Excerpt: Half Life Zero: No Life

"Hey babe, what you thinking?"

Sarah Walker looked up. She had been staring into the dancing flames of the small camp fire, lost in thought; now she blinked and refocussed on the speaker.

"Why, Doctor White," she said, a faint smile catching the corners of her mouth, "did you just call me 'babe'? I'm old enough to be your grandmother, you know?"

"I find that hard to believe," said Doctor Markus White. He indicated the log on which she sat. "May I?"

She glanced down at the space beside her, and nodded. "Ever the charmer, Doctor," she said. "I find it hard to believe that a lad as young as you is a full-blown doctor, but here you are."

He shrugged as he seated himself next to her. "Barely," he said. "This is my first field expedition since I added those letters to my name. I do wish you'd call me Markus. Coffee?" He handed her a battered old mug. "White with one, I believe."

"Spot on," she said as she took the mug. She sipped it cautiously. "Mmm, that's good. Thanks, Doctor Markus." She grinned at him. "I figure you've earned the title, you should get used to it!"

Markus sighed and took a swallow of his own coffee. For a while they sat together in silence, gazing into the flames, enjoying their drinks.

"So did you ever have any?" asked Markus at last. "Kids, I mean."

Sarah continued to stare into the flames. After a moment, she wrapped her free hand around the coffee mug to stop it from trembling.

"Sarah?" said Markus softly.

She turned to look at him again, and the flickering flames caught the trickle of moisture down her cheek.

"Are you okay, Sarah?" asked Markus, the concern clear in his voice. "I'm sorry if I..."

"It's okay," she told him. "I just..." She took a deep breath. "I had a son once, in another life." She smiled sadly.

"What happened?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head. "The foolishness of youth," she said simply. "I was..." She stared into the eyes of the young man beside her. After a moment she shook her head again. "It doesn't matter now." She took a long swallow of her coffee and turned her gaze back to the fire.

Markus picked up a stick and poked it into the heart of the flames. Burning wood shifted and settled, and a flurry of sparks spiralled upwards, swept aloft with the heat and smoke.

"So anyway, Doctor Markus, what brings you..."

There was a sudden loud crack, a bright flash, and Markus White found himself sprawled on his back in the dirt. He stared up into the darkness of the jungle's covering canopy. No stars showed, no hint of the moon. He blinked in confusion.