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I clear my throat and the room falls silent. “Thanks.” It’s all I can manage, too choked up with emotion, and too short of breath to say anything else.
Except, I wish I wasn’t tethered to a damn wall.
THIRTY-TWO
Zeb
Hours later,I sit in my hospital bed, growing more and more anxious by the second, waiting for my teammates to report in.
They arrive in Deadwood, an abandoned mining town in the high desert of California near Redstone Valley. It’s a desolate and eerie place, heavy with dust and sand. Light on people. I imagine I’m with my teammates, where the only sound is the faint whispering of wind against the rocky cliffs.
“Bravo in position.” Brady’s voice sounds loud and clear. Not a hint of static. The display from his headset is likewise clear. Shades of green fill the monitor as his night vision goggles scan the small ghost town.
“Copy that.” Mitzy peers at the screen closest to me. Then she turns to me. “What do you think?”
“Check for thermal signatures.” I wait while Brady and the others adjust their HUDs to incorporate thermal imaging into the feed they send to us.
“We’re splitting up.” Brady keeps us informed.
My teammates split up to search for Kaye in the various buildings that make up the abandoned mining camp. There’s only the four of them. I’m stuck in a hospital bed and Alec’s yet to report in from his leave.
The main structure is a large, two-story building, made from crumbling brick and mortar.
“Signs of recent activity.” Booker’s voice comes through. “Footprints, cigarette butts, and discarded beer cans.” He shows us signs of life, but the building remains frustratingly empty.
With the thermal imaging imposed over the infrared, we see the green bones of the main building but not the reddish glow of people inside.
“They must be holding her elsewhere.” I scratch my head and rub my eyes. Fatigue pulls at me. It’s my body demanding rest, but I won’t sleep until Kaye’s safe.
In addition to four screens streaming live footage from my teammates’ HUDs, a swarm of Mitzy’s tiny dragonfly drones infiltrate the space. They slip through cracks and explore beyond what Bravo can see with their augmented vision.
All the windows of the main building are covered with plywood. Seems a strange thing to do, but I suppose it keeps the sand and grit out of the interior. There’s little rain in Redwood valley.
“I’m getting nothing,” Brady reports in.
“Same here.” Rafe updates Brady on what he and Hayes find. They search several outer buildings that are in the process of being reclaimed by nature.
“Same for the dragonflies.” Mitzy pulls at her chin. “I have no heat signatures. And no sign of the Audi.”
My chest tightens and my gut sinks.
“Orders?” Brady asks.
“Return to base.” She turns to me. “Sorry, Zeb, but she’s not there.”
“Then where the fuck did they take her?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find her.”
Brady and the others leave behind the empty shell of what used to be a bustling mining camp. There may be signs of life, but no sign of the one person’s life that means the most to me.
“What now?” I twist on the bed, needing to do something—anything—to find Kaye. “We’ve wasted an entire day.” It’s been three since she was taken.
“I’ll find her.” Mitzy blows out a puff of air.
“And you need to rest.” Doc Summers enters the room. She watched everything from the doorway, but when we came up empty-handed, she moved purposely into the room.
Toward me.
