Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Forty Nine

"What do we do now?"

Zarah stood beside Danny, shielding her eyes and squinting towards Sydney, its southern outskirts hazy on the horizon.

Once they were sure the ground had stopped tearing itself apart, they'd gotten out of the car to assess the damage. The car, thankfully, was okay, its trip through the paddock fence doing nothing more than scratching the bonnet. But the earthquake had decimated what remained of the road, and any path along it would bring them dangerously close to the newly formed crater.

Zarah made sure to give it a wide berth, keeping it in the corner of her vision least it start ripping open again, but Danny wasn't bothered. He stood at its edge, peering down into the depths and biting his lip.

"We have to keep going in the car," he said, kicking a stray pebble into the crevasse and turning back to Zarah. "It'll probably take us another day or two if we walk from here. We'll get as close to the city as we can, and then we'll reassess."

Zarah glanced back at the 4-wheel drive. The Brentons were still locked in the boot and Cassandra was watching them like a hawk, her expression equal parts terror and terrifying.

"I don't think Cassandra can walk," Zarah murmured, knowing Cass wouldn't like it voiced loudly enough for the Brentons to hear.

"I know," Danny said, frowning. "We might have to leave her."

He didn't sound happy about it. Leaving anyone behind was risky with the danger the Brentons posed. Either they left Cassandra out-numbered or brought the Brentons with them, where, if Zarah took her fighting experience into account, they were still outnumbered.

"What if we..."

Her words trailed off when Danny straighten beside her though, suddenly alert. His eyes had narrowed on the direction they'd come from and Zarah followed his gaze.

The day was hot, the horizon wavering, but the sun was reflecting off something metallic, flashing in and out of sight between sparse gumtrees and shrubs as it came towards them.

"Get down," Danny said, and he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the car with him.

Cassandra and the two Brenton's were still in the vehicle and he hissed at them to stay out of sight as the object drew closer.

Zarah could hear the roar of an engine now, and she peaked around the bonnet.

It was a motorbike, zooming down the highway at a speed that made Zarah's stomach clench considering how unpredictable the roads had become. The rider's helmet reflected the sun in flares and flashes as they weaved between the potholes, moving much faster than their car had.

A couple minutes later the motorbike was level with them, the rider not sparing them a glance, their car probably looking as abandoned and immovable as all the others they'd passed. Zarah saw a flash of blonde hair from beneath the helmet, heard a rev of the engine, and then bike veered off to the other side of the crater, disappearing behind its lip.

Zarah stood, looking after the bike with a growing sense of disquiet.

"Did you see who that was?" she asked, turning to face Danny.

"No," he said. "They had a helmet on."

"It was Arelie," Zarah said, her voice grim. "I saw her hair. I'm positive it was her."

Danny's lips pursed, following where Zarah's thoughts had already landed.

"She's still trying to find Leah."

Zarah nodded and Danny looked after the bike once more, weighing up their options.

"Get in the car," he said. "We have to go."