Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

something special about him, right? Do they think he knows what happened? Or that he’s behind it? Or even that he has some kind of cure for the infected?”
    “They didn’t tell me much. They gave me a picture; how the hell they got that, I don’t know, unless he’s a parallel of someone here. But I know they want to get to him before Black Mountain finds him.”
    “Black Mountain ?” Brent asked. “Like Black Island?”
    “Yes and no. They started out the same. But it seems the group in Georgia went rogue. We’re not even sure they’re still here or that there are any survivors. But if they’re alive, there’s an excellent chance they’re looking for Boricio, too.”
    “And they couldn't tell you why?” Brent said, as if he didn’t believe Ed.
    “Is it so hard to believe they only tell me what I need to know?”
    “You seem like the type who would insist on needing to know everything .”
    Ed smiled, “Fair enough. And you’re right. But in this case, the details are sensitive. Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you. Suffice it to say, they want this guy, so we need to find him first and convince him to come back with us. What happens after that, I don’t know.”
    Brent was quiet a while longer, then asked, “Have you seen your daughter?”
    A grenade of emotion detonated within Ed’s every ounce of being.
    “No. They showed me pictures, but I don’t know where they have her or the other girl, Teagan.”
    “The one with the baby?”
    “If the baby lived, yes.”
    “I haven’t seen any babies on the island,” Brent said. “And I don’t remember Jane telling me about having to watch any.”
    “Like I said, I don’t know. They’re keeping mum.”
    “Why tell you about your daughter’s status, but not the other girl?”
    “My guess is something bad happened and they don’t want to upset me.”
    “You think she’s dead?”
    Ed looked at Brent, “You sure are chatty.”
    “Sorry,” Brent said, “I just like to know what’s going on, what’s at stake.”
    After a few moments, Brent spoke again, “ I gotta ask you something that’s been gnawing at me since the other night, when you went all parallel universe on me: why did you picked me?”
    “I told you. Michael is dead. I need someone I can trust. Though, Michael was a hell of a lot less chatty.”
    “Yeah, but you hardly know me. And this is a Black Island-sanctioned mission, right? If that’s the case, why not just take any of the other men who are surely more equipped to get your back? What are we really doing here?”
    Ed looked at Brent and grinned, “Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?”
    “Every day at my old job,” Brent said, smiling back. “So, is that an evasion or the opening to an answer?”
    Maybe this guy has better field-sense than I thought; he can sure smell out answers.
    “Here’s the deal,” Ed drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel. “I can’t trust everyone on Black Island. I knew Michael was clean, but I have my suspicions about others. They have a mole, someone working in the interests of Black Mountain. Maybe even a few people; I’m not sure. I can’t go into the how’s and why’s, but I’m fairly certain the place has been compromised. And the mole may even be among the original six.”
    “Original six?” Brent asked.
    “There is a room in Black Island that seems to have been spared whatever happened on October 15. I’m thinking there’s a reason for that, and it might not be a good reason. Six people from this world survived, including my parallel, Sullivan, and four scientists. I have reason to believe that one or more of them are complicit in the events of October 15, and I’m not sure they want us to succeed in finding Boricio. This mission is critical; I need at least one other person with no connections to anyone. And I have a good feeling about you.”
    “Good feeling?” Brent asked suspiciously.
    “OK, I’ve been watching you, and so far, you seem clean. Well, clean for a journalist, anyway.”
    Brent laughed.
    They drove a while longer, the weather growing uglier with every mile. They drove through a few patches of rain and were now getting some snow, which slicked the empty roads. This was the first snow he’d seen all season, and so late in winter too. There were a few people at Black Island researching weather patterns; he’d even seen video of a bizarre tornado, bigger by far than anything ever captured on camera. It grabbed an