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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

“What could it be that we haven’t seen a thousand times before?  Some giant political scandal?  Corruption?  A love child?  Coming out of the closet?  What?”

She almost grinned but gradually became serious again.  “Whatever it is, it must pale in comparison to hurting children.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know.”

“Which means that it has to be the children, then.  We just don’t know how.”

“Or why?”

“Or why,” he acknowledged.  “Bringing us back to the beginning.  If it’s not some kind of sexual exploitation, then what is it?  And why are the kids coming back, like the woman said, mentally broken?”

48

48

Eshe’s small hands suddenly grasped the arms of her chair when the Nextant 400 jet descended through a layer of unexpected turbulence, immediately followed by another jolt that caused the young girl’s eyes to widen with fear as she glanced at the other children directly across the narrow aisle.  All were just as frightened as she, clutching their seats with hands like vices.

Another giant shudder gave a sensation of sway in the plane’s tail, causing two of the children to emit an audible whine.

Panicked, Eshe leaned out and stared forward, spotting both the doctor and the man next to her, both with heads down and seemingly unconcerned at the plane’s sudden movements that felt to Eshe as if it were going to crash.

The man’s name was Badawi.  Middle-aged, bald and muscular, he calmly swayed back and forth with the aircraft before finally opening his eyes when his phone vibrated inside the pocket of his black pants.

Smoothly and barely moving, he reached down, ripping open the Velcro strap to retrieve it and reading the message on the small screen.

How long?

Badawi instinctively glanced at his watch, then out through a nearby window, seeing a vast stretch of Cairo’s city lights passing slowly below them.

He typed back.

10 minutes.

It took only a moment for his phone to buzz again.

Report immediately.  Job waiting.

With no reaction, Badawi tilted the phone and pressed a side button, darkening the screen before sliding the device back into his pocket.

Next to him, the doctor was still reading through pages of typewritten data on her screen.  She was completely unaware of the turbulence from the jet’s giant turbofan engines audibly winding down.  Nor did she seem to notice the children worriedly staring at her from their facing seats.

There was nothing she could do.  The landing was always frightening for them.  If not the turbulence, then the abrupt impact of the runway until the aircraft’s braking came to an end and the shaking gave way, allowing the craft to roll smoothly forward.  Years of experience had taught her the best thing she could do was to remain calm and simply let them experience it.  In the end, it was constructive conditioning for them and would make what was coming next a little easier.