The Black Tide (Outcast 3)
And I couldn't be sorry about that. Not given it had led to this moment, and a future filled with bright possibilities.
If we survived the present, that was.
A comfortable silence fell between us as he guided the old ATV through the twists and turns of the rocky mountain road. It was only once the slope decreased and the tree line began to thicken again that I risked taking off the sling and tucking it behind m
y seat.
“Where are the Algar flatlands in comparison to our current position and Central?”
“Remember the road we were on when that rift caught up to us?”
“I'm not likely to be able to forget something like that.”
“I guess not.” Another of those warm smiles touched his lips. “If we'd taken the left fork that day rather than the right one that took us back to Central, and then traveled for another hour or so through an area known as the red sands desert, we'd have arrived at the plains.”
“So, we've got a lot of traveling ahead of us?”
“It'll be an all-night run.”
“Then I'll take my turn driving.”
He frowned. “I hardly think that wise given you're—”
“Jonas, I've been lazing about for two days doing nothing. Trust me when I say that I need neither any more sleep nor further recovery time.”
She gets irritable if she sleeps too much, Bear commented.
This is true, Cat said solemnly. I wouldn't advise forcing any more on her.
Jonas laughed, a merry sound that filled the cabin. I took a swipe at the energy of the two ghosts, but they ducked away, their giggles joining Jonas's and widening my own smile even further.
“I guess I should not ignore the advice of those who have known you longest,” he said. “We'll work in three-hour shifts. Agreed?”
I nodded and settled into a more comfortable position in the seat. Silence fell between us again and the night rolled on without incident. I was at the control when dawn started spreading rose-colored fingers across the sky and the blip appeared on the radar.
I frowned and requested more information. The screen scrambled for a moment as the orientation shifted and magnified.
There wasn't one blip. There were three.
I swore softly and touched Jonas's shoulder. He woke instantly and sat upright. “Problem?”
I motioned to the radar. “Three of them.”
He leaned forward and hit a couple of buttons. The screen scrambled once more before clearing. He studied the information on the screen for several seconds and then swore. “They're air scooters, from the look of it.”
“Military?”
“Possibly.” He glanced out the front window. There was nothing to see but miles and miles of nothingness. “Where are we?”
“About an hour away from the plains.”
“Which puts us too far away from the old forest to get back there before our tail catches us.” He scrubbed a hand across his jaw, the sound like sandpaper. “This puts a major crimp in our plans, given they'll surely have warned Longborne by now of our approach.”
“Any idea where they could have come from? They couldn't have followed us from the Broken Mountains—the radar would have caught them long before now.”
“They’re probably from Central. It's the closest major city and the only one in the region that has military scooters.”
“But why would Dream risk sending out either rangers or a military unit after us? Especially when she could simply warn her forces at the warehouse to be ready for us.”