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IF THE ROAD WAS TREACHEROUS during the day, it was deadly at night. The wheels ground against rocks Nel forgot were there, and the oil pan scraped against the ridges more than once. Finally, they shuddered to a halt at the edge of the site.
“Fuck.” Nel killed the engine and sat back. “This is gonna suck.” Half a dozen figures stood arrayed across the entrance to the site. They were silhouettes against the star-studded sky, but Nel caught a glimpse of moon-lit armbands.
Lin’s mouth thinned. “This might be more complicated than I hoped.”
“What do you need to do? Not including kicking their asses.”
“Those stones are magnetic. I need you to electrify this place.”
“If you burn my goddamn site, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Lin snorted. “I wouldn’t have anyways.” She patted the duffel at her feet, never taking her eyes off the array of Los Pobladores. “I’ve got flares. Special ones. I need them attached to those rocks. All you need to do is flip a switch.”
“Like a bomb?”
“Yeah, but I promise it won’t screw up your stratigraphy.” She shoved the bag into Nel’s hands. “I’ll distract them.”
Nel glanced at the men, then back at Lin, then down to her glove-weapon. She tentatively offered her hand.
Lin took it and squeezed. “You ready?”
“Ready.” Lin swung herself out of the Jeep, hand outstretched before her. “This is getting ridiculous, Sepulveda.”
“You think I actually wanted this? You’re less astute than I thought.” Emilio's voice was low, woven with tension.
Nel watched as Lin approached. Emilio stood stiffly, arms loose at his sides. At gunpoint, then. “I didn’t come to stop you, I came to help you. Clearly the rest of these imbeciles have other plans.”
“Clearly you need to choose your company better. Duck.” Without changing her tone, Lin swung her arm up, her other hand rising to steady her wrist as light and sound burst into the air. Nel clambered out of the Jeep, dragging the duffle behind her. She dropped to the ground and edged around the car. Los Pobladores may have been guarding the entrance, but she knew these hills as well as they did. The trek overland seemed to take forever, the boom of Lin’s weapon echoing off the hillsides as the glow swelled then faded. Nel crested the hill and broke into a jog. The dirt was compact under her boots, and she only stumbled over rocks twice.
The ground flattened, the hillside spilling into the strange level area. Guess what, Mikey? You were right. It does look like a runway. She unzipped the bag and fumbled through the contents. The beacons were like the little solar lamps along the front walk to her father’s house, except these were half Nel’s height. It took several tries before she figured out how to embed them deep enough into the ground. The sounds of fighting had moved now, emanating from farther into the hills.
Her legs were tight from running and crouching, and up in the hills the air was crisp. She knelt, feeling awkwardly around the base of the rock, cold fingers pushing aside hard dirt, feeling for any imperfection. They paused on a thin pilot hole drilled into the stone. She cleared the soil away and shoved the metal rod of the beacon into the hole with a grunt. Tomorrow, she would look back on this and wonder what drugs she was on, but now she moved with single-minded determination. Nel hoisted the bag higher. Her back ached, and her arms were trembling. Whatever adrenaline she had was long spent. She stepped back, panting as she placed the last beacon on the northern line. One side down, one to go. Blasts and gunshots were replaced by shouts. She strained her ears, pressing her senses against the stillness, listening for Lin’s low, clear voice. Nothing. She edged across the open area between the stones.
A figure burst from the darkness, rushing at Nel. She barely had time to crouch before he was on her. They tumbled to the ground, Nel jamming knees and elbows into what she hoped was a stomach.
“Bentley, you idiot, stop!” Emilio shoved himself away from her. In the darkness she couldn’t see the glare, but his voice was thick with frustration.
She edged away, groping for the duffel as she went. “What the fuck, Emilio? You can’t just rush me in the middle of a gunfight and expect me not to punch you!”
“Your punch leaves a bit to be desired.” He dragged himself to his feet with a soft groan. “Your girl has quite the weapon.”
“She hit you?”
“No, if she did I doubt I’d be as spry right now. I came to help.”
Nel’s brows rose. She should question it, but she didn’t have the energy to take anything at more than face value. “Fine.” She pulled three beacons from the bag and thrust them at him. “Feel for the holes in the bottom of the rocks. Spikes go in there.”
She jogged further ahead, relying on her toes and shins to find the rocks for her. She ignored Emilio's soft laugh at her litany of curses and set to work on the next beacon. Half the holes were hidden by hard earth packed in for centuries. She slumped onto the ground beside the last one, staring at it, unseeing.
After a moment, Emilio sat beside her. She could smell sweat and blood, but wasn’t sure whether it was his or hers, or someone else’s entirely.
“So, do they start themselves?”
Nel shook her head and pulled the last piece from the bag. It was a heavy square of metal set with an old looking dial. She angled it towards the clouded moon, squinting. There was something off, just like when she looked at Lin. Something that slid through her mental fingers just as she grasped it. She rested a hand on it. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how you wanted things to end.”
He snorted and found her hand with his. “You’re right. But I’m fairly certain this is not the end at all.”
