by J. N. Chaney
“It’s going to fall!” yelled Abigail, tugging my sleeve.
I followed Abigail up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, but paused before I was clear.
Below us, the hole had opened up, and I saw in its belly an entire sea of arms—vines moving beneath the pit itself, rocks and metal chunks falling all around them. At their center, I saw a massive thing—the heart of the pit—opening and closing its sides like a mouth.
A hand gripped my chin. “Go, you idiot fool!” screamed Lucia into my ear. She smacked me hard across my cheek. “Run!”
I blinked, then pushed the image I’d just seen out of my mind. Without another thought, I ran forward, up the stairs and into the darkness. There was a light, far ahead of us—a crack in the veil.
Abigail arrived first and entered the code next to the hatch. It wouldn’t open, which meant we’d have to force it.
I grabbed the manual control and pulled, slowly moving the metal handle from right to left. Abigail pressed against the door with her back and hands, gritting her teeth as she put everything she had into getting the door open.
I joined her a second later, and together we pushed.
The hatch cracked at last, and a soft hue of light filled the ancient stairwell.
Fourteen
We ran through the snow, trying to get as far from the hatch as possible. When we were halfway across the white field, the ground shook with so much intensity that I nearly fell to my knees.
Abby caught my arm, helping me to balance. “Keep going!” she yelled through the noise.
Lucia was still on my back, making things even more difficult, but I wouldn’t let that stop me.
We trudged through the snow, slowing, but never stopping. Finally, as we neared a ridge, I turned to see the stairwell begin to collapse in on itself. The hard snow cracked in every direction, breaking apart like glass before sinking in on itself.
Lucia slapped the side of my head. “Don’t stop now, boy!”
I swept my hand over my eyes and nose, wiping the snow away. There was a formation in the snow, leading to a lower area from the ridge. More rocks there than snow, which probably made for a better foundation. “There!” I yelled, pointing. “Come on!”
Abigail followed as I steadily ascended the cliff, minding my footing. If I slipped, I might hurt Lucia, and as tough as she might be for an old woman, I wagered she could do without another injury.
We were halfway down the ridge when I heard the explosion. I turned back to the field to see a cloud of snow burst into the air. The stairwell must have collapsed, I thought before proceeding forward again.
I reached the rocks and offered my hand to Abby. She took it, stepping off the edge of the ridge. “Are both of you okay?” she asked.
“We’re fine,” I said. “But that won’t last if we don’t find a way out of this storm.”
“Can you reach Siggy from here?” Abigail asked.
“I can try,” I said, tapping my ear and opening a channel. “Siggy, this is Jace. Respond.”
“C…tain…ference…storm…” Sigmond responded, his voice broken and distorted.
“Repeat!” I ordered. “Siggy, you’re not coming in clear.”
“…ologies…aptain…repeat…static…”
“Godsdammit,” I muttered. “I hate this planet.”
“You aren’t alone in that,” said Lucia.
“We’ll have to wait this storm out or get closer to the ship,” I said.
“Is the signal that weak?” asked Abigail.
“On a clear day with zero interference, my comm can reach two kilometers,” I said. “We’re drowning in snow and I have no idea where we even are.”
“Half a day’s walk,” said Lucia.
“Right, so not close,” I said. I looked at the old woman over my shoulder. “Any ideas?”
“There is one place that I know of, but I’m hesitant,” she said.
“If you know somewhere, then tell us,” said Abigail.
Lucia paused, then let out a brief sigh. She pointed to my right, toward the rising sun. “That way. Look for another ridge.”
I took a step, kicking snow from my foot. “Where are you leading us, exactly? Not another facility, I hope.”
“No, nothing like that,” she answered, her voice growing softer as she spoke. “There is a man living nearby. Someone I know.”
* * *
We marched through the thickening snow while winds pushed against us. I felt Lucia hugging my back, burying her face in my coat. I could feel the heating pads inside my clothes working to balance my body temperature, but it wasn’t enough to completely offset the cold. I couldn’t imagine how Lucia must have felt, despite having grown up here.
This planet was hell, an icy mess of a world with actual monsters and a dying land. There was nothing for the living.
Nothing for Lucia or her people. At a certain point, whether it was tomorrow or a hundred years from now, eventually they would all die, and no one would remember them.
Except for me, I couldn’t help but think. I pushed the thought away. There was no time for that, not with two armies after me.
We found the ridge in under an hour. I tried using my comm several times as we walked, but only received a few broken responses.
The ridge was ahead of us, but I couldn’t see an opening. As we drew closer, I finally spotted a tarp spread out across the rock, rustling in the wind.
“There!” said Lucia, pointing to the tarp. The winds had picked up even more, making it hard for me to hear her voice, despite being so close. “We need to get inside!”
When we arrived, I had to locate the corner of the cloth. It was tied in a knot and took me several tries to undo. I could barely feel my fingers, after all, making things more difficult than they should be.
After managing to squeeze inside, I reached out and retied the knot, securing the tarp.
The cave was filled with supplies. I spotted a fire pit, just a few meters inside, with some blankets tossed against both walls.
