The video window faded to black.
Bonnie looked at Billy. “Can we wait?”
“Not sure.” Billy stared out the front windshield. “Carrying that load, it’ll probably take her about two hours to walk five miles.”
“Based on the illumination level,” Larry said through the lapel speaker, “that video was recorded roughly two hours ago. I assume Lois has been trying to send it for a while, but her battery is likely running low, and she is just now close enough to transmit it to me.”
“Look!” Marilyn pointed forward. Far down the highway, a woman trudged toward them, carrying something in her arms.
A dark creature dropped from the sky and blocked the view with a hideous face. Black wings beat against the windshield, and loud squeals created a muffled clamor.
Adam set the briefcase in Marilyn’s lap and snatched the rifle from the floor. “Billy. Ready to cook some drones?”
“Let’s do it.” Billy leaped up and grabbed Excalibur from Bonnie’s lap. “Mom, can you take the controls?”
“With pleasure.”
While Marilyn climbed into the pilot’s seat, Billy inhaled deeply and gazed at Excalibur. The blade glowed brighter with every second. “Let’s go.”
Adam stationed himself at the side of the door and disengaged the latch. Billy stood directly in front and pointed Excalibur. As drones continued screaming and beating against the jet, he nodded. “Now!”
Adam pushed the door open. A brilliant beam shot from Excalibur and knifed through the opening. The radiance immediately struck a drone and disintegrated it. Billy leaped out. Adam followed and shoved the door closed.
Still sitting in the copilot’s seat, Bonnie leaned forward and looked through the windshield. Billy limped past the jet toward Carly. After every few steps, he pivoted, swung the sword’s beam, and sliced through an attacking drone.
Adam dashed ahead of him, rifle in hand. Two drones followed and swooped. He dropped, rolled, and shot at them. One fell and flailed on the ground, but the other attacked Adam with swiping claws.
While Billy ran to help Adam, Carly backed away, now about a hundred yards down the road.
Marilyn pushed a lever. “Let’s get Carly.”
The jet eased forward, faster and faster. They passed Billy and Adam and continued accelerating.
“I’ll open the door.” Bonnie got up and squeezed her way out of the cockpit.
Catherine joined her. “No time for the stairs. We’ll lift her up.”
“Right.” Bonnie unlatched the door and looked at Marilyn. “Mom, tell me when you’re almost even with Carly.”
“Slowing down for pickup.” As the jet decelerated, Marilyn kept her hands tight on the controls. “Three … two … one … Now!”
Bonnie shoved the door open. She and Catherine reached out, grabbed Carly’s arms, and hauled her inside.
When they set her upright, Bonnie hugged her from the side. Her body shook hard as she ran trembling fingers along Lois, a metallic sphere the size of a basketball.
“You’re safe,” Bonnie whispered. “We’ve got you now.”
“Thank you.” Carly pulled away abruptly, slid to a rear-facing seat, and buckled in with Lois at her feet. As she stared straight ahead, her chin quivered. A drone smacked against her window and splattered blood. She gasped, then doubled over and sobbed. “When is it all going to end?”
“Just a few more seconds, Carly,” Bonnie said as she leaned out the door and looked toward the rear. Billy and Adam ran alongside the jet, Billy clutching Excalibur, and Adam holding the rifle. From behind, at least five more drones drew closer.
“Billy!” Bonnie shouted. “Should we stop?”
He waved a hand. “Keep going! If we stop, they’ll swarm us!”
Holding the door frame, Bonnie stretched out and extended a hand. Billy lunged, but his fingers merely brushed hers. She held the door with a wing and stretched farther. Barely a step in front of the jet’s wing, Billy limped heavily. The gap between their hands grew wider.
A drone dropped from the sky and landed on Adam’s shoulders. Just as it bared its fangs to bite, he twisted and whacked it with the rifle’s barrel. It fell back, but its claws stuck in his shirt. He toppled backwards to the pavement. The other drones closed in, only seconds away.
