Laura Jo Phillips (22 page)

“It’s not our business,” Jackson said firmly.  The expressions of stubbornness on Clark and Rob’s faces almost made him smile.  “I know you feel protective of her, as do I,” he said.  “I don’t understand the connection we feel for her, but it does not give us the right to pry into her private life.”

Rob opened his mouth, then shut it.  Jackson was right.  He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much to be said or done about the situation. 

Jackson’s eyes widened suddenly in surprise. 

“What is it?” Clark asked.

“Tell me something,” Jackson said.  “How do you feel right now?  What are you thinking of?”

“I feel worried about Ellicia, and I’m thinking that we should have taken better care of her today,” Clark replied.

Jackson nodded and turned to Rob.  “What about you?”

“About the same,” he replied.  “Worried, and a little embarrassed at how careless we were of her health.”

“Me too,” Jackson said.  “Isn’t that interesting?”

“I don’t know why...,” Clark trailed off as he realized what Jackson was talking about.  “Yeah, that’s very interesting.”

“What?” Rob demanded, irritated at being left out.

“Our Arima is missing,” Jackson said.  “But we’re not tearing the building down or climbing the walls with uncontrollable fury.”

Rob gasped.  “I don’t understand,” he said.  “Does this mean she isn’t our Arima?”

“Did your mating fangs descend?” Jackson asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Rob replied.  “But why aren’t we losing our minds over this?  Not that I want to lose my mind, but I don’t get it.”

“I think it’s because of Ellicia,” Jackson said thoughtfully.  “Perhaps our connection with her is allowing us to control our fears for Hope.”

Clark considered that for a few moments.  “I think you might be right,” he said.  “Every time I think of Hope, even when I do it deliberately, I begin to feel very tense.  Then, without meaning to, I think of Ellicia.  She just pops into my head and I feel her nearby.  The tension I started to feel just disappears.”

“Do you think that’s why we feel a connection to Ellicia?” Rob asked.  “So that we don’t lose ourselves in a blood-rage while we’re looking for Hope?”

“I don’t know,” Jackson replied.  “Many strange things have happened recently so at this point, I’m willing to believe most anything.  I would like to test this though.”

“Test how?” Clark asked.

“I think I will go for a little walk,” Jackson said.  “See how far away from Ellicia I can get before thoughts of Hope begin to dominate my mind as they normally would.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Clark said.  “I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll stay here and cook us some dinner,” Rob offered.  “I have a feeling you guys won’t be gone very long.”

Chapter
25

Earth, Mojave Desert

Garid was so angry with himself he couldn’t think clearly. 

His only solace for this entire job was in knowing that the mistake Darck was making was Darck’s alone, not his.  There was no way any of this could spill over onto him.  He was just following orders.  It wasn’t much as far as solace went, but it was what he had.  Now, he didn’t even have that.

He’d been cocky.  That was the problem.  He figured that guarding females in the middle of 400 square miles of barren desert was not so much a job as it was baby sitting.  After all, where could they go?  There was no vid terminal on the compound, no ground-car, no vox, nothing.  The women had no choice but to stay put and wait unless they wanted to risk walking 100 miles through the desert without any gear.  Not even he was that foolish.

If all that was true, why the hell was he now wrapped up like a stars-damned mummy with a sack over his damn fool head?  And what the hell was he going to do about it?

He wasn’t even sure where he was, though it was clear he was on the floor.  He had spent some time rolling around, trying to figure out his location by the furniture he bumped into, but that hadn’t done much more than give him a headache.  And probably a few bruises.  It had also made breathing difficult.  The bag over his head was thin cloth, so it was easy enough to breathe through until he exerted himself and started to pant.  Then it felt like he was being suffocated.  He wasn’t too keen on repeating that experience.

He had also spent quite a bit of time yelling and hollering, but the result of that was that his throat was sore and he was awful damn thirsty.  He’d give just about anything for a drink of water.  Just one little glass even. 

Aside from not knowing where he was, he also did not know how long he had been there, how he had gotten there, or where his idiot partner Lenny was.  All he knew for sure was that he had been standing in the yard talking to Lenny about the gambling dens on Sheara 3 when he had suddenly become very tired.  And that was it.

He wondered if his captors, whoever they were, would get around to bringing him some water any time soon.  And food.  Damn he was hungry.  He had no idea how long it had been since he’d eaten but it felt like a week from the way his belly was gnawing at him. 

***

Berta, don’t you think we should take them some water?” Aisling asked worriedly.

“No, no,” Berta replied, shaking her head vehemently.  “Don’t even think of such a thing.”

“Why not?” Aisling asked.

“Because if I take them water, but don’t untie them, then they’ll know that I know they’re there, but refused to release them.  That would be bad if they got loose before help came,” Berta explained.  “What I’m gonna do is wait another day or so, then I’ll wander on down the hall and accidentally discover one of them.  I’ll be all shocked and shook up at finding them tied up, but I’ll let them go soon as I see them so they won’t be mad at me for it.  Well, they might be mad at me for being a foolish old woman, but that’s it.”

“Will they be all right without food or water till tomorrow?” Aisling asked.

“Don’t worry about them so much,” Berta replied.  “They kidnapped you, remember?  They’re the bad guys.”  Berta sighed at the expression on the younger woman’s face.  “You are a softie, aren’t you?  Well, no matter, they’d be fine if we left them in there without food or water for three or four days.  So one night and another day or so ain’t gonna hurt them.  Now, come on, let’s get ourselves something to eat and go settle down in my room.  I got some old vids we can watch, and my room is at the other end of the house so those fool guards won’t hear you if you talk in a normal voice.”

“All right, Berta, but just one more question, okay?”

