Page 51 of Eclipse Bound
She didn’t want to face this alone, but Eclipse needed her.
The stone pulsed again, more urgently.
"I know," she whispered. "I'm hurrying."
Rowan secured the backpack, tucked her hair under a baseball cap, and set out on foot. The desert heat pressed down on her as she climbed the rocky slope that led toward the mesa. Every few minutes, she paused to scan her surroundings with the binoculars, watching for security patrols and surveillance equipment.
After what felt like at least an hour into her climb, she spotted a glint of metal where there should be only stone. Rowan pressed into hiding, breathing deeply.
She redefined her path, picking a safer route. As she drew closer, the outline of a facility emerged, partially built into the mesa itself. Solar panels covered one section of the roof, with satellite dishes and antennas clustered nearby. A perimeter fence surrounded the complex, with guard stations positioned at regular intervals.
Rowan found a sheltered position behind a rocky outcrop and studied the facility through her binoculars. The main entrance appeared to be on the east side, with a checkpoint for vehicles. Smaller personnel doors were located around the perimeter, all of which required key card access, as indicated by the scanner panels mounted beside them.
"Great," she muttered. "Just walk up and knock, I guess?"
The stone against her chest grew suddenly hot, almost painfully so. Rowan gasped and pulled it from beneath her shirt. It glowed with an intensity she hadn't seen before, pulsing in a distinct pattern that couldn't be natural.
Three short pulses. Three long. Three short again. Over and over.
"S.O.S.," she realized aloud. "Eclipse, are you... Can you hear me?"
The stone's rhythm changed immediately, as if in response to her voice. It wasn't just leading her to him. It was communicating.
Rowan closed her eyes and concentrated, wrapping her fingers around the stone. "I'm here," she whispered. "I'm coming for you. Just tell me how to get in."
The stone grew warmer, and images suddenly flashed through Rowan's mind. They were fragmented and chaotic, but recognizable.
A ventilation shaft on the facility's western side.
A service entrance with a single guard.
A schedule for patrol rotations.
"Eclipse," she gasped. "Are you showing me this?"
The stone pulsed once, and she felt more than heard the answer. Yes.
Rowan's heart raced. Somehow, Eclipse was able to communicate through their connection. The quantum harmonic convergence he'd talked about wasn't just fancy alien talk for attraction. It was a real, tangible link between them.
"Show me again," she urged. "Show me the best way in."
The images returned, clearer this time.
A service entrance on the northwest corner of the facility.
Guard changes at specific intervals.
A maintenance worker left his key card on a break room table.
Rowan committed everything to memory, then checked her watch. If Eclipse's intelligence was correct, she had forty minutes before the next guard rotation. This was her best chance to approach undetected.
She used the time to circle around to the northwest side of the facility, staying low and using the terrain for cover. The desert had taught her patience during her months in Duskrock, and now she drew on that lesson, moving methodically, never rushing despite the urgent pull of the stone against her skin.
When she reached a position overlooking the service entrance, Rowan settled in to observe. Just as Eclipse had shown her, a single guard stood at the door, looking bored and uncomfortable in the desert heat. Every few minutes, he checked his watch as if counting down to the end of his shift.
At precisely the time Eclipse had indicated, a second guard emerged from the building to relieve the first. There was a brief exchange, a clipboard passed between them, and then the first guard disappeared back inside.
The new guard immediately pulled out his phone, attention diverted. “Hey, hon, Director Vega needs us to stay late tonight. Yeah, I know, but what the big boss wants…”
