by Peter David
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
It had taken bloody forever.
The boys had been at it for several days. They had mutually agreed to say nothing of it to anyone, because the moment their parents knew, there were two things of a certainty: they would be told to stay the hell away from it; the authorities would show up and cart it away. When that happened, it meant that the boys would never know what had been in it, and they had far too much time, effort and emotion invested in it to allow that to happen.
So whenever night had been approaching, they had taken care to cover it with branches and brush. It wasn’t the world’s greatest camouflage job, but it was what they could manage and apparently it had gotten the job done, because no one had found it yet.
Fortunately none of the parents had yet noticed that some of their tools had gone missing. This was something of a problem, because sooner or later Sean’s dad was sure to notice that his chain saw was nowhere around. There’d been no point in bringing it back, so Sean had left it where it was: on the ground near the big rock, broken, yet another victim of its seemingly impenetrable surface.
Angus, though, had finally gotten it done. His father’s car had blown yet another tire the previous week (the road around them being notoriously wretched) and, in changing it, his dad had thrown out his back. As a result, his mother had insisted that, if the bastards in the local government couldn’t be bothered to fix the damned roads, and since no one had invented impenetrable tires, the only remaining option was to make tire changing easier.
By serendipity, Angus had been the only one home when the hydraulic car jack had been delivered. He happily signed for it, then called his pals and—within the hour—they were back at the landing point of their secret stash.
The hydraulic jack had been their last resort. They’d wedged it into the seam in the chamber, and at first it had seemed that the jack’s attempts would prove as fruitless as any of the others. But their frustration had turned to utter joy when there was a sharp crack, and a hiss of air. The jack had gotten the job done and, with what was apparently a broken seal, they now had access to it. Angus got to do the honors since he was the one who had obtained the jack, and now he jammed in a crowbar and lifted with all his strength. To his annoyance he wasn’t quite strong enough and, through gritted teeth, he said, “A little help …”
Immediately the others pitched in and, seconds later, they had the lid clear.
They stared inside.
Their joy turned to shock, and then horror.
And then they ran like hell.
OAHU
The sun was beginning to set on what was easily the best day of Alex Hopper’s life.
After handling with aplomb all of the congratulations, Hopper and Sam had slipped off to spend the afternoon enjoying each other’s company. They’d hung out at the beach, gotten some surfing in, and were overall celebrating that they were both alive.
Having packed the surfboards onto the back of his truck, Hopper was now driving along a seaside road, with Sam resting her head contentedly on his upper arm. Seagulls were cawing in the distance. He was at total peace and couldn’t remember the last time he felt that way.
He wished Stone could see him like this.
Trying to shake off sad thoughts, Hopper glanced down at Sam. “You look hungry,” he said.
“Oh, no.” She started to laugh. She knew where this was going.
“No, seriously. Tell me you can’t go for a chicken burrito right now. ’Cause I’m starving …”
“Hopper,” she began, but before she could continue, her cell phone rang. She answered it, listened, and then said, “Okay, okay, Dad, slow down. He’s right here.”
“He come to his senses about my new boat?” Hopper asked, only half joking. Then he took the phone from her and put it to his ear. “Yes, Admiral?”
“Hopper, good news, son,” came Shane’s voice. “They found one. They found one alive.”
Hopper slammed on the brakes, the sudden stop thrusting Sam forward with such force that, had it not been for the seat belt, she’d have cracked her skull open. “Hopper, what the hell—”
“Hopper?” The admiral heard that something was going on, but didn’t understand. “Hopper, is there a problem—?”
“Sir …” Hopper licked his suddenly parched lips. “Did you read the debriefing reports …?”
“There’s a lot to wade through, son. I’m about halfway—”
“You’re going to want to jump to the other half.”
“Why don’t you summarize it for me, Commander?”
“No man left behind.”
“What? What does that have to—?” He paused and then, because he was an extremely bright man, Shane started to understand. “Are you saying—?”
Hopper nodded even though Shane couldn’t see him. “When one of their … ‘people’ … fall … if they’re still alive, then they’ll come back for him.”
“They’ll come back.”
“I wish to have no connection
with any ship that does not sail fast;
for I intend to go in Harm’s Way.”
—JOHN PAUL JONES
BY PETER DAVID
Movie Adaptations
Battleship
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man
The Incredible Hulk
Fantastic Four
Iron Man
The Camelot Papers
Tigerheart: A Tale of the Anyplace
Knight Life
One Knight Only
Fall of Knight
Sir Apropos of Nothing
Book 1: Sir Apropos of Nothing
Book 2: The Woad to Wuin
Book 3: Tong Lashing
Graphic Novel: Gypsies, Vamps and Thieves
Book 4: Pyramid Schemes (forthcoming)
The Hidden Earth
Book 1: Darkness of the Light
Book 2: Heights of the Depths
Blind Man’s Bluff (Star Trek: New Frontier)
Year of the Black Rainbow (with Claudio Sanchez)
Fable: The Balverine Order
Graphic Novel
The Fallen Angel
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
First Page
Dedication
Other Books by This Author