Page 57 of Marc
“What?” Roth snapped to attention.
“He definitely wasn’t fully human anymore. He was trying to bite Colbie, then he spat black fluid at her. It burned her. Then, he died, and we couldn’t stick around any longer. There were threaders everywhere. At least twenty-five of them.”
“They must be using the old base as their base,” Avery said.
Jameson crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounds like a good place for us to snatch a threader.”
The generals nodded.
“Plan the mission,” Roth ordered. “If the body of the man is still there, bring him home. We’ll try to find his family.”
“Marc is not going anywhere until his arm is healed, and he’s been scanned, and rested,” my mom said. “Colbie can leave once her nano-med dose is done.”
Lia ran a hand over her daughter’s hair. “You’re coming home with us today. I’ll cook your favorite meal.”
“Pesto chicken?” Colbie asked, excitedly.
“Yes,” Lia replied.
My gaze met Colbie’s, just as a nurse pulled the curtains closed between us.
“All right, everyone out of my infirmary,” my mom said briskly. “My patients need to rest.”
Colbie
“I’m fine,mom. Dinner was great. Exactly what I needed.”
My mom hugged me hard and I hugged her back. We were the same height, and her perfume smelled like home. She and Dad had spent the day with me. I’d napped, we’d watched a movie, and Mom had cooked my favorite foods.
She released me, studying my face. “You sure you don’t want to stay here for the night?”
“Thanks, but I really want to be in my own bed. I might take a long soak in my tub.”
She touched my hair with a small smile. “I know you love your baths. Okay, sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I kissed her cheek. Dad was standing at the door, and walked me out into the early evening.
“You don’t have to walk me home.” I only lived a few blocks away.
He slid an arm around me. “Okay, just to the end of the street, but you need to bear with us. Knowing you’d crashed and were out there… It was tough.”
My heart squeezed. “I know. I’m sorry, Dad.” I leaned into him
“I’m just glad you came home to us in one piece. I owe Marc a case of that beer he likes.”
Marc. He hadn’t been far from my mind all day.
I hugged my father. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too.” He kissed the top of my head.
I headed down the sidewalk and looked back. Dad was watching me, and I gave him a wave.
I turned the corner. Spending today with them had been a balm to my still-rattled nerves.
Now, I was happy to get back to my place. My little eco-house that I’d decorated in my own style. I had dozens of drone photos my mom had taken hung all over the walls. Dotted among them were family snaps of the three of us. I’d also used lots of color. I’d painted the walls in several rooms bright, welcoming colors.
As I approached my dark house, I felt the sting of…something. After the Blue Mountains, maybe some part of me didn’t like the thought of being alone. A part of me missed Marc.
