Chapter 10

Leo yelled into the comm. as he drove, the dust pluming in a thick cloud around the land rover as it bounced passed Cooper's Praise.

The response had come through in garbled bits; barely enough to identify Laura on the other end, but enough to know that she was ok.

If he were human, he'd be cursing.

With a sigh he tossed the comm. in the empty seat beside him and sped up, heading towards the caves that Peter had reported and in the faint hope that that's where Laura was.

The ridge loomed ahead as he drove on, his heightened reflexes keeping him from losing control, racing at top speed over the rough, desert terrain.

Leo shook his head and reached for the communicator again and dialed Laura's frequency and smiled when her voice came through clearly. "Ah, Laura. I've been trying to reach you, there's-"

The doctor cut him off. "Leo, you have to get here fast! We're at Peter's cave and we're in trouble!"

Leo looked out through the windshield and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be there soon. I think I see you, now."

Laura looked around and finally spotted the growing dust cloud in the distance, chuckling lightly. Raine cocked his head and looked over to her, still holding the corporal tightly in his arms. "Is that Leo?"

Laura nodded. "I never thought I'd be happier for his paranoia!"

The jeep bounded closer and Leo pulled up next to the ruined rover that the trio had used earlier. With a perplexed gaze he glanced over to Laura, already helping Raine put the unconscious Laing into the backseat, before climbing in with her.

Leo cleared his throat. "What's going on?" He looked down at the soldier. "What's that on her face?"

Laura shook her head. "Just drive! I promise I'll explain later, but for now we gotta go."

Leo nodded and put the jeep in gear, taking one last look at the other vehicle as he put his foot to the floor.

Over the roar of the engine, Raine perked up from the passenger seat, once again cradling the shotgun. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I never wouldn't have left it wasn't important, but there are company guys crawling all over the place. They were asking questions about you, Raine."

Laura leaned forward and rested her arms on the back of the driver seat. "We know. This soldier was with a group that we ran into."

Leo shook his head. "Not marines. They're scientists. They've quarantined Farhaven and a few of the nearby settlements. They're not letting anyone leave. I snuck away to come find you."

The woman sighed. "Did they say anything else to you?"

Leo nodded. "They were also interested in Peter's findings. One of the 'suits' said they received his last transmission."

Laura looked over to Raine, thinking long and hard. Something didn't fit. "How did they get here so fast from Gateway? That message was only sent a few days ago."

Raine turned in his seat and nodded, understanding. "Yeah, there's no way. Unless they were already en route, even before I got here."

Laura held her gaze with him and sighed again. "Is there anything else you remember?"

Raine shifted his gaze downward and turned back to face forward. He felt Laura's slender hand grip his shoulder lightly and he shrugged. "It's all vague, but I do remember a military ship. I don't know where we were, for all I know we could've been dry-docked. Other than that, I remember a dead soldier… and a gun in my hand."

Laura fought against the welling emotions that rose inside her and for once envied Leo. Synthetics never trusted or distrusted anyone, loved or hated. They just analyzed the facts. They never felt shame or disappointment. But she wasn't an artificial person.

Cynthia chuckled, sitting in the personnel bay of the dropship, looking through the doorway and over to the large, metal hex-containers that held her precious cargo. Ethan entered a moment later, his boots clanking as he clambered up the boarding ramp.

He stopped in the open doorway, partially blocking the woman's view. "What are we going to do about this speck of dirt town?"

Cynthia blinked slowly, annoyed at the interference of her daydreams. "They don't know anything so for all I care we could just leave them. As for that robot… have you located him?"

Ethan shook his head. "He took off too fast for us to track him. It's been quite a while though so I expect he'll be back."

The woman ran a hand through her hair. "And what about the rest of the marines?"

"No word. Probably dead out in the desert; or maybe even the nest. So far we've found the only survivor."

More boots rattled against the metal ramp and Ethan turned, his mouth hanging wide. Two security officers carried a woman – a soldier – inside, with a parasite locked around her face.

Cynthia waved them passed, pointing to the far end. "Quickly, get her in the freezer!"

Shouts followed as a small group was escorted inside by her remaining men and the scientist smiled. "Well Ethan, you were right. And he's brought some friends."

Laura struggled against the grip of two of the officers and glared at Cynthia as she was forced into one of the other cryotubes. "What are you doing?"

Ethan smiled and dashed up front to the cockpit, slapping the pilot on the shoulder. "We're all aboard. Let's go."

Well here it is… the plot thickens. Anyhow, sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been busy. Next chap soon!

-Nate