“No.” Of course she didn’t know how to use it. She had a strange idea that Dr. Yang would not approve of her carrying a weapon. The thought made her smile.
“All you do,” Dylan said, taking the pistol from the holster and placing it in her hand, wrapping her fingers around it, “is aim and squeeze the trigger.”
“But don’t unless it’s an emergency,” Milo added, “because likely, they’ll hear the shot from headquarters.”
She looked at the weapon in her hand and frowned. She’d read about weapons. She didn’t like the idea at all. “I couldn’t kill anything,” she said.
“If it’s an animal, then just aim over its head or to the side. The noise should be enough to frighten it away. If it’s a person…” He gave a shrug. “You must decide for yourself.”
She forced a smile. “Thank you. I’ll be fine.”
“Then we’ll be off.” He pushed the flashlight into the loop on her belt. “So you can see where you’re going. Now we must go show our faces so people don’t think we’re hiding.”
She nodded but her chin wobbled.
Dylan patted her arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after him for you,” he said.
Milo rolled his eyes but then gave her a nod and turned to go.
Destiny held herself very still as they walked away, disappearing into the forest and leaving her alone in the dark night. Free.
Chapter Fourteen
“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Destiny stood for a while after they’d vanished. The night was warm, but she hugged her arms around herself.
They’d promised to come back.
But would they?
What did she really know about them? Nothing.
Finally she moved, turning full circle. Behind her lay the entrance to the tunnels, and she fixed that in her mind—if she got lost then Milo might never find her. Directly ahead was the glow of light from the buildings on the island. She walked toward it, taking a direct route through the trees. They were not much taller than her, with thick trunks, the bark silvery in the dim light. The leaves were small and pale green. She’d read books about the flora and fauna of Earth, but she didn’t recognize these. Though that wasn’t unexpected. This wasn’t Earth.
She walked for a few minutes until she came to the edge of the trees and ahead of her was the lake, silky smooth without a ripple, a reflection of the yellow moon in the still water. This was the widest part of the lake and no sound managed to cross the space between her and the buildings on the island.
Were they looking for her?
Was Dr. Yang worried? She felt a pang of guilt at that, but only for a little while. She moved out of the trees and across the stretch of gray sand. At the water’s edge she hunkered down and trailed her hand in the water. It was cool but not cold and she waggled her fingers.
A sharp pain shot from her fingertip and she reared up, falling back on her bottom. Something had bitten her. She stared at her fingertip and could make out the shape of teeth indented in her skin. No blood, though, as the skin wasn’t broken. She edged closer again and stared into the water. Silvery round bodies of some sort of water animal swam just below the surface. More like a fish, she decided.
Lowering her finger again, she watched as the fish swam around it. Maybe she’d frightened them more than they had her. She held her breath as one nudged her hand with a silver snout.
Good.
She wanted to swim in the lake—though maybe not tonight—so better to make friends than enemies.
Standing up, she wiped her hand down her pants, then with one last look at the island, she turned and headed back the way she had come. She found the tunnel entrance with ease but was reluctant to go back. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the ground. Closing her eyes, she just listened. At first, she thought everything was silent, but the longer she sat, the more she noticed the subtle sounds of the forest. A rustle in the undergrowth, the faint cry of some bird high above her, a leaf dropping from a nearby tree.
A sense of peace washed through her.
Her mind cleared of all the tension she hadn’t even known was there. And as her mind cleared, she became aware of the anger buried deep down and rarely acknowledged.