Brightly Burning(93)
“I think that’s a sunset,” I said. “Or at least the beginnings of one. I read about them in so many books, but I never imagined . . .” Literature could not begin to touch the reality I beheld before me. But neither Jon nor Xiao had the eyes of an artist; they observed for a moment, then turned back to the matter at hand.
“We’ll make camp for the night, then rally a search party in the morning,” Jon concluded, already turning and heading back the way we’d come. I lingered, wishing desperately to take off into those woods, though I knew the soundest thing was to start fresh the next day. Strange, because as far as my body was concerned, it was still midday. It would take some time to adjust to the new clock. Xiao tugged on my arm until I moved reluctant feet in the wrong direction. With the sunset at our backs, and despite the coat I wore, a chill set into my spine.
Chapter Thirty-One
We spent the night on board the Ingram, dividing up the sleeping quarters among us, but sleep had eluded me for the most part. Restlessness brought me into the transport bay when the sky was still dark; I sat on the edge of the open doorway and gazed up at my former home. The stars were beginning to disappear, but the moon was still clearly visible. She looked so far away, so lonely without the Rochester to keep her company.
I wondered once more at my new home, watching as my breath turned into white puffs upon hitting the cold air. As the light began to flood the landscape ahead, I could make out rustling grass, signs of an animal skittering about. And if I thought the sunset incredible, the sunrise proved equal if not surpassing it in measure. Watching inky blue and dusky purple turn pink, then orange, finally giving way again to the lightest blue was a revelation. It was also a welcome sign that it was time to go.
Jon and Xiao were a given, but I was surprised to see Justine join our search party. I hadn’t realized she’d come down with us. When I asked her about it, she sniffed and said in heavily accented English, “After the marriage I have had, I am ready for an adventure.” Fair enough. Then I saw Hanada approach. And she had a stunner gun.
“She is not coming,” I said.
“Mari knows the med bay better than any of us,” Xiao said.
“And she knows how to fire a gun,” Jon threw in. Traitor. “We need her.”
Overruled, I gave in, and in no time at all, we overtook the Rochester again. Hanada raided some supplies from the medical bay, and then we pushed onward through the trees.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Justine asked.
“Signs of human beings, likely dragging a body,” Jon answered, from the point position. Hanada was the sweep.
“Dragging Hugo,” I corrected him. “Body” made it sound like he was dead.
“Who do we think they are?” Justine’s voice shook just a bit.
“The leading theory is that we’ve landed close to the survivors of the Crusader.” Jon looked back, offering Justine a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry—?we assume they’re friendly. The guns are just a precaution.”
I sided with Justine on this one; after what had happened to George, I didn’t care for guns at all. Even those that just stunned. “It doesn’t have to be the Crusader, does it?” I asked, shifting the subject. “Couldn’t it be survivors from that ship that went down three years ago? I think it was Wuthering Heights?”
I could see Jon shake his head. “They didn’t make it.”
“How do you know that?”
“My uncle told me. Said she had communication tech on board and was supposed to hail the Olympus once she landed. They didn’t hear from her, and she’s presumed lost.”
“No one’s heard from the Crusader, either,” I said, tamping down the alarm I felt at learning Wuthering Heights’s fate.
“She didn’t have any comm tech, so we’re hoping for the best.”
The forest was more like a dense outcropping of trees; in no time, we were through, once again walking in fields of tall grass. It was easier to follow the trail, crumpled and bent stalks guiding our way. We had no timepieces to judge our progress, but I watched the sky; I’d read in enough books that the sun traversed east to west, and at midday would be straight above our heads. The sky grew ever-brighter blue where patches of colors broke through dense cloud cover, and I guessed we’d walked about an hour through the grass when the trail veered right. We followed it a quarter of an hour to a road, the first true sign of human influence, and a thing to behold: worn tracks of dirt instead of metal grating. Here, we found distinct grooves—?something with wheels had been through here.
“They have a vehicle of some sort,” I said. “A cart, I think.”
Jon grinned at the sight of them. “I’m doing my best not to gloat,” he said. “I told you guys there was life here. We should have come down ages ago.” It put a new spring in his step, and we had to push to keep pace. Two hours later, the rain started.
“By the moon, what is this?” Justine shrieked, attempting in vain to cover her hair.
“Weather,” I said, pulling my coat around me and trudging on.
It stopped after an hour, during which time I thought my clothes and hair must have absorbed more water than previously I’d been rationed in a month aboard the Stalwart. We stopped by the side of the now-muddy road to check our packs. Our sleep sacks and spare clothes were soaked through as well.