I turn to look at Josh, who’s watching River with hurt in his eyes. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
River frowns. “What?”
Josh walks away and climbs into the passenger seat of the chopper.
“Get inside,” Buck tells us.
“I want to sit next to Josh,” River says.
“The pilot sits next to him.” Buck climbs inside and shuts the door.
River wraps his arms around himself, breathing heavily.
“You died, River,” I say softly. “We mourned you—Josh more than anyone. You shouldn’t act like it’s just something that happened.”
He wipes his eyes and climbs inside. I sigh and follow him with Timothy.
“Put the headsets on,” Buck calls from the front. “It’s gonna get loud.”
With my headset on, I take deep breaths and reach for Timothy’s hand, more worried than I thought I’d be. The chopper begins to rumble as the propellers start to spin. It’s bumpy when we leave the ground, but it gets smoother when we fly south. I lean to look out the window. The sight of the wide, green world is breathtaking. I can even see other settlements in the distance. Timothy climbs carefully above my legs to see as well.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been so high!” he calls. “I used to fly for my work. You would have loved London, Finn. Well, maybe not the food. Or the weather.”
I wish that Caden were here to see this. He would’ve likely asked to pilot the chopper. But this journey is for him, and everything we discover will be used to get him back.
River doesn’t speak during the hour it takes us to get to Pueblo. He barely even glances from the window. When we see the city getting closer, I’m amazed by how many industrial structures are located in one area. Old factories cover the landscape, not far from where people used to live in rows of private houses. I have no idea how the hell we’re supposed to find anything useful out here. We can spend days walking around in the hopes of coming across anything connected to Hector.
“One of the bombs hit south of here if I remember correctly,” Timothy says.
I squint to have a better look. In the distance, I notice that some of the structures are heavily damaged, as if a massive wind blew parts of them away.
Buck brings the chopper lower, making it easier to see the industrial part of the city. Everything seems deserted, with vegetation covering most of the old structures.
“Right.”
I look at River. “Did you say something?”
“Yes. We need to fly right. I… I feel something.”
I’m the last person to doubt him, so I turn around and shout, “River says we should fly right! He senses something.”
Buck gives a thumbs up and sways the chopper to the west. River watches through the window with intent, and I do as well, though I only see more factories and old warehouses.
“Can you still feel it?” I ask.
River nods. “Something is calling me. It’s… strange.”
“You think it’s dangerous?”
“I don’t know.” He narrows his eyes, and I follow his gaze until I see it too.
“Do you guys see it?” Josh calls.
“Yes!” I call back. “It’s… glowing.” It’s coming from an old chemical factory with a lot of pipes and cooling towers. A massive, flat structure stands at the center of the compound, and unless my eyes are fooling me, there’s a yellowish glow coming from inside it. It almost feels as though it’s pulsing—changing from bright to dim at the pace of a heartbeat.
Buck brings us lower, and the pulsing light increases in speed, as if to signal us in excitement. Or maybe in warning?
“Should I land?” Buck calls.
