“Ethan’s okay?” Richard asked in amazement.
“Yes, he’s fine,” Josephine replied.
“Where is he?” Richard asked.
“He went out on a hunt with Jake and a few others two days ago, but they will probably be back tonight or tomorrow,” she said with a smile.
“Is Dr. Stone here?” Richard asked in a more villainous tone.
“Yes, he’s down at the camp.”
“Why is he still alive?” Richard said in a hateful tone.
“Richard, please don’t do anything rash until you hear his side of the story,” Josephine pleaded.
“His side of the story! How about the near extinction of humanity’s side of the story!” Richard yelled.
“Richard please, just hear him out, he has a lot of valuable information about the Augs and he saved Ethan from them.” Richard clutched his pulse rifle and grated his teeth, but Josephine’s soft green eyes and gentle expression lessened his anger.
“Alright, I’ll hear him out, but if I don’t like his answers, he won’t like mine,” Richard promised.
“Thank you,” Josephine said as she kissed his cheek and took hold of the pulse rifle in his hand.
“What are you doing?” Richard asked, still clutching at it.
“You owe me a rifle,” she reminded him.
“I suppose I do, but this one is a few models up from the one you lent me,” he replied with a smirk.
“Yes it is, and the one I lent you was nicer than your old one, wasn’t it?” Josephine replied.
“It was,” Richard conceded. “Come Dakota, now you can see who really runs the show around here.” Dakota flicked his ears, and then slowly approached Josephine’s outstretched hand.
“What a pretty horse, where on earth did you find him?” Josephine asked.
“Actually Dakota found me, and I wouldn’t have made it back without his help,” Richard admitted.
“You’re joking?” Josephine said in a doubtful tone.
“No, I’m serious. Dakota has saved my life several times already.” Richard said with a serious look in his eyes.
“Really,” Josephine replied, as she looked Dakota up and down. Then she proceeded to gently rub his muzzle. “What a good horse, you brought my Richard back to me.”
“He’s the smartest damn horse I’ve ever met, and I swear he understands some of what I’m saying,” Richard insisted.
“Perhaps he is your kindred spirit,” Josephine suggested.
“My what?” Richard replied as he rolled his eyes doubtingly.
“You and Dakota share a spiritual connection of some kind.”
“Come on, now you’re pulling my leg,” Richard exclaimed.
“Do you doubt that you and I share such a connection? Or is it my imagination that we seem to already know each other on a far deeper level than is possible for two people who are practically strangers?” Richard’s expression indicated she was correct, but he didn’t want to admit it in front of the others.
“Why don’t you show me around,” Richard asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Okay, but not until you admit we share a special connection,” Josephine insisted.
“Fine…you and I are meant to be together and it is the will of the universe,” Richard replied in a robotic voice.
“Good, I’m glad we agree. Now follow me,” Josephine said in a friendly tone. Richard walked side by side with her holding her hand as they headed into the camp. Dakota followed closely behind, pausing just long enough to sniff the ground and nibble at the grass as they proceeded.
“Where does that go?” Richard asked, staring at a large tunnel carved into the glacier towards the rear of the camp.
“The tents served as a temporary camp while we worked on the real settlement which is inside the glacier. Come see it for yourself,” Josephine offered. Richard followed her inside, running his hand along the cold smooth surface as they advanced. The sound of hooves echoed rhythmically behind them, and Josephine looked over her shoulder for a moment before pausing. “Is your horse coming along too?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Probably… he has no fear of humans or their dwellings, and he makes himself right at home, inside or out,” Richard replied.
“That’s kind of strange isn’t it?” Josephine asked.
“Yes, but I owe him my life, so he is free to come and go as he pleases. Of course I would prefer it if he never left, but it’s his choice, and I respect it,” Richard said in an appreciative tone.
“Well he seems pretty attached to you, so I doubt he’ll be going anywhere,” Josephine remarked.
“When did your clan have time to construct this?” Richard asked when they reached a fork in the tunnel.
“Jake always feared that the Augs might try and attack our settlement down in the foothills, so we have been coming up here during the summer months to work on it. The goal was to create a new settlement out of their reach,” Josephine replied.
“Do you have a name for this settlement?” Richard asked.
“We call it Granite Mountain, in reference to the rocks that make up this area,” Josephine replied.
“How far in does the main tunnel go?” Richard asked.
“It’s just over a mile long, but there are lots of side pockets that form rooms used for sleeping, food storage, and so on,” Josephine revealed.
“The glacier doesn’t look to be a mile long?” Richard questioned.
“It’s not, the tunnel goes several hundred feet into the rock at the base of the mountain where the glacier abuts it. Jake feared that the Augs might use unmanned aerial vehicles to attack us if they ever discovered our hideout, but the bombs those carry are small, so he thinks we would be safe deeper back,” Josephine said with an uncertain look in her eyes.
“I’m impressed. The Augs will have a very difficult time attacking this place,” Richard said reassuringly.
“I really doubt they will bother us up here. What would be the point?” Josephine added.
“If the Augs ever find out Dr. Stone is here, they will stop at nothing to get him back. Inside his sick head is the blueprint for creating the parent worms, and their survival is tied to him. I strongly recommend that we kill Dr. Stone after you finish showing me around. It’s the only way to guarantee their extinction,” Richard asserted.
“Richard, we can’t just kill him in cold blood. He is the one that warned us that the Augs were coming to destroy the old settlement. Without that warning, we wouldn’t have been able to escape. I owe him my life, as does everyone else living here, including Ethan,” Josephine insisted.
“I’m sorry, but one good deed does not undo a lifetime of evil. He still has to be held accountable for what he has done to the rest of humanity,” Richard said in a damming tone.
“Dr. Stone has requested asylum, and Jake has granted it to him. In addition, Dr. Stone has valuable first-hand knowledge of the Augs’ social structure and their inner workings, which could prove extremely helpful in the future,” Josephine replied.
“Any one of your arguments would be reason enough for forgiveness for the average criminal, but Dr. Stone has single-handedly enslaved all but a tiny fraction of the world’s population. His greed, coupled with the military’s relentless pursuit for technological superiority, has turned billions of humans into nothing more than mindless slaves. No amount of sorrow or regret can ever undo what he has done to us,” Richard insisted.
Josephine looked away for a moment as Richard’s harsh words echoed up and down the icy tunnel. His assessment of the situation was valid, if Dr. Stone ever did fall back into the Augs hands, it could only spell disaster, but she didn’t feel that they should just kill him without further cause.
“Richard, I understand your concern, but no one really knows what happened with the implantation process. The very first larval implants were benign and didn’t take control of their host. We don’t know what went wrong along the way, and I believe Dr. Stone deserves the chance to explain his side of the story. Maybe he is guilty of grossly underestimating the potential risk of the implants, but he certainly cannot be held solely responsible for the worms taking over the planet. The military did hire him, and for all we know, they may be the ones responsible for converting the larvae into a weapon.”