Aether (The Shadowmark Series Book 2)

by T. M. Catron

  Carter’s raspy breathing stopped. Mina leaned over him.

  “Carter?” She shook him slightly and held her finger to his throat.

  No pulse.

  Then she put her ear to his chest. Nothing.

  Mina’s heart almost stopped too, and her body went numb. What had she done wrong?

  “Please,” she pleaded, her hands on his chest ready to begin CPR. She pushed two fingers under his jaw, between folds of loose skin. “Please, Carter.”

  Still no pulse.

  Mina started chest compressions, counting silently. One and two and three and four and . . . What had Doyle given her? Was it something to put Carter out of his misery? Like the severely burned man in the forest. Doyle had done it before—kindness, he’d called it. She was so stupid for not asking more questions . . .

  Ten and eleven and twelve and . . . Maybe Carter just had an allergic reaction to the meds. He was allergic to penicillin even though that wasn’t what Doyle had given her.

  Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two . . . “Carter!” she whispered. “Carter!”

  Carter took a deep, gasping breath, and Mina stopped in shock. She put her ear to his chest again. Yes, his heart beat faintly. The she continued chest compressions until his chest rose and fell on its own. She sat back on her heels, watching him, her own heart pounding in her throat.

  “What’s that?” he asked a few minutes later.

  “Nothing,” she said and put her hand on his damp forehead. “Get some rest.”

  Mina sat with Carter all night, listening to him breathe, checking his pulse. By dawn, she no longer doubted his heartbeat was stronger, his breathing more comfortable. The fever had broken. Mina could have wept in relief, but instead she crawled out of the tent and zipped it, quietly lying down to pretend she’d been there all night.

  She fell asleep, dozing through the usual morning activity. In her dreams, she was walking through the silo with Carter. His heart stopped, and he fell to the ground, sprawling on the cold stone. Mina wanted to revive him, but the aether swept her away, out of the silo and through another dark tunnel. She called for Carter. Then Doyle appeared, steering her back through the tunnel. When they reached the silo again, Carter was gone. That was okay though. Doyle was there—he would find him. He would find Lincoln too.

  “. . . can’t understand it.”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “We’ll get you something right away,” said Alvarez.

  Mina opened her eyes. Nelson and Alvarez knelt at the opening of Carter’s tent. He was awake and talking.

  Alvarez stood and spotted Mina. “Mina! Carter’s awake! And, well, he looks better.”

  Mina sat up. “That’s great!”

  “Yes, I have no idea . . . He was so sick.” Alvarez paused. “Where were you, anyway?”

  “Looking for Lincoln,” Mina said. “No luck. What about Carter? Any idea what caused his turnaround?”

  “His body just seemed to fight off the infection. Maybe we can get him up and showered. He’ll feel better, then.”

  “Shower?”

  “Yes, we got the well working,” said Nelson, helping Carter climb out of the tent. “At least, we helped Solomon.”

  “You mean there’s hot water? Did he get the generator going?”

  Nelson shook his head. “No, just cold. The generator's working, but we haven’t hooked it up to the hotel yet because we need more fuel. We worked until late last night to get it running long enough to get the pump going.”

  Mina jumped up to help them ease Carter out of the tent and into a sitting position near the fire. His gray, wispy hair stuck out in odd places. His clothes stank of rotten flesh, his red-stained shirt soaked in sweat.

  “Hey, Mina,” he said as they propped him up. “I imagine I’ve looked better.” He paused to catch his breath. “What’d you guys do to the well?”

  “There was nothing wrong with it,” Alvarez answered. “It’s just old, and Solomon had to use the generator to prime the pump.”

  “We still need to conserve water. We have no way of knowing anything about the source,” said Nelson. “Solomon and Helen are working on a shower schedule now.”

  Alvarez looked at Carter’s bandage. “Hey, Nelson, hand me the first aid kit, will you?”

  “You’ve already got it. It’s in the duffel.”

