Trailblazer

by Michelle Diener

  He should never have let himself sleep.

  He forced himself to look down, saw with relief his uniform had helped minimize the damage, but he hadn't been wearing an anti-laz layer, and there was a deep score from his hip up to his waist. It was smaller than he thought from the feel of it.

  He pulled out a heal-aid, slapped it on over the injury and almost sighed with relief as the cool gel started to numb the pain.

  He managed to get to his knees, and glanced over at the Caruson. There was a big black beetle walking over the soldier's face, and Ben turned away.

  When he'd drunk some water, eaten something, and swallowed a few anti-infection tablets, he got to his feet and forced himself to take a look at the other Caruson he'd shot.

  He'd gotten lucky, he saw.

  He'd taken him out with a shot through the eye.

  With more effort that he thought possible, he hitched his pack on the shoulder on his good side and started to walk.

  The sun was almost completely down, and he'd have to find a safe place to spend the night, but it wouldn't be near the bodies of his enemies.

  He had known there was a chance Tally would have to spend the night on her own, and every time he thought of her alone, with Caruson soldiers trailing her, a spike of fear and dread gripped him.

  He's secured Frangi, Soo and Lenny's safety for the moment, but he hoped he hadn't done it at the expense of Tally's.

  Chapter 20

  Tally tied herself to a tree, as high up as she could go and still find a branch wide enough.

  She put the thin heat-saver blanket over her first, and tied the rope just above her knees and under her breasts.

  When she'd drunk almost a full bottle of water and eaten a few bars from her pack, which she'd hung on the branch above her, she lay back and listened to the sound of the forest sighing around her.

  It was hard to work out where sounds were coming from with the hiss of the wind, and eventually she gave up and let herself drift off, only jerking awake when something small and furry landed in her hair and then dashed off with a squeak.

  She must have fallen asleep because when she woke a second time, it was to the smell of a wood fire and the touch of the sun on her face.

  She lay still, listening, and eventually thought she could hear the faint murmur of voices.

  She carefully untied the rope, rolling her blanket as she went, and then stood up, stretching and carefully taking out more water and something to eat from her pack.

  She'd kept close to the Trail, unsure of the way to Rainerville without it, and she'd crossed over from one side of it to the other as she created her false trail.

  She was hoping Ben would find her more easily if she stuck to the Trail, as well.

  She felt a sick, throat-clutching fear every time she thought of him.

  He could easily have been unable to find her before nightfall last night, especially if the Caruso he followed were moving quickly, but he wasn't just following them, he intended to kill them.

  That meant some kind of engagement, and anything could happen with that.

  She tried to put that aside, digging into her pack for her vision enhancers and then easing out along the branch.

  She went as far as she could, but the foliage was still so thick, she couldn't see what was happening below.

  She listened instead, and felt her little invaders rise up into her consciousness, although she knew they'd been on some kind of guard all night.

  The smoke was coming from the Trail, which was directly to the east, she realized, and the murmurs she could hear were Caruson voices.

  Her pursuers had made camp a little way from her position.

  She ran through her options. If she left now, she'd be ahead of them, able to continue making a false trail, but they'd be really close behind.

  Or she could wait it out, let them leave, and follow behind them for a bit.

  She eased back down the branch, hooked her pack on her back, still undecided.

  Someone coughed, the sound really close, and she froze. There was a crash and suddenly a flock of tiny birds fluttered up from a tree nearby, tweeting madly.

  She heard a hacking sound, frowned as she tried to work out what it was, and the birds settled back down on the branches of her own tree.

  She held herself absolutely still, her gaze landing on the tiny brown feathered balls of fluff lining the branches all around her. They had a thin white line high across their chest and a yellow breast. Their eyes were ringed in white, giving the appearance they were all eyeing her with surprise. They were so small, they could have hopped through the space made if she put her thumb and forefinger together, and there were hundreds of them.

  The cough came again, and then a rock crashed through the leaves. She bent to the side and it sailed just above her shoulder. The birds rose up in full-throated panic and then disappeared.

  She felt panicked herself, pressing up hard against the trunk and standing in a sweat of fear. Was this an elaborate ploy to get her out of the tree?

  The hacking sound came again, and her jaw dropped open. Was that laughter?

  She felt a little dizzy at the effort her little helpers were going to, trying to work out how many Caruson were down below.

  Another voice called out, even to her ears sounding more harsh and angry than the Caruson language usually did.

  The soldier who'd thrown the stone answered back, with that hacking sound again, and was yelled at a little more.

  Tally slid down, her knees close to her chest, and tried to look through the gaps in the foliage.

  She caught a glimpse of a soldier adjusting his pants, and another lifting a clenched fist in anger.

  He'd been answering a call of nature, and he'd thought it funny to disturb the birds.

  She agreed with the soldier admonishing him.

  They were supposed to be tracking her, and whoever else they thought was with her, not drawing attention to their location.

  The VSC taught their soldiers better than that.

  Finally, the choppy, harsh voices moved away from her, and eventually faded.

