Chapters (160)

A smiled curled the corners of Yuri’s mouth. “You think that’s possible?”

“I believe we’re witnessing the beginning stages of a technology explosion that will someday make anything possible.”

“What if I told you that the technology you’re describing is already in development?”

“Is that what Citium is building?”

“Among other things.”

“What sorts of other things?

“Projects that would interest you. Projects that would give you what you so dearly desire: purpose, the potential to truly change this world. Are you interested, Desmond?”

“Yes.”

They spoke for almost two hours. At the end of their meeting, Desmond committed to come to London, where more details would be revealed.

As he was walking Yuri to the door, he asked, “What’s it called? The device you’re building?”

“The Looking Glass.”

Day 11

5,200,000,000 Infected
2,000,000 Dead

Chapter 75

The Red Cross plane flew through the night, over the Atlantic, toward the Shetland Islands, roughly a hundred miles north of mainland Scotland.

Over Spain, Avery had made a tough decision: to fly around Great Britain and Ireland. They had been lucky that no planes had intercepted them while crossing Continental Europe; she was less optimistic about flying over the UK. But going around meant burning more fuel, so it was a costly gambit. As the southern tip of Shetland loomed, fifty miles away, the plane’s engines began sputtering. She wiped her palms on her pants, depositing the nervous sweat. She gripped the yoke and disabled the autopilot.

As she began their descent, she realized fuel wasn’t their only problem. Or their biggest.

In the passenger compartment, the sound of the sputtering engines woke Peyton. She lay in a sleeping bag on the plane’s floor, facing Desmond.

He was looking back at her.

The engines sputtered again. The plane was descending rapidly.

Desmond realized it too; he stood, gripped the back of a chair, pulled himself toward the cockpit door, and threw it open.

Peyton followed close behind. In the pilot’s seat, Avery was frantically twisting dials on the instrument panel.

In her headset, she said, “Scatsta ATC, do you copy?”

Through the plane’s windshield, Peyton saw a wall of white. The cloud broke, and she got her first glimpse of the ground: dark green rolling hills, poking through a blanket of thick fog.

The night sky was streaked in shades of bright green and blue. She’d never seen anything like it. It took her breath away. She knew what she was seeing: the Aurora Borealis. It seemed to be pointing their way, fighting a losing battle with the fog.

A wind shear hit the plane. Peyton lost her balance and fell into Desmond, who steadied himself with one hand and caught her with the other. Instead of releasing her, he kept his arm around her, gripping her shoulder, pressing her body to his.

“How’s it going, Avery?”