The prominent scar over her cheek, the way she kept to herself, and especially Marty’s obsession with Peta, all pointed to a troubled soul with some buried trauma. While intrigued, Jason was also wary for the same reasons he worried about his own mental stability.
Focusing on the motley crew spread out on the floor of the helicopter behind Peta, Jason suppressed an audible sigh. Tyler was on what looked to be his fifth bag of chips, and was lying on his back with his feet propped up on the wall. Devon had cut the top off a water bottle and was shooting balls of waded paper into it, while Eddy stood stoically off the to the side, staring at his own feet.
Hernandez moaned, the helicopter dipped, and Peta’s alluring eyes widened in response, pulling Jason’s attention back to her. “We’re uh, not exactly the team I would have envisioned to be sent on a mission to save the world,” he muttered.
“Speak for yourself,” she bantered, standing. “I happen to be exactly where I’m meant to be.”
Jason wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, which only added to her mystery. “And where is that, exactly?” he asked, gesturing at the front window. “Other than on a perilous flight over some Venezuelan mountains, I mean. Why here? How did you come to be on this helicopter? Because the vague details Hernandez told me haven’t painted a very clear picture, other than you were involved in the study of the MOHO on some small island near the eruption.”
Peta’s eyes narrowed again and her nose scrunched up as she thought about how to answer him. Jason was left with the same impression Hernandez had given him, when they spoke about anything other than the scientific details regarding the prions and thermophile they believed to be at the Libi Nati. That there was more to the story, and for whatever reason, they were hesitant to share it. That could be a problem, and one he’d like to have resolved or clarified before they set off into the jungle on the last leg of their journey. “We’re going to have to trust each other,” he said, voicing his final thought.
Hesitating, Peta looked pointedly at Tyler before seeming to come to some sort of decision. Kneeling again, a flash of anger crossed her features and she breathed heavily. “Look, I don’t know what Hernandez has or hasn’t shared with you during your flight time up here, but some of it isn’t my story to tell.”
“Pretty much the basic scientific details, and a few intense stories about boats sinking, and helicopters crashing.” Jason grimaced. “Which, I might add, didn’t do a whole lot to bolster my optimism.”
Peta ignored the poor attempt at humor and leveled him with a serious expression. “To explain everything is going to take more time than I think we’ve got at the moment,” she said, gesturing to Hernandez and the looming jungle outside the window. “But I’ll tell you that personally, I discovered in the days after the MOHO eruption that the people I worked for had a direct hand in causing what’s happened. All of it. It doesn’t matter much that it was unintentional. I didn’t listen closely enough to the man leading the investigation, my mentor. If I had—” she looked away, and Jason again caught a glimpse of someone who had a weak hold on her façade of strength and control.
Steeling herself, Peta’s jaw set and her lips pursed into a grim smile. “I’ve been following this trail of bread crumbs down the rabbit hole ever since. And I’m not done yet. Not until I put it all together, and I believe the last piece to the puzzle is at the Libi Nati. It has to be.”
So, she was driven by guilt that she had somehow played a part in the literal destruction of the world. Jason could see how a person might want to keep that gem to themselves. But from what Hernandez had told him, and the other details Jason had already gleaned, he was pretty sure her guilt was misplaced, or least overstated.
As an alarm began to blare, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, then. I guess that means our crackpot team better nail this impossible landing and cross the three-thousand miles of jungle to the Libi Nati.” When she smiled, he couldn’t help but smile back. “The Mad Hatter awaits.”
Chapter 7
PETA
Near Barinas, Venezuela
The persistent ringing of an alarm interrupted the first real conversation Peta had managed with Jason. She had to admit that the guy surprised her. She’d expected him to be more…shallow.
“What is that?” she asked, her anxiety instantly ratcheted up several notches.
“That would be the sound of us running out of fuel,” Hernandez answered. She watched as he struggled to reach out to acknowledge the alarm, and Jason had to intervene and push the button for him. He was getting weaker, and seemed to be deteriorating faster by the hour.
Looking out the front window, she could see a vast expanse of jungle, and what might have been a thinning of trees and some buildings in the distance. A narrow ribbon of water cut a small swath through it and disappeared behind them. “Are we over the mountains?” She didn’t see the jutting peaks anymore, and everything below them appeared relatively level.
“Just barely,” Jason confirmed. He glanced nervously at Hernandez. “Whatchya think, boss? See a good spot to set this wheezing bird down in?”
Hernandez made an odd sound before dragging his head around to look at both of them. Peta gasped and quickly moved to help support him. The harness restraint was the only thing preventing him from falling onto the floor. “Eddy!” she called, not sure of what else to do. The guy was a doctor, and it looked like Jason was going to be busy
