Project Hannibal by Kathryn Hoff (books suggested by elon musk .txt) 📕

his arm. “I don’t want to quarrel. What’s really bothering you?”

“I don’t trust Zhurov,” Anjou sniffed. “He’s too quick to make promises. He reminds me of a used car salesman.”

“A used car salesman?” For a moment, Ginger just stared. Then she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand like a little girl. “Henri, you are jealous!”

“Don’t be absurd. I don’t trust him, that’s all. He only wants the mammoths. Once he gets them, he’ll try to take over the research himself and crowd me—crowd us out. Take all the credit for our work.”

“Impossible. You heard him—they haven’t succeeded with even one living specimen. You’ve created an entire herd.” She smiled sweetly. “If you don’t trust him, then trust me. This is the right thing to do—and we don’t have time to wait. Don’t forget, we are wanted persons. This is our chance, not merely to avoid arrest and prison, but to bring our dream to fruition. This is our chance to pursue our science, to go to the one place where our innovation is welcomed and not despised. Future generations will thank us.”

Anjou stared, unseeing, out the window. Russia or prison? A hell of a choice.

CHAPTER 31

Out of sight

The static-filled hospital call system blared into the residents’ lounge. “Dr. Dupris to ER, stat.”

Adrenaline pumping, Estelle sat up, ready to race into duty.

Long grass tickled her face.

“Dr. Dupris?” Annie’s quavery voice called. “Are you there?”

Not the emergency room . . . Right. Alaska. The plane’s forced landing. Estelle took two deep breaths to get her heart under control.

“I’m here, Annie.” She crept over to the tarp lean-to. “Do you need help?”

“Well, yes. I need to pee, dear. But more important, I’m worried about Sera.”

Estelle helped Annie sit up and, after a moment to rest, helped her to her feet. Annie was coughing more and already was noticeably weaker, her muscles losing tone from lying down too much.

“Don’t worry about Sera. She’s going through a rough time right now, but she’s strong.”

Annie clucked her tongue. “Of course she’s strong. The question is, where did she go?”

“Go?”

Estelle looked around. Surely Sera was curled up on the ground somewhere close. “She’s probably asleep. The grass is so tall . . .”

“She walked away,” Annie said. “I heard her walk off up the hill, but that must have been an hour ago. I may have dozed off, but I’m sure I haven’t heard her come back.”

“She’s asleep somewhere . . . she must be. Sera! Sera!”

No answer. No teenaged girl in sight.

To the west, steep, forbidding hills of jumbled rock rose in ranks. Not even a tree to entice an adventurous soul to go that way. To the south, unbroken grass meadow sloped down for half a mile, ending in a small ridge.

To the east was the glacier. Estelle scanned it anxiously. No crumpled young body on its graveled surface. But if Sera had wandered onto the glacier and slipped . . . there was no telling how far a body might slide down the icy slope, cut and snagging on the sharp, frozen slivers.

No! Estelle rejected the horrible image. Sera wouldn’t go near the glacier, not after the terrifying slide they’d all taken when they abandoned the plane.

To the north, up the hill, more grass—and a faint trail of bent stems.

“Sera!” Estelle called again. Why would she have gone that way? There was nothing in that direction . . . except the plane.

Estelle helped Annie get seated again, propped up against a suitcase.

“Go after her,” Annie urged.

Estelle hesitated. No wolves were howling at the moment—did that mean they were someplace else? Or were they creeping closer, hidden in the grass? “We should stay together. The wolves might be around.”

“Oh, fiddlesticks.” Annie’s eyes were bright. “They won’t bother with a tough old bird like me. Go after that girl and make sure she’s all right.”

Estelle started up the hill, following the slight trail through the grass. Tiny squeaks and scritches at her feet told of little creatures scurrying in panic out of her path. At every step, disturbed insects flew out of the way. Note to self: check for ticks. The place was probably alive with them, just waiting for a warm-blooded mammal to come barging through.

I’m a city girl. Forests and fields are not the place for me.

The gray clouds seemed a little brighter to the west. It was afternoon, then. Surely it wasn’t still Friday? It must be Saturday by now, two days since the plane went down.

“Sera!” Where was the blessed girl? With the food gone, they should be conserving energy. Hadn’t Estelle set a rule about Sera letting her know where she was going? I ought to pack her right back to New Orleans as soon as we’re rescued.

Right. As soon as we’re rescued.

Estelle’s anger turned to regret. Sera trusted me. She came to me for refuge, and what have I done? Brought her to die on a cold mountainside far from home. Had the wolves come upon her too quickly for her to cry out? Had she called for help with the last of her strength while Estelle slept? Were those dreams of the Chicago emergency room, running from one crisis to another, triggered by Sera’s cries of terror?

“Sera!” Estelle shouted. “Where are you?”

No response.

From this angle, the Cessna looked pathetic. Tilted askew, left wing dug into the ice, propeller hopelessly bent. Anyone coming upon the wreck would approach with trepidation, fearing to see their rotted corpses still strapped into the seats.

Maybe they still were. The old tales of spirits and haunts lingered in Estelle’s memory, sending a chill up her spine. Maybe we all died in the crash. Maybe we’re really nothing but ghosts, doomed to wander this hillside forever in eternal cloud-covered dusk, no sunrise or sunset and no way to