by Bryan Davis
Lauren heaved a sigh. Yes, all would be well. Even if she died here on this pile of logs, she could go be with them. Like Sapphira, she had burned the cross of Christ in her heart and sacrificed everything for him.
Consciousness began to drift away. Lauren whispered, “Jehovah-Yasha” and fell asleep.
Chapter 24
LIFTING THE LOST
Walter stood at the hospital’s door, the stairway hatch open below his feet. As smoke filtered in, he coughed through a surgical mask. Although thin, the mask helped. At least it kept him from choking while he searched the ground for any sign of life.
Dr. Conner ran by, giving Walter a high five as he passed from the front dorm to the rear. Also wearing a surgical mask, he didn’t bother to speak.
“Is that hand slap a good sign, Doc?”
“Ask Ashley. She’s on her way.” He disappeared behind a door.
Walter smiled. With Steadfast now piloting the plane, Dr. Conner was free to care for the patients, and his energy level had to mean good news.
Ashley walked from the front dorm, her mask below her chin, revealing a wide smile. She pulled down Walter’s mask and gave him a kiss.
“Now that’s a good sign!” Walter grinned. “What’s up?”
“We think it’s working. Doc’s been taking blood samples, and he’s spotted a new bug on some receptors. Jared and Irene are already improving.”
“That’s fantastic!”
“Yep! Great news!” Walter and Ashley joined hands, and both gazed out over Second Eden’s devastated land. Steadfast had already flown to the volcano, back to the birthing garden, and then to the volcano again, and now he had just turned toward the garden once more. This would be the last segment, their final chance to search the area.
Walter sighed. No sign of anyone. Like Ashley said, Lauren and Eagle probably both fell into the volcano, and now they were just fragments scattered from one end of Second Eden to the other. It would be better to focus on the good news. “Any long-term prognosis for Jared and company?”
“Should be good. What we still don’t know is what will happen to the receptors once the original parasite dies. Since Dr. Conner set the appropriate genetic key, we assume the new parasite will die along with the one it consumed, but since the receptors were revived, will they stay revived? It certainly would help if they did. The way their bodies aged, they need some restoration.”
“Might they develop any dragon traits? They didn’t have any as humans before, but …” He scratched his head. “I don’t know how it would work.”
Ashley shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll see. One step at a time.”
Walter reached toward the door controls. “I guess I should close up now and do something useful.”
“No.” Ashley pulled his arm back. “Keep looking. I don’t see any reason not to.”
“You don’t think it’s hopeless?”
“After all I’ve seen, nothing is hopeless.” Ashley kissed his cheek. “Call if you need anything.”
When she closed the dorm door, Walter crouched and stared at the dark ground, partially veiled by smoke. As it passed underneath, an occasional orange glow drifted by, remains of burning debris, but no sign of a human, either walking or dead. Since the hot surface would burn up anyone down there, it probably was hopeless, in spite of what Ashley said. No one could survive a fall into a volcano … no one.
Near the edge of his field of vision, a white glow drifted into view, dimmer than the orange ones. As it drew closer, it appeared to break into segments, almost as if covered here and there by …
Walter blinked. A shirt? Pants? He began to straighten, his voice rising with his body. “Ashley!” He pounded a fist on the airplane wall and shouted, “Ashley!”
She burst out from the dorm. “What is it?”
“Look!” Walter pointed at the ground. “See it?”
“See what?” She peered out the door. “I see something white. A phosphorescent rock, maybe?”
Walter clutched her wrist and rubbed her skin. “Lauren glows in the dark!”
She stared at him, her mouth dropping open. “Lauren survived?”
“Not sure. Gotta check it out. I haven’t seen any movement.”
“Can we land here?”
Walter shook his head. “Too close to the volcano. Too hot to risk it. We can switch to vertical propellers and drop down close.”
“Keep your eye on her. I’ll tell Steadfast!” She ran toward the front of the cabin.
“Doc!” Walter called into the rear section. “I’ve spotted Lauren! We’ll need water! Lots of it!”
