Leo swallowed. “We . . . became what we feared.”
“I don’t care about your reflections!” Atlas roared. “Where did Anna go?”
“She left around five minutes ago,” Zero answered. “She didn’t want us to follow.”
“Where though?” He turned back to Zero.
Zero pulled his gaze from the head to focus on him. “I’m betting she’s going . . . home.”
Atlas didn’t wait to hear more. He resisted the urge to kick Stella’s head as he ran by it and back out of the room, but her dead eyes followed him from the ground. Instead, he fixated on the blood drops that showed the path Anna had taken, right to the front of the facility. And then outside, where no more trail could be followed.
He stood a moment, his sensors adjusting to the bright sunlight overhead. Had it really only been a day since Anna had given birth? Outside, the forest was ahead. Birds were chirping. And there was no trace of Anna or his baby.She left. Where is she?Atlas breathed hard, his mind calculating.
No drones were flying; they were all turned off with the power outage. A line of hovers sat next to the side entrance, and the imprint of a bare foot was near them. He examined the pattern.She tried to take a hover.But they were keyed into android minds to operate.
Another footstep was farther away.She must have given up and started to walk.He hoisted himself into the hover, starting it. Then he pulled it out on the path that led back to their little house.I’ll find her.
Chapter fifty-three
Anna
It was a far walk.
Knowing that, Anna should have maybe tried harder to get one of the hovers out front working. But instinct took over and made her flee. Right now, she didn’t want anything to do with anyone. Except maybe Atlas. She sat on a rock, clutching her baby, feeling incredibly weak and groggy. Where was he anyways?
Instinct made her want to get far, far away. She shifted uncomfortably; everything was sore. From her arms all the way down to her legs. She didn’t even want to think about what was happening with her stitches, which she knew were covered in blood.
Anna still hadn’t fully recovered from the birth. Her head pounded. At least overhead no drones even hovered.Maybe the power outage is keeping the drones away?But her baby was safe. She maybe still wasn’t; she had lost a lot of blood.
The ground swam before her. Anna needed to sit. At least for a minute. She sat on a rock to keep away from the sharp twigsand ants on the ground, taking deep breaths. Her baby, with a perfect upturned nose and fists up by her face, slept. She cradled the bundle tighter, her heart still racing. They were together. Her and baby girl. She let out a soft sob. “My baby girl, my baby girl. You’re okay. I’ll get you home. You have a crib waiting. And people who love you.”
But where was Atlas? Just when she needed him the most, he was gone. Was he in trouble too? Guilt bloomed at the thought, and the fact that she’d left him behind.I needed to get out.Her baby, safe and whole in her arms, confirmed her decision.
Fear for him flared. She'll let Simon know. They could come back and help him once she got baby girl away. Zero was there too, and Atlas was his friend. He’d help. The best thing she could have done was get away; protecting her baby came first.
After another moment, she forced herself to stand, slowly, making sure she wasn’t dizzy. Thankfully, she was stronger than when she first got off the transport from Earth. All that work in her little house had paid off. She glanced up at the drone-free sky. That was the biggest relief, she needed to make it back before they started to follow her again.Once she was back with Nora and Simon, at least she’d have some protection. Then they could make a plan to come back for Atlas.
Right. A solid plan.
“Up we go.” She whispered to her baby. Every step closer to home.
That lasted only a handful of footsteps until she heard a deep humming noise coming from behind. A hover? She immediately froze, standing exposed in the path.
The baby wiggled in Anna's arms, breaking her freeze. She quickly left the path to hide behind a tree, close enough to watch but crouched low on the forest floor. If they were looking for her, there was no way she could run fast enough. Better to hide and be still. She sat there, nursing her baby now, who had started towhine. The humming was closer now, but moving so slowly that the hover must be traveling at a snail’s pace.
Anna gulped. They were searching. But it didn’t add up. If they really were, wouldn’t the drones be more effective in finding her?
Finally the drone came into her view. And everything in her loosened. Atlas? It was Atlas driving? She could only see the side of his face. Then he turned, scanning the forest.It is him.Her body shook head to toe in relief. She wanted to call out to him. To go to him. But . . .Could others be following? Is it another trap?
It was a moot point, as the hover slowed and Atlas circled back, as if he could sense her hiding in the woods. “Anna? Are you there? I can hear your heartbeat . . . I’m not going to hurt you. I’m alone. Are you there?”
“Atlas? It’s you?” Anna swallowed and backed up out of the trees. She trembled head to foot.
“Anna!” He quickly turned off the hover, stumbling out. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”
“Where were you?” She backed up as he approached. “How are you walking free now? You weren’t there!”
“Stella . . . she tricked me.” Atlas’s eyes were wild. He watched her like a drowning man tasting air. “I was so worried about you.”
