asked.
âYou sure you donât want a medic?â This from the colonel, who was looking concerned.
Fuchsiaâs eyes slid shut.
âSheâs fainted!â Danny said accusingly.
The colonel said brusquely, âMr. Carradine, you can do what you like, but Iâm getting medical help. The kidâs not well.â He turned on his heel and walked off down the tunnel. Danny wondered why he didnât use his cell phone, then remembered they were deep underground, well out of range of any signal. He turned back to Fuchsia in time to see her open her eyes and sit up suddenly. She had the dazed look of somebody waking from a particularly deep sleep, but as she focused on him, she gave a slow, dazzling smile. âHello, Danny.â
âAre you all right?â Danny asked.
âOh, yes,â Fuchsia said. âItâs really sweet of you to ask.â
âCan you remember any of that?â Carradine asked her.
Fuchsia shook her head. âIâm sorry, Mr. Carradine. Not this time.â She frowned. âBut I knew something had gone wrong before I went under.â
âYes, you told us. When you went under, you said something about darkness.â Carradine looked at her expectantly.
âIâm sorry.â Fuchsia shrugged helplessly.
âWhatâs going on here, Mr. Carradine?â Danny asked.
Carradine glanced after the retreating form of the colonel and obviously decided he was out of earshot. âYouâre going to find out eventually, Danny. Fuchsia has a special talent.â
Danny looked at him blankly. âLike, out-of-body? The rest of us can do that.â
Carradine shook his head. âWeâre still testing Fuchsia for out-of-body abilities, but early on something else came up. She seems to be a functioning precog.â
âShe can see the future ?â Danny exclaimed. He didnât think that sort of stuff existed outside of Marvel Comics.
Fuchsia said coyly, âOh that makes it sound like such a big deal, Danny. I donât have much control over it, but Mr. Carradine says the Project might be able to fix that eventually.â She smiled at him again. âUntil they do, itâs usually just . . . you know . . . flashes like I had about you and me.â
Like I had about you and me? Danny was opening his mouth to ask her what all that meant when Opal said, âIâm back.â
Chapter 8
Michael, Underground at Montauk
M ichaelâs eyes snapped open and he looked around. His mind was fuzzy from the anchor dreamâas often happened, heâd found himself back with the Dogon in his native Maliâbut he still realized there was something wrong. Danny and Mr. Carradine were kneeling beside Fuchsia, who was sitting on the floor for some reason. Michael turned his head quickly to see if Opal was all right and found her calmly unfastening her helmet. She gave him a little smile.
âTu vas bien?â he asked her quietly, then realized heâd reverted to his native French and translated, âYou okay?â
Opal set the helmet down and combed her hair with her fingers. âIâm fine. Little bit of trouble with the projection, but I worked it out eventually.â She glanced across at the others. âWhatâs happened?â
âI donât know,â Michael said. He started to remove his helmet.
Mr. Carradine was climbing to his feet. He offered a hand to Fuchsia, who took it and stood up too, a little unsteadily. Carradine called over his shoulder to Opal, âAny problems?â
âI was in the dark for a time,â Opal said. âI undershot the targetâI think the coordinates the colonel gave us must have been a little off.â
âNo, it was an equipment problem,â Fuchsia said.
Danny, who was on his feet now too, glanced at her quickly. âHow do you know?â
âThe battery pack is underpowered,â Fuchsia murmured, as if that