Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Author:Nathan Hystad [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2021-05-03T16:00:00+00:00


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I accepted Tripp’s extended hand as we exited the crack in the limestone wall, and I lay on my back a moment, letting my heartrate slow with a few deep breaths.

“That was incredible,” Veronica said. She was bent over, resting her hands on her thighs, and she smiled at me.

I climbed to my feet and looked back in the direction we’d just emerged from. The stone forest covered a vast area, and I peered past the rocks to the forest, where Marcus would be waiting with Hunter and Haja.

“Any chance we’ll be able to return before nightfall?” I asked Hasin, and he nodded, surprising me.

“Maybe. We have made good time.” The Malagasy man stretched his back and cracked his neck. “The trail is easier before it grows more difficult.”

“You’ve been here before?” I asked.

“Once.”

I didn’t press him. We took a brief break, and I drank deeply from my canteen before stowing it. My protein bar went down quickly, and soon we were on the trail, only a mile from the final destination.

Tripp lingered behind the guide, and Veronica switched positions, chatting amiably with Hasin.

“She’s quite the piece of work, isn’t she?”

Tripp’s comment could have been rhetorical, but I answered anyway. “She sure is. How can someone be so chipper after a climb like that?” My own legs were tired, but the thought of obtaining a Token fueled my motivation.

Tripp stared forward, his steps like robotic marches. “I don’t trust her.”

“Why?”

“She just happened to be at the hotel, and she conveniently had an airplane secured on the coast? It doesn’t add up,” he said.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Marcus and I had discussed this exact thing, but it wasn’t like we’d had time. I had a job to go home to, and Hunter was adamant we locate the Tokens soon. I thought about the Believers tracking me and remembered the dangers that awaited us if we failed.

“Hunter wouldn’t have listened. He’s so hell-bent on finding this Bridge, whatever that is. When this is done, and you all realize it’s been a huge waste of time and resources, let me buy you a beer and tell you where it went wrong,” he told me.

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m forty-nine, Rex.”

Tripp looked older and younger at the same time. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything. I’ve never slowed down, and Hunter has made it clear that if this mission is a success, I won’t have to work another day in my life,” Tripp told me.

“And what does the future hold for Tripp Davis?” I asked, genuinely curious. A thick white cloud slowly moved above us, giving us reprieve from the midday sunlight.

“I’m gonna buy a place along the Baltic sea. Fish and grow a garden. Maybe meet a nice woman.”

“Sounds pretty great,” I admitted.

“What about you?”

“I have a job.”

“No plans for retirement? I’ve spent my entire existence taking orders from other people, and I finally want some freedom of choice. And maybe the odd nap on a hammock overlooking the ocean.” He laughed, the sound a little off-putting from the grizzled veteran.



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