  “It’s not here now. I thought you took it.”

  “No.”

  Alvarez searched the bag more fully. “It’s not here.”

  “Maybe you left it in the tent,” Mina said, but a quick look told her it wasn’t there, either.

  “That’s weird,” said Alvarez, still staring into the brown cloth bag.

  “Not too weird,” said Nelson. “You probably just left it somewhere.”

  “I haven’t taken it anywhere,” said Alvarez, “but that’s not the weird part. The drawings are missing. Did you get them, Nelson?”

  “You know very well I don’t want anything to do with them.”

  Carter coughed. “Thought you had them in your coat?”

  “I took them out. I didn’t see a reason to keep them on me all the time.”

  “Is anything else missing?” Mina asked.

  “No.”

  Nelson took the bag and searched for himself. “Who would've wanted them? I mean, it’s not like anyone could read them.”

  The rogues could, Mina thought, but she said, “The first aid kit, and the drawings. Maybe someone wanted the kit, saw the drawings in there and thought they were interesting. It may have just been a random theft.”

  “I guess we don’t need them,” said Carter. “Never could figure out what they were.”

  “I told Lincoln I’d keep them safe.” Alvarez’s voice was small and quiet.

  “It was random, Alvarez,” Nelson said. “Had to be. Don’t worry about it. That’s not our job anymore. About all those drawings are good for now is wiping our butts.”

  But Alvarez searched her pockets, the bag, and the tent again.

  Mina looked around the campsite too. Why did the rogues want the drawings when they could go see the adarria for themselves? Halston was watching the bunker. So these rogues weren't with him, maybe. They wanted to see the adarria without alerting him of their presence. Mina shuddered.

  “Whose is this?” asked Alvarez, gesturing to Mina’s new pack.

  “Mine.”

  “Doesn’t look like the one you had.”

  “Yep. Same one.”

  “Alvarez, you’re losing it,” said Nelson good-naturedly. “Come on.” He gave her a hand and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go for a walk or something. You need some fresh air.” They walked away from the tent with Alvarez still searching her pants pockets.

  Carter turned to Mina. “By fresh air I think he’s talking about me.”

  “Carter.”

  “Yes?”

  “Is Alvarez always . . . umm?”

  “Edgy?” he offered.

  “Yes. I didn’t want to offend.”

  “Yes and no. She’s always been a fanatic for detail—it’s what’s made her good at her job. But lately she’s been more anxious in general. It probably has something to do with Schmidt.”

  “Who?”

  “Corporal Schmidt—the guy Lincoln went to go find right before the attacks. He was assigned to us at the camp, I think we told you. Anyway, he and Alvarez became friends. Maybe more than that, I don’t know. We found his body after the attacks.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. You left that out before.”

  “Alvarez hasn’t talked about it, so we didn’t bring it up. The thing is: Schmidt didn’t die in the initial attack. But we found his body in the middle of the ash, perfectly fine except for his throat had been cut.”

  Mina recoiled from the image that sprang to mind. “The invaders?”

  “Don’t know. But there were human prints all around him.”

  Hybrids, Mina thought. And she knew two who had been in the area after the attack. It could have been
a rogue. Were rogues bold enough to walk through after the Condarri destroyed everything? Don’t think about it. You’re better off not knowing who.

  “Have you been looking for Lincoln?”

  Carter’s question jarred Mina out of her daze. She nodded.

  He reached into his shirt pocket, then patted it. Whatever he had thought he'd find there was gone. He sighed. “I don’t want to try to tell you what to do. You’re obviously able to take care of yourself, or you never would have made it this far. But I don’t think you should go out alone. I don’t think anyone should be out alone.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Carter shrugged. “It’s just the way things are now. And I may have been delirious for the last day or so, but before that I was listening. And I just don’t think all these lodgers have forgotten that the Army turned them out. I’ve seen the way they stare at all of us, and now you’re camping here, too. Look, some of the people here can’t be trusted, and that’s more apparent now than ever. That first aid kit won’t be the first thing to disappear.”

