Now, all that stored negativity came flooding out of her in a deluge of fury. She was a human being, damn it! She felt the same emotions — good and bad — as anyone else. But noooo. The public and media didn’t see it that way. How dare she complain about a busted engine! How dare she show anything other than gratefulness every second of her life!
Well, no more. She was going to be herself — whoever that was — whether people liked it or not.
“I’m crying.” Spinning around, she looked Toland straight in the eyes. “Got a problem with that?”
He blinked, momentarily stunned by her forceful response.
Elliott arched an eyebrow at Mills. A faint smile creased her visage. Then she knelt down and helped Toland to a sitting position. “I know you’re tired,” she said in a voice laced with venom. “But we need to keep going.”
Toland rested for a moment. Then he stood up and stretched his muscles. “I’m not taking another step,” he said, recovering his bravado. “Not until we stop acting like morons and start using our brains.”
“But—”
“Wait.” Mills held up a hand. “I hate to admit it, but Brian’s right. I’m almost positive the saber that killed Travis was the same one that attacked Randi. It’s stalking us. If we keep running, it’ll just keep coming.”
Elliott exhaled softly. “So, what do we do?”
“We’ve been running blind, taking the path of least resistance. I think we have to reset, focus on a specific destination.”
“You mean the smoke?”
“Exactly.”
“Yes.” Toland clapped his hands together. “I’m glad to see that one of you is finally showing a bit of sense.”
“Shut up, Brian.” Mills turned in an arc. “Okay, I think I see it. Over there. There must be a camp nearby.”
“A camp?” Toland shot Mills a crafty look. “I’m confused. I thought you said we were lost in time. Sent back to the ancient days by forces beyond our control.”
Mills sighed. “It was just a theory.”
“An incredibly stupid one.”
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“Oh, that’s real—”
“What if it’s not a campfire?” Elliott asked, interrupting the argument. “What if it’s a forest fire?”
“Yeah.” Toland smirked at Mills. “What then?”
“Then we’ll burn to a crisp.” Mills started forward, stepping carefully so as to avoid some wet pine cones. “Look on the bright side. At least the saber won’t enjoy its meal.”
“Eww,” Elliott replied.
The trio strode forward with Mills in the middle and Toland and Elliott at her flanks. The temperature warmed and before long, beads of sweat began to roll down Mills’ face, washing the mud streaks away.
Flames crackled softly in the distance. Rainwater dripped from the trees, splashing against the wet ground. But other than that, the forest was eerily quiet. More than once, Mills turned her head around, checking their rear. Although she didn’t see the saber, she knew it was out there somewhere.
“I see flames.” Toland huffed and puffed his way over a small hill. “Lots of them.”
“Agreed.” Elliott slowed her pace a bit.
Mills didn’t break speed. Instead, she continued to march forward, all the while keeping an eye out for the saber. Thirty seconds later, she pulled to a stop. Her heart pounded ferociously against her chest.
Just ahead, she saw a clearing and a long barn-like building, painted camouflage-style. Flames, a striking mixture of orange and red, engulfed one end of the building. Gray smoke rose above the flames, curling into the dark sky. A fence, constructed from tall metal posts sunk into large concrete blocks, surrounded the area.
“Well, there you go,” Toland said, triumphantly. “What do you think of your time travel theory now?”
Mills ignored him.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “I said—”
Mills lifted a finger to her lips and shushed him.
Toland arched an eyebrow. But he kept quiet.
“What’s wrong?” Elliott whispered.
“That’s an electric fence, probably designed to keep out animals,” Mills replied. “Only the electricity isn’t working.”
“And that’s important?”
“See how that post has been ripped out of its concrete block?” She waved her hand at the fence. “I think something took advantage of the power outage. And for all we know, it’s still in the area.”
Elliott bit her lip. “Another saber?”
“No. Something bigger. A lot bigger.” Twisting her hips, Mills hiked alongside the fence. The mud-soaked needles acted as a carpet, cushioning her bare feet and allowing her to stay quiet.
She walked to the opposite side of the clearing. She could see the fire clearly now. It slowly chewed away at the building, working its way along the wall and deeper into the seemingly hollow interior. She shifted her gaze to a large concrete block. A jagged hole indicated where its metal post had once stood.
She looked at the fallen post. It lay inside the fence’s perimeter, partially embedded in the soil, and still attached to surrounding posts via wires. Clearly, a powerful force had smashed into it, ripping it out of its concrete casing. The impact drove the post into the soil, taking the wires with it.
Moving forward, she studied the ground inside the fence and saw big, cabbage-shaped footprints going in either direction. She knew nothing about animal footprints. But they looked large enough to belong to one of the woolly mammoths.
A few tears sprung up in her eyes again. She remembered standing next to Renjel as they watched the group of mammoths tear into each other. She missed him, missed his strength.
She took a deep breath, allowing herself a few seconds to grieve. Then she reassessed the situation. The tracks indicated that whatever had knocked the post down had already left the area. And she didn’t see any other tracks in the vicinity. So, she slid past the concrete block, stepped carefully over the wires, and made her way to the burning building.
“Wait,” Elliott whispered loudly from just outside the fence. “We need to think about this.”
Mills retreated to the concrete block. “What’s there to think about? I don’t see any animals. And there could be people in there. Plus, food and water. Maybe even a way to get help.”
“What about the fire?” Toland frowned. “Sure, it looks contained. But any minute now, that whole place could go up in flames.”
“All the more reason to hurry.” Mills’ eyes bored into his like drills. “That place is our best shot at survival. You know it, I know it. So, be quiet for once and help me save it before it’s too late.”
Spinning around, Mills hightailed it across the close-cut grass. The temperature jumped a few notches and she tasted cinders on her tongue. Trails of smoke curled into her nose, nearly sending her into a coughing fit.
She turned, adjusting course. In the process, she noticed several charred objects — bodies, from the looks of it — amongst the flames and smoke. Fury engulfed her heart. She’d finally stumbled upon a modicum of civilization, only to have it burn before her eyes.
Skirting around the fire, she raced parallel to the building, eventually reaching a small door. She paused for a moment to touch the smooth metal. It felt cool. Turning the knob, she thrust the door open and hurried into the structure.
A mind-numbing wave of heat washed over her. She swooned, but still managed to maintain consciousness. Ducking beneath the smoke, she noticed the interior was hollowed out just like a barn. But there were no haystacks, stalls, or tools. Instead, machines of all shapes and sizes covered the vinyl flooring.