Page 61 of Sawyer’s Mistake

“Okay, what do we know about them? They call themselves the Pangea Colony. That’s got to mean something,” Saoirse said.

“What’s Pangea?” Prado asked.

“Pangea was the original supercontinent, before the land masses split up into the continents we know today,” Saoirse replied. Storme, Eva, and Zander joined them. The stairs were getting crowded.

“A supercontinent … maybe that’s it!” Her hand moved quickly on the screen. She shifted North America west, fitting it right under Europe, and one by one moved all the continents together like puzzle pieces.

“It’s working,” Meir said. He sounded almost excited.

Moments later, the screen dissolved once again into the earlier blues and greens.

“It didn’t work,” she said dejectedly. Sawyer placed a hand over her shoulders.

“Hold on! The door!” Kopf said.

“Sorry for the delay,” a hoarse voice said from behind the opening door, “I have to open it manually.” A moment later, a head of thin white hair peeked out at them.

Sawyer stood protectively in front of Saoirse, who kept trying to peek from behind his shoulder. A moment later, he relaxed. The wrinkled face under the white hair didn’t look threatening, but he’d seen too much over the last year and a half to let looks fool him.

“Come in, come in, quickly,” the old man said. His hands were both visible, and held no weapons.

Sawyer locked eyes with Storme. They were both thinking the same thing.

Are we walking into a trap?

Sawyer made the decision for them. His arachnid sense wasn’t ringing, and they needed a place to spend the night. He took one step forward.

Moving beyond the door felt like stepping through the looking glass. By all logic, he understood he was in the hallway leading to the metro, but the passageway had been converted into something out of a storybook.

Brightly colored rugs and tapestries lined the walls and floor. A multitude of lampshades along the wall gave the room a warm glow. One entire wall was covered in books. Actual physical volumes of the kind rarely seen outside museums or libraries. The sheer number of volumes here would put most libraries to shame.

The rest of the room was crammed full of furniture, most of which looked centuries old. Sofas and armchairs that didn’t look like they could have survived the fighting. Small tables designed to hold cups of tea. The whole thing felt unreal, but at least the room was warm and dry.

They all looked at each other, shocked expressions on their faces.

Chapter 24

Saoirse

“Well, don’t stay by the door, come on in, make yourselves comfortable, no need to take your shoes off,” the old man said. He was even older than he’d looked. His hair looked like a hat of soft cloud.

Despite her fear and exhaustion, Saoirse stifled a giggle. The man looked like Don Quixote. Even the armor he was wearing on his chest looked like it’d been pilfered from a museum.

“I’m Gabriel Storme,” Storme said, reaching out to shake the old man’s hand.

“Ray Hörnli,” the old man said. He rubbed his hands excitedly as everybody introduced themselves. “Let me show you where you can freshen up. There’s enough warm water for you all to have a quick shower.”

A shower sounded heavenly. Saoirse wanted nothing more than to take Ray up on the offer, but something was nagging at her. She looked at Sawyer, who stood beside her. His stance exuded tension as did those of the other men.

Suddenly, she realized what was wrong. It was too quiet. Besides Ray’s light prattling, there were absolutely no other noises.

Is this really the Pangea Colony? Where is everyone?

“Where is everybody, Ray?” Storme asked, his voice quiet.

Ray looked dismayed at the question. “Wouldn’t you prefer to freshen up before we speak? I can start getting dinner ready in the meantime.”

Her stomach rumbled loudly at the word. It’d been a while since they’d had a proper meal. But the men didn’t move, and their hands all moved closer to their weapons.