  “So what does that have to do with me looking for Lincoln? If I can’t trust the people here, I have to go on my own, right?”

  “Yes, but I think you need to stay put. No one will mess with you in plain sight. And why do you think Nelson and Alvarez never go anywhere alone?”

  “I just thought they were close.”

  “They know we’re on shaky ground. You may not see it. Gathering food and water and looking for Lincoln and all the other stuff you do, but the feeling here at the lodge is not exactly friendly. If I wasn’t banged up, I would’ve urged all of us to move on. Still might, as soon as I can travel.”

  “But there’s so much here! Where are you going to go?”

  “There are other places like this, I guarantee it. Maybe not as secluded, and they’ll have their own problems, but we’re better off with a fresh start.”

  “I think the people here are starting to appreciate you. We have water now, right?”

  Carter frowned. “Did you know a young man and woman died? Back at the Army camp? They were caught stealing a can of beans, and the soldiers shot the woman in the back.”

  Mina gaped. “I’d heard someone died, but I didn’t know how.”

  “Yeah, well, people don’t forget that stuff too soon. It wasn’t all that long ago. Just watch your back, okay?”

  Great, now I’m going to have to watch out for rogues and lodgers. So much for being safe in the camp. Yet the lodgers didn’t present the same level of threat as the hybrids. Mina didn’t want to upset Carter just when he was feeling better, so she agreed. “Okay.”

  She kept her pack close, making sure people saw her with it, but the exercise seemed pointless since Iverson and his comrades had led out a hunting party that morning. Mina had asked about their names: Morrison, Hadley, Smith, and Gault. She needed to keep her distance from them as well as Iverson. She hoped they’d disappeared for good.

  More disturbingly, Emily had left. No one had seen her since yesterday. Had she gone looking for Mina again? Feeling helpless, Mina paced the road in front of the lodge all day, watching for Emily or Lincoln. Doyle had said he would look for her brother. He would find him, given time. She searched the trees below the road. She hated waiting.

  The silo remained on her mind and the galaxy inside it. It was impossible. She wanted to go back and try to touch the stars again. The sight of them reaching down into the earth had jarred her. The people on this planet were small. She was small. And yet when she looked at the stars, an indescribable power flowed through her mind and her body. That glimpse of the Milky Way had brought her to a place of humility and arrogance at the same time.

  They were not alone in the universe.

  She thought she’d accepted that fact months ago. But hers had been a hollow understanding. Now the idea grew in her mind, planted there with a seed from the stars. And not a soul on Earth could uproot it now. Even if the invaders left today, Mina would forever be ready to chase after them into the darkness. Because the stars were there, waiting.

  But first she had to protect her family. Fear gripped her as she thought of Lincoln. What if something happened to him before Doyle found him? He was so close, perhaps in the valley below her. Yet she couldn’t go to him. Couldn’t see him.

  Please, please, Doyle, find him.

  On one of her passes by the lodge, Evan came up over the guardrail from the direction of the lower spring. When he saw Mina, he changed direction for her.

  “I thought you went hunting,” Mina said.

  “Nah. Not enough guns.” Evan fell into step with Mina as she walked the edge of the road toward the curve. Probably Solomon had forbidden Evan from going on the hunt.

  “Who are you looking for?” Evan asked. He watched Mina carefully.

  “Emily. Have you seen her?”

  “Nope. Where have you been going lately?”

  Mina turned to Evan, cautious about his line of questioning. He was usually pretty quiet around her. The truth was best—her searches weren’t exactly secret. “I’ve been looking for my brother. He’s out there somewhere.”

  “Oh. He was with the Army.”

  “Not officially. He never served. He’s a computer engineer.”

  Evan was silent.

  “You know,” Mina said, careful to keep her tone friendly, “your grandfather’s just trying to keep you safe.”

  Evan kicked a rock and grumbled, “I know.”

