The Face of Earth (33 page)

Agnar shrugged. “A little less than two years.”

“What!” Karina said, shocked. Given the state of the skeletons, she had expected the number to be much greater.

Agnar continued checking the data on his screen. “According to the external sensors, life was accelerated in this area once every month, with the last acceleration occurring only days ago.”

“Who would do something like that?” Karina asked, confused.

Agnar grinned at Karina as he turned to face her. “There’s only one person I know who’s interested in the life forms on this planet, as well as their evolution.”

Karina snorted, guessing who was behind it as well. “Megg.”

Agnar nodded. “I’ll bet she’s orbiting the planet right now.”

“No bet. I’m sure she is.” Karina couldn’t keep the hate she felt for Megg out of her voice, and Agnar shook his head sadly at her.

“Megg isn’t your enemy, Karina. She’s your creator.”

“Hence my dislike. The fact that she created my species in order to experiment on us makes her public enemy number one, in my opinion.”

Agnar shrugged, resigning himself to the fact that the two women he liked the most would never get along. He turned back to the controls and lifted the ship slowly out of the clearing. Branches broke as they rose, leaving the ground beneath them littered with sticks and leaves. Once free of the foliage, Agnar sped the ship away from Earth and out of the solar system.

Karina settled back into the chair and watched the viewscreens as Agnar increased their speed. When the stars around them began to fly by, she sighed with relief. Agnar turned at the sound, and she offered him a small smile. He grinned back.

“Are you ready to return to Yalsa, Karina?” he asked.

“Why Yalsa?” she asked curiously.

Agnar’s grin turned evil as he answered. “Because that’s where we’ll find Kevin.”