Lost Voyage Read Online Free PDF Page B

collected was not done in vain. She felt she owed him, and their friendship, that much.
    The drive gave her time to reflect on the previous day’s events and she felt herself becoming a little nauseous at the thought of returning to where she had lost her friend. She rolled down the window and took in a deep breath of the warm air.
    “Feeling okay?” Mercer asked.
    She kept looking out the window. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I feel a little queasy. Just been a long few days, I guess.”
    He felt her sadness and tried to console her. “It’s been more than a long few days. You’ve been through a lot and no one could fault you for feeling less than perfect right now.”
    “Thank you, Sean. I just want to get my gear and get back as quick as possible.”
    “You know, Pat and I could have handled this. Why were you so adamant about coming along?”
    She took a second before responding. “I feel that I owe it to Tony. If it weren’t for me, we would have never gone into the woods to find where the gunfire was coming from. He would still be here and I would still have my friend.”
    Her eyes were teary and her lip was quivering as she poured her emotions out. “It’s just something I felt that I had to do. I can’t explain it.”
    Mercer put his hand on her shoulder. “No explanation needed. Please know that we will help you with whatever you need. But also keep in mind nothing that happened yesterday was your fault. You’re a brave woman, but you shouldn’t have to carry the burden you put on yourself. Let’s just get your things and get back before the Colonel sends out the entire Army looking for you.”
    “You are quite the gentleman,” she replied.
    She looked out the window, wiped the tears from her eyes and prepared herself emotionally for the return trip to her worksite.
     
    ***
     
    They had arrived at the van just before noon. The door was still open and there were a few bags sitting on the ground waiting to be loaded. There was no sign of anyone having been there and Emily felt her nerves easing a little. As they pulled up alongside the van, Mercer put the Jeep in neutral, yanked the emergency brake and turned off the engine.
    Emily sat there for a moment before opening her door. After she calmed herself mentally, she finally got to the task at hand. Mercer told her they needed to hurry and be back on the road within ten minutes. He grabbed the two tents and threw them into the back of the van without folding them. Emily put all of the collected samples in a crate and was loading the last of the boxes when Mercer suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked off into the trees.
    “What is it, Sean?” she asked. She watched as he peered around the camp as if he were looking for something he knew was there, but couldn’t seem to find.
    He finally stopped peering and his gaze left him looking in the direction of where she was standing. He didn’t utter a word as he stood there. She turned to look in the direction where he was staring and saw what had grabbed his attention.
    The AK47’s pointed at them were being held by three men who slowly emerged from the tree line. She was corralled with Mercer into the center of the camp, when one of the men looked at her and asked, “Who are you and what business are you conducting here?”
    She looked at Mercer and took a quick breath before she spoke. “We’re with the United States Geological Survey. We’re collecting samples and data so we can monitor the stability of the region to help predict future eruptions of other volcanoes. We were just packing up and heading home.”
    The man stared back at her and said, “Let me see some identification, both of you.”
    Emily complied and pulled her credentials out of her pocket, handing them to one of the men. Ruffling through his pockets as if looking for the proper documents, Mercer convincingly pronounced, “They must be in the truck. I’ll go get them.”
    He started to make his way to the van when the