  The boy needed to stay away from Iverson, but how could Mina convince him without giving too much away? “What do you think of Iverson?” she asked.

  Evan’s eyes brightened. Apparently no one had asked him this question. “He’s alright. He’s smart, and strong, and he knows a lot about hunting and stuff.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Like he taught me how to stay downwind of a deer so it couldn’t smell me.”

  “That’s useful.”

  “Uh huh. And he taught me about different kinds of tracks and how fresh they are—it’s all about what’s on top of them. Gramps just doesn’t get it.”

  Mina’s steps carried her around the turn without any real thought of where she was going. “Okay, those things are good, but Evan, people aren’t always what they seem to be.”

  “I know that! I can tell about people!”

  “Okay, but don’t you think it’s odd how Iverson treats everybody else? He might be nice to you, but he and his buddies don’t seem to care if they hurt people.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, cheating a man out of his boots and home is pretty low.” Mina knew as soon as she’d said it, she’d gone too far.

  Evan’s face turned red, and he scowled. “They didn’t cheat! They won fair and square! And maybe they’re just trying to make it like everybody else. Maybe their way is better.”

  “Cheating isn’t better.”

  “That’s what Gramps said, but they didn’t cheat. I swear!” Evan stopped walking and faced Mina. The kid was as tall as she was. “What do you know about it, anyway?”

  “I know people can get hurt.” She lowered her voice. “I know you’re planning on taking Iverson to the silo.” There. She’d said it. She couldn’t take it back.

  Evan’s face went white. “How d’you know that?”

  “Please don’t take them anywhere. They’re up to something, and I’m worried about you.”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “True, but it is your grandfather’s.”

  “What?! Did you tell him?” Evan clenched his fists and shifted his weight from one foot to another.

  “No, but if you go with them, I’ll have to. He’ll be worried about you.” Actually, telling Solomon after the fact wouldn’t do any good either. It might just get him killed. But Evan didn’t need to know that.

  “You . . .” His face flushed again.

  “Calm down, okay?” Mina put a hand on his shoulder.

  He shrugged it off. “Calm d
own? You have no idea . . . You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I can handle myself.” Evan pulled out the switchblade Iverson had given him. He flicked out the blade, then closed it up. “You’ll ruin everything.”

  “Wait a minute, Eva . . .” Mina’s palms turned clammy. No one knew where they were. The lodge was out of sight.

  “Just shut up! You shouldn’t know anything!” He flicked the blade out again and waved it in her direction.

  Mina took a step back and held up her hands. “There’s no need for that. Think about what I’m saying. I’m just trying to help!”

  “Shut up! Just shut up!” Evan took a step toward her, then another.

  Mina backed away and dropped her hands. He was four feet away. Too close. If he rushed her, she didn’t think she could evade him. She took another step back, and her heel caught on a crack in the pavement. She stopped. If not careful, she’d back right off the edge of the road.

  Evan stepped toward her and raised the knife higher. He glared at her, his eyes hard. He was too close.

  Mina’s hand found her gun. In one movement, she unholstered it and clicked off the safety. When she pointed it at Evan, his eyes widened, and he halted. Mina took a steadying breath. With her gun between herself and her would-be attacker, she felt strangely calm.

  “Okay, Evan. I’m just going to walk away, okay? I’ll walk away, and we’ll calm down.” She inched to the left, toward the lodge. Evan didn’t take his eyes off the gun.

  Now he was six feet away from her. Could he still rush her?

  Evan looked at the knife in his hand, then at Mina. “I wasn’t going to hurt you,” he said. But he didn't lower the knife.

  “Nobody needs to get hurt.” Mina’s stomach churned. She wasn’t going to shoot this kid. Why was she pointing the gun at him? She took two more steps and lowered it. “I’m going back to the lodge now,” she said.

  Evan’s nostrils flared in anger. But he didn’t follow her. He stood frozen to the pavement, his knuckles white from gripping the knife so tightly.