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Not a word passed between them Skyler walked on, with the three immunes on either side of him Everyone they passed stopped their work to wave, or siht He fought to keep a so Many of the colonists had lost friends, or even loved ones And then there was Ana…

She walked in lockstep with Skyler, at his right Her face and posture exuded grim determination, as if the prospect of more combat could keep her brother’s death froht only continue to increase her reckless behavior For the iht next to hi every bit the ragtag posse they were About half of them wore environment suits, but Tania he saw had opted for plain clothes It surprised him that she’d eschew the extra protection of the suit, and he wondered if it was just a show of solidarity for the rest of those going without More surprising was the handgun she wore in a shoulder holster He resisted the urge to ask her where she’d gotten it, or when she’d learned to fire it

The ed, flickers of hope or concern, perhaps both, as he strode up with his three are water pail sat in the dirt near the group Skyler flipped it over with one foot, then stood on top of it

"You’ve all heard by now, I’m sure," he said "We’ve seen scant few subhu, and noein the forest, past the reservoir A crashed Builder ship, we think And it see to just let the towers now there, we need to go find out e’re dealing with If possible, we’ll bring those towers back"

Grily determined

"The camp’s success depends on it," Tania added

Skyler went on "Forroups Those with suits in one, the rest with the tower These people with me are immunes, former captives of Gabriel Some of you may haveahead, roving between groups as needed"

Soroup offered waves and nods to the newcoo overboard We’ll have to coave the, deliberate look "Reers Snakes, jaguars, and so on Keep alert, and keep quiet when possible We’ll leave in five minutes"

A few of the volunteers darted off toward their tents, presuroups, one designating members to handle the movement of the aura tower

Exactly five an theirlines along either side of their path Soement, but most were silent They siravity and hope

Chapter 26

Belém, Brazil

7MAY2283

AT THE EDGE of the unnatural cloud, Vanessa nudged Skyler and pointed off to their right

Half-obscured by the dense haze, ahostly forest canopy, an aura tower loo across the grooves on its surface as if a flae black object

The tower had coht at the point where the cloud becalanced left, but if another of the red towers sat in that direction, he could not see it through the haze or the dense forest

By now the strange droning huround noise The creatures, however, remained obscured within the mist Skyler reminded himself that most of the members of their party had never seen one of the creatures up close, ht one The visibility within the cloud would only s worse

He called the leaders of the two ad hoc "squads" into a tight circle, urging the rest of the colonists to spread out a bit and stay alert Tania joined, too, as did Ana

Skyler leaned and spoke in a hushed voice "If everyone goes in, and we’re attacked, we’ll end up shooting each other as much as the subs Worse, people will lose their sense of direction"

Everyone nodded

"I think," he went on, "we should foro in and try to draw them back out No one shoots until we’re behind the line Understood?"

"What do we do with our tower?" one of the group leaders asked

Skyler peered over their heads and did a quick survey of the ground around theh the rainforest, uprooting small rubber trees and monstrous kapoks alike Some were just scattered splinters now, as if exploded from within At least our path home is obvious to everyone But as the towers neared the crashed ship they’d spread out and for patches of thick forest between their divergent paths

He pointed where two large trees stood to either side of the forged path the group now stood on Both trees were tucked within the eether looked like two pillars guarding the entrance to the area "Keep the tower between those trees," he said That would put it sixtyplenty of room for the colonists to ithin the aura it provided, without having the tower too close to the action The last thing he wanted was to spark another defensive systeht "Those not in environ line between here and there, in case the rest of us need to retreat If we’re overwhelmed, anyone who can should rally at the tower"

That last brought a pang of fear to the face of the suited squad leader, an expression the man quickly tried to hide The other seemed content with the plan For Tania’s part she still wore a mask of deterhout the entire march If Skyler hadn’t seen how she handled herself in Hawaii, he ain he eyed the gun strapped under her arm This time he arched an eyebrow at her She si the fact that he would question her

He let it go "Have your people fan out, take what cover they can, and when everyone’s in position ill go in"