After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

slumped on a stool and dragged a hand across his tanned face. His dark hair was long now; pulled back into a ponytail just like Jason had worn. Strands of it had come loose and hung around his face. His khaki tee shirt and green cargo pants were dirty and wrinkled and a layer of dirt and sweat covered his skin.
    Sterling’s camp was in a remote area near Texas and far from the comforts of home. The Mexicans had erected this camp not far over the border and outside of a town.
    "We've got to act now, Sterling. He's coming for us. You guys are safe a little longer, but we're out of time." Paivi stood in the middle of the khaki-colored tent. It contained nothing more than a cot and a small table stacked with papers. A camping lantern burned its fluorescent light in the corner, casting an odd glow over the tent. She wasn't much brighter than the light. She tried to conserve energy. She'd need a lot of it the next few days.
    "We're going to burn the showers down tomorrow. If things escalate or get out of hand, I don't know if I'll be able to stop the momentum," she said.
    "That's it? Burn down the showers? I thought we'd have a more concrete idea for escape by now." Sterling shook his head. "Are you really going to just rely on your own powers? What if you're not strong enough? You're barely visible in this room right now. What if your power is fading due to lack of food or sleep?"
    "That's why I'm trying to conserve energy," she said, raising her hands in frustration. "I'm not going to see Torsten or Jason or Christian. Or your brother. Just you." She crossed the tent and placed a ghostly hand on his shoulder.
    "I'm sorry you've got to do this on your own, Paivi, I truly am." He patted her hand but it passed through her skin. "Are you going to be okay?"
    "I'll be all right. I've got Peter. He'll see tomorrow what I'm capable of." She sighed. "I just hope I can count on him to have some powers to help me. Two would definitely be better than one. I'm going to go back now to look at the possibilities and gauge what kind of outcomes we can expect. I hope I can see something. I just wanted to let you know it was about to go down and say goodbye."
    Sterling rose from his seat and attempted to embrace her ghostly form.
    "It's never goodbye." His arms passed through her and a tear raced down his cheek. "We'll all see each other soon. You'll do great. We'll hold our ground here until the attack starts, but we'll do everything we can to get you all safely here."
    "Say hi, or bye, or whatever to the guys for me, would you?" Paivi asked. Her lips lifted in the weakest of smiles.
    "You got it. Now get back there and make us proud." He waved as she faded into the night.
    She dropped into her body in the bunk and took a few deep breaths. She needed to see what was going to happen tomorrow, she needed to know if her plan would succeed or not.
    With a few deep breaths, she brought herself into the rhythm of all the sleeping EOS prisoners around her. She closed her eyes, focusing on the safe room in her mind, in the in-between, where she could safely search for her answers. 
    The room looked the same as it did when she last visited. It was a place she could visit comfortably with little effort, so it wouldn't affect her energy reserves much. She only hoped that she had the strength left to do her job when the time came. She couldn't bear to let anyone down. She longed to drop onto the couch that sat in the center of the room. That alone might give her some comfort and rejuvenating sleep that the wooden boards under her in the bed in the barrack did not.
    With a sigh and look of longing, she brushed her hand along the back of the couch and trudged toward the thick door that led to all future things in the universe. She unbolted it, running a finger down the Tibetan carvings. The golden Buddha was cool to the touch.
    She stood at the edge of the doorway, her toes hanging off over the abyss as constellations, galaxies, and planets spread out in front