“Matt told you, didn’t he?” the man said.
“Told us what?” Ash said.
The man looked from him to Chloe and back. “Dream Sky. It could be the only reason you’re here.”
The skin of Ash’s arms prickled.
“What is it?” Ash asked. “What is Dream Sky?”
Through trembling lips, the man said, “Everything.”
“That’s a little broad for my taste. What is it?”
The man stammered but made no answer.
“Whatever it is,” Chloe said, “once we destroy it, it’ll bring the Project down, won’t it?”
The man’s eyes widened. “You can’t destroy it!”
“Why not?” Ash said. “Isn’t that what Matt wanted to do?”
“No. He wanted to take it,” the man said. “You need it. We all need it if we’re going to start over. It’s a repository of irreplaceable knowledge!”
“Are you telling me it’s a library?” Ash asked.
“No. Not a library. People.”
Thirty-Eight
AFTER ALMOST DYING at the survival station, Belinda Ramsey is not sure if she and her fellow survivors should be trusting these people who found them not long after they went on the run, but there was little choice. She and the others were both physically and emotionally exhausted, and the promise to help them get far away from the Chicago survival station was all it took.
The bus is headed west to where they’ve been told other survivors are gathering. It sounds suspiciously like the safe zones the UN people, or whoever they were, talked about. But these new people have already treated Belinda’s group much better than the others back at the station. Food and clothes and medical attention have all been offered.
Belinda is hopeful and at the same time scared to hope.
The only thing she regrets about leaving the survival station is that her journal is still sitting on her bunk. She must have said something to someone about it, because when they take a break at a large truck stop, one of the new people brings her a pen and a blank diary from the store.
“In case you get the urge,” the woman says, placing it on the seat next to Belinda.
Belinda at first isn’t sure she’d ever have the urge to write again, but after a while on the road again, she realizes that’s not true. There is at least one thing she has to write.
She picks up the book, opens it to the first page, and begins:
I don’t know what his name was. I don’t know what happened to him. I don’t know where he is. All I know is that if not for his actions, we would all be dead. Since there is no way I can thank him, all I can do is tell you what happened.
Last night, after eleven p.m., my name was finally called...
PAX ISN’T SURE exactly what it is he’s feeling. Satisfaction for taking over the Los Angeles survival station? A bit. Relief that they were able to save Martina’s friends and the other detainees? Sure. Revulsion at what was done to the girl named Ruby? Absolutely. All these thoughts and more race through him, making it impossible for him to hold still for more than a moment.
The amazing thing is that the girl isn’t sick or dead. She appears completely unaffected by the virus, only agitated at being cooped up. Why the virus didn’t make her sick is something Pax will let others work out. For the moment, he’s strictly concerned with getting all possible intel out of the facility, then getting out of there before Project Eden sends people in to find out what happened.
As soon as he finishes searching the facility director’s office, he picks up his radio and says, “Finish up whatever you’re doing and get to the main entrance. This is the fifteen-minute warning.”
MARTINA WILL NOT leave Ben’s side. He doesn’t seem to mind, though, and appears just as glued to her. They are waiting in the back of one of the troop trucks at the stadium, told that after their rescuers finish what they’re doing at the station, they’ll head out. The rest of her friends are also in the truck, with the exception of Ruby, who is still in isolation. Martina was able to visit her before leaving and was happy to see her friend’s spirits were up and that she looked perfectly healthy.
Now, all the others are asking her questions about where she’s been and who their saviors are.
She answers as best as she can.
Then Jilly asks, “What about Noreen and Riley and Craig? Where are they?”
Until that moment, Martina was pretty sure she’s never been happier, but the mention of her missing friends dampens her mood. It’s her fault they’re not here. She raced off, focused solely on Ben’s Jeep, and lost them.
“We’ll find them,” she says. “Tomorrow, first thing.”
Ben squeezes her hand. “Absolutely.”
NOREEN ISN’T SURE if Craig is dead or only unconscious. If she could check, she would, but her hands are bound behind her and tied to a pipe running up the wall of the mostly empty room. Craig is slumped to the side ten feet away, similarly bound to another pipe. She watches his chest to see if he’s breathing, but in the dim light it’s hard to tell.
Where Riley is, she has no idea. It was Riley’s turn to gather food for dinner, so she wasn’t there when the men they saw in Cambria returned and sneaked up on them. Thankfully, Riley took her motorcycle with her. Otherwise the men wouldn’t stop looking until they find out who it belongs to.
Noreen doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but she’s sure it won’t be good.
“Craig,” she whispers for about the millionth time. “Craig, can you hear me?”
ROBERT AND ESTELLA have been given their assignment. They wait with four others in the trees at the western edge of town. They can’t see the guard with whom they’re supposed to make contact, but they know where he is.
The only question Robert has is, will the guard shoot first or wait until it’s too late?
It’s a huge risk, but no bigger than some of the stunts he’s pulled lately.
At least that’s what he tells himself.
KUSUM SITS BEHIND the wheel of the car. Sanjay and van Assen sit in back.
When Sanjay confronted him at the makeshift roadblock, van Assen tried to grab Sanjay, probably intending to knock Sanjay’s head into the car. Sanjay batted away van Assen’s hands and kneed him in the gut.