Dr. Conner replied from the dorm. “For drinking or for washing?”
“Both! And tell Candle to get a rope over here. Hurry!” Walter turned toward the front. “Listener! I know you can hear me. Go with Ashley. I’ll shout directions, and you can relay them to Steadfast.”
Pounding feet ensued. Shouts clamored throughout the cabin, some commanding and some joyous.
“Walter!” Gabriel yelled from his bed. “Maybe I could fly down there and—”
“Stay strapped in!” Walter pointed at him. “You can’t fly in your condition! You might get you and Lauren both killed!”
Gabriel sighed. “You’re right. Just be sure to relay updates. Everyone will want to know what’s going on.”
When the hospital flew directly over Lauren, Walter called, “This is the spot! Switch to chopper mode!”
Candle arrived with a coil of rope. “I hope this is long enough.”
“It’ll do.” As the hospital slowed, Walter grabbed one end of the rope, whipped it around his waist, and jerked a knot in place. “Loop the other end around a bed frame. Then get Doc and come back with that end to help with the pulling.”
“Yes sir!” Candle scrambled away.
“Listener! Tell Ashley to get back here to help. I’ll need her muscles and her mind reading.”
Footsteps sounded again. “I’m already here, Walter!” Ashley burst into the vestibule. “What do you want me to do?”
“Wait a sec and I’ll tell you.”
Dr. Conner and Candle bustled in, Candle holding the end of the rope.
“Ready, Walter,” Doc said. “And I have a basin and five bottles filled with water.”
“Perfect. Now all three of you pull the rope tight and hang on. I’m counting on you.”
“Why the rope?” Ashley asked. “Can’t we just hover down and pick her up?”
Walter shook his head. “This plane is too clumsy for that. If we get close, turbulence might make us drop on top of her.”
Candle reeled in the rope, forcing it to slide around the bed frame, until it tightened.
Ashley checked the knot at Walter’s waist. “Anything else?”
“Just this.” He gave her a kiss. “We’ve done this once before. Remember?”
She nodded. “When you slid down to the mobility room. That was a long time ago.”
“Yep. That was the first day I realized I loved you.”
“Okay, Romeo.” Smiling, Ashley lifted his surgical mask over his nose and mouth. “You’ll get another kiss when you’re safely back up here with Lauren.”
“That’s good incentive.” Walter winked. “Now everyone hang on and let it slide easy. Maybe twenty feet. That should be enough for a safety buffer.” As he backed toward the door, Ashley, Doc, and Candle fed the rope through their hands. He climbed down the stairway and leaned out. “Can Listener hear me all right even with the engine noise?”
Holding the rope with both hands, Ashley bent toward him. “She’s fine. Steadfast spotted Lauren, so he knows where to hover. You’ll just need to shout elevation adjustments.”
“I hope my voice can penetrate this mask.” Still leaning back, Walter looked down. Lauren lay prostrate on top of a pile of logs about two hundred feet below. “Yep. We’re right over her.”
Ashley gave him a firm nod. “Let’s do it.”
Walter pushed out. As his three anchor people let the rope slide around the bed frame, he descended. The plane lowered as well, bringing him closer to Lauren at a rapid clip. “Listener!” he shouted. “Not so fast!”
The descent slowed. The vertical propellers pushed smoky air over his body, sending him into an elliptical sway. More rope would make it worse. “Ashley! That’s good! Hold me right there!”
The line stopped reeling. Walter looked down again. A hundred feet to go. … Seventy. … Fifty.
“Listener! Slower!” The hospital’s drop continued at the same rate. Letting go with one hand, he ripped off his mask and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Slower!”
The descent eased. Hot air from below mixed in with the swirling wind. Walter swung through a five-foot arc, sweat dripping. This place was an oven, maybe two hundred degrees. If Lauren was still alive, she had to be roasting.
Shifting his body to a horizontal position, he reached down.
Twenty feet.
Lauren’s body clarified. Her sleeves, shirt, and pant legs had all been rolled up to expose her skin. Had she intended to create a beacon, or was she just trying to cool off?