Abigail helped me pull Lucia off my back and place her against the wall. I stretched my arms and shoulders, relieved to have the weight off. “Damn, woman,” I said, twisting my torso and popping my spine. “Let’s not do that again.”
“Who’s there?!” called a voice from deeper inside the cave.
I was about to answer when I saw someone appear from the back, poking their head out from behind another wall. “Hey, don’t mind us,” I said, folding my arms.
Abigail placed a hand on her weapon. Smart, considering neither of us had ever seen this person before.
“What are you doing here?” asked the stranger. He approached us, holding an object in his hand.
I quickly drew my pistol, but didn’t aim it. If he tried anything, I wouldn’t hesitate to take him out. I didn’t give a shit who he was or how Lucia knew him. “Stop right there,” I said, brushing my finger over the trigger. “Don’t take another step.”
The man looked at each of us, then at Lucia. I saw the realization wash across his face as he began to understand. “Lucia? I-Is that you?”
“It’s me, Josef,” she said, trying to sit up. “Now, would you put that stupid thing away before these two wind up shooting you?”
“Are you hurt? What happened?” he asked, quickly placing the weapon behind him and shuffling closer to her. “Was it the storm? Did you fall?”
“Boneclaws,” she said, fanning him away. “I’m fine. Quit your worrying.”
Josef seemed wrought with concern, his eyes darting all over Lucia’s body, examining her. “Why are you on the floor if you’re fine? Can’t you stand?”
“Get off, you old dasick,” she snapped.
I looked at Abigail. “What did she just call him?”
“Sounded bad,” she said. “It must not translate.”
Josef rolled her leg sleeve up, spotting several marks and a large bruise. “That’s what I thought,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll be back in a moment.�
��
He got to his feet and went to the rear of the cave. I waited until he was far enough away before I said anything to Lucia. “Who the hell is that guy?”
“Josef,” she muttered. “My husband.”
“Your what?” asked Abigail.
Lucia scowled at the nun, but kept her mouth shut. Josef came running, bowls in his arms, hurrying to Lucia’s side. “I’ll get you fixed up right away,” he said, taking a wet cloth in one hand and a small, clear pouch in the other.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, it’s just a bit of medical gel,” said Josef. He leaned in closer to Lucia. “Who are these people?”
“Lost visitors,” I said.
“They’re from another world,” said Lucia, grabbing the gel package out of his hand. She began to apply it to herself. “I was helping them through the tunnels when we were attacked.”
“Visitors? From space? After all this time, someone’s finally come to our little home,” said Josef. “I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see it.”
“That seems like the common reaction around here,” I said. “Say, Jo, you think we could stay here for a bit? I can’t contact my people in this storm.”
“Of course!” he exclaimed, more enthusiastically than I’d expected. “Please, friends, have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable. I have some meals if you’d like.”
I imagined what sort of food someone living in a cave might have, but figured it couldn’t be too bad if he was still alive.
“No, thank you,” said Abigail, who seemed to have come to a different conclusion.
“Please, you have to eat something,” said Josef. He snapped to his feet and went to the corner, not far from the fire pit.
Abigail looked at me. “If he brings me a plate of Boneclaw meat, I’ll throw it at you.”
“Boneclaw?” Lucia asked, scoffing. “What sort of food do you think we eat?”
“Give it a chance,” I said. “I’ll eat a little Boneclaw if it means surviving.”
“You just ate this morning. You can’t go one night without food?” Abby asked.
“And risk the hunger pain setting in? No, thanks,” I said.
Josef returned, holding several thin boxes. “Ration meals. I’ll have them heated and ready to eat soon, if you want them.”
He handed me a box, and I folded the top up, checking it. The meal was covered by a plastic material, all of the food vacuum-sealed. Vegetables, meat, gravy. “Where did you get this?” I finally asked.
“Janus has a machine that recycles material and creates food,” said Lucia. “We have to return as much of the materials as we can in order to continue to create new food.”
“This is recycled?” asked Abigail.
“Abby, let it go,” I said, handing the box to Josef. “We’ll have that meal, pal.”
Josef smiled warmly. “Wonderful!”
* * *
The wind outside the cave howled as we sat together near the fire pit. Josef had cooked each of the boxed meals and handed them back to us. I peeled the plastic back and let the steam rise from inside. I couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t how you were supposed to make these, but said nothing.
With a shrug, I dug in.
The food was a little bland, but better than nothing. I glanced at Abigail, who ate her food without complaint, which meant it couldn’t be that bad.
Josef took our empty boxes when we were done and walked to the rear of the cave. Abigail decided this would be a good time to bug Lucia about her connection to this weird cave-person. I really didn’t give two shits about any of it. If Lucia wanted to have a secret husband who lived in a cave and ate out of boxes, that was her business.
“It’s complicated,” Lucia told the nun.
“How?” asked Abby. “Did he get banished from your tribe?”
Lucia scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s here because he wants to be.”
“What? Why would he want to be here?” Abigail asked.
