Midnight City: A Conquered Earth Novel (The Conquered Earth Series) by J. Barton Mitchell

Author:J. Barton Mitchell [Mitchell, J. Barton]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 2012-10-30T06:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

MIDNIGHT CITY

28. SOMETHING

IN HIS SLOW, PAINFUL RETURN TO CONSCIOUSNESS, Holt glimpsed the world through strange vignettes of imagery that came and went and were punctuated with blackness. As unpleasant as they were, he preferred the waking moments to the unconsciousness, if only because in that confused, detached blend of sights and sounds, he wasn’t dreaming. The dreams had become more vivid than ever. He knew where they were leading him … and he didn’t want to go there.

As the blackness receded, he pushed the fog and the haze away. When he opened his eyes, he blinked at the brightness of the world. He was in a small room made completely of polished wood. The ceiling was rounded and smooth, everything blending seamlessly together, and the bed he was on seemed to have been built out from the wall. There was a wooden chest at the other end, and a small stained glass window—maybe from an old church—allowed colorful streams of light to float in the air.

And he noticed something else, too. The room rocked occasionally, shaking and jarring. It felt like the whole thing was moving.…

“Hey, Hawkins,” said a voice he recognized. “Thanks for joining us.”

Holt looked to his left and saw Mira sitting on the floor next to his bed, watching him. He wondered how long she’d been there. The idea of her protectively looking over him was both pleasing and discomforting.

“Where are we?” he asked, slowly sitting up. He regretted the movement almost instantly. His head swam and there was a burning pain along his left ribs. Now that he was moving, he could feel the sticky restraint of fresh bandages around it. Someone had treated an injury, and with the realization came the memory of the plasma bolts and the world spinning as he crashed down.

“Might want to take it slow, killer,” Mira said, noticing his pain. “You took a nasty hit. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.” Her voice was laced with a hint of concern. “You’ve been out a good twenty hours. We’re on the Wind Shear,” Mira continued. “It’s taking us to Midnight City. Zoey’s up with Max on the deck.”

“The Landship from the trading depot?” Holt asked, remembering he had been running for it when the green and oranges had appeared. The rest of his memories were hazy at best. It explained the rocking motion of the room. “You got their … whatever it is fixed?”

Mira smiled. “The Chinook, yeah. They traded for a bad Focuser at the depot. I had another one, helped them rebuild it.”

Holt cradled his head, letting the pain and the dizziness pass. And then something occurred to him. Something bad. “Midnight City,” Holt sighed.

“Yeah,” Mira replied. “I know it’s the opposite direction you were hoping to go, but I figured you’d prefer that to being left behind.”

He looked up at her. “Guess you’ll do anything to keep me around, huh?”

Mira smiled. “It’s possible you’re flattering yourself right now.”

Holt looked away, thinking. It meant a longer trip for him, and more chances of running into Menagerie along the way.

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