Rajiv shook his head. "They look fine to me."
She took a deep breath. "I'll have to examine them."
"No," Gregori said sharply. "You'll do nothing to risk yourself."
"They need help," she insisted.
"We'll find a way to alert the authorities," J.L. said. "For now, our top priority is keeping you safe."
"Let's go." Gregori grabbed her and teleported back to the top of the hill.
J.L. and Rajiv materialized beside them.
"Well?" Russell asked.
"They all asleep," Rajiv said.
She shook her head. "It's not normal. I'm afraid it's some kind of disease. And we've all been exposed."
"Did you see anything else that was unusual?" J.L. asked Rajiv.
Rajiv shook his head. "They look fine. But they all have tattoo on arm." He pointed to the inside of his right wrist. "It was something in Chinese."
Russell stiffened. "What did it say?"
Rajiv shrugged. "I don't read Chinese."
Russell pulled back the jacket on his right wrist. "Did it look like this?"
Abigail shone her flashlight on it.
"Yes!" Rajiv said. "That's it."
J.L. sucked in a breath. "It means slave. It marks the people who belong to Master Han."
Russell yanked his sleeve down. "I don't belong to the bastard."
"How did you get the tattoo?" Howard asked.
"How the hell would I know?" Russell growled. "I woke up in a damned cave, Undead with a tattoo on my arm. But if these people are his slaves, then it means I'm close."
"That's why you were so quick to volunteer?" Gregori asked. "You're searching for Master Han?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Russell snapped. "The bastard destroyed my life!"
"I can understand why you want revenge," Gregori said, "but our first priority here is keeping Abigail safe."
"Who is this Master Han?" she asked.
"A chiang-shih," Rajiv answered.
"A vampire," J.L. clarified. "We've run into him before."
A loud gong sounded in the distance.
"What the hell is that?" Howard grumbled.
"It came from the south." Gregori pointed. "Past those fields."
The gong sounded again.
"Look!" Rajiv pointed at the village.
One light after another flared till the whole village was well lit.
Abigail gulped.
The villagers were awake.
Chapter Twenty-five
Gregori reached over to turn off Abigail's flashlight. "We should get the hell out of here," he whispered, although like the others, he didn't move. He was too damned curious about what would happen next.
Villagers poured into the main street, carrying torches. They stood there silently, their faces without expression. Even the children were still and emotionless, and Gregori knew from spending time with Roman's kids that this was not normal.
"Could be some sort of mass mind control," J.L. murmured.
"By Master Han," Russell added.
A third gong sounded.
The villagers turned en masse and marched toward the south. The light of their torches illuminated blank faces and robotic movements.
"I see this on television," Rajiv whispered. "Zombies."
Howard snorted. "They're not going to eat us."
"You sure?" Rajiv asked. "They not eating food in village."
Abigail winced. "That's true."
"Let's see where they're going." J.L. moved south along the crest of the hill.
Gregori held on to Abigail to help her maneuver in the dark, although he had a secondary motive for keeping a grip on her arm. If the situation turned dangerous, he wanted to be able to teleport her away in an instant.
The villagers came to a field and pided, half walking to the east side of the field, half to the west. They set their torches into poles that lined the field on each side.
The field was vast, row after row of knee-high leafy green plants. The villagers - men, women, and children - spread out among the rows. The adults pulled knives from their belts and cut leaves off the plants. The children gathered up the leaves and dropped them into baskets that were located every ten yards.
"They're slave labor," Abigail whispered. "This is terrible."
"What's Master Han doing with those leaves?" Russell asked.
Gregori leaned close to Abigail. "Is it the Demon Herb?"
"I can't tell from here," Abigail answered. "Can we get closer?"
"I'll see." J.L. moved down the hill and stopped behind a pile of rocks. He took a rock the size of a cantaloupe and rolled it into the field.
No reaction. The villagers went about their work. Those close to the rock simply walked around it.
"They remind me of the Borg from Star Trek," Abigail whispered. "They're so intent on their work, they don't notice anything unless it interferes with their mission."
"I could cut you some leaves," Rajiv offered.
"Are you crazy?" Howard growled.
"They all cutting leaves," Rajiv said. "They will think I one of them."
"Give it a try," Gregori said, "but be careful."
Rajiv moved quietly down the hill and joined J.L. behind the pile of rocks. He leaned close to whisper in J.L.'s ear, and J.L. nodded.
The villagers never looked in their direction, just kept working.
Rajiv eased out from behind the rocks, then walked quickly toward the field. He turned into the first row, pulled his knife from his belt, and started cutting leaves.
None of the villagers looked at him.
He dumped a handful of leaves into the nearest basket, then went back to work. He cut off a branch of leaves and slipped it under his shirt.
"Shit," Gregori whispered.
"What?" Abigail asked.
He pointed at two men with rifles who were walking along the rows toward the north end of the field where Rajiv was working. They reached the end of the field and turned to watch the villagers.
Rajiv glanced over his shoulder at them, then looked at J.L. He bent over and started cutting more leaves.
"I should teleport you out of here," Gregori whispered.
"Don't you dare." Abigail pulled her arm from his grip.
Another gong sounded.
The villagers slipped their knives back into their belts and turned south. They moved quietly down the rows. The men picked up the baskets and carried them.
Rajiv hesitated.
One of the guards shouted at him.
He turned south and moved slowly.
The guard shouted again.
He dropped his leaves in the basket, then picked it up and walked down the row like the other villagers.
J.L. glanced back at the rest of the team on the crest of the hill. He pointed at a thicket of trees to the south and mouthed the word teleport.
Gregori was tempted to whisk Abigail back to base camp, but he knew she'd be furious if he decided what she wasn't allowed to do, so he teleported her to the spot J.L. had pointed to. Russell materialized with Howard.
They were now at the south end of the field, and from here, Gregori could see the gong. The large brass circle was sitting on a red lacquered table. There were three guards there, and they were busy filling wooden cups with a dark liquid and setting them on the table.
The villagers approached and dumped the contents of their baskets into a large brass bin. Each one was handed a cup. They drank, then turned and went back to work.
"That must be what's sustaining them," Abigail whispered. "Instead of food."
Rajiv was last in line. His eyes widened at the sight of one of the guards, and he ducked his head. He dumped his basketful of leaves into the bin, then accepted the cup.
"Don't drink the Kool-Aid," Gregori muttered.
A guard yelled at Rajiv. He turned away, still holding the cup. The guard strode toward him and yanked him around.
The guard stiffened. "You!"
Rajiv glared at him. "Sawat! Why you here? I thought you still in San Francisco, looking for your balls."
J.L. winced. "We've run into Sawat before. I'll grab Rajiv and we'll all teleport back to base - "
Russell zoomed down the hill and pointed his rifle at Sawat. "Where is Master Han?"
Another guard grabbed Rajiv and pressed a knife to his neck. The cup tumbled to the ground.
"Dammit." J.L. teleported behind the guard and smashed the butt of his pistol against his head. As the guard crumpled to the ground, J.L. grabbed hold of Rajiv. "We teleport now!"