Berta nodded tiredly.  She’d had more excitement this day than she’d had in thirty years.  She liked it, but it was a bit wearing and she was ready for some rest.

“Do you think Hope and the others are okay out there?” Aisling asked.

“That Hope, she’s a strong one,” Berta said.  “And Grace has a bit more spunk than most.  I haven’t made up my mind about Karma, but yes, I think they’re fine.  And I think they’re gonna make it too.  If anyone can, they will.”

Chapter
26

Hope awoke the next morning just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the image of the three men she’d painted on her bedroom wall clear in her mind.  She lay on her make-shift bed of blankets and sheets on the hard ground, wondering why she was thinking of them.  She had the strongest feeling that those three men were searching for her.  Was that real?  Or had it been a dream?  It had to be a dream, she decided finally.  She’d never had a talent for precognition before, and she doubted she had suddenly developed one.  It was either a dream, or wishful thinking.  Or both. 

She wrapped a blanket around herself to help ward off the early morning chill and got up, moving as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t wake the other women.  They could sleep a bit longer if they wanted to.  She knelt down next to the fireplace from the night before and began putting a fire together.  Once it was lit, she carefully measured some water into a pan and put it on the fire to heat while she went back to her pack for a few items to freshen up with. 

Water was too precious to waste on washing, so she made do with combing her hair and dry brushing her teeth with the little brush and toothpaste that had been left in the bathroom for her to use when she’d awakened at the compound.  By the time she was finished and the water was hot, Karma and Grace were also awake and huddled near the little fire for warmth. 

“We can take turns donating water for the morning meal and tea,” Hope said as she poured the steaming water into three bowls, each containing a scrambled egg regen.  As they waited for the food to absorb the water, she prepared three cups of tea and handed them out. 

“That’s fair,” Grace said as she gratefully accepted the cup, wrapping her hands around it for the warmth.  “I’ll do tomorrow.”

“I’ll do the next day,” Karma said as she too accepted a cup of hot tea from Hope. 

“I’m a little worried about the smoke being seen, so we should probably douse the fire before it gets much lighter out,” Hope said as she sat back with her own cup and took a sip of tea. 

“Good idea,” Grace said.  We don’t have much more fuel for it anyway.  Bringing along extra pillowcases to collect fire fuel was a great idea.  We owe Berta for that one.”

“It’s so empty out here,” Karma said.  “So much barren land and nothing moving in it.  It’s kind of scary.”

“There used to be a lot of towns, even cities out here in this desert,” Hope said softly.  “But not any more.”

“Things are a lot better now than they were in our parent’s time though,” Grace said.

“True, and let’s look at the bright side,” Karma added, “there isn’t much in the way of wildlife to worry about.”

Hope shrugged as she handed out the bowls of scrambled eggs, meat and cheese which, surprisingly, smelled great. 

“I think I’d prefer watching out for snakes and coyotes than having them gone altogether,” she said.  “But you’re right, it does make it a bit easier for us without the worry.”

The women sat quietly as they ate their breakfast and finished their tea, then Grace got up and began scooping sand over the remains of the fire while Hope and Karma wiped out their dishes and began packing things up.  Grace handed out protein bars and Hope divided up some cheese slices for snacks later, then they helped each other on with their packs and started walking. 

The landscape appeared flat and barren for miles all the way around them.  To the north they could see a range of purple mountains, small in the distance, but aside from that, the scenery seemed unchanging.  Yet, it was not as flat as it looked.  They continually came upon huge rock formations that they had to detour around, as well as deep gullies and washes that required some care to climb down into, and up out of.  In spite of that, Hope thought they were doing well.  When the sun was high overhead she called a halt in the shade between several huge boulders. 

“Let’s eat and rest for a bit,” she said as she shrugged her pack off, enjoying the cool feel of air against her back. 

“Finally,” Karma said as she, too, shrugged out of her pack.  Hope noticed that Grace was having some trouble with her pack and reached over to help her with it.  Grace was the smallest of them by quite a bit, yet her pack was the same size.

“Grace, if this is too heavy for you, you can shift some of your stuff into my pack,” Hope offered.

Grace smiled.  “Thanks, Hope,” she said.  “I’m good though.  I’ve done a lot of hiking, and some outdoor camping, so I’m used to a heavier pack than this.  It’s not the weight, it’s the balance.  The straps are digging into my shoulders.”

“Let’s readjust those then,” Hope said.  “Shouldn’t be too hard to do.”

The women sat in the shade and ate, then rested for a while before Hope reached for Grace’s pack.  It didn’t take long to readjust the straps, and when it was done, and Grace tried it out, she said it was perfect.

“How are your feet doing?” Hope asked Karma.

“Tired and sore, but otherwise fine,” Karma replied.  “The only problem I seem to be having is that the shoes are longer than my feet, so I keep stumbling.  But they aren’t rubbing anywhere.”

“Good,” Hope said with relief. 

“Hey, Hope, one of your earrings is missing, did you know that?” Grace said.

Hope reached up to her ears in a panic and sighed with regret when she felt only one earring.  “Damn,” she said.  “My mother gave those to me for my twelfth birthday.  I wonder when I lost it?”

“I thought I saw both of them on you yesterday,” Karma said.  “Last night, I noticed them gleaming in the firelight.”

“Well, maybe it’s in my bedding then,” Hope said.  “If I’m lucky.  But we sure as heck aren’t going back looking for it.”

Chapter
27

“Tell me a secret,” Harlan said with a smile.

Ellicia lowered the binoculars and looked at him in surprise.  “Now?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Because it took me three days to convince the Director to let me be here when this arrest takes place, and I don’t want to miss it,” Ellicia replied.  “Don’t you want to see it?  It was your idea, after all.”