Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Natale, Part 18

Michael

"This is it, then?" Charlotte turns slowly, surveying the scatter of dismal buildings.

James checks his screen. "Yes, Klempner's signal vanished from somewhere within five meters of where we're standing."

It looks ideal Juliana territory: abandoned, mostly derelict; windows smashed, doors swinging. A casual inspection inside the nearest shack reveals nothing but the debris of years blown inside. At the edge of the reservoir only a few yards away, scummy water laps mud and concrete skinned with green.

James pokes his head around the next door. "Nothing here. No footprints. Nothing looks like it's been disturbed in the last ten years."

A car stands abandoned, the tires missing, door lock broken, radio gone.

Charlotte cranes her neck, looking past it, then strides across cracked concrete. "Master... Michael..."

She brushes dust and leaves away from a solar panel mounted on a wall. Despite the dirt, it looks far newer than anything around it.