Page 45 of Eclipse Bound
"Where's Eclipse?" Poppy asked, noticing the missing alien.
Rowan was really tired of that question. None of them seemed worried whenever she told them what happened.
"Still in the caves," Rowan said, her voice tight. "He stayed behind to fight off Milano."
Poppy's eyes widened. "We need to go back for him. No one gets left behind."
Finally!
"No time," Lunar said, pointing skyward.
A black helicopter appeared over the canyon ridge, its rotors slicing through the desert air. Below it, dust clouds rose from multiple vehicles traversing the off-road trails.
"They're preparing to flush us out," Lunar observed.
"This way," Poppy urged, leading them toward a cluster of boulders where an ancient jeep was hidden.
"That's your transportation?" Solar asked skeptically.
"It's better than walking," Poppy shot back. "And it knows these trails better than any fancy SUV."
They piled in, Rowan in the passenger seat with Poppy driving, the aliens squeezed in the back. Poppy threw a silver blanket over the guys. The jeep roared to life, its engine loud in the canyon’s quiet.
"What about Dani?" Rowan asked. "She was supposed to warn you about the attack."
"We found her in the caves looking for you," Poppy explained, throwing the jeep into gear. "She escaped the retreat in an alien flash mob of all things. She's meeting us at the rendezvous point with supplies."
The jeep lurched forward, bouncing over the rugged terrain. Poppy drove with surprising skill, navigating between rock formations and along barely visible trails.
"Where are we going?" Rowan asked, clinging to the roll bar as they hit a particularly rough patch.
"Off-grid cabin," Poppy replied. "About twenty miles into the backcountry. No electricity, no cell service, definitely no non-biological thermal signatures for them to track."
The helicopter appeared again, sweeping low over the canyon. Poppy immediately swerved under an overhanging rock formation, cutting the engine.
"Down," she hissed.
They huddled in the jeep as the helicopter passed overhead, its shadow sliding over the rocks. Rowan held her breath, expecting to hear shots or see troops rappelling down at any moment. But the helicopter continued on, apparently not spotting them.
"They're scanning for energy signatures, not vehicles," Lunar observed. "Solar and I must minimize our emissions."
"Stay under that silver blanket," Poppy ordered.
Solar grimaced, his form dimming further until he was barely brighter than a human. "This is uncomfortable."
"Maintaining physical form without full energy expression is difficult," Lunar agreed, his own shadow form condensing into something more humanoid.
Poppy waited until the helicopter was well past before restarting the jeep and continuing their escape.
As they bounced along the trail, Rowan kept looking back toward the caves, hoping to see a familiar twilight form emerging from the rocks. Nothing.
"He'll find us," Poppy said, noticing Rowan's backward glances. "Eclipse strikes me as the type who always finds a way."
Rowan nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The cold, wet clothes, the adrenaline crash, and the fear for Eclipse were all catching up with her. She shivered despite the desert heat.
The jeep rounded a bend and descended into a dry wash, forcing Poppy to slow down. The trail here was barely discernible, marked only by subtle differences in the rock coloration.
"There," Lunar said suddenly, pointing ahead.