Ten feet.
“Listener! Hold it right there!” The hospital stopped and hovered, swaying as it dipped and rose like a log dangling from a rubber band. In a downward surge, Walter’s outstretched hand swiped just inches from Lauren’s back before shooting up again. “Lauren! Can you hear me?”
She lay motionless. It was too dark to tell if she was breathing. If she was dead, taking a bigger risk wouldn’t be worth it, but if she was alive …
Walter looked up at Ashley as she leaned back against the rope, her head protruding from the doorway. “Are you getting any thoughts from Lauren?”
Ashley squinted, then nodded, a smile breaking through. “She’s alive! She keeps thinking ‘Jehovah-Yasha’ over and over.”
“That’s all I needed to know. Put me down on the logs.”
As the rope fed out, Walter reached with both hands. The first touched the back of Lauren’s shirt and the second a log next to her hip. When his feet pressed down, one on each side of her legs, he tried to stand.
The logs shifted, then toppled to the sides. Walter grabbed Lauren’s shirt and held her dangling over the ground. As the logs rolled, their bark ignited. Flames shot up, brushing her bare feet. Her shirt began riding up to her shoulders and slipping over her head.
With a quick twist, Walter jerked her up, swung his legs around her waist, and wrapped her limp body in a scissors hold. “I got her! Haul me in! Listener, get us out of this heat!”
Grunts sounded from above. Engines whined. The hospital rocked, slowly ascending. As they rose, Walter reached down and slid his hands under Lauren’s armpits and shifted her higher in his grip. That was better. Not even Arramos could snatch her away now.
Above, Ashley and company pulled. Walter and Lauren rose in hesitating surges. Only a few feet to go. Listener appeared at the doorway, one hand reaching as she walked down the stairway, the other hand clutching the rope. “All I need is her wrist!” she shouted.
Walter slid his hand down Lauren’s arm, lifted it, and jerked backwards to a horizontal position, giving her an upward boost. Listener grabbed Lauren’s wrist and hauled her in. After laying her on the vestibule floor, Listener scrambled back down the stairs and locked forearms with Walter. Helped by the rope’s pull, she hoisted him up to the stairway. Their momentum sent them flying into the cabin.
Walter rolled onto the floor and sat up against the wall. He pulled Lauren into his lap and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Water!”
“It’s right in here!” Dr. Conner dropped the rope and ran into the dorm.
Candle fell to his knees, panting. Ashley sat next to Walter and brushed Lauren’s hair from her eyes. Skin peeled on her forehead and face, reddened and sooty. “Oh, Walter! She looks awful!” She pressed her palm on Lauren’s cheek. “At least a hundred and four. I’ll have to sponge her down.”
“It’s a miracle she survived.” He nodded toward her bare feet. “She’s got to have terrible burns. I can’t imagine how she walked on that ground.”
Ashley shifted over and ran a hand along one of Lauren’s soles. “They’re filthy but not burned at all.”
Walter stared at Ashley. “How could that be?”
“I have no idea. I—”
“Here.” Dr. Conner thrust a water bottle into Walter’s hand. “Start her slowly. You might have to dribble it over her lips at first. I’ll keep watching for any sign of Eagle.”
“Sounds good.” As Walter let the water trickle over Lauren’s lips, it spilled down to her neck and over his shirt, cool and refreshing. Her lips pursed, then opened, letting the water in, though her eyes stayed closed. As she drank, tears welled in Walter’s eyes. He looked through the doorway at the clearing night sky. “Jehovah-Yasha,” he whispered. “Thank you for saving this amazing girl.”
* * *
Matt drifted through the air, floating above the clouds, vibrating, aching. Loud noises—rumbling roars, metallic clanks, and airy hisses—rushed in and flew past. The slow, sometimes bumpy hovering lasted for hours and hours. Could it all be a dream? Probably. With no wings on his back, how could it be anything else?
A gray cloud rolled overhead, growing darker and darker. Thunder boomed. Chilly wind penetrated his clothes. A torrent of rain splashed in his face.
