The Alien Element (Translocator Trilogy Book 2) by M.G. Herron

Author:M.G. Herron [Herron, M.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

23

DREAMING AND DREADING

ELIANA WAS SICK of airplanes. She typed and retyped six drafts of a long message to Amon before deleting it while she waited for the plane to depart. As the plane lifted into the air, she noticed the woman seated next to her in the pantsuit and fancy hat was leaning away from Eliana, holding her sleeve to her nose. Eliana lifted her shirt and sniffed quietly, inhaling a perfume of musky sweat mixed with loamy earth. She smelled like a rancid jungle.

Eliana chuckled bitterly then reached down and shifted the bag holding the new set of soil and rock samples under the seat in front of her, trying to ignore the woman’s wrinkled nose and disgusted expression.

A proper shower had been elusive these past few weeks. Enough time in the jungle and you forget you need to do anything more than wash the dirt from your skin with a wet washcloth, only to be soaked in sweat again immediately. Perhaps she should shower before she went to confront Amon. He would probably be more receptive to her ideas if she didn’t smell like something a dog would want to roll in.

The flight passed quickly as she considered what angle to take with him. Would he be receptive to her after the prolonged silent treatment? It wasn’t like him to hold a grudge, but this was different. Maybe she should have sent that message after all. She checked the wifi fees and scoffed. Twenty-five dollars for an hour of wifi on the plane was robbery. Forget it.

Eliana had always had a rebellious streak. If he didn’t want to help her, if he continued to be unreasonable, she would do what needed to be done on her own. Go behind his back if it came to that. One of his engineers would help her. Reuben, or maybe Jeanine.

She hoped it didn’t come to that. Her options now felt so limited. Eliana had to go back to Kakul. It was the only way to confirm her discoveries. Once Lakshmi and Talia and Tanner had seen the full carving that Eliana had found with Ross, they all agreed with that assessment.

“And we’re coming with you,” Lakshmi had said.

“That’s right,” Talia chimed in. Tanner and Ross both nodded, one like a bobblehead, the other stone-faced and serious. They planned to follow her back to Austin tomorrow, after they finished labeling and photographing the new site in detail. That would give Eliana a chance to work on Amon, and arrange a time for them all to go through the machine together, to continue their search.

The air in Austin was blessedly cool, if you could believe that for central Texas; eighty degrees felt like standing in a walk-in cooler compared to the jungles of central Mexico most of the year.

Eliana drove her car home and unlocked her front door around 11 PM. She felt her shoulders and neck bunch up involuntarily as she entered her home.

“Amon?” she called, her voice echoing in the empty foyer.

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