With the dry warmth of his hand over hers, she cranked the dial as far as possible. Her fingers fumbled then found the hard button at the base of the mechanism. She felt, rather than heard, a crackle, like a muted television. Light exploded across the site, searing her eyes and piercing up through the bank of clouds. “Fuck!” Nel blinked away light-marks on her retinas. She peered up at the sky through weeping eyes. Whatever light the beacons gave off, it wasn’t normal. The clouds writhed away from the beams, like mist escaping dawn. “We better move. I’m not sure what comes next, but I’m done with being in the middle of the action.”
Emilio nodded and pulled her to her feet. “The hills above the site, I’d guess.”
Nel broke into a jog, navigating the terrain now that it was thrown into sharp relief. They were quiet, only the sound of boots on gravel punctuating their retreat. Even the shouts had faded now. Nel focused on their ascent, ignoring the insidious thoughts about why everyone else had fallen silent. Nel reached the crest of the hill, peering into the darkness at the corners of the site.
The beacons made it impossible to see whatever was in shadow. She cleared her throat. “Lin?” There was no answer, and Nel slumped to the ground, defeated and exhausted. She hadn’t thought to ask what came next or what she was supposed to do if Lin was incapacitated. Emilio sat quietly beside her.
“I doubt she’s injured, Bently.”
Nel didn’t answer. She just leaned her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her arms. Fatigue wrapped itself around her, muddling her thoughts into something that seemed like half a dream. The silence deepened. Emilio's gentle hand on her shoulder startled her back into alertness. Aching exhaustion was like a hangover, complete with a tight stomach. “How long was I out?”
“Twenty minutes, only.” He nudged her and pointed out to the two rows of lights. “Lin’s down there.”
Nel leaned forward, blinking sleep and grit from her eyes. Lin stood at the mouth of the runway, one graceful hand shielding her face as she peered at the clouds. She checked her watch then looked up again.
Nel’s stomach sank. “They’re not coming.”
He shushed her and pointed. The patch of clear sky writhed. Sound suddenly ceased as a wave of pressure swept across the site. A rumble followed, not something Nel could hear, but rather something that burst through her gut and left her weak. The air pulsed a second time, and a third. The dully glinting belly of some great metal craft nestled itself into the cleared pocket of sky.
“Holy fuck.” Nel stood shakily, grabbing Emilio's shoulder as she teetered. A metal disc detached itself from the craft, lowering with a hum that was, again, more felt than heard. At first Nel thought she was seeing double. The figure standing on the disc was Lin’s image, save for the lack of breasts. His bodysuit looked much like the glove Lin wore, and Nel was willing to bet he had tattoos that matched Lin’s. The sleeveless robe reaching to his ankles should have billowed on his descent, but it remained eerily still. The disc halted a foot from the ground. He stepped off and raised a hand in greeting.
Lin closed the last few paces between them at a run. Their arms locked around one another for several minutes, and they murmured words that Nel could only guess. She swiped at cheeks suddenly wet and cold. She had no siblings but knew that if she could see Mikey again, their reunion would be identical.
Lin pulled away, hands waving as she spoke quickly. Her expression was too stern to be excited. Twice, her brother glanced up into the hills. Nel shuddered. It was impossible to see into the darkness with so much light around him, but his eyes seemed to meet hers. Finally, he shook his head. He handed Lin a thin tube. He cupped her face, kissed her brow, and stepped back onto the disc. The hum began and the disc rose.
“Dar, come back!” Lin's words cut through the sound of the spaceship, her voice cracking. She ran to stand under the ship, waving angrily.
He shook his head, then turned to look at Nel again. He pressed a fist to his chest then gestured out with an open palm. Finally he looked up as he ascended into the ship and the door sealed silently.
Lin screamed furiously, raising her gloved palm and firing two successive shots at the belly of the craft. “Damn you!”
Before Nel could think better of it, her feet were pounding down the hillside, skittering over loose rocks. She slid the last few meters down to the site. Pain lanced up her leg at the awkward landing. She hissed through her teeth and hobbled around the open units. She expected the light of the beacons to be warm, but they washed coldly over her. The electricity set her hairs on end. “Lin.”
The woman didn’t answer, snarling words Nel recognized only as curses.
Nel paused a step behind her. She steeled herself, then tentatively reached out and took Lin’s gloved hand. She had not heard the conversation, but knew enough that something had gone wrong. “Come on. Let’s go home. We can deal with it after we’ve slept.”
Lin whirled on her, and Nel expected a shouting tirade. Instead her voice was hoarse and quiet. “He fucking left me here. I haven’t seen him in a decade, and he left me here.”
Nel brushed a long lock of black hair behind Lin’s ear. “I know. I’m sorry.” She tugged on the other woman’s hand gently.
The pulse swept past, this time sucking air towards the ship. With the fourth pulse, the ship was gone. The beacons crackled into darkness. The sky was studded with stars. The night was quiet.
Lin jerked a nod and followed Nel unsteadily to the Jeep.
Emilio waited for them, leaning on one of the doors. “You appear to have shot my ride — mind dropping me at home?”
Nel didn’t answer, only opened the rear door for him and climbed into the driver's seat. She didn’t notice all the bumps and ruts on their way back down to the highway. No one spoke, wrapped in thought as their private worlds ended in a blast of light and silence.