite, turning something over in her hands as the fires from the night before still smoldered near the shore of the lake in a rock-ringed fire pit. The towering mountain peaks in the distance reflected themselves off the blue-green lake's stillness--the only two witnesses to the events of the night before. Doctor Novatney finally stood up and looked toward her husband.

Martin ignored his wife.

Near the lake's surrounding forest, a tarp had been erected in a clearing which sheltered large wooden crates and green metal ammo cans. While men dressed in camouflage carried crates and cans to the forest's edge, others were digging foxholes, and a few were constructing a blind for the machine gun they'd set-up between two large ponderosa pines.

Martin made his way over to the flimsy erected tarp and dumped his pack near a tall stack of crates. His eyes searched the stacks for a large green metal field case labeled in small white stenciled letters, and read: DR. LIGHTFOOT. Sitting on his pack, and finding his case at the bottom of a taller stack of wooden crates, Martin slid down, sitting on the ground, using his pack as a back rest, and awaited the Rangers to remove whatever nonsense was stacked on top of his sensitive equipment.