quickly.”
“Can I talk to you?”
When Kate and David were alone in the bedroom, he said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?”
“We’ve been living next door to a Jurassic Park snow globe for two weeks, and you never bothered to mention it?”
“Well, I didn’t… think it would come up.”
“Unbelievable.”
Kate sat on the bed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry, okay. I mean, didn’t you ever wonder why the lander was so big? Sixty square miles?”
“No, Kate, I never really stopped to contemplate why the lander was so big.” He paced the room. “I feel like Sam Neill in Jurassic Park when he realizes the raptor cage is open.”
Kate wondered what part of the male brain prioritized movie scene storage above all other details in life. Maybe the answer was in the Atlantean research database somewhere. It was all she could do not to launch a query for the answer.
“Is there another arc?”
“Yes,” Kate said. “The ship had two—one on the other side for balance—that’s why 1701-D was attached. But the other one, which was destroyed thirteen thousand years ago, is empty. It would have contained an Earth arcology.”
“The wooly mammoth/saber-toothed cat exhibit?”
“Something like that,” Kate said dryly.
“Sorry, it’s been a rough day.” David massaged his eyelids. “Between your news and… I thought Dorian and Ares were contained…”
“If we can get to the beacon, and contact help, whoever sent the message, we can turn this around,” Kate said. “There is one more issue.” She read David’s exasperated expression and spoke quickly. “But I think we can handle it. The arc access doors are jammed. Alpha can’t open them.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure. It could be the arc locking them down, preventing access, or something else.”
David nodded.
“What do you want to do?” she asked.
“We don’t have a choice. We grabbed as much food as we could from up top, but it won’t last. We have to try to reach the beacon—for our sake and everyone else’s. We’ll blow the arc doors open and take our chances inside.”
Thirty minutes later, David and Sonja were placing the last of the explosives on the door that led to Arc 1701-D.
“This is half of what we have,” Sonja said. “If it’s not enough, we won’t be able to get out.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” David said.
They set the timer and retreated.
The echo of the blast was deafening, even far from the explosion. The group of six cautiously approached the dust cloud that spread out, filling the corridors on each side of the arc door. The beads of light at the floor and ceiling glowed through the gray-black cloud, guiding their way.
When David got his first glance at the arc door, he first felt relief: the explosions had punched through. But that was all the good news.
C HAPTER 17
My world is dying , Dorian thought as he watched the storms over the sea form, rage, and fade just as quickly.
The flight had been like riding a roller coaster for hours: one second the plane was plummeting, diving into the dark unknown, the next it was coasting, sunlight shining through the windows. He and his six soldiers were strapped in tight, and no one had said a word since takeoff. Three of the men had thrown up about an hour in. Two still dry-heaved every fifteen minutes or so, when the turbulence was especially bad. The other three stared straight ahead, gritting their teeth.
At least he knew whom he could depend on now—when the fight began. And it would start soon. Somewhere under the vast sea that consumed more and more of his planet, David Vale was waiting on him.
Dorian had almost killed David twice—once in Pakistan, again in China, and Dorian had killed him twice: both times in the Atlantean vessel in Antarctica. The first time, David had resurrected in Antarctica, directly across from Dorian, thanks to David’s Atlantis Gene, which Kate had given
“Can I talk to you?”
When Kate and David were alone in the bedroom, he said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?”
“We’ve been living next door to a Jurassic Park snow globe for two weeks, and you never bothered to mention it?”
“Well, I didn’t… think it would come up.”
“Unbelievable.”
Kate sat on the bed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry, okay. I mean, didn’t you ever wonder why the lander was so big? Sixty square miles?”
“No, Kate, I never really stopped to contemplate why the lander was so big.” He paced the room. “I feel like Sam Neill in Jurassic Park when he realizes the raptor cage is open.”
Kate wondered what part of the male brain prioritized movie scene storage above all other details in life. Maybe the answer was in the Atlantean research database somewhere. It was all she could do not to launch a query for the answer.
“Is there another arc?”
“Yes,” Kate said. “The ship had two—one on the other side for balance—that’s why 1701-D was attached. But the other one, which was destroyed thirteen thousand years ago, is empty. It would have contained an Earth arcology.”
“The wooly mammoth/saber-toothed cat exhibit?”
“Something like that,” Kate said dryly.
“Sorry, it’s been a rough day.” David massaged his eyelids. “Between your news and… I thought Dorian and Ares were contained…”
“If we can get to the beacon, and contact help, whoever sent the message, we can turn this around,” Kate said. “There is one more issue.” She read David’s exasperated expression and spoke quickly. “But I think we can handle it. The arc access doors are jammed. Alpha can’t open them.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure. It could be the arc locking them down, preventing access, or something else.”
David nodded.
“What do you want to do?” she asked.
“We don’t have a choice. We grabbed as much food as we could from up top, but it won’t last. We have to try to reach the beacon—for our sake and everyone else’s. We’ll blow the arc doors open and take our chances inside.”
Thirty minutes later, David and Sonja were placing the last of the explosives on the door that led to Arc 1701-D.
“This is half of what we have,” Sonja said. “If it’s not enough, we won’t be able to get out.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” David said.
They set the timer and retreated.
The echo of the blast was deafening, even far from the explosion. The group of six cautiously approached the dust cloud that spread out, filling the corridors on each side of the arc door. The beads of light at the floor and ceiling glowed through the gray-black cloud, guiding their way.
When David got his first glance at the arc door, he first felt relief: the explosions had punched through. But that was all the good news.
C HAPTER 17
My world is dying , Dorian thought as he watched the storms over the sea form, rage, and fade just as quickly.
The flight had been like riding a roller coaster for hours: one second the plane was plummeting, diving into the dark unknown, the next it was coasting, sunlight shining through the windows. He and his six soldiers were strapped in tight, and no one had said a word since takeoff. Three of the men had thrown up about an hour in. Two still dry-heaved every fifteen minutes or so, when the turbulence was especially bad. The other three stared straight ahead, gritting their teeth.
At least he knew whom he could depend on now—when the fight began. And it would start soon. Somewhere under the vast sea that consumed more and more of his planet, David Vale was waiting on him.
Dorian had almost killed David twice—once in Pakistan, again in China, and Dorian had killed him twice: both times in the Atlantean vessel in Antarctica. The first time, David had resurrected in Antarctica, directly across from Dorian, thanks to David’s Atlantis Gene, which Kate had given
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