The Focus Effect

Twenty-six

I wake at dawn and rouse JD from his restless sleep. For the first time I can see more than just shadows and dark silhouettes.

JD goes to Mara and carefully removes a bag from off of her shoulder. He then picks up a stone, one of many piled along one side of the cavern. "I want to bury her."

I nod and help him begin the work of carrying stones to Mara and we gently bury her where she lays. When we finish some time later, the mound is about waist high to me. JD has done his best to arrange the stones so they are in concentric oval layers, like tiers, building up to a single stone on top. It's quite lovely, actually, considering the medium he had to work with.

I'm a few feet behind JD when he leans down and rests his hand on the mound. "Be at peace, Mara Piper," he says. "I'll come back for you. I promise." Then he bows his head in silence for a moment. When he's finished, he walks away, leaving me alone with her.

I take a step towards her rocky grave, my hands folded solemnly and say the only thing I can think to say. "I'm sorry, Mara," I whisper. Unzipping my bag, I search through it to find the blue grounding ring and place it gently on the top rock. I'm not sure why I do this. If I could cover her in flowers I would.

I find JD on the other side of the cavern waiting for me. "Did Doctor Sue provide you with a map?" he asks, all business now.

"That and a GPS," I inform him. What I want to tell him is how sorry I am for his loss, that things will get better. But I'm not sure I believe this myself. Whatever I say will never be enough so I say nothing.

"The GPS batteries will only last for a couple of days. It'll help us to get our bearings, though. The map will be one of our most valuable assets out there," he explains.

"Do you want it?" I reach for my bag.

"Not right now," he says standing up and slinging Mara's bag over his shoulder.

We look at each other for a moment. I'm not sure either of us wants to be the first one to say "let's go".

"What do you think is going on up there?" I nod skyward at the hole above us.

He shakes his head. "Kingshire's men have got to be combing the perimeter."

"I haven't heard any choppers since last night," I offer. "Maybe they've given up the search," I add hopefully, although I know it isn't true.

JD smiles and shakes his head. "That kind of wishful thinking will get us killed, Hannah. You know that." His words aren't meant to be harsh. The smile on his face hints that maybe he was thinking the same thing.

"JD, there's something that doesn't make sense to me."

"What's that?"

"If Kingshire hasn't been able to track us using the implants, how was he able to release the neurotoxin? I mean, both signals would require to be relayed by a satellite, would they not?"

He brushes his hair out of his eyes and contemplates my question. "Yeah, they would," he finally answers, still thinking it over.

"So?" my question is drawn out, beckoning more of an answer.

"So..." he scratches his chin, clearly on to something in his mind. "The nanochip is a fairly new technology. The software for monitoring the implants hasn't quite caught up with all the possibilities offered. Not that it can't be done, it just hasn't been high on Kingshire's 'to do' list. The software allows for manual monitoring of individuals, meaning that a person would have to sit in front of a computer and search the database for someone's location or vitals. There are currently no settings that allow for an alarm to be raised should someone go missing or die. I'm sure that a software update will take priority after yesterday's incident."