Bonnie launched from the door. Beating her wings as she flew low, she grabbed the drone by the throat and ripped it away from Adam. She then clutched his shirt and zoomed back, passing Billy. The jet slowed. Bonnie flew alongside the door and thrust Adam into Catherine’s outstretched hands.
Billy stopped, ducked under the jet’s wing as it passed by, and waved Excalibur at the drones. One of them slipped past the beam and swooped toward him. Bonnie reversed course again and streaked to Billy. She collided with him head-on and slid her arms under his. With a loud oomph, she barreled under the drone’s snatching jaws, then shot upward with Billy in her grasp, chest to chest.
As she flew toward the door, the drones gave chase. Excalibur’s beam flashed. Guided by Billy, it sizzled through one drone, then another. Both burst into sparks and disappeared.
Billy grunted. “Two more, but they’re flying at a higher angle. I can’t shift the beam to get them.”
“Just hang on.” Bonnie beat her wings harder. Again Catherine waited at the door as the jet rolled along the pavement.
“Clear out!” Bonnie shouted. “Billy! Switch off the beam!”
Catherine retreated from the door. Bonnie shot in, folding her wings at the last second. She and Billy tumbled into a sea of hands and arms. While the hands steadied her, Adam jerked the door closed and latched it.
Billy shouted, “Punch it, Mom!”
The engine revved. The jet accelerated. Catherine leaped into a seat while Billy limped to the copilot’s chair, his head low to avoid the ceiling.
Once everyone else had buckled, Bonnie slid into the seat that faced Carly’s and fastened herself in. She reached to take Carly’s hand, but the quick acceleration pushed her back and compressed her folded wings. Carly picked up Lois and held on, her expression blank, though her arms trembled as they hugged Lois’s metallic sphere.
A drone landed on the jet’s nose, its wings splayed against the windshield. It pecked at the glass with a pointed beak.
“Good-bye, buzzard,” Marilyn said as she pushed the throttle. The jet took off and angled sharply upward. The drone peeled away and disappeared.
While everyone caught their breath, Bonnie looked around. Across the aisle, Catherine faced forward opposite Carl, who sat with the potted plant in his lap. Adam sat behind them, his face slashed with several bloody stripes, though his stoic expression gave no sign of pain. He held Larry’s brain module in his lap. Blinking lights on the embedded monitor indicated that Larry was thinking about something.
As soon as the acceleration and angle eased a bit, Bonnie unbuckled and got up. Leaning over Lois, she embraced Carly. “It’s so good to see you again.”
Carly returned the hug. “Same to you. I’m sorry for my little outburst. It’s really been—”
“No, no, don’t worry about it.” Bonnie sat, rebuckled her belt, and counted the lesions on Carly’s face—one on each cheek and two on her forehead. They didn’t look nearly as large or deep as Oscar’s. Since they would soon be far away from the radiation, maybe she would be all right. “The crazy stuff we’ve been through is enough to make anyone—”
“Well, that was quite an adventure, wasn’t it?” Mardon strolled up the aisle, apparently unaffected by the acceleration.
Billy twisted in the copilot’s seat and pointed at Mardon. “Listen. You go as far back in the cabin as you can and sit in a corner. I don’t want to see your face for the rest of the trip. If I do, I’ll figure out some way to lasso your ghostly hide and throw you through the wall.”
“Very well.” Mardon put on a puppy-dog pout and walked backwards. “If you need my expertise, feel free to call on me.”
He lowered himself to the floor and sat in a shadow.
Billy turned toward the front and touched the dashboard’s GPS. “We’re on a course that’ll take us fifty miles north of the portal.”
“Why north of it?” Marilyn asked.
“In case we’re being monitored. We don’t want anyone to figure out our trajectory and locate it ahead of time. We’ll adjust when we get close.” Billy rose and limped into the passenger compartment, a first-aid kit in tow. “Who wants to be our nurse?”
Catherine raised a hand. “I’ll start with Adam. He looks the worst off.”
Billy grinned. “His face looks like he lost a fight with a deranged razor blade.”
