I growl underneath my breath and spin around. That’s when I see the note attached to the door with a hasty piece of tape. I recognize the handwriting right away.
Dear Zoe,
I’m sorry to leave this way, but we both know you’d try to stop me if I said this in person. I hate to leave you at a time like this. I hate myself. But if the world is ending, I want to explore it first. Don’t try to find me. Please.
Take care of yourself. I hope it all works out and that I can find you again someday.
With all my love,
Julie
Tears come and I don’t try to fight them back. They roll down my cheeks as I turn around and slam the door behind me. Choked sobs erupt from my chest and I give in to them as I navigate the catacombs back up to the main hallway.
I can’t believe she’s gone. We’d become so close since the others left. She was like a sister to me. Was. I cry harder, rubbing at my face with my sleeve. Maybe when everything’s over, I can try to find her.
Stumbling through the hallways, I attempt to regain control of myself. I can’t let the others see me like this. I don’t want them to panic when we’ve finally gotten control of things—at least somewhat gotten control of things.
“Zoe!” The voice stops me in my tracks.
I wipe my face hastily and try to paste on a casual smile. Everything is going to be okay. Turning, I find Avrell jogging to me.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you—Are you okay, my mate? Have you been crying?”
He folds me into his arms, and I break down again, soaking his shirt with my tears. Avrell’s hands rub in gentle strokes over my back. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay. Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
When I manage to get ahold of myself, I pull back enough to wipe my face again. Having him hold me is enough to give me a little sense of inner peace. “It’s Julie. I couldn’t find her, so I went to go look for her. I checked everywhere, and then I found this.” I hand him the note, which is crinkled and stained with my tears. “She’s gone. She left.”
Avrell reads the note quickly, then caresses my face with one claw. “I can do a scout. Maybe she didn’t get too far.”
“Won’t that waste time?”
He thinks for a minute. “We can do a flyover of the area before we leave. We’ll cover more ground more quickly that way. If she’s close, we’ll find her, stormy one. I promise.”
He holds my hand firmly in his all the way back to the ship, where everyone is waiting for us. They’re all loaded and ready to go. Even Kevin is belted into a seat and beams at us as we board. I take a seat next to him. Soon, the craft lifts up and my stomach plummets. The nausea from earlier returns with a vengeance. I bolt from my seat and barely make it to the small bathroom cabinet before I lose my meager lunch in the toilet.
Avrell sends me a concerned look as he navigates in gradually bigger circles over the prison. I flash him a small smile that doesn’t seem to lessen his worry, but he doesn’t say anything and turns back to scanning the terrain below.
“Try at the exit to the tunnels. That’s where I saw the tracks,” I tell Avrell. “It’s as good a place to start as any.”
“She took one of the Earth II vehicles?” he asks.
“I think so. I saw the tire tracks for one leading away from the prison.”
He doesn’t say it, but I know he’s probably thinking that she could be far, far away from the prison by now. He’s a good man because he dutifully goes to the tunnel exit and we follow the tracks until they disappear into a windstorm.
She could be anywhere.
“Stop,” I say when he reaches the ocean side of the prison. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to find her from here. Thank you for trying.”
“Are you certain?” he asks.
“Yes. We have to go. We can’t waste any more time.”
“We can fly up the coastline to see if she’s there. Maybe the vehicle will break down. She can’t drive forever without fuel.”
I shake my head solemnly. My tears are gone. “Thank you, but no. We need to go home. They’re waiting for us. Take us home, Av.”
Getting to my feet, I go back to the bathroom to wash my face and close the door behind me for privacy. My stomach is still churning, so I wet a paper towel and press it to my forehead. Get it together, Zoe. There’s still so much left to do.