  She forced herself to relax against the trunk, to sip more water and nibble at a fruit bar while she waited for them to pack up and go.

  Her heartbeat slowed and she took a deep, cleansing breath, and closed her eyes. After ten minutes, she heard nothing but silence.

  She made her way down, and after listening for a while to make sure she wasn't going to run straight into her pursuers, she set off parallel to the Trail.

  She kept her pace slow but steady. She could go faster, but she wasn't going to lie to herself. She was hoping to give Ben more of an opportunity to catch her up.

  She thought of the little helpers, and shook her head.

  Well, not lie to herself more than necessary.

  * * *

  She had heard the Caruso on and off all day.

  They were ahead of her, and she'd kept it that way until late afternoon, stopping when she needed to, slowing right down at other times.

  But by the time the sun was low on the horizon, she'd left them far behind her.

  Before she'd headed further from the Trail, she'd watched them from up a tree as they'd shot three animals that looked similar to kuyer but were smaller and a little plumper.

  They'd dragged them to a nearby clearing and got a fire going.

  Their pace through the day had been slow but relentless, and she could see they were struggling with their rations. She guessed the Caruso didn't have a lot of on-planet excursions and weren't well equipped for it, even though they'd tried to take Garmen and Lassa from the VSC just a few months ago.

  They had failed.

  Now it looked like they had set their sights on Veltos, and this must be their first genuine planet-side foray.

  She had wondered through the day if they were going to turn back because of the lack of a trail, but they had forged ahead, and because they were headed in the direction of Rainerville, she guessed t
hey had decided that must be her destination.

  The camp near the crash site was just a temporary staging post, anyway, and she supposed there wasn't much to turn back for.

  The path she was cutting through the trees began to slope upward, and she paused, thinking things through.

  While she stood, trying to get the lay of the land, she heard the faint sound of running water, and turned in that direction.

  Her own drinking water was running low, and it had been niggling at her since she'd taken a break at midday.

  She knew her agitation about it was due to her time on the ghost ship, and she'd tried to keep the rising sense of panic down. She knew the sense of relief that swept through her at the sound of water tumbling over rocks was extreme, but she couldn't help herself.

  She wanted to immerse herself in that water.

  She could feel the prick under her skin as her little helpers stirred, and her senses heightened as she approached the stream. She wondered if it was because they picked up on something, or simply the latent, hindbrain instinct of every creature approaching water.

  When she finally found it, it was a bitter disappointment.

  It ran fast and clear, but it was so shallow, when she crouched down and rested her palm in it, the water barely covered the back of her hand.

  She rose up and started following it, and when the bushes on either side became too thick, she stepped into the water, walking down the middle.

  The flow picked up pace as it ran downhill, and then suddenly she was standing on a rocky ledge and the water fell down into a wide pool.

  It shimmered in the dusk light, and she had to shield her eyes against the glare to see where the stream continued on, in a slow, lazy twist off to the north.

  She took off her boots and socks, balancing on the slippery rocks at the top of the waterfall, then jumped down into the pool below. The water was cool and came just over her knees.

  Her feet stirred up sediment, but as she got close to the left bank, the mud turned to rock and she had to step more carefully.

  She set her pack and boots on some rocks and took out her standard issue wash gel and walked back in, heading for where the water left the pool and carried on its shallow, twisty way.

  She took off her clothes piece by piece, washing each one before she peeled off the next, setting them on a rock before she rubbed gel over herself. She crouched down to rinse out her hair but before she could lift out of the water, her skin prickled and she felt the fizz of her little helpers in her blood.

  She turned, still low in the water, and found Irwin standing by her pack, looking at her.

  There was a strange beat of silence between them.

  “Thank goodness you're all right.” Irwin took a step forward, then hesitated as water lapped his boots.

  “How about you turn around and let me dress, and we can catch up.” She kept her voice neutral.

  “Sure.” He threw up his hands as if she'd accused him of something.

  She kept her eyes on his back as she wrung out her clothes and pulled them on, grumpy because she'd planned to put on the clean, dry set in her pack, but there was no way she was walking up to him naked.

  “So, where's everyone else?” Irwin asked, turning as she splashed back to where he stood.

  “Where were you?” she countered. “We couldn't find you.”

  “Well.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I woke early, wanted to check back on the crash site and no one else was up. I thought I'd be there and back before anyone knew I was gone.”

  He glanced at her and when she said nothing, he shrugged.

  “I heard the laz fire, and ran back, but when I got to the clearing, everything and everyone was gone. I've been hunting for you all ever since.”

  It was as good a story as any, she guessed.

  “Why did you want to go back to the crash site?”

  He shot her another look. “Does it matter?”

  She stared at him and he huffed.

  “Fine. I forgot I needed to log the exact location for my report when I got back. I needed to get the coordinates.”

  “I'm sure Ben had them.”

  Irwin sneered. “I have to get them. Not get them secondhand from one of my group.”

  She lifted her brows.

