Dissonance - Book One

thirty-five

"There's been an...incident."

"What kind of incident?"

"The kind you're not going to like. Roberts and McLaughlin are dead."

"How did that happen?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but I know they made contact with the girl prior to their deaths. They radioed it in at 2100 hours."

"And the girl?"

"From what we can tell, she got away."

"Do we have any sort of location on her?"

"Not exactly, just a general area. We think the storm carried her pretty far south."

"So two agents are dead and the girl is missing. You're doing quite the bang up job Captain. At this rate, you'll be stripped of your title by morning."

"I wouldn't do that quite yet sir. We have leverage."

"Leverage?"

"The friend. We have her."

"Well that's something at least. Bring her to me. And in the meantime FIND THE GIRL!"

***

We've been walking for miles in soaking wet clothes trying to make it to the road, any road. My entire body aches, especially my shoulder. It took quite the beating when I was clinging to Wyler's arm, holding on for dear life. I heard a snap when the tree lodged itself in between the crevasse, and it occurs to me that my shoulder might be dislocated, but I can't bring myself to look, plus Wyler would probably force me to stop and rest and that's the last thing we should be doing right now. I'm shivering and my teeth are chattering, but there's no time to stop. It's cold, but not freezing. We can make it through the night.

Luckily our clothes and skin are covered in mud, which allows us to blend into the darkness. If there's someone following our tracks, it will be hard for them to spot us. The mud will also serve as protection for our skin once the hot desert sun rises. The cold is miserable, but hiking through the desert with no water or shelter when temps reach upwards of 100 degrees this time of year, might kill us. Our only choice is to continue pressing on through the night until we can find help. The problem is, I'm not sure anymore who we can trust.

We've been walking in silence for at least an hour, both of us either speechless or too afraid to speak. I'm happy for the quiet. I need to wrap my head around what just happened. When this all first started, that day at school, it felt like the whole world was spiraling out of control, but none of it feels random any more. It's...personal.

"Do you know who those men were?" Wyler says, breaking my train of thought.

"No," I reply, trudging through the dark. I keep my eyes to the ground, watching every purposeful step, hoping one of them doesn't land me on a rattlesnake.

"They knew your name Ever."

He sounds irritated, as if I'm keeping something from him.

"Do you know how?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." It was the same thing I had been wondering.

"Ever, think. You have to know."

"Look," I say, stopping in my tracks and turning back towards him. I don't know why he's badgering me. "If I knew, I would tell you, but I don't, so I think we need to shut up, keep moving and focus on finding help before the sun comes up."