Page 130 of Us Defiant Few

“We’re here!” Derek shouted.

32

People say they want the truth…until they learn it.

The others filed out of the car, their shocked whispers echoing behind her, but Khalani kept staring at Takeshi.

She shook him again. “Tell me what’s wrong. What were you about to say?”

His clenched jaw and flared nostrils gradually subsided. But the veins in his neck were pronounced as he sat up, ignoring her question.

But she wasn’t going to let it go.

“Answer me, Takeshi! Who’s the girl you remember?” Her voice soared across the desolate space, catching the others’ attention.

“She’s no one,” he hissed, bumping his shoulder against hers as he jumped out of the truck.

Khalani stared after him, open-mouthed.

Every time Takeshi came close to remembering, he went cold and drew further away than before.

She didn’t understand. They’d removed the chip. The doctors had confirmed that all he needed was time.

But what if they were missing something?

The pit in her stomach deepened when she climbed out of the truck and found Winnie staring into the distance with her eyes wide.

Standing in front of them was a towering metal building. The gleaming structure spiraled into the sky, twirling round like coiled strands of DNA.

“Upon the stars,” Winnie whispered in a daze. “It’s Timothy Talbot’s painting.”

Khalani’s lips formed an O. She remembered the golden-framed painting Winnie kept in the library. It depicted a man walking toward a wondrous structure in the desert. Could it be the same building that stood majestically before them?

“This is it.” Winnie gripped her hand, eyes gleaming with pure delight. “We finally made it!”

Her lungs seized.

Ever since Winnie had shown Khalani the journal, she’d doubted Timothy Talbot existed. That Project Helix was real. But the sight before them shattered all those preconceived notions.

But for some reason, a strange feeling of déjà vu came over her. Like she’d been there before.

“You sure that’s where we’re supposed to go?” Adan asked, pulling Khalani from her implausible thoughts.

“That’s what it says on the map.” Derek held out the long sheet of paper with the bright-red circle.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Serene breathed, taking a step forward, but Brock gently pulled her back.

“We all go together.” He spoke with calm authority, and much to her surprise, Serene nodded, listening to him.

They walked through a broken barbed wire fence that extended for miles. Green and beige trucks were littered around the area with abandoned tents flapping in the wind.

“What was this place?” Khalani glanced around.

“A military base,” Takeshi abruptly answered. His gun was tight in hand as he intently scanned their surroundings, something violent stirring in his gaze.

Brock whipped his head. “How do you know that?”

Takeshi pointed to a rusted sign sticking out of the dirt.