Now, as they sit in the backseat, van Assen lunges at Sanjay as Sanjay is talking to Kusum. The Dutchman is able to get in a few jabs, but fails at wrestling away the gun Sanjay procured from the trunk of the vehicle. Sanjay slaps the weapon against the side of the man’s head, causing a trickle of blood to run from his ear.
If the man tries anything again, Sanjay is prepared to shoot him, first in the foot, then, if necessary, the knee, and then the hip. He doesn’t think pulling the trigger will be needed, though. He is pretty sure van Assen has received the message, but Sanjay will stay vigilant nonetheless.
After he resumes his conversation with Kusum, he glances occasionally at the sat phone sitting in the front passenger seat, knowing that at any moment, the call will come.
RACHEL PUTS A supportive hand on Crystal’s back. “You doing all right?”
“Fine,” the girl says.
“And we’re all set?”
“As set as we can be.”
Rachel smiles. “Good.”
She knows the girl, like most of the others present, is running on adrenaline, having already put in more than twenty hours straight. Soon Crystal can rest, but not yet. There is still work to do tonight.
Help me give them strength, Rachel thinks, hoping somewhere her brother hears her.
She is still shattered by his absence, but she’s learning to cope with it, if barely.
She walks over to Leon and puts the same hand on him. “Hanging in there?”
CELESTE JOHNSON’S ANNOYANCE is growing with every minute the Los Angeles survival station remains silent. She decides to dispatch a squad from the Bay Area to get eyes on the ground, and is told they will arrive within ninety minutes.
With nothing else to do and the hour gr
owing extremely late, she decides the best thing she can do now is get some sleep.
ASH EYES THE concrete building in the middle of the snow-covered field. So unassuming, so easy to dismiss.
C8 has confirmed it’s the entrance to the facility.
To Dream Sky.
Ash looks over at Powell and whispers, “Are we all in position?”
“Yes, sir,” the man responds.
Ash turns to Chloe and notices a far-off look on her face. “You okay?”
She jerks a little in surprise and then tries to smile. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good. It’s just…”
“What?” he asks.
“I feel like I’ve been here before.”
Ash waits, but nothing else comes. “You want to sit this one out?” he asks.
A sneer leaps onto her face. “No way.”
That’s good enough for him. He reaches into this coat pocket, pulls out the sat phone. The number for Ward Mountain is waiting for him on the screen.
He looks again to Powell. “Group one, go.”
As Powell raises his radio to his mouth, Ash moves his thumb over the SEND button.
It’s time.
Thank you for reading Dream Sky
The Project Eden Thriller saga concludes in book seven — DOWN.
Reviews at your point of purchase are always appreciated.
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Acknowledgments
I am constantly amazed by the response to the Project Eden series, and am very thankful to all the readers who have let me know how much they enjoy it! Thank you, thank you.
A couple mentions for extra help. First, Christine Buckhout, wine expert extraordinaire. Thank you for the info and the friendship. And with gratitude I can never fully express, my huge thanks to my editor and friend, Elyse Dinh-McCrillis. I wish I had more words to describe my appreciation for your help.
And, of course, to my kids—Ronan, Fiona, and Keira. Continue to be awesome.
About the Author
Brett Battles is a Barry Award-winning author of over thirty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn series, the Logan Harper series, and the time-hopping Rewinder series. He’s also the coauthor, with Robert Gregory Browne, of the Alexandra Poe series.
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You can learn more at his website: brettbattles.com
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Facebook • Twitter: @brettbattles • Instagram: ikstterb
Also by Brett Battles
THE JONATHAN QUINN THRILLERS
Novels
BECOMING QUINN
THE CLEANER
THE DECEIVED
SHADOW OF BETRAYAL (U.S.)/THE UNWANTED (U.K.)
THE SILENCED
THE DESTROYED
THE COLLECTED
THE ENRAGED
THE DISCARDED
THE BURIED
THE UNLEASHED
THE AGGRIEVED
THE FRACTURED (Coming 2018)
Novellas
NIGHT WORK
Short Stories
“Just Another Job”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Off the Clock”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“The Assignment”—An Orlando Story
“Lesson Plan”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Quick Study”—An Orlando Story
THE EXCOMS THRILLERS
THE EXCOMS
THE EXCOMS 2 (Coming Fall 2017)
THE REWINDER THRILLERS
REWINDER
DESTROYER
SURVIVOR
THE LOGAN HARPER THRILLERS
LITTLE GIRL GONE
EVERY PRECIOUS THING
THE PROJECT EDEN THRILLERS
SICK
EXIT NINE
PALE HORSE
ASHES
EDEN RISING
DREAM SKY
DOWN
THE ALEXANDRA POE THRILLERS
COWRITTEN WITH ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
POE
TAKEDOWN
STANDALONES
Novels
THE PULL OF GRAVITY
NO RETURN
MINE
Novellas
MINE: THE ARRIVAL
Short Stories
“Perfect Gentleman”
For Younger Readers
THE TROUBLE FAMILY CHRONICLES
HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE
The Project Eden Thrillers Box Set 2 Page 84