The Extinction Trials(51)

Blair paused, seeming to steel herself. “I was scared. The station was so weird to me. It was like a hospital. When my daddy wasn’t there when I woke up, I didn’t know what was happening.”

She held up the envelope. “But I think I know why he left me this picture. The day this picture was taken, I got lost in the park. I was so scared. My mom and dad were looking for me everywhere. And then, they finally found me. I stopped crying and calmed down. I think he left me this picture because he wants me to know that he’s looking for me, and that when I find him, everything is going to be okay. I think maybe he is waiting for me at the Escape Hatch location. If he is, I think everything will be just like the day they found me at the park.”





Chapter Forty





As the sun set, the group gathered on the main deck and took their dinner of prepackaged meals.

“Getting sick of this ARC food,” Alister said.

“We should be glad we have food,” Cara shot back. “There are probably a lot of people out there right now whose bellies are empty, with no hope for their next meal. And they’re running for their lives for what food they have.”

“You’re right,” Alister said. “Forgive me. I work for a living, so complaining is part of my way of life.”

His response was somewhere between an apology and an insult, and Owen wished then that he knew enough to read his tone to figure out which it was. Whatever the case, Cara didn’t respond.

When darkness came, the ship’s lights illuminated the deck, and the six team members busied themselves in different ways. To Owen’s surprise, Alister and Cara played a game of cards at the banquette. Maya stretched out on the couch and read the journal again, Owen thought perhaps she was looking for clues they had missed before. He’d only known her a short time, but he knew a few things for sure: she was detail-oriented and hard-working.

Will was in the ship’s cockpit, his hands dancing over the control panel, trying to learn its systems. He seemed to be an exceptionally fast learner.

Blair lay on the couch near Owen and Maya, staring up at the stars. Owen wished he had something to give her that would entertain her—or at least distract her. He figured that she was thinking about her parents and her brother, wondering where they were and what happened to them. Since they had finished talking that afternoon, Owen himself had spent a lot of time thinking about his mother and whether she was still alive.

He had also spent more than a little time contemplating what he had heard. The others’ stories had shocked him. He felt as though he had been given the pieces of a puzzle–pieces that fit together, but in ways he didn’t expect. There was just one that didn’t quite fit. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what that piece was, but he knew it was there. The fact that they were all connected was somehow part of understanding what was happening here. What did it all mean? What did it mean that Blair’s mother had saved Cara and put her on her life path? And that Maya had worked for Blair’s father’s company? And the fact that Will had worked for Blair’s father’s company as well, perhaps in a way that was connected to The Extinction Trials?

And then there was Owen himself and Alister. Owen had saved Maya’s sister’s life, but he seemed to have no connection to Genesis Biosciences or The Extinction Trials. Alister also seemed unconnected. And there was no envelope for him in Station 17. What did that mean?

“Blair?” Cara called.

The young girl sat up.

“Want to play cards with us?”

She smiled and moved to the banquette, settling into a game with Alister and Cara. Owen thought that Cara’s disposition toward the girl had warmed quite a lot since she had heard her story. Owen had been right about one thing: getting to know each other had potentially changed everything.

He walked to the cockpit, where he found Will staring at the control screen. He glimpsed the display right before Will exited the system. It had been the communication system, which surprised Owen.

“Are comms working?”

“No,” Will said. “They’re still offline. It’s strange. The software is working, and the mechanical components are here. It should work. It’s like there’s something blocking it.”

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Could the previous owners have done that by design? Maybe broadcasting would have put them at risk—and it would for us too?”

Will considered that a moment. “It’s quite possible. However, I think if we can get comms working, we should use them with caution.”

“How so?”

“What I would suggest is finding an open location near hiding places, then sending a broadcast for help and hiding the boat in a place we can observe.”

“To see who comes.”

“Correct,” Will said.

“It’s not a bad idea.”

Owen moved to the couch and considered the idea of using comms for a while. It could be their salvation. Or doom. Like just about everything in this ruined world.

Finally, he opened The Birthright and began to read again.

“It’s an end of the world book club over here,” Maya said, not looking over.

He smiled.

“It would be the first book club I’ve been in.”