chosen ones would be immortalized and their names would be remembered forever. He told them how their brave actions would result in the Springs finally destroying the Hills, how they would take over their resources and survivors, if there were any, and how the people of the Springs would grow in strength. He heard from all of them, choosing the three most fanatical in his mind, and took them into his grand hall to be prepared for when the moon was at its fullest as he ignored the wails of mothers outside.
Chapter 26
DECISIONS
“I still say we should put more pods out to try and catch these things,” I said to the small team assembled for our priority project.
“By my calculations,” said Dr. Bill Tremblay, the resident weather expert, “we still have three days before the next full moon, and even then, there’s no guarantee that they will come here from what I’ve heard.”
“Annie?” I asked, not because I didn’t believe Bill who was placidly calm about the whole thing, as though science grounded him, but because I wanted a second opinion to back him up.
“I concur,” Annie answered, “with both the assessment of the lunar cycle and the uncertainty of The Swarm’s movements.”
“Which gives us time to visit this Hot Springs place and talk,” Hendricks interjected.
“I’ll come with you,” Amir chimed in, eager to find something to do as he seemed to fade more into obscurity every day. Hendricks nodded at him.
“At dawn then?” he asked the group. “From what Harrison told us, there’s maybe thirty miles of rough ground to cover which could take us most of the day.”
Agreement all round, I felt it was my responsibility to be the voice of negativity.
“And if you don’t come back?” I asked carefully, silencing the group as they glanced between the assembled faces.
“I’ll take myself and two of the team, and Amir, and the rest will stay here. Annie, will we have comms over that distance?”
“I’ve been working on that,” she answered instantly, “by using drones as relays, I can piggy-back the communications network to give you coverage. I’ll need you to wear cameras linked to your radios so that I can provide real-time intelligence.”
“Done,” Hendricks said, “anything else?”
Nobody answered, and we put back on our public faces to show that everything was okay before we rejoined the others for the evening meal. Hendricks gestured for Stevens and Geiger to join him, with Amir hovering by his side. Deciding to take advantage of my unique position, I walked away alone and muttered down to my radio.
“Annie?”
“Private channel open, how can I help, David?” she answered in a hushed tone.
“Can you open Hendricks’ mic to me?” I asked conspiratorially. A double tone gave me my answer, and Hendricks’ voice crackled into my earpiece.
“… get there, you two stay away from the town and keep our weapons. We go in and talk to them. Annie will tell you if we have to stay overnight, but if they are hostile then don’t waste any time; just get back here.”
“You sure you wanna go in unarmed, boss?” I heard Geiger’s voice ask.
“I don’t want to complicate anything by showing them weapons,” Hendricks answered. “It’ll probably be bad enough just being there with radios but I’m not going in blind. Annie? Can you keep eyes on us if a drone is out of sight of the town?”
“Hang on,” she whispered in my earpiece.
“Yes,” she said aloud in a more authoritative voice, “effective wireless range of a drone is up to one mile. With variables in terrain and atmospherics, I should be able to link to your personal equipment without a drone being detected.”
“Thanks,” Hendricks answered.
“I’m back,” Annie whispered to me again, making me smile despite myself as she seemed to be enjoying herself playing spy.
“Okay then,” Hendricks said, “at dawn. And keep this to ourselves.”
With that, the radio crackled again which I took as indication that the connection was disconnected.
“David?” Annie asked, drawing out my name in a comedic voice which was both reprimanding and amused. “Wasn’t it you who told me that I wasn’t allowed to eavesdrop?”
“Actually,” I said, intentionally making my voice peevish but still keeping it low, “I believe I told you that you shouldn’t eavesdrop on people and tell others what they said …”
She was silent for a few seconds, either thinking about her response or following a speech pattern that entailed a dramatic pause, before answering me.
“I believe that is semantics,” she corrected me, “and you just broke your own rules.”
“For