By sheer luck, most of the BloodDark City women had eschewed their usual long dresses and bustles and instead dressed in sensible shoes and flowing split skirts for today's outing. The men had traded their customary flamboyant outfits of pantaloons and capes to blue jeans-like pants and loose-fitting tunics, the typical outfit of their former servants. Pure Bloods wore their broad-brimmed hats, long gloves, sunglasses and heavy sun block to protect their delicate skin. Olivia wondered how they stood the heat in such outfits, but they managed to keep up.
Halfway to their destination, Olivia slowed down and turned around to check their progress.
"Whew! We've created some good space between us and the mechanical locusts, but the mountains don't appear any closer." Hernando, are you on your way?
The answer came several long moments later. We found the land transports intact but experiencing mechanical difficulties. Valori persuaded our new friends to fix them.
North's personnel? Is Valori all right?
She's well and busy re-educating them. Not all are cooperating.
Olivia sensed he was holding back some pertinent information, but there was no time to fret about it. She smiled at her two young charges and picked up the pace again. How long will we need to stay in the mountains?
Find a safe and comfortable spot and stay until the airships return to the area. They can land and board passengers in the foothills as well as on the plain.
We'll have one big picnic. Most brought food and water, so we should be fine until then.
Olivia waited for several minutes for Hernando's response but there wasn't one. She didn't feel he was in any danger, and reckoned he was as distracted as she was, so she put it out of her mind for now.
Fifteen minutes later, they reached the slopes of the foothills skirting the taller peaks and stopped to rest. A low mesa located a hundred feet above them appeared to be an ideal location for their group to settle down and await rescue. She parted company with her two young friends and joined the other security personnel to search for a pathway leading upward to the site.
A narrow trail, looking about as wide as a thin Pure Blood matron, appeared to be their sole option. Its twists, turns and switchbacks were enough to give Olivia vertigo, but she put on a brave face and helped the others maneuver the treacherous route. She comforted her charges by explaining that the airships could land on the mesa's wide, flat surface; they would not need to travel this path again.
"Where is Hernando?" Annara asked Olivia as she sat on a low rock, resting after the long climb. The rear guard of security personnel had caught up with the head of the parade now sitting atop the mesa. "I couldn't see where he was in all the confusion, but he's not here, is he?"
"No, he went back to help the people who came by land transport." Olivia tried not to act worried, but fatigue and worry were catching up with her. "I'm sure he's fine, and the land transports are on their way."
Annara reached into her leather pouch, slung low across her hip, and pulled out her binocular-like goggles. She put them on and faced the command center, scanning the horizon for several moments. "Ah, I've spotted them. You'd think they'd make better time than we did on foot, but I see how the sandy soil is causing some issues with their treads. They are slower than a desert shell reptile. Would you like to see?"
Olivia stood and accepted the goggles, observing the approaching steam-powered vehicles. Something appeared off. "How many land transports were there altogether?" she asked.
"I believe six." Annara frowned. "I only counted five just now. How many do you see?"
"Five. One transport is definitely missing." Olivia spun the outer ring of the right goggle lens frame to sharpen the image. "Another thing is missing, too—I don't see any nanobots coming after them. The locusts appeared to have reached an invisible barrier of sorts and frozen in place."
Annara shielded her eyes with a hand and gazed across the horizon. "You're right. The evil chattering things have stopped—presumably at a designated radius from the command center. I suppose we didn't need to run so far to get away from them, but as you Earthers say, 'Better safe than sorry.'"
"Exactly. I'm glad we got all these people far away from that... whatever it is. I won't call it a protective device anymore." The missing land transport bugged Olivia. She tried hard not to jump to conclusions. "I suppose the sixth transport wasn't necessary, what with all the scientists and techs who stayed behind to stop the nanobots."
"True. Caveman and the others will need it to catch up with us in the airships." Annara narrowed her eyes as she observed Olivia's frown. "You sense something has gone wrong, though, don't you?"
Olivia forced a chuckle. "You don't believe in mind-reading and crazy psychic stuff, remember?"
"I don't believe in it, but I know you, Hernando and Valori do." Annara crossed her arms and tilted her head. "What are the voices in your mind telling you to do now, Olivia?"
Hernando? Valori? Everyone on foot has reached the hills, and those in the land transports are almost here. What should I do?
Olivia furrowed her brow, listening for a faint voice or any thought she'd know for certain came from her friends. Nothing.
Annara raised an eyebrow. "They're not answering, are they?"
"No, they're not." Olivia shrugged. "They're probably busy. I should keep busy, too. We've got a lot of people to watch out for up here, and more are on their way. My little running companions enjoy getting too close
