old girl some more or we won’t get another mile.”
“I’ll tell Duncan we move out in thirty,” Jack said, heading out of the shed with Tyler.
Gonzales looked at Jack. “You think you can get our cargo loaded by then?”
“No problem,” he said. “I bet she’ll be ready in twenty-eight.”
“You’d lose that bet, Jack. Never knew a woman who didn’t like to keep men waiting.”
“Not Eva. If Lang’s not ready, she’d probably start off without us.”
“Twenty bucks says you’re wrong,” Gonzales said.
Jack snorted. “You already owe me thirty.”
“Then make it fifty, and you’ll owe me.”
Tyler paused to turn up his collar. “You know the first thing the major told me when I joined the team, Gonzo?”
“Probably something about not spending all your time looking at yourself in a mirror like Duncan.”
“Besides that,” Tyler said.
“Not standing between Gonzo and a grilled steak?” Jack asked.
Tyler looked from one to the other. “I never heard about that. What happened?”
“I’m a man of strong appetites,” Gonzales explained. “So what did Redinger tell you?”
“Never bet against Jack.”
Jack punched Tyler in the arm as they moved outside. “Well, junior, there’s hope for you yet.”
Eva tried to run faster but couldn’t seem to make her legs work. Grandma’s farm was at the end of the road, past the hill with the red barn and the big silo. It was already dawn. The sun rose low and golden on the horizon, sending her shadow stretching like a giant ahead of her. What was she doing outside so early? She should be home in her own bed with the nursery-rhyme quilt and the stuffed horse with the floppy ear she liked to rub between her fingers. She must have gotten lost. If only she could get over the hill she would be able to see the orchard. She could find her way home then.
Yet her feet were too clumsy. The hilltop was getting farther, not nearer….
“Dr. Petrova?” Someone shook her shoulder. “Ma’am, you need to wake up.”
Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. She tried, because she wanted so badly to see over the hill….
“Ma’am, we’re moving out.”
The man’s voice slid into her dream. She strained toward him. He would help her. She knew he would.
“I’m sorry,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. His voice grew closer. She could feel his breath on her cheek. “I know you’re tired, Eva, but you can go back to sleep when you get on the truck.”
The sun, the shadow and the hill dissolved into the smell of wood smoke and the shuffling of booted feet.
For a few cowardly moments, Eva didn’t want to move as she hung on to the last fragments of the dream. She hadn’t had it in years, yet there had been a time—after she’d gone to live with her father—when it had come almost nightly. It had been her last connection to her home in a world that had turned suddenly alien. How many times had she screwed her eyes more tightly shut and tried to return to the dream because it had hurt too much to wake up?
But Grandma’s orchard was gone. Everyone was gone. Eva had learned years ago that she wouldn’t find them again no matter how fast she ran.
“Ma’am?”
Eva finally blinked her eyes open.
Sergeant Norton was leaning over her. Snow crystals shimmered from his hat and his coat. Beyond him, Colbert was using a stout stick to break up the embers that remained on the hearth. The only light came from the lamp that was on the table. The electronic equipment that had been there earlier was gone. So were the bundles of Katya’s supplies.
“We only have a few minutes,” the sergeant said.
Eva’s pulse kicked as she came completely awake. Katya was still sleeping beside her, nestled on Eva’s coat and tucked into the curve of her body. She put her hand over the baby, fear chasing away the last traces of sleep. “Are Burian’s men coming? Did they find us?”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. We’re fine. We’re leaving so we can get
“I’ll tell Duncan we move out in thirty,” Jack said, heading out of the shed with Tyler.
Gonzales looked at Jack. “You think you can get our cargo loaded by then?”
“No problem,” he said. “I bet she’ll be ready in twenty-eight.”
“You’d lose that bet, Jack. Never knew a woman who didn’t like to keep men waiting.”
“Not Eva. If Lang’s not ready, she’d probably start off without us.”
“Twenty bucks says you’re wrong,” Gonzales said.
Jack snorted. “You already owe me thirty.”
“Then make it fifty, and you’ll owe me.”
Tyler paused to turn up his collar. “You know the first thing the major told me when I joined the team, Gonzo?”
“Probably something about not spending all your time looking at yourself in a mirror like Duncan.”
“Besides that,” Tyler said.
“Not standing between Gonzo and a grilled steak?” Jack asked.
Tyler looked from one to the other. “I never heard about that. What happened?”
“I’m a man of strong appetites,” Gonzales explained. “So what did Redinger tell you?”
“Never bet against Jack.”
Jack punched Tyler in the arm as they moved outside. “Well, junior, there’s hope for you yet.”
Eva tried to run faster but couldn’t seem to make her legs work. Grandma’s farm was at the end of the road, past the hill with the red barn and the big silo. It was already dawn. The sun rose low and golden on the horizon, sending her shadow stretching like a giant ahead of her. What was she doing outside so early? She should be home in her own bed with the nursery-rhyme quilt and the stuffed horse with the floppy ear she liked to rub between her fingers. She must have gotten lost. If only she could get over the hill she would be able to see the orchard. She could find her way home then.
Yet her feet were too clumsy. The hilltop was getting farther, not nearer….
“Dr. Petrova?” Someone shook her shoulder. “Ma’am, you need to wake up.”
Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. She tried, because she wanted so badly to see over the hill….
“Ma’am, we’re moving out.”
The man’s voice slid into her dream. She strained toward him. He would help her. She knew he would.
“I’m sorry,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. His voice grew closer. She could feel his breath on her cheek. “I know you’re tired, Eva, but you can go back to sleep when you get on the truck.”
The sun, the shadow and the hill dissolved into the smell of wood smoke and the shuffling of booted feet.
For a few cowardly moments, Eva didn’t want to move as she hung on to the last fragments of the dream. She hadn’t had it in years, yet there had been a time—after she’d gone to live with her father—when it had come almost nightly. It had been her last connection to her home in a world that had turned suddenly alien. How many times had she screwed her eyes more tightly shut and tried to return to the dream because it had hurt too much to wake up?
But Grandma’s orchard was gone. Everyone was gone. Eva had learned years ago that she wouldn’t find them again no matter how fast she ran.
“Ma’am?”
Eva finally blinked her eyes open.
Sergeant Norton was leaning over her. Snow crystals shimmered from his hat and his coat. Beyond him, Colbert was using a stout stick to break up the embers that remained on the hearth. The only light came from the lamp that was on the table. The electronic equipment that had been there earlier was gone. So were the bundles of Katya’s supplies.
“We only have a few minutes,” the sergeant said.
Eva’s pulse kicked as she came completely awake. Katya was still sleeping beside her, nestled on Eva’s coat and tucked into the curve of her body. She put her hand over the baby, fear chasing away the last traces of sleep. “Are Burian’s men coming? Did they find us?”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. We’re fine. We’re leaving so we can get
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