In My True Element

Chapter 24

"How many days has it been?" I hear Simon ask Daren.

"No idea. With the sun always up, I've lost track of the time. I actually miss darkness, can you believe it?"

"Yep, I hear you."

After our five-minute truce, Ilana and I haven't talked much, except for when it was absolutely necessary. She pretends I didn't say anything. I give her the needed space to finally realize that I'm right and she's wrong.

I take a look at our new camp and a chill passes through me. Something is not right. This place is dangerous and every fiber of my body tells me that we have to get away from here as soon as possible. Yet no one seems to share my feeling. Everyone is busy settling in and making sure we spend the night safely.

"If it continues like this, we'll run out of food. We don't have much left."

Davidson is standing next to Ilana. They're close enough for me to hear their conversation.

"Yes, I know." She sighs. "But we've almost reached Dome Argus. Earlier today I talked to Nick; our plane with more food and clothing is already there waiting for us."

"It sucks that we can't just use the plane and fly around this forsaken place."

"Yeah, Brackwick wants to be thorough. And I understand him; on the plane we might easily miss the right place."

Ilana's eyes shift to me and then back to her fingers. "Okay, everyone. Let's call it a day. You have six hours for sleep; use them wisely."

Everyone is so exhausted from the constant cold, tons of clothes, and the inability to take a shower that they don't have to be told twice. They go into their tents and immediately fall asleep.

But my inner voice tells me that I should stay awake. I can't go to bed, at least not yet. There is some danger lurking behind... what... a corner? There are no corners here. There are almost no people here and a chance of bumping into anyone is one in a million. Maybe it's the wind that for the last couple of hours has been gaining strength. Most likely that's the reason for my uneasiness and nothing bad will happen tonight. Still, my mind rebels against the idea of sleep. I decide to stand guard, just in case. Until I'm sure it's absolutely safe.

About two hours later the reason for my anxiety is standing no more than a mile away. I can see them, glaring our way, ready to attack.

With every bone in my body I know they've come here for me and for Ilana. And they'll kill us if we don't get away from here as soon as possible.

There's no time to waste, so I burst into Ilana's tent and put my hand on her mouth to muffle the cry. Her eyes flap open and she stares at me, unable to understand if I'm a reality or a part of her crazy nightmare.

"Be quiet. We have to run." I try to pull her up, but she pushes me away.

"Are you crazy? What's happening?"

"They're here to kill us; we need to run. I'll explain later." The panic has fogged my mind and made it very difficult to think or explain myself. But eventually I manage to pull Ilana out of the tent. Our snowmobile is standing next to my tent and I tow resisting Ilana there.
"Who wants to kill us? Where are my men?"

Woken up by Ilana's demand for an answer in a situation where no seconds can be wasted, her soldiers one by one start appearing from their tents.

I turn to Davidson and scream, "They're after us! You have to stall them! I'll get Ilana away from here!"