The Deathless Trilogy

3.10. Sunshine Eyes

2 days still until we leave for Virginia. 20 days until Roberts' crew lands. And Daniel is missing.

No note as to what he's doing or what he was thinking running away, but I try not to let my imagination get the best of me. I focus on Dad, who hurries to pack survival gear and food for the two of us in preparation for our trip. The two of us are Daniel's search and rescue team.

Dad plans to stay back with Eleanor, who is so panicked from realizing her son is missing that she's experiencing pelvic cramping. Dr. Guzman came with Julian to check on her, which Celia, of course, approved of, and they decided to move her onto the Immortal, just in case Dr. Guzman has to run tests.

"Isla," Mom calls from the lake. He's ready to go.

I hug Dad and Declan who have been hovering around me as if I might collapse at any moment. "I have to go. Will you two be alright while I'm gone?"

Declan nods, his arms crossed in front of him with worry. "Are you going to be alright?" he asks.

I nod, and Dad pulls me into his chest for one more hug. "Find Daniel and bring him home," he says.

I give them both kisses on the cheek before running to meet Mom by the lake. Earlier, Meg told us that Daniel took a pod claiming he had my permission. When we get back, I will need to establish protocol for borrowing pods with written permission only. Luckily, Daniel took one of pods that still contains a working tracker chip. Declan gave us a GPS tracking device to use to find Daniel, so with our supplies ready, we move quickly to our pod.

As we pass Meg, she apologizes again. I mean to tell her to relax, but I'm so busy freaking out inside, I forget to actually say it. Daniel is usually reliable. I would have believed him enough to let him go too.

Mom starts the pod with a turn of the key, and it silently awakens. "We'll get him," Mom says. "Don't worry."

I take a deep breath to loosen my muscles. "Okay. Let's go." She begins to drive the pod north, where the GPS shows Daniel is parked. A mile out from where the estate's ashes now lie. Again, I try not to let my imagination get the best of me.

While Mom drives, I count the white dashes on the road as they zoom beneath us. Mom has tried to initiate conversations a few times, but with everything on my mind, I could barely even process what she was saying. Around the Wyoming state line she gave up trying, and I started counting the lines in the road.

As the sky shifts from pink to violet, we approach a pine forest. The pod Daniel took is parked outside of the line of trees, door ajar, and no Daniel. Mom stops our pod beside Daniel's with a jerk.

"What do we do now?" I ask, my voice trembling.

She thinks for a moment, and then I hear a loud gong. Now I know why Daniel's here. I know exactly what he's doing: He's destroying the rest of his gamma ray detectors out here. Another gong sounds, and both Mom and I turn our heads to the woods.

"That explains it," Mom says. She must recognize the sound.

Gong.

"I think I can stop him again. Is it alright if you wait here, though? I need to talk to him alone."

She nods. "I'll be right here."

Gong.

Mom reaches into the back seat and retrieves something silver. She turns on the pod's overhead light for me to get a good look at it. It's the slingshot she and Declan made for me to use in the bunker attack. She straps it to my arm for me. "If you need to shoot him again, don't actually shoot him with the pellets provided. Use a stone again. The pellets are just in case."