BooksBarbecue
Back The Utopia Experiment Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Title Page
  2. Welcome
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. 65
  69. 66
  70. 67
  71. 68
  72. 69
  73. 70
  74. 71
  75. 72
  76. 73
  77. 74
  78. 75
  79. 76
  80. Epilogue
  81. About the Authors
  82. The Covert-One Novels
  83. Newsletters
  84. Copyright

It was less than a minute before they came upon the first mounds, their size and shape making it impossible to mistake them for anything but the unmarked graves they were. As they continued, the mounds grew in width: couples buried together. Then they expanded into what looked like whole families. A few of the graves had wooden markers with fading Korean lettering, but most of these people would face eternity in anonymity.

Kyong pulled a flowering vine from one of the markers, looking down at it with a mix of sadness and anger. “I’m the only one left. The only one who remembers.”

“What do you remember?” Randi prompted.

“When the people stopped returning or were brought back to us dead, we no longer volunteered to go. Starvation was better. After that, they just took us. The trucks would come at night. Parents would stay in their homes and send their children to hide in the forest until the soldiers were gone. The worst time was going back to your house. Not knowing if anyone would be there.”

He paused for a moment, lost in the past. “Eventually, I was the only one left. And they came for me too. But I knew the area and I had an ability with languages so I survived—but only if I worked for the people who destroyed everything I ever knew.”

“When you buried the bodies,” Smith said. “Did you look at them? What killed them?”

“Some had shaved heads and scars. Some had little holes in their skull that we didn’t understand. Others had nothing. They were just dead.”

Kyong swept an arm around the improvised graveyard. “This is what you’re looking for, Dr. Smith. This is Division D.”

58

58

Hamgyong-Namdo Province
North Korea

ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, KYONG?” Jon Smith said.

The Korean nodded weakly, using the question as an opportunity to bend at the waist and take in a few deep, ragged breaths.

They’d been forced into the wilderness when the military’s search intensified and foot soldiers had been deployed to find where they’d turned off the road. According to Kyong, there was a large village twenty kilometers to the east where his last surviving relative—an aging aunt—lived. In the plus column, she apparently had no love for the government and would probably be willing to help to the degree she could. In the negative column, fifteen of the twenty kilometers were through a rocky, overgrown mountain range devoid of trails.

The Korean started up the steep slope again, staying close to a stream flowing from the snow line in order to avoid the tangled foliage on either side. Randi gave him an optimistic grin that turned to an expression of deep concern once he’d passed.

“We’re less than ten kilometers into this,” she said quietly to Smith. “And we haven’t even gotten to the hard terrain yet.”