The fence turned to the left again, and we turned along with it, our headlights shining off the undulating ribbon of metal mesh as it stretched into the growing darkness.
Within the fence, there was an expanse of solar panels mounted above waterlogged fields, the glass squares and the standing water reflecting different parts of the sky, different shades of dark blue that both looked strikingly out of place against the darkened ground. The effect was surreal and disorienting, as if the distinction between up and down had become confused, and the sky was both above and below.
An access road ran down the middle of the field of panels, and nestled alongside it in the darkness was an old barn. On the right-hand side of the road, outside the fence, an old farmhouse was collapsing in on itself, surrounded by fields strangled by vines. An overgrown driveway led up from the road and curved around and behind the house.
“We’ll park behind that farmhouse,” Ogden said.
We turned left again and found ourselves back at the spot where we first came upon the fence.
“Big place,” Rex rumbled under his breath.
“Seriously big,” Claudia said.
Roberta shrugged, like she wasn’t going to concede that. She seemed the kind of person who didn’t ever want to concede anything. We doubled back, and Ogden barely slowed down as he jerked the wheel to turn up the driveway and behind the farmhouse.
The sun had completely set. There was still residual light in the sky, but on the ground, it was nighttime. Roberta and Ogden got out. He was a big guy, but Roberta towered over him, a solid column of muscle. Rex and Claudia and I got out, too, and I was hit with a stench so bad it stopped me in my tracks. By reflex, I almost retreated back into the van.
“Ew,” Claudia said, pulling her shirt up over her nose. “What’s that smell?”
“That would be the chickens,” Ogden said, visibly trying not to react to the odor.
Claudia shot me an evil look. “You didn’t tell me about that part, either.”
I held up my hands, defensively. “I didn’t know!” The air was thick with humidity, as well, and the faint whiff of smoke from a brush fire somewhere. Combined, they seemed to make the smell even worse.
Ogden opened the back of the van and pulled out a backpack.
“Can’t believe we didn’t bring any weapons,” Roberta said.
“It’s not that kind of operation,” Ogden said, sounding like this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. “We’re just here for reconnaissance. Have a look around and LIDAR-map the exterior, in case another operation is warranted.”
He rummaged around in the backpack and pulled out a small container of mentholated ointment. He scooped out a small dollop and rubbed it under his nose. “It helps,” he said, offering it around.
Roberta took a dab first and smeared it under her nose, then handed the jar to Rex, who did the same and passed it to Claudia, who passed it to me.
The smell was almost strong enough to block out the stench.
“Are we good?” Ogden asked. We all nodded, but without much enthusiasm. “Okay. The fence looks electrified, but it doesn’t look like a smart fence, so we just need to block the charge and get over it. I’ve got a rubberized mat we can throw over the top and help each other climb over.”
“What if it causes a fault?” Claudia asked.
He shook his head. “What do you mean?”
Claudia glanced at me with a barely perceptible head-shake/eye-roll combination. “When one of us climbs over the fence, our bodies will press the wires together. So they’re going to touch. Just because it’s not a smart fence doesn’t mean it’s not going to register somewhere that there’s a short. That’s going to raise suspicions.”
Ogden sighed. “Okay, what do you propose we do instead?”
“I brought some gear,” Claudia said, holding up a small toolkit. “We can bypass the current along the bottom of the fence and cut a hole.”
“You want to cut a hole in the fence?” he said, alarmed. “You don’t think that’s going to draw some attention?”
Claudia smiled and shook her head. “Not if you do it right. You have to bypass each wire before you cut it.”
Ogden looked at me, but I had no idea if she was right or not. I shrugged and said, “If that’s what she says.”
He let out a sigh. “Okay, what’s the plan?”
The plan was for the rest of us to wait behind the house while Claudia discreetly bypassed the current running through the lower levels of the fence and cut a hole big enough for us to slip through. Once inside, we’d make our way to the inner fence and try to get a look at the inner compound, where the chimeras were supposedly being detained. Then we’d assess what was next.
“And then we bust everybody out, right?” Roberta said, her face scrunched up.
Claudia nodded, then seemed to realize she was agreeing with Roberta and stopped.
“No,” Ogden said, slicing the air with his hand for emphasis. “Like I said before, we’re not here to bust anybody out. Not this time. We’re here to map and to confirm they’re being held, and that something shady is happening here. Then we’ll report it and come back with reinforcements.”
Roberta snorted and shook her head. “Sounds like a Chimerica plan to me.”
Rex glared at her. “Because it makes sense?”
“Because it’s chickenshit,” she snapped back.
Claudia laughed. “What better place for a chickenshit plan?”
“Stop it,” Ogden said, his voice quiet but sharp. “You all want to bicker, save it for the ride back to Philly.” I found Rex’s hand in the darkness and gave it a squeeze.
Ogden turned to Roberta. “Are we good?”
Everyone nodded but Roberta, who instead looked off to the side.
Claudia crept down the driveway, looked around to make sure no one was coming, then darted across the road and up to the fence. She knelt down and took off her backpack, and then we saw a faint blue spark, right at the ground. A minute later we saw another, a few inches higher, then another a few inches higher than that.
In minutes, she had cut a flap into the bottom of the fence and rolled it up and secured it, leaving a hole. She brushed herself off and ran back to where we were.
“How did it go?” I asked.
“Good and bad. I got the hole done, but the fence is reinforced with alloy steel that I can’t cut through.”
“What does that mean?” Ogden asked.
“The hole is barely a foot wide. I don’t think Rex and Roberta are going to fit.”
“Okay,” Ogden said, turning to Rex and Roberta. “I guess you two will have to wait here.”
Rex nodded reluctantly but Roberta scoffed. “Just make the hole bigger,” she said.
Claudia took a breath and turned to her. “As I just said, I can’t. It’s alloy steel.”
“Well…” Roberta fumed, looking around in the darkness, as if searching for something to say. “If you all can fit, I can fit.”
With that she turned and strode down the driveway.
NINETEEN
Roberta!” Ogden called out, part shout and part whisper. “Get back here!”