“Because he’s a selfish old fool,” said Lucia.
“Hey, Jo,” I called, my voice echoing through the cave. “Abby wants to know why you’re here.”
Abigail smacked my arm. “Jace, you’re not supposed to—”
“What?” I asked with a shrug. “This way you can go straight to the source and bypass all this annoying drama.”
Lucia opened her mouth to say something, no doubt a string of insults directed at me, but was cut off by Josef’s response. “Oh? Didn’t anyone back home tell you about my work?” he asked, returning quickly. “I’m living here because I’m looking for Tritium Cores.”
I paused at the term. Was this guy serious? Had Lucia somehow found a way to tell him about the core in my pack? I’d only just found the damn thing. “What did you just say?”
“Tritium Cores,” he repeated. “They’re used for vital systems throughout the old buildings, but there is only one for each structure. The one we use for our village has begun to lose its power, mostly due to the animals burrowing through the—”
“You mean the Boneclaws?” Abigail asked.
“That’s right,” said Josef. “The Boneclaws move constantly, nesting in different areas, digging new tunnels all the time. They’ve broken many systems in the process.”
“We’ve seen the tunnels,” she said. “Have you managed to find any of these cores on your own?”
Josef frowned. “No, the herbology facility’s core seems to be unreachable. I’ve searched every conceivable—”
I shot a glance at Abigail. She stared back at me, her eyes falling on the bag tied to my waist. “Jace…” she whispered to me, but I only shook my head.
“What’s wrong?” asked Josef.
“Could you please excuse us for a moment,” said Abigail, getting on her feet. She motioned for me to follow, but I only stared at her. “Jace, can I have a word with you?”
I sighed. “Fine.”
We walked to the back of the cave, leaving the married couple alone to presumably squabble.
When we were out of earshot, Abigail leaned closer to me. “We have to give them that core,” she whispered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Don’t be like that, Jace. I saw it in your hand when you came out of the tunnel,” she said.
“Then you know it’s too valuable to hand off to a homeless person in a cave,” I answered.
Abby shrugged. “Maybe, but we should at least talk to Karin and Lucia about this.”
“What happens if Titan picks us up and needs this sometime down the line?” I asked. “We’ve already seen what happens when a core runs out of juice.”
“I know,” she said, simply. “But it isn’t ours to take.”
“You had no problem stealing one from the Union,” I said.
“You know that’s different. These people are our friends. They’ve helped us at every turn.”
I groaned. “Okay, okay. I hear what you’re saying,” I said. “We’ll hand it over, but not until we get back in their camp and verify all this with the rest of the team.”
“Deal,” said Abby, smiling at her little victory.
“Fine, but there’s no need to be so smug about it,” I said with some sarcasm in my voice, although she knew I didn’t mean it.
She laughed, leaning in and kissing my cheek. “Let’s stay the night and head out in the morning.”
My face warmed the way it did after a few shots of whiskey. Abigail smiled and walked past me, joining the others near the front of the cave.
I just stood there like a fool, wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
Fifteen
The hotel room smelled like strawberries, expensive booze, and perfume, and the orange glow of the city crept in through the drapes. It was the middle of the night and it was time for me to go.
I sat up in bed, pulling away from the naked woman beside me. From Eliza.
She stirred, waking to see me right as I w
as getting to my feet. “Time to go?” she asked.
“Yeah. Go back to sleep,” I told her. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
“Sure, when you get back,” she mumbled, right before she drifted back into whatever dream she was having.
I threw on my shirt and buttoned my pants, then left the room key on the counter. Eliza would handle the bill. She always did whenever we had these little meetups.
I’d been in this business for four years, working on glorified errands for Eliza and her bosses. Not that I minded the jobs, but they were only a stepping stone to something greater. Something involving me, cruising the galaxy in my own ship, free to live the life I wanted.
Fuck everyone else.
In the meantime, this job was getting me there, and fast. I’d already made contacts through the network, learned how the Renegade business went. I couldn’t just get a ship and fly off on my own, not without knowing the right people beforehand. I had to learn who the good agents were—the people handing out jobs and managing information. Without a good agent, you couldn’t make it very far in this business. I’d already met a few of them, including Marta Sosen and some dopey-looking mother fucker on Taurus Station (Ollie, I think his name was), but I wanted at least four contacts before I got my feet wet.
Which is what I was doing right now, heading out to meet a guy named Genji Marco in a bar across town.
I’d met Genji on a job back in Sandis, a shit town on the other side of the planet. We were there to pay someone else a visit, break a few bones if we had to, but it never came to that. We mostly spent the weekend sitting in a parking lot, waiting for the target to show. That was when Genji told me about Fratley Oxanos, some loan shark with money to spare. The man who could give me a ship. It was exactly the sort of contact I needed to finally get on with my life.
Walking through the Grand Deluxe’s lobby, I noticed an empty street ahead, probably due to the recent drop in temperature. It was freezing in the city this time of year. It might even be snowing when I returned from my next assignment.
I clutched the coat I was wearing and called a nearby cab to pick me up.
* * *