He opened his eyes and shook his head hard, slinging droplets. One of the helicopter soldiers, now wearing a parka, held an empty pail. “Wake up, pretty boy.”
As a cold breeze swirled around Matt’s head, he pushed against gritty pavement and rose slowly to a sitting position, rubbing a knot just above his ear. The pain wasn’t too bad, and the water barely dampened his cloak’s hood, not enough to raise a chill, since he so rarely got cold.
Setting a hand on one of two single-story wooden buildings that sandwiched him in a narrow alley, he glanced around. Only one door interrupted the buildings’ blank walls, and no signs gave evidence of what might be inside. A Mustang convertible with its top open sat between him and the alley exit, its engine running. Someone wearing a backpack and a hood sat curled facing left in the rear seat. Brown hair protruded from around the hood, veiling the person’s face. About a hundred feet beyond the car, a narrow street ran perpendicular to the exit. Dim light in the sky made it appear to be early evening or morning. “Where am I?”
A new voice broke in. “I’m sure you’ve seen an alley before.”
Slowly turning, Matt found the speaker—Tamiel, still in the same dark garb, his suit jacket open again, making his shoulder holster obvious. He extended a hand. “May I help you up?”
Matt glanced at the soldier who had splashed him with water. He now stood with a pistol at his hip, obviously ready to fire. Trying to grab Tamiel and disarm him would have been easy otherwise.
“I can manage.” Matt climbed to his feet. His head pounded. With his cloak so wrinkled, the hem barely fell past his knees. “Where are my parents?”
Tamiel pushed the toe of his pointed boot into a half-frozen puddle. “Your father is too dangerous to be involved in this little experiment, so we are transporting him to a safe place.”
“Experiment?” Matt rubbed his head again and squinted at the car’s passenger, maybe his mother, if the backpack meant anything. She was probably all right. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have positioned her so carefully. “Now I’m a guinea pig?”
“In a manner of speaking. Soon you will join your mother on what you might call an impossible mission, though with your talents, I have faith that you can accomplish it.”
Matt growled. “What do you know about faith?”
“Well, I see that your pain hasn’t diminished your spunk.” Tamiel chuckled. “That’s good, because you’re going to need it.”
Nodding toward the Mustang, Matt tempered his voice. “I assume that’s my mother. If she’s hur
t, I’ll—”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Matt. She’s fine, as you will soon see.”
“Okay.” Matt tightened his hands into fists. “Where’s Lauren?”
“I honestly have no idea. Since I no longer have use for Lauren, I am letting others deal with her.”
Matt studied his expression—cool and calculated. Maybe what Semiramis said was true. He was staying away from Lauren because touching her would mean his death … and hers. “So let’s get on with it. What’s the experiment all about?”
Tamiel withdrew a mobile phone from his pocket and ran his finger across the screen. “You will find seven addresses in the database, and you are to visit each one. This unit has GPS mapping capabilities, but it cannot be tracked. Also, don’t bother trying to use the phone for calls. It doesn’t work except for communications with my phone, both voice and text.” He handed it to Matt, a smile wrinkling his lips. “We removed the transmitter between your molars, so I’m sure you will be more comfortable now.”
Matt snatched the phone. “You act like this is a game.”
“It is a game—the ultimate showdown.”
Matt scrolled through the list of addresses with his thumb. They appeared to be locations in multiple states. “Care to explain?”
“I will, but not now. When you get in the car, tune your radio to FM eighty-seven point seven and set the phone to broadcast the first message in the inbox. I’m sure you can find the proper application. Then you and Bonnie will be able to listen to my explanation together while enjoying the sights.”
Matt slid the phone into his pocket and looked at Mom again, still sitting motionless in the car. Might she be asleep? Still exhausted from the candlestone’s effects? “Where are we?”
“I’m sure you will figure that out as well.” Tamiel withdrew a wallet from an inner pocket. “Driver’s license, credit card, and cash, all untraceable.” He tossed the wallet to Matt. “And you will find food and drinks in the backseat.”