CHAPTER 25

They’d been there for two long, lazy days. Nicole hobbled around with a makeshift cane, keeping the fire going, getting water, and fixing simple meals. Other than that, they rested on their bags, letting the sunlight warm them as they talked, or lay silent, or dozed off and on. Even Cricket seemed content to take a day off from her wide-ranging explorations to let her body mend.

By unspoken agreement, Nicole and Eric never approached the topics of conversation that laid bare so much emotion and conflict. The Major, Travis, implantation—all were tacitly avoided. Instead they talked of life in the valley, of life before Termination, of what life was like for a girl growing up in Shalev.

This was a side of Eric that Nicole had not seen before—relaxed, pleasant, often showing a wry humor. She sensed the warm affection he had for his family and the steady but pleasant life of the village. And she realized more and more why this eagle had so hated the chains of bondage.

Now, as dusk settled in, she almost wished they didn’t have to leave it all tomorrow, go back to face the pain, the choices, the conflict.

Suddenly Eric rolled over and pulled up into a sitting position with a grunt of pain. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand up.

“Eric? What is it? What do you need?”

“I’ve got to get up.”

“Why?”

“It’s sundown. I’ve got to call the others. They should have a new base camp set up by now. Where’s the radio?”

“It’s with the other stuff. Can’t it wait until morning? You’ll be stronger then.”

He was up now, grimacing with the pain. “No, we set sundown as the time for calling. They won’t be listening any other time. I should have called the night before last, before they moved, but neither of us was functioning very well then. I couldn’t get them last night, so I’ve got to try again. They’ll be worried sick about us.”

She sighed. “Sit down, I’ll get it for you.”

Nicole’s foot still hurt, but she managed to drag the heavy radio to him, then sat down and stared into the fire.

He flicked the switch, waited a few moments for it to warm up, and pressed the mike to his mouth. “Home Base. Home Base. This is Eagle One. Do you read me?”

The radio crackled in response almost instantly, as the rich, deep voice of a woman came through. “Eric, is that you?”

“Mother? Yes, this is Eric. How is everything?”

The relief in Madeline Lloyd’s voice was evident even through the tinniness of the speaker. “Thank heavens. Where have you been?”

“Nicole and I had a slight run-in with a bear. We were kind of out of it, but—”