Eden Rising Read Free Page A

plane.”
    “Plane? What plane?”
    He hurriedly sat in the chair next to hers, and reached over to the radio’s controls. As he started a frequency scan, he said, “There’s a plane out there. In the east, heading toward the mainland.”
    “What kind of plane?” Her tone was cautious.
    “I don’t know. It was too far away to tell.”
    “Small? Big? What?”
    “I don’t know. Smaller than a commercial jet, bigger than a Cessna. Why?”
    Instead of answering, she shook her head, and pushed his hands from the radio. “Let me.” She pulled the microphone in front of her, adjusted the broadcast frequency, and pushed the transmit button. “This is Isabella Island calling unidentified aircraft. Come in, please.” She waited a moment and repeated the message.
    The fourth try was the charm.
    “Isabella Island, this is UN 132. Do you read me?”
    “UN?” Renee said to Robert. “It’s the UN.”
    For the first time since news of the pandemic broke, Robert felt the barest sense of hope.
    “We read you, UN 132,” Renee said, smiling. “We read you loud and clear.”
    “Isabella Island, good to hear your voice. Are you alone or are there others with you?”
    “There are one hundred and twenty-nine of us here,” Renee reported.
    There was a slight pause, then, “Can you repeat that?”
    Renee did.
    “How many sick?”
    “No one’s sick.”
    “No outbreaks?”
    “No,” she said, sharing a look with Robert. They both knew that wasn’t completely true. Dominic had caught the flu, but it had stopped with him.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yes. Positive.”
    Robert leaned over and said into the mic. “We isolated ourselves as soon as we knew there was a problem. We haven’t allowed anyone on the island since the outbreak occurred.”
    “That’s great to hear,” the voice said. “Do you have a landing strip?”
    “No,” Renee said. “The only way to reach us is by boat or seaplane.”
    “Hold for a moment, Isabella Island.”
    During the static that followed, neither Robert nor Renee said anything. They just stared at the radio as if worried the voice would not return.
    A minute later, it did. “Isabella Island, are you still there?”
    “We’re here,” Renee said.
    “How is your food and water supply?”
    “Good,” she said. “Not an issue.”
    “Good to hear. We’re out on a scouting mission right now, trying to locate survivors like yourself.” A pause. “Our people will be bringing you enough vaccine for everyone there. But because of your isolated situation, it may be a few days while we tend to those in more precarious situations. Do you understand?”
    Renee frowned and looked at Robert, clearly disappointed.
    “Let me,” Robert said.
    She slid the mic over to him.
    “We understand,” he said. “Just knowing you’re coming back is great news.”
    “Good news for us, too, finding you,” the man said. “You just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and don’t go to the mainland. You’ll be fine. We’ll be seeing you soon, Isabella Island. Take care, and stay safe. UN 132, out.”
    “You, too. Isabella Island, out.”
    That scant bit of hope Robert had been feeling morphed into full-on relief as he leaned back. They were going to be all right. They were all going to be vaccinated. The extreme stance they’d taken to keep others away had been justified. But most importantly, Dominic’s sacrifice was not in vain.
    “A few days?” Renee said, frowning.
    He looked over at her, an eyebrow raised. After a moment, he started to smile, and then he began to laugh.
    It was only a few more seconds before she was laughing, too.
     
    FIFTEEN THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE CARIBBEAN SEA
    NEAR ISABELLA ISLAND, COSTA RICA
    6:23 AM CST
     
    “W E’LL BE SEEING you soon, IsabellaIsland. Take care, and stay safe. UN 132, out.”
    “You, too. Isabella Island, out.”
    The man operating the radio on the aircraft that was neither associated with the now nonexistent United Nations nor on a mission to