  His hand shot out, gripped her arm. “You don't seem very friendly, Tally.”

  “I don't feel very friendly, Irwin. You have a habit of disappearing, and coincidently, one of the times was when we were attacked. You're quite the group leader.” She jerked her shoulder, dislodging his grip, and walked past him to sit on the rock next to her pack and boots.

  Her little helpers were dancing away, urging her to run, which made breathing difficult, but she forced herself to look calm.

  “Shit.” He rubbed his hand over his head again. “Look, I screwed up, and I know it. I'll be lucky to still have the trail guide job at the end of this. But I swear I've been looking for you all ever since. And where the hell is everyone? You can't be the only one left.”

  She looked over at him, eyes narrowed.

  “You're actually wondering how much to tell me, aren't you?” He gave an incredulous laugh. “Listen, I know someone was injured, I saw the blood. I know this is a fuck up. But please don't say you're the only survivor.”

  “Frangi's dead.” Her voice wobbled a little, because it actually could be true, if her friend had taken a turn for the worse. She heaved in a breath. “Soo was seriously injured, Lenny less so.” Tally pulled out a pair of dry socks and spread the wet ones next to her on the rock. “Lenny opted to stay with Soo, to hunker down with the supplies and try to keep her alive, hopefully heal himself. They found a place not far from the crash site. Ben and I were going to go for help at Rainerville, but we came under attack, got separated.” She lifted her shoulders. “I'm hoping we find each other again.”

  He tipped back his head. “You sure he's still alive?”

  She jerked her head up at that. “No. No I'm not sure. As I said, we came under attack.” She knew she sounded a little too angry, but strangely, it seemed to settle Irwin down.

  “Sorry. I'm obviously worried about . . . everyone. I'm sick that Frangi's dead. I hope Ben finds us.”

  She pulled on a boot to avoid looking at him when he said 'us'. Because as far as she was concerned, there was no 'us'. She didn't trust him enough to spend time with him.

  “Were you planning on setting up camp here?” He looked around.

  She rested her chin on a raised knee. “What are your supplies like?”

  She knew he'd taken a lot from her stores. That was a huge mark against him.

  He set his pack on the ground. “Just what was in the spare pack. I grabbed it rather than wake everyone by pulling down my tent.” He kept a straight face as he lied.

  She wondered if she should confront him. Let him know she knew he had stolen from her stores.

  Decided against it.

  She'd already played this wrong. Shown her distrust.

  She mentally shrugged. It was what it was.

  “What have you been living on, then?”

  “I had enough energy bars to keep me going. Still have a few left. I know the forest pretty well, so I've supplemented with some berries and a few rodents.”

  “Okay, well, I'll find a tree nearby, and leave you to set up your tent. I'll see you in the morning.” She smiled as she pulled on the other boot and stood.

  “Where's your tent?” He frowned.

  “In Ben's pack.” She kept her tone light. She picked up her water bottle with its built-in filter and crouched beside the pool to fill it.

  “You can share my--”

  “No.” She slid the bottle back into her pack. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Wait. Tally? You're going to sleep in a tree?”

  She was already halfway across the small clearing and she looked over her shoulder and gave a nod. She didn't even want to tell him that much, but she understood she had to give him something, or
he wouldn't leave her alone.

  “I'll see you in the morning, Irwin.”

  She ducked through the thick bushes, and then put on a burst of speed, trusting her little helpers to keep her as quiet as possible.

  Ten seconds in, she threw herself behind a tree and crouched down, pressing herself up tight against the trunk.

  Irwin exploded from the trees, his head pivoting left and right. “Tally! Damn it!”

  He ran on, and as soon as he was out of sight, she rose up and walked upstream, carefully picking her way to where the waterfall fell over the rocks, and crossing over.

  She made her way back to the pool on the other side, found a tree two or three back from the bank with a view across the water to where Irwin had left his pack, and climbed it.

  There was no way she was letting him out of her sight, and she hoped he wouldn't work out she'd crossed back over the river.

  When she found a branch where she could watch the small clearing beside the water if she walked almost to the end of it, she settled in, securing her pack to the branch above again, and taking out one of her precious meal packs.

  She ate it slowly, enjoying every bite, and then sipped some water, making a face at the brackish taste of it, which even the filter couldn't seem to get rid of.

  Still, it was water, and there was plenty of it.

  She heard Irwin come back to his pack about half an hour later, heard him muttering to himself, although she couldn't quite catch what he was saying.

  She should feel a sense of achievement, getting away from him, doubling back, but his question about Ben was still reverberating in her head, forcing her to confront her fear that he was dead.

  She thought about the logistics of going back, of retracing her steps and seeing if she could find him.

  It was so tempting.

  But that would still leave Soo, Lenny and Frangi in the lurch, and she had no guarantee of finding him.

  They could pass each other in the dense forest and never know it.

  At least, if he was alive, he knew she was headed for Rainerville. It made sense to continue on, and when she got to her destination . . . She smothered a sigh. She'd just have to figure it out when she got there.