Free Counterattack by Sigmund Brouwer Page B

reached the other side of the mountains, moving into the western half of New Mexico and finally into Arizona, the red rocks and brown valleys reminded me in a small way of Mars.
    When I thought of Mars, I thought about Mom. I wondered if she knew somehow that Dad was in trouble.
    And I thought about Dad.
    Especially of the fact that, including today, there were only four days left of our countdown.

    â€œThere’s the Parker Dam!” Nate pointed out the window to our left. “And downriver, the town of Parker.”
    He banked the airplane as I checked the map. To our right, a long, narrow lake bounced brilliant blue light from the reds and browns of the desert. This was Lake Havasu, formed by the Parker Dam. On the other side of the dam, the Colorado River was a snake of blue winding through more desert reds and browns. From the air, the town of Parker appeared to be a neatly laid grid of miniature houses.
    â€œAnything look familiar yet?” Nate asked Ashley.
    When we had stopped last night, Ashley and I had agreed that we at least had to trust Nate enough to fill him in on a few details. Then he might be able to help us pinpoint our search. And so we had.
    Ashley shook her head. She hadn’t spoken much over the last few hours. I wondered if she was afraid to return to the place where she had spent most of her life. Now it would seem like a prison to her. But then—among the others who, like her, had been in the Institute as long as they could remember—she didn’t know any other kind of life. Then her life had seemed normal.
    â€œI’ll take us in a few circles,” Nate said. “I know things look different in the air than from the ground, but you never know.”
    All Ashley had been able to tell us last night was that the children could see a strange tall mountain peak from the open area where they were allowed to play. She said all the kids had called it the Unsleeping Soldier because it looked like it guarded them.
    Twenty minutes later we were still circling. The red mountains threw dark shadows into deep canyons.
    â€œI’m going to have to take us down,” Nate announced into our headsets. “We’ll find a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow we’ll drive around in a rented vehicle and keep looking.”
    Tomorrow. One more day closer to the deadline.
    â€œHang on!” Ashley shouted. “There!”
    Sure enough, one of the peaks did look like a tall, skinny man.
    â€œThere?” Nate repeated.
    â€œThere!” Ashley insisted.
    â€œCheck it out, Tyce.” Nate motioned toward the map.
    I studied the map briefly, then circled a place with my pencil. “Makes sense. Abandoned military base,” I said, reading the map. “No trespassing.”
    â€œExactly. I think we’ve found it,” Nate said enthusiastically. “First thing tomorrow, we’ll check it out.”
    Which would have been a great plan.
    Except as we were watching TV in our motel room late that evening, there was a sharp crack of breaking glass.
    I caught a glimpse of a small ball as it tumbled across the floor.
    Nate dived for it, but it was too late.
    The flash of light and the boom of the explosion came at the same time.
    And when the bitter smoke hit my face, I gagged once, then sank into blackness.

CHAPTER 19
    I woke up in my wheelchair with a dry mouth and a slight headache.
    A breeze came in through the broken window. It was still dark outside, and the clock in the motel room read 3:15 a.m. The TV was still on, with the volume turned down. Its dim glow showed that Nate had been duct-taped to one chair. He was blinking himself awake too. Ashley lay on the floor, where she had fallen out of her chair in front of the TV. She was still unconscious.
    A large man in army fatigues stood against the door. Shaved bald, he had a square face with a bent nose. The neuron gun in his right hand was pointed at Nate. “You’re getting soft and old. I