Darwin's Paradox Read Online Free Page A

her command to conceal climbing equipment from Angel had backfired on Julie. She couldn’t find her own equipment either. So, the belt buckle had to do and she’d have to rely fully on the strength and balance of her limbs to climb down. She was just using the buckle to train the rope close to her body. It wouldn’t help break a fall but she didn’t intend to fall...
    She eased herself down, bracing herself against the craggy cliff face and finding cautious foot holds. She soon reached Angel’s tree and made the mistake of looking down. After taking in a sharp breath she continued her descent. Let’s settle this mystery once and for all , she thought. The sun beat down on her back. Sweat dripped down from her hair into her eyes. She blinked it away and felt the strain on her legs and arms. Her arms started to tremble.
    “Terrific,” she muttered, stopping for a break. “Not in as great shape as I thought I was.” The breeze wicked the sweat off her neck and invigorated her. She pushed on, taking care to go slowly, testing each foot and handhold. Part of her muscle tension was from exertion, certainly, but most of it she recognized came from apprehension and excitement. What awaited her below? Those strange sounds and lights...No, not northern lights nor dry thunder and lightning. Certainly not—
    She yelped in surprise as her left foot suddenly gave way with a clattering of loose rock. Pay attention! She clung to the wall and tried to regain the foothold when her right foot slipped. NO!
    She fell several meters before she was able to grasp the rope with enough force to stop. She bounced hard, hands burning and arms splintering with pain as they supported her swinging body. She looked down at the gorge below her and her stomach cramped with fear. There was absolutely nothing but air between her and the yawning gorge a hundred meters below.
    Her arms and shoulders flamed as she desperately held on. Great, Julie. This was pretty stupid. No one knew she was here. A quick check, she’d thought. She’d return with some early-season blueberries and no one would be any wiser. Except she wasn’t going to return.
    Then she saw it, just below her—an opening in the cliff. A cave! If she could just loosen her grip a little to allow herself to descend a little more, then swing into the cave...
    She wrapped her legs around the rope to support some of her weight and lurched her body forward then back to initiate a swing. When she was close enough to the rock face, she kicked herself off into a wide swing with her feet then eased her grip. She slipped—a little too fast! She saw the cave mouth rush up and swung forward with her legs then let go. She tumbled onto the cave ledge and felt the sharp pain of the impact.
    When she looked up, she inhaled sharply and stared. She was in a hanger with a fairly large air vehicle. Julie scrambled to her feet and pulled off her gloves to wipe her clammy hands on the back of her leather shorts, ignoring the rope burns. She wandered closer to the ship. It reminded her of the small one-man skyships the Enviro-Center used for reconnaissance jobs when she lived in Icaria. So much for heat lightning. This was what Angel had heard and seen. Julie warily circled the ship, confirming that it was empty. She proceeded to the back of the hanger past a well-equipped workbench and chair to an open door, which led into a lit room.
    She entered cautiously, giving the room a sweeping gaze to find no one inside. The room housed a set of lockers, a table and chairs, a fridge and a desk with a fully functional vee-com. As if to verify her suspicions, she recognized Aard’s faded jacket draped over the back of the desk chair. But where was Aard? He sure had a lot of explaining to do, she thought with mixed emotions. This was the result of much more than a few “foraging” trips back to Icaria. What was he doing with a skyship?
    She opened the fridge and found it well stocked with bottles of a recreational