Read The Singular Six (The Chronicles of Eridia) Page 15
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Amid the trees atop the hill was a clearing, in the center of which sat a twenty-foot-high white metal cylindrical structure that reminded Bob of an oil storage tank. A ladder extended up its side to its flat, railing-encircled top. On the side of the tank were symbols or letters in an unknown language, consisting of circles and bars arranged in various configurations. The tank also sported crude spray-painted slogans, like “NO FUTURE” and “Marauders Uber Alles!” Everyone stared at the graffiti in uneasy silence, the inane writing proving beyond all doubt that the journey was nearly over.
Bob climbed the ladder and found that someone—probably the same someones who had sprayed the slogans—had torn off a hatch in the tank’s roof. Peering inside, he discovered that whatever the tank had contained had long since evaporated or been siphoned off; only an unidentifiable dark gummy residue remained on the inner walls and floor. From the interior rose a faint scent that reminded Bob of honey.
They set up camp on the west side of the clearing, about halfway between the tank and the woods. As the others got the fire going and prepared dinner, Maggie walked to the treeline and stared west. She couldn’t see anything except the trees stretching away downhill into darkness, but she knew Anna was out there somewhere. Based on what Dagmar had told them, the Marauders weren’t supposed to mistreat the female hostages without their leader’s approval, which meant that Anna should be safe until the Marauders got back to their base. But even if the Marauders had gone around the Badlands, they had still had a head start and could be at their base already. Yes, Maggie and the others were probably only a few hours’ walk away and would, if all went well, arrive there sometime tomorrow morning, but a lot could happen to Anna between now and then. And they couldn’t simply charge inside when they got there; they would have to spend more valuable time reconnoitering the area and devising a plan to infiltrate the base to rescue Anna and the other hostages.
Bob appeared beside her. “Food’s almost ready.”
She nodded.
“You okay?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I was thinking about tomorrow, and hoping Anna will be all right until then.”
He placed a hand on her back and said, “She’ll be fine. Things have a way of working out okay in the end.” The hand began stroking her back in small gentle arcs.
She cocked an eyebrow. “Like they did for the places we came from? Like they did for all your vanished friends?”
He recoiled a little, his hand falling from her back. She was both relieved and saddened to feel it go.
“Whoa, hey, did I do something wrong?” he said. The surprise on his face made him look very young, almost like a little boy.
“No, it…I just…” She sighed. “I do not think such physical contact is appropriate right now. My sister is in peril. Now is not the time for…such things.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. That was…I was out of line. I apologize.”
“Besides,” she added quickly, before she could stop herself, “if all goes well, there will be time for such things afterward.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I see. That seems fair.”
Despite herself, she found herself smiling too. She had never met anyone whose smile was so infectious. “I am glad you agree.”
“Oh, I sure do agree.”
They smiled at each other for a moment. Then she thought of Anna again, of tomorrow, and her smile faded. His faded in response, and together they looked sadly out at the trees and the darkness.