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It was then that the craft’s curved top section turned transparent. Suddenly, they could start to define a sturdy figure sitting inside and staring back at them.

Sam instinctively tried to step back, but he found himself unable to make the slightest move. Erin waited as if she was wholly hypnotised. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

They helplessly watched as the man jumped from his seat into the air and started to fly towards them, gliding through the transparent cockpit cover as it slid open.

Sam and Erin felt dizzy as a paralysing force took hold of their bodies. A dark cloud completely obscured their blurry vision until they finally lost consciousness and collapsed.

The man focused his full attention on Erin, crouching around her and inspecting her body from head to toe. He stroked her gently, wiping her wet skin and rearranging her dishevelled hair. He blew softly over her face, her cheeks regaining her rosy pink blush momentarily. As her chest heaved, her mouth briefly opened to let go of a prolonged, gentle sigh.

“Shaillah!” the man exclaimed while carrying her in his arms as he stood up. Then, staring intensely at Erin, he placed her inside a transparent sack and hung it from his back. He soared into the waiting aircraft, its top cover turning an opaque white as he flew in. As the alien craft descended into the waterfall, the roaring engines gave off an intense orange flash while the down currents sparkled and splashed before swallowing it whole.

CHAPTER 6

HOPE

Those kids … They must be here somewhere.

Albert Lobart finds it difficult to stop thinking about the impending Diablo’s cave operation due early the next morning.

He feels a strong urge to go back to the control room, delve once again into the video images captured by the rescue team, and check how the preparations are going.

He gets up from the dining room table and walks towards the kitchen door, briefly checking his phone for the latest ARA’s news report on his way out. The warm wind blows through his thin, baggy nightclothes.

“Damn!” he screeches, realising he hasn’t even changed into his working outfit, but he continues towards his vehicle and gets into the driving seat anyway. As his pickup truck’s headlights illuminate the large backyard, he sees his wife’s silhouette through the window.

“I won’t be long,” he shouts as he abruptly reverses his truck. He isn’t sure if she has heard him.

Pat follows the truck’s lights into the distance as it ploughs noisily up the farm road.Why is he in such a hurry?She wonders.

He speeds up on the narrow winding road, but his mind is focusing elsewhere.What will we find in Diablo’s cave?He keeps asking himself.

The global appeals have come to nothing, bringing fake responses and concocted tales. The large cash reward has not even produced the slightestcredible claim. All the while, Lobart is convinced they must be somewhere on the island, even in the unlikeliest of places.

The sight of the tuna farm’s high steel gates makes him brake abruptly. As they open slowly, he is still imagining all kinds of outcomes, but the voice from the intercom breaks up his thoughts.

“Hi, Stella. Good, you’re on shift tonight. I’m coming upstairs!” He squeezes his truck through the opening gap, suddenly stopping at the control room’s entrance.

He slams the truck’s door as he gets out and jumps onto the steel staircase, climbing up the steps so quickly that Stella is caught by surprise when he suddenly opens the door.

“Oh, Mr Lobart, any news?” She promptly gets up from her chair and walks towards him.

But he barges past her into the adjacent room where rows of wall-mounted screens display the ARA’s wide-field images.

“I’ve been thinking all day, Stella,” he mumbles without taking his eyes off the screens.

“I see that you have,” she says in an ironic tone, bemused by his unkempt appearance but daring not to mention it.

“And the weather is on our side!” He waves his index finger in the air as he gets closer to one of the screens showing the roughened coastal area of Diablo’s Point.

He taps on the touchscreen and stops the video images on Diablo’s cave.

“The rescue team went in there … as far as they could,” Stella reminds him.

“Not far enough!” He swings around to confront her.

“But my brother would not have taken Erin into the dangerous alleys,” she contends.

“Those kids … They must be here somewhere,” Lobart grumbles, staring back at the haunting black cliffs.