Contributor (Contributor Trilogy, book 1)

by Nicole Ciacchella

  At long last, Dara's hands bumped into something on the side wall. At first, she thought it was one of the vehicle's interior lights but, as she ran her hands around its contours, she felt that it was rectangular and, more importantly, that it had a handle and hinges. She felt a surge of excitement and relief, and tried to pull the box off the wall. It took a couple of fruitless tugs before she figured out how to detach it. Just as she wrapped her hand securely around the handle and turned to make her way back toward Letizia, she heard a sound that made her freeze in place, her blood running cold.

  Holding her breath, Dara strained her ears. She could hear the quiet gasps of Letizia's breath, and she wondered if her master had heard what she had. She was on the verge of exhaling and taking in a new breath when she heard the sound again. This time, there was no mistaking it: a thump, followed by the low buzz of voices. Someone was outside of the transport and, judging by the fact that merely the weakest glimmer of light now penetrated the darkness, Dara knew it wasn't a retrieval team.

  Chapter 20

  Panic surged through Dara in full force, and she clutched the emergency kit to her side, hoping against hope that she wouldn't bang it into anything and give their presence away. For all she knew, the people outside could be attempting to rescue her and Letizia, but the stories of Roots were not only legendary, they were also lurid. While it was entirely possible that she had nothing at all to fear, it was also entirely possible that she should be terrified for her life, and she didn't intend to take any chances.

  Dara made her way back to Letizia, placing her hand on her master's arm. "Did you...hear that?" Letizia whispered.

  "Yes," Dara breathed. She placed her mouth close to Letizia's ear, her voice the faintest of whispers. "Someone is outside and I don't think it's the retrieval team."

  "Not enough lights," Letizia sighed.

  "What should we do?" The dire reality of their situation struck Dara, making her knees weak with fear. In addition to being stranded, they were effectively trapped, thanks to Letizia's injury.

  "Get out...of here. Run."

  "Run? Do you think you can even move?" Dara asked doubtfully.

  "Not me...you," Letizia hissed, and Dara realized that Letizia wanted her to run and leave Letizia to fend for herself.

  "No! No way!" Dara replied in a fierce whisper.

  "Dara," Letizia began, but Dara cut her off.

  "Forget it, Letizia. I'm not doing it. So I suggest you do your best to move or I'll have to drag you. Either way, you're coming with me."

  Letizia tried to protest once more, but Dara just repeated what she had said, causing Letizia to let out a frustrated noise.

  "Stupid. Will...slow you—"

  "Shut up," Dara told her bluntly. "The more you carry on like this, the more time we're wasting." A sudden loud thump and a cry proved her point.

  Though her hands shook badly, Dara managed to put the kit on her vacant seat and open it. She rummaged through it, feeling a couple of water bottles and something smooth to the touch. As she pulled the object out, it caught the light from outside and let off the barest of glints. Hastily, Dara shoved the reflective blanket back down into the kit. In normal circumstances, she would have been happy to have it. Now, however, a piece of material like this would serve little purpose other than making them a pair of moving targets.

  Dara didn't have time to inventory the other supplies. The thumps began to come more regularly, and she wanted to get out of the transport, now. She grabbed her bag and shoved the entire contents of the emergency kit into it, and then she felt around until she found Letizia's hand.

  "We need to go," she breathed.

  "Dara—"

  "Don't argue with me," Dara snapped. "We need to go. Now."

  With a sigh, Letizia abandoned her protests. She began struggling to get out of her seat, and Dara had to help her unbuckle. Once she had freed Letizia, Dara put a hand on the back of her master's neck and applied gentle pressure, signaling that her master should keep her head down. Dara gnawed at her bottom lip, worried about Letizia moving with a head injury, but they had no other option.

  Noiselessly, the two crept toward the back of the vehicle. The scrabbling outside the door continued, and as Dara heard metal scraping against metal, she knew it wouldn't be long before the door unlatched. Fortunately, one of the back windows of the vehicle had an emergency hatch and, since Dara hadn't heard any noises coming from that area, she hoped it meant that no one was there. With any luck, they could slip out of the hatch and escape before the people outside had any idea that anyone had been inside.