“Something like that.” Adam unbuckled and stepped into the aisle. “That crazed buzzard also bit me on the back.” He lifted his shirt and turned. Two red-ringed holes marred his skin about midway up his back. “Stings like crazy.”
Billy glanced at Bonnie, then, keeping his expression upbeat, locked wrists with Adam. “You were amazing out there, like a human machine gun.”
“Avoiding venomous fangs is good incentive.” He staggered for a moment before grabbing the back of his seat. “I think … I think I feel sick.”
Billy helped him sit. “I was afraid of that. The venom can cause paralysis. When I got bitten, I couldn’t move a muscle.”
Bonnie unbuckled and joined Billy in the aisle. She whispered into his ear, “Maybe Mardon knows how to counter the poison.”
“I was thinking that, but asking him for help feels like choking down a pile of horse manure.” He let out a sigh. “Mardon? Have you been listening?”
Mardon rose and walked forward, his hands wringing. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind my eavesdropping.”
“What do you know about the drones’ venom?”
“I am unfamiliar with the chemical makeup of the venom in that particular species, but I am familiar with venom from two other demonic breeds. Since those two are similar to each other, it is fair to assume that this one has the same characteristics, especially since all three can cause paralysis.”
“Do you know how to make an antidote?”
“Maybe.” Mardon looked Billy over for a moment. “You say that you were bitten in the past?”
“Right here.” Billy touched a spot on his neck. “Bonnie, too.”
“Then you have antibodies, and with your dragon genetics, the antibodies should be able to survive the process of making an antidote.” Mardon looked past Billy at the other passengers. “Does anyone have nail polish? Clear would be ideal, but any color will do.”
“I have some.” Catherine dug into her purse and withdrew a small bottle of pink nail polish.
Billy took it and laid it in his palm. “Okay. What else?”
“Does the label provide the ingredients? I assume it has a solvent like ethyl acetate or alcohol. I am hoping that it doesn’t also have formaldehyde.”
Billy held the bottle close and squinted. “I don’t see formaldehyde listed.”
“Good. We simply need to withdraw some blood from either you or Bonnie, add the precise amount of nail polish, and heat the solution to eighty-two degrees Celsius for thirty seconds. Then we wait for the impurities to precipitate and inject the serum into Adam.”
“How long will that take?”
“Perhaps fifteen minutes to make the serum and thirty for Adam to begin healing. Of course I am assuming you have the proper equipment. If we have access to a glass syringe, we can heat the mixture in that, and we will need a source of heat.”
“I can provide heat,” Billy said, “but give me one good reason why I should trust you.”
Marilyn called from the cockpit. “Because if he’s lying, we’ll drop him off in a radioactive wasteland, and he’ll never get to Second Eden.”
“I trust him,” Adam said, his head back and his eyes closed. “He’s been helpful so far. Besides, the venom is already pounding my skull, and my fingers and toes are numb.” He licked his cracked lips. “Let’s do it.”
“Good enough for me.” Billy rolled up his sleeve. “Let’s get started.”
Mardon set a finger on Billy’s vein, but it passed right through. “I will need an assistant who is familiar with blood-drawing procedures.”
“I can do it.” Bonnie opened the first-aid kit. “I’ve seen it done to me enough times.”
Billy tightened his fist, making his veins distend. “While we’re doing this, let’s get everyone up to date on what’s going on.”
For the next several minutes, Billy and Bonnie recounted their adventures—Billy getting captured by Tamiel’s soldiers, Bonnie riding with Matt and Darcy until Arramos kidnapped her, and the rest of the details concerning the seven doors. When Bonnie told the story of Lauren’s death and Matt’s departure to search for a way to resurrect her, the cabin fell silent except for heavy sighs and gentle weeping.
During the tales, Bonnie found an antibiotic ointment in the first-aid box and applied some to Carly’s lesions. She cringed during the application but offered no complaints.
