Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

Niya jerked to attention and grabbed the hover car’s steering.

She reduced the speed as the vehicle neared the energy barrier, her gaze searching the compound for any movement.

She couldn’t just go through the barrier, it would fry her alive, but as she neared it, the barrier stopped zinging and disengaged.

Oh…right.

She’d heard Riv and Sohut talking about that.

Ka’Cit had apparently coded his and their hover cars to be able to pass the barriers on both farms without external input.

Memory of that time he’d stopped by the satellite to upload English to the servers came back to her.

He was like that. Handy in that way.

As she piloted the craft into the compound a lamp post turned on, surprising her, but it seemed it was motion activated.

“Hello?”

It was quiet…and maybe it was just her, but it was eerily quiet.

“Hello?”

No answer, and for a few seconds after she stopped the hover car, she cocked her ears to listen, her eyes still peeled for any movement.

Maybe he wasn’t home.

“Hello?” she called again for good measure.

Nothing.

The piles of metal in the yard made the place a bit spooky and with the quietness, she had the urge to leave.

“Get a grip, Nia. You’re just creeping yourself out,” she whispered as she glanced around at the piles of metal.

As she stopped the hover car and stepped out of it, the uneasiness didn’t ease up. It grew.

Why was it so quiet?

The air was so still, it made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end.

Not far from where she’d parked was a smaller pile of metal scraps, about a foot tall. Just to make her feel better, she moved over to the pile and took up a piece that looked like a sawn-off pipe.

She gripped the weapon, just in case, as she walked toward the dwelling.

Another light came on overhead, lighting up the house.

The door was closed and so were all the windows, except one.

Raising her free hand, she knocked on the door and waited.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

No answer.

Releasing a breath, she turned and glanced around the premises. She was about to walk back toward the hover car when she side-eyed the open window.

Curiosity got the best of her and she went on tip-toe to glance inside.