“Deader than a flattened toad on a highway,” Hopper muttered as he peered through a pair of binoculars.

They stood on a small rise of rocky desert overlooking Asselar. The only evidence of humans were tire tracks that led into the village from the northeast. Strangely, none appeared to indicate a departure. Eva had the impression of an abandoned city of ancient times as she stared through the heat waves at the ruins surrounding the central part of town. There was an eerie silence about the place that made her feel tense and uneasy.

Hopper turned to Batutta. “Kind of you to cooperate with us, Captain, and allow us to land here, but it’s obvious the village is a deserted ghost town.”

Batutta sat behind the wheel of the open Mercedes four-wheel-drive and shrugged innocently. “A caravan from the salt mines at Taoudenni reported sickness in Asselar. What else can I tell you?”

“Won’t hurt to have a look,” said Grimes.

Eva nodded in agreement. “We should analyze the water from the well to be on the safe side.”

“If you please walk in from here,” said Batutta, “I’ll return to the aircraft and transport the rest of your people.”

“That’s good of you, Captain,” acknowledged Hopper. “You can ferry our equipment as well.”

Without a reply or a wave, Batutta spun away in a cloud of dust and headed across a scrubby plain toward the parked aircraft that had landed on a long stretch of flat ground.

“Damned odd of him to suddenly become helpful,” muttered Grimes.

Eva nodded. “Too helpful, if you ask me.”

“I don’t much care for it,” said Grimes, gazing at the silent village. “If this was an American western movie, I’d say we were walking into an ambush.”

“Ambush or not,” said Hopper, unconcerned, “let’s give a go at finding any inhabitants.” He set off down the slope in long strides, seemingly oblivious to the noonday sun and the heat radiating from the rock-strewn ground. Eva and Grimes hesitated a moment, and then set off after him.

Ten minutes later they entered the narrow, alley-like streets of Asselar. The narrow thoroughfares showed anything but a concern for neatness. They had to step over and around small mounds of trash and scattered rubbish that seemed to litter every square meter of ground. A light, hot breeze suddenly shifted, and the smell of decay and rotting meat struck their nostrils. The ugly odor grew more powerful with every step they took. It seemed to be drifting from inside the houses.

Hopper refrained from entering any buildings until they reached the marketplace. Here, an incredibly disgusting sight met their eyes. None of them in their wildest flights of nightmarish imagination could have envisioned the horror scattered remains of human skeletons, skulls lined up as if’ displayed for sale, blackened and dried skin hanging from the tree in the market square that seemed alive under the attack of swarms of flies.