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Back The Long Sunset Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Prologue
  5. 1.
  6. 2.
  7. 3.
  8. 4.
  9. 5.
  10. 6.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 9.
  14. 10.
  15. 11.
  16. 12.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.
  20. 16.
  21. 17.
  22. 18.
  23. 19.
  24. 20.
  25. 21.
  26. 22.
  27. 23.
  28. 24.
  29. 25.
  30. 26.
  31. 27.
  32. 28.
  33. 29.
  34. 30.
  35. 31.
  36. 32.
  37. 33.
  38. 34.
  39. 35.
  40. 36.
  41. 37.
  42. 38.
  43. 39.
  44. 40.
  45. 41.
  46. 42.
  47. 43.
  48. 44.
  49. Epilogue
  50. About the Author
  51. Copyright

“I don’t think he realized we couldn’t do it too.”

•  •  •

They corrected their position, lining up with the other group of trees, which Hutch now recognized. There was a broken branch near the top of the one in the middle. She’d forgotten. They found the lander within a few minutes. It lay on its side, barely visible in the opaque light. “So why are we going to all this trouble?” Hutch asked. “Can you guys recover this thing?”

Again, she got the giant smile. Hutch scanned for damage. The drive units looked okay, as did the skids, the wings, and the antigravs. One of the antennas was bent, but they could fix that easily enough. If the cabin hadn’t filled with water, they should be all right.

When she was satisfied, they returned to the boat. Ken explained to Arin that everything looked good, as far as they could tell. Arin happily waved his left arm in the air. He went into the cabin and came back with a shirt. He approached Hutch and held it near her face, apparently measuring something. He made marks on it and thanked her. He returned the shirt to the cabin, came back out, opened a storage locker, and removed a buoy. He attached a small anchor to it and put it over the side.

“What was the shirt all about?” asked Hutch.

Ken asked Arin but apparently couldn’t understand the explanation.

26.

I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.

—Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, 1851

Hutch, you awake yet?” It was Beth’s voice.

“I guess,” she said. “Something wrong?”

“Arin’s here. He wants to take us to the beach.”

“This early? Why?”

“I don’t think it’s actually early. We had breakfast a while ago. But I don’t know what it’s about. He’s telling Ken there’s something we’d want to see.”

“I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

She should have asked whether they were wearing the bathing suits. But how else would you dress if you were headed for the beach? When she got downstairs, everybody was waiting for her, including Kwylla. But apparently, no one else was planning on going in the water. She excused herself, hurried back to her room, and changed.

When she returned, Kwylla handed her a couple of buns to stave off her appetite. Then she followed everybody outside. Arin had, somewhere, picked up a second car. He would drive one; Kwylla got behind the wheel of the other. “What’s happening at the beach?” she asked.

Ken shrugged. He got into Kwylla’s car, and Hutch joined him. “It feels,” he said, “as if we’re headed for a party, but I don’t think Arin would normally throw one of those on a beach. But if it helps, time’s an issue.”