Separation

Krysty screwed up her face. “Well, that went well. You know, I really don’t think she wants to get along with us.”

Mildred shook her head. “I’d figure it’s more definite than that—and we should keep an eye on the bitch.”

“DEAN, WAKE UP. Quickly.”

The words were urgently whispered and accompanied by a shake on the shoulder that jolted the youth from slumber. Blearily he looked up and saw his mother standing over him and looking scared.

“Wha…what’s the matter?” he asked in a sleep slurred voice as he sat upright.

“I think we’ve got a problem,” she whispered urgently by way of reply. “I don’t think you’re the only ones who’ve managed to work out how to use the mat-trans. I was down there, and I heard it in operation.”

“Hot pipe! I know we’ve come across others who can, but what were you doing down there?” he asked suddenly, realizing the strangeness of the situation.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was just wandering. I think I went down there because I could feel there was something wrong, I don’t know.”

Thoughts raced through Dean’s mind. Maybe she did go down there because she could feel something. And there were others, as they well knew, who could use the mat-trans. The odds against two sets of travelers ending up in the same redoubt were huge, but not impossible. So if that had happened, then he’d better get the others.

Dean struggled out of bed, flung on his clothes and checked his Browning Hi-Power.

“Come on, hurry up,” Sharona whispered from the doorway.

“Better wake up the others,” Dean said, still not completely awake—otherwise he would have wondered why his mother was whispering when she could have awakened the others with a shout. They were on another level to the mat-trans and there was little chance of alerting any intruders to their presence from here.

“Do you really need them?” Sharona asked. “By the time we’ve roused them all it could be too late. Besides, I’m sure you don’t need them. We’ve got the element of surprise.”

Dean furrowed his brow. That was true, he guessed. They should be able to outfight any opposing forces if they got them trapped in the mat-trans chamber.

And it would give him a chance to prove himself to his mother.

Dean followed Sharona to the elevator, waiting beside her in silence until it reached the level of the mat-trans chamber. He could think of nothing to say, still trying to clear his head of sleep.

They came out of the elevator and made their way to the comp room swiftly, using the buttresses on the corridor walls for cover. Dean could hear nothing that would indicate any intruders, but he just figured that whoever they were, they had not, as yet, left the anteroom. If they were anything like the companions, they would be taking this slowly.

That would mean time for Sharona and himself to mount an attack.

They reached the door to the comp room, which was open. Sharona made to move forward and recce the room, but was stayed by a gesture from Dean.

“I’ll check—cover me,” he mouthed.

Heart thumping as the adrenaline kicked into his system, Dean moved across to the doorway and risked a look inside the room. It was quiet and seemingly empty—but he could see through to the anteroom and noted the door of the chamber was ajar. It was possible that the intruders were still in the chamber itself.

He backed away so that he could speak to Sharona. He took command, and was glad to do so, as it was a way of showing his mother how much he had developed since they were last together.

“There’s no one visible in the comp room or anteroom—they must still be in the chamber. We’ll move in, me first, and use the comp consoles for cover. Make our way around so that we flank the chamber. Then you cover me while I take it.”

“You sure about this?” Sharona asked.

Dean wasn’t sure how to answer. He could see a mixture of emotions in her eyes. On the one hand, she didn’t want him to risk his life, but on the other she was proud of the man, and the warrior, that he had become.

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