After a few moments, Marilyn spoke up from the pilot’s seat. She told how Jared sought transformation and became a tiny plant and explained their quest to root him in Second Eden’s birthing garden. For Billy’s sake, she added the most recent events—Bonnie catching Mark only to lose him and Shelly to the Enforcer’s bullets.
Again everyone grew quiet. The death of an innocent child and his mother felt like an anchor that weighed down every heart.
After Mardon guided Billy and Bonnie through the serum-creating procedure, Bonnie injected the final product into Adam’s arm and attempted a perky tone as she swabbed the site with a gauze pad. “I transluminated Shelly and Mark to keep the drones from damaging their bodies. I hope it was the right decision. We didn’t have a candlestone to collect their light.”
“Like I said at the time …” Catherine reached from her seat and stroked Bonnie’s arm. “God will collect their light.”
Billy clasped Adam’s shoulder. “Just rest and let us know if you need anything.”
He nodded weakly. “Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but my toes aren’t so numb anymore.”
A hint of a smile crossed Mardon’s face, but he quickly tightened his lips and backed away. “I will excuse myself. Kindly let me know if you need my help again.”
“One question,” Billy said, lifting a finger. “Do you know if Arramos has any idea where the portal is?”
Mardon nodded. “Tamiel forced me to aim the nuclear missile at a Midwest location, though the target later changed. I intentionally designed the navigation system to miss the original target by a considerable margin, just in case.”
Billy looked at Bonnie. “That might be the old portal where the helicopters attacked and killed Legossi.”
“We’re not going there,” Bonnie said. “So we should be safe.”
“True, but we’ll assume they’re monitoring us. We’ll be ready for hostile company.”
“A wise strategy,” Mardon said as he glided toward his corner. “Again, if you need further assistance, let me know.”
Billy limped toward the cockpit, Excalibur in his grip. “I’d better get some rest.”
“You need it.” Bonnie capped the half-filled syringe and returned it to the first-aid kit. “I’m going to get some rest, too.” She walked to her seat opposite Carly, partially spread her wings behind her, and buckled in.
Carly pulled an earbud from her ear that ran to Lois’s spherical shell. Pale and bleary-eyed, she smiled. “So, to get back to our reunion … How are you doing?”
She gave Carly a weak smile of her own. “Tired. But that’s my new normal.”
“I have to admit you’re not as perky as I remember.”
“I’ve been through a lot. I would probably get exhausted just telling you about everything.” Bonnie yawned. “I think I need a hundred-year rest.”
Carly’s smile brightened. “The last ti
me I sat with you was on a train from Montana. Before that, on a school bus. Now we’re on a jet together. What’s next?”
“A dragon?” Bonnie yawned again. Her vision blurred. “Maybe when we get to the portal site, we’ll ask Thigocia—”
“Bonnie. I’m sorry.” Carly held up a hand. “Don’t talk. Let’s just sleep. I think we both need it. We’ll talk more later. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things you wrote to me in your letters. I mean, before you went to jail. And I want to make sure we’re both fresh when we talk about them.”
“Perfect. I’d love that.” Bonnie closed her eyes. As she drifted toward sleep, Carly’s words echoed—before you went to jail. Images flashed to mind, troubling images—the prison cell that held her captive for so many years; Enforcers ripping her twins from her arms; Matt’s determined face as he descended into the abyss; and, worst of all, Lauren’s dead body, limp within a makeshift halter.
Sleep held sway. The images animated into a dream. Accompanied by Darcy, Matt carried Lauren into a cylindrical room illuminated by scarlet light pulsing from a column in the center. The scenes accelerated, at least three times normal speed. A dark-skinned woman with four arms opened a window in a wall, revealing Listener and Sir Barlow. Darcy suddenly vanished. Then Matt climbed through the opening, and the window closed.
The scene slowed. The four-armed woman walked toward another part of the curved wall. The pulses covered her in blood-red wash. She disappeared, then appeared again, instantly progressing a few feet with each reappearance. She looked like a scarlet-cloaked ghost filmed by a night-vision surveillance camera.