  Dara's heart pounded so hard it threatened to burst, and what little vision she had receded to a mere pinpoint. She could not afford to hyperventilate now, and she forced herself to regulate her breathing. Though Letizia moved rather slowly, she moved steadily. Once they got out of the vehicle, Dara hoped they would find some sort of shelter, where she could examine the extent of Letizia's wound.

  As quietly as she could, Dara worked the emergency latch. The hatch opened, letting out the faintest of noises, and both she and Letizia froze, holding their breath. It appeared, though, that the people outside were making so much noise, they didn't notice.

  "Stay here," Dara breathed into Letizia's ear. "I'll go out first. Put your hands on the windowsill so that you can feel mine. I'll help you down."

  Without waiting for any sort of acknowledgment from Letizia, Dara repositioned her bag so that the strap crossed her chest, took a deep breath, and climbed out. She clung to the edge of the hatch, afraid she'd have to jump down but, to her relief, her feet touched solid ground.

  I can't believe I'm wearing these stupid heels!

  For a brief second, she thought about kicking them off, but she promptly dismissed the idea. Running with them wasn't practical, but running without them over the rocky, debris-laden terrain would likely tear her feet apart.

  Letizia's hands touched hers and Dara tugged lightly, urging her master out. A second later, Dara felt one of Letizia's feet. She steadied Letizia as she climbed down to the ground. An argument started on the other side of the vehicle, and Dara heard at least three different voices. Her sense of urgency increased, and she grabbed Letizia's hand and took off running, practically hauling her master behind her.

  Dara could now see well enough that she could at least distinguish vague outlines in the dark, which prevented her from running into anything. Still, the haze left her disoriented, and she lost all sense of direction. She had no idea which way they were running, nor could she see their transport. She simply kept moving, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the intruders as possible.

  "Stop...Dara," Letizia gasped. She sounded so much like a desperate child that Dara halted in her tracks, her eyes filling with tears.

  "I'm sorry. I just—"

  "Needed to...get away...my head..." Letizia groaned, and Dara felt a fresh flash of fear.

  "Can you walk just a little farther? Let's see if we can find some sort of shelter."

  "'Kay," Letizia answered weakly.

  Dara loosened her grip on Letizia's hand, holding it instead of crushing it, and the two set forth again. After walking for several minutes, Dara spotted the remains of a building just ahead. It was impossible to see if anyone else had sought shelter there but, considering their options, Dara felt it was their best bet. She would have preferred to go ahead to make sure the shelter was safe, but she feared she wouldn't be able to find her way back to her master. Every nerve in her body tingled as she urged Letizia forward. To Dara's immense relief, the building was unoccupied.

  After helping Letizia lower herself to the ground, Dara looked around carefully. She saw no signs of life and, more importantly, she saw no sign of light either. Still, this offered little reassurance. For all she knew, the people who lived outside the dome had adapted to the lack of light.

  "Letizia, I'm going to turn the flashlight on. I need to see how badly you're wounded."

  "No...light."r />
  "I don't have a choice. I have to examine your head. I'll keep the light covered as much as possible."

  Before Letizia could protest any further, Dara pulled out the flashlight. It was fairly small, enabling her to cup her palm around it. Though the light was far from concealed, Dara figured it was better than nothing. She shone it on Letizia's head and couldn't stop herself from gasping. Dark blood crusted Letizia's hair and oozed from the wound at her temple. It was a sizable gash, and the flying grit and dust had begun to accumulate in both the wound and the blood in Letizia's hair. Dara knew she had to get it cleaned and covered lest Letizia wind up with a terrible infection.

  "I'll try to be as gentle as possible, but this is going to hurt," she warned Letizia as she shone the light on her bag, digging through its contents. She found a sterile wipe, some gauze, and some tape. It would have to do until Letizia could receive professional medical care.

