The Ark

31.

I scurried around my room, gathering up whatever clothes I could get my hands on. With each item I grabbed, I felt like I was recovering some of the pieces of myself that I'd lost in the turmoil of the last few days. 

Zaphron fidgeted with impatience at my bedroom door. "Which mountain is the lodge on?" he asked, drumming his fingers on the wall.

"Mt Latobius, in the Austrian Territory," I replied, stuffing hoodies, jeans and shirts into the duffle. I stopped when my boot connected with the black box I stored my jewellery in. I cracked the lid and found the contents all tangled inside. My bracelets and necklaces had knotted together, snaring other keepsakes in the process. I spotted a pair of gold earrings that matched the star pendant I still wore under my shirt—they were tangled around something.

A memory chip.

My heart stuttered in my chest for the briefest moment—until I remembered, I'd put that chip in there for safe keeping. It was an old back-up of photos and vids from when I was a kid.

Still—it couldn't hurt to double check it.

I found one of my academy tablets and checked it was still operational, then shoved it and the jewellery box into the duffle.

"What's the plan?" I asked, catching my breath as I met Zaphron in the doorway. His gaze was unfocused, as though he was using his MR.

"Just checked the route and the radar," he said, shifting focus from his overlays to me. "If we leave now, we'll have twenty minutes to search the lodge before we need to get back to Danse Macabre."

"Is that long enough?"

"It's better than nothing for now," Zaphron said, striding toward the front door with me on his heels. "I'd rather get a quick search done now—then go back if we need to after the storm. If we leave it out there, Zenith could get to it first."

I agreed. Following any leads as soon as we found them was the best way to keep ahead—but I also didn't want to get caught out in a supercell. "Don't you think we'll be cutting it close with the storm?"

He grinned at me over his shoulder. "I'll have us back in no time."

I swallowed. I didn't know what carried a greater likelihood—getting caught in the storm, or dying in a fiery crash when he inevitably wrapped the car around a pole.