CHAPTER 7
Simon doubled over. He whispered her name but knew she was gone. He waved the flashlight around the empty grove. Nothing. With a groan, he hurled the light to the ground and smashed the lens with the heel of his boot. Why Hannah? She was too young, too innocent. He hated thinking about what might befall her in enemy hands, but his mind would focus on nothing else. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and stumbled blindly into the woods.
He should have never left her alone. He failed her. He failed everybody. He shipwrecked his own mission and kept Hannah from carrying out hers as well. If he hadn’t followed her around like a stricken mutt, she would still be safe. The warning message would have reached her in time to hide. What had possessed him to think they could travel safely tog
