Dream Sky by Brett Battles

we can use here, medical supplies. Look around, see what you can see.”
    Arjun and Darshana made a quick trip through the first and second floors and determined both were unoccupied.
    When they discovered a set of stairs leading down to a basement, Darshana said, “I am not going down there.”
    “Neither am I.”
    They closed the door and moved a heavy desk in front of it in case someone was down below.
    As they began a more meticulous search, it soon became apparent that what equipment Project Eden hadn’t taken with it had been destroyed. Monitors and telephones and security cameras and computers had been smashed throughout the facility. As for the medical supply room, the only things left there were empty shelves and trash on the ground.
    Arjun was beginning to think the only thing he and Darshana would be leaving with was the knowledge Project Eden was indeed gone, but then they found the narrow staircase in the small room on the second floor, leading up to an unexpected third level. The stairs were not quite vertical but close enough that holding on to the railing was a necessity. At the top was a trapdoor. Darshana, having taken the lead, pushed it up a few inches so she could peek through the opening.
    “No one,” she said, then shoved it the rest of the way open and climbed out.
    Arjun poked his head through a moment later and looked around. At first glance, it appeared to be a single, doorless room, with a chest-high counter running along two walls, and metal racks along the others. Most surprising was that the equipment Arjun could see was still intact.
    As soon as he climbed the rest of the way out, Darshana shut the trapdoor to give them more floor space.
    “They did not destroy anything,” Arjun said.
    “I know,” she said, as shocked as he was. “But why not?”
    Arjun shrugged and turned in a circle, taking in the whole space.
    The racks were full of different types of equipment, none of which he could identify. He was an accountant before all this happened, and while he could make his way around a computer, he was not an IT guy. On the counter were a couple of blank monitors, a keyboard, and a headset. Out of curiosity, he walked over and rubbed his finger across the touch pad. Both monitors popped to life, a box in the middle of one requesting a password.
    The computers were still on.
    Arjun pushed the chair to the side so he could get a better look. There was a thud on the floor as one of the legs hit something. He glanced down and saw a half-empty bottle of whiskey on its side, rolling back and forth. He picked it up so they wouldn’t step on it, and set it on the counter.
    “Do you know a way around the password?” Darshana asked.
    “No. Do you?”
    She shook her head.
    They left the computer alone and carefully examined the rest of the room. There weren’t any windows but there was a door on the back wall. Arjun opened it and took a look outside. It was the roof of the main building, with nothing more interesting that a few vents and a decrepit piece of old machinery. 
    “What are these for?” Darshana asked.
    She was pointing at a group of cables just inside the doorway. While most other wires were on the floor, these ran up the wall and disappeared through the ceiling.
    Curious, both Arjun and Darshana stepped outside. They had to move several feet away before they could see what was on top of the room. Two satellite dishes and a heavy-duty-looking antenna. They had seen the equipment from their observation post a few blocks away, but Arjun had paid them no attention at the time.
    “This is a communications room,” Darshana whispered.
    They stared at the dishes as the reality of what they’d found settled in.
    “We need to go back for the satellite phone,” he said. “Sanjay needs to know about this.”

9
     
    WARD MOUNTAIN NORTH, NEVADA
    12:42 AM PST
     
    “D AD, WAKE UP.”
    Ash’s eyes flew open, his hand already searching for the gun he kept by his side when he was out in