Novum: Revelation: (Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

doing?”
    “Help!” she continued. “Norman! Dr. Wood! Someone help me!”
    She went on like that, screaming like a mad person for several minutes, and nothing he tried would make her stop. Had she been exposed to the narcotic Wood had spoken of? He grabbed her by her shoulders. “Jane, there’s nothing hurting you. You have to stop.”
    She paused to catch her breath, and in the brief moment of silence, he heard his crewmates running up behind him. “Get your hands off of her,” Raines bellowed.
    “What are you doing to her, Captain?” AJ yelled.
    When Jane saw them over his shoulder, she stopped yelling and clasped Jake’s face in her hands. “I’m okay, Jake. They’re here. You can let go of me now.”
    “Are you crazy?” he said as he pushed her away so hard she nearly fell. “You screamed for help just to get them to follow us?”
    She nodded, her face twisted in pain as she rubbed her shoulders. “I had to get them past the fence too.”
    “For the last time, there’s no fence, Jane.”
    “Aha!” Raines said as he approached. “I think I understand now.”
    Jake looked at his engineer then at the rest of his crew, many of whom were still looking at him like he was a monster. “You get what?”
    Raines looked over his shoulder at the path they had just taken. “Anyone feel any trepidation in being here now? Any fear? A strong desire to return to the village?”
    “No,” AJ said, “but what does that have to do with anything?”
    Jake looked at Jane, remembering her words. “You called it a fence,” he said.
    Raines nodded. “Our Jane always manages to impress me with her powers of deduction.” Jane smiled and went off to chase a bug with large colorful wings.
    “If that’s true, then it’s some sort of invisible fence,” Jessie added. “Maybe an electrical field or something.”
    “But how would a fence like that work?” Vee asked. “There was no electrical jolt or anything. I just felt…”
    “Like you didn’t want to come here, right?” Raines said. “My guess is that they are using the same technology used in that Mine Ship we found last year.”
    “You think they are putting things in our minds?” Jessie asked.
    “Fear is a simple but powerful suggestion.” He looked around. “There are probably transmitters buried in the ground back there.”
    “But why put fences up here?” Jake asked. “What purpose could it serve?”
    “Maybe to keep animals from traveling too far,” AJ guessed.
    “Makes sense,” Raines said then looked at Jake. “Your mother’s people built fences out of wood and stone to protect their crops or contain livestock. It’s not unreasonable to imagine that the people who built this place would want to do the same for the native animals living here.”
    “Why?” Jessie asked. “Who cares where the animals go?”
    “Could be many reasons,” Raines replied. “Perhaps to control the populations or reduce overgrazing in certain areas.”
    “But this fence works on people too,” Vee said. “Does that mean we are livestock?”
    “Wait,” Jake said, looking at Raines. “You said ‘the people who built this place,’ didn’t you? Are you saying that you don’t think this is Earth?”
    Raines smiled. “Everything was built by people, even the first colony, but let’s save that conversation for another time. Right now, I think we should keep moving. The sun is past overhead, and we’ll want to find a good place to make camp before it gets dark.”
    “But before that,” Jessie said, “can we take a few minutes to gather something to eat? None of us ate this morning, and I, for one, am starving.”
    “There’s a stream over there,” Wood said, finally catching up with the group. “I suggest we all drink what we can and fill our water pouches. I want everyone to remain hydrated.”
    Apparently Wood had missed the previous discussion, but Jake was relieved to see that the doctor was carrying the pack he dropped when he had chased