54. Jack
FIFTY-FOUR
JACK
That night, Jack couldn’t sleep. Somewhere between tears and questions of what the future would bring in New Hope, slumber escaped him. Deciding against spending the next few hours in bed searching for rest, Jack threw on his shirt and walked downstairs. Candles were lit in the large entry room.
The disaster the creature made the previous night was cleared away, the broken window boarded, the glass shards swept. Marcus’ body was cleaned and wrapped and prepared for transport to New Hope, where Sloan assured him he would receive a hero’s burial.
“Can’t sleep either, huh?” Aareth coughed from Sloan’s side as they looked down at an open book together.
“No, too much has happened over the past few days. My mind won’t stop thinking.”
“I know what you mean, Jack.” Sloan glanced up from the table where the journal that was found in the cave laboratory lay open. “This log isn’t making things any easier.”
“There’s more?” Jack stood next to Sloan and Aareth. “More than we already know?”
“Not necessarily.” Sloan stretched with a grimace. “Just more questions about who this order that Dr. Livingston belongs to is and why they would be performing these experiments.”
“And what experiments were successful in New Hope to have shut the cave laboratory down. I feel like this is all connected with the assassination attempt on the Queen’s life.” Aareth coughed into his fist. “I’m fine; just something in my throat.”
Jack thought back to Elizabeth’s confession about being the girl mentioned in the journal but decided to keep her secret. Instead, he asked what they were wondering. “What do you think is waiting for us back in New Hope?”
“I don’t know,” Aareth frowned, “but there’s a real possibility Burrow Den is just the start to all of this.”
“The crisis in Burrow Den is over,” Sloan agreed. “But I’m afraid the battle for New Hope is just beginning.”