  As gingerly as she could, Dara cleaned the wound. Letizia sucked in a breath, and Dara bit her lip. If she'd had both hands free, she probably could have been a lot gentler about it. But that would have forced her to put the light in her mouth, which would have rendered her unable to conceal its beam.

  When she finished cleaning, Dara swiped her forearm over her eyes. Letizia still had a lot of blood crusted in her hair, but now was not the time to worry about it. Awkwardly, Dara covered the wound with gauze and taped it down as securely as she could. She looked around for a second, trying to figure out what to do with the bloody wipe and the gauze wrapper.

  What the hell, Dara? This isn't the dome. You're not going to find a conveniently located trash chute. Just drop the garbage on the ground.

  Letting out a shaky breath, Dara flicked the light off. She groped through the bag until she felt the contours of a water bottle, and she uncapped it and handed it to Letizia, before searching for the second.

  "Small sips," Dara cautioned. "I don't know how long it'll need to last."

  "Not sure...I can. Stomach..." Letizia moaned softly.

  "You have to take at least a few sips. Becoming dehydrated will make things worse. Here, I'll help you." Dara set her bottle aside and took Letizia's. She managed to coax Letizia to take two small sips before her master gagged, spilling the contents of her stomach over the dry, crusted earth.

  Now Dara was very worried. She suspected Letizia had a concussion in addition to her head wound. The adrenaline from their flight away from the transport began to wear off, and Dara could feel panic setting in.

  "Do you have any idea how stupid it is to use a light out here?" a low voice growled.

  Chapter 21

  Dara yelped and fell backward, scraping her hands on the hard earth. Letizia made a weak noise of surprise.

  "Shh, Mal, they don't know," a softer, female voice said.

  "Who are you?" Dara demanded, her voice shaking.

  "We're...not your enemy," the female responded.

  Dara squinted, trying to make out their faces, but the flashlight had destroyed her night vision.

  "We need to get you out of here," the female said. "It's not safe."

  "It's not safe for who, us or them?" the male said, his voice a harsh whisper. "We should just leave them here."

  "Mal!" The female was clearly shocked. "We can't just—"

  "Yes, we can."

  "Mal?" Letizia said, her voice almost inaudible. "Le...Leti...Letisi..."

  "Letizia?" the female asked.

  "Yes, yes, it's Letizia D'Angelo," Dara said. She had no idea how they knew each other, but she seized on the connection out of sheer desperation. "Our transport crashed and she's wounded. If you leave us here—"

  "We're not leaving you here," the female said firmly.

  Mal brushed past Dara and squatted in front of her master. "Shit, Letizia. It is you." Though she still couldn't see his features, Dara could now make out the contours of his body. Glancing to her right, she found she could also make out the shadowy figure of the female.

  "It's going to be all right," the female said to Dara, her voice soothing.

  The tears finally burst forth, and Dara let them fall. She was terrified, not at all certain that these two strangers meant them anything other than harm, but she simply didn't know what else to do.

  "I'm going to pick you up," Mal said to Letizia.

  "Be careful with her. She has a head wound, and I think she has a concussion," Dara said.

  "I'll do what I can," he replied tersely.

  "Take my hand," the female said to Dara. "I'll guide you."

  Reluctantly, Dara extended it and felt it grasped in a small, warm hand. The female gave a reassuring squeeze and then tugged lightly. Dara followed her, and Mal brought up the rear, carrying Letizia. Though Letizia was slim, Dara knew she must be nothing but dead weight, yet Mal still managed to breathe soundlessly and keep up with Dara and her guide.

  They walked for a long while. Gradually, Dara regained more of her night vision, which made it easier to follow her guide. She still couldn't make out the female's features, though, and she could barely see Letizia and Mal when she glanced over her shoulder. The wind began to howl, flinging stinging granules of sand against Dara's cheeks, and she winced.

  "Cover your nose and mouth with your shirt," her guide whispered to her.

  Dara obeyed. Though it was difficult to breathe through the fabric, she knew it would have been much worse to inhale the sand flying about. The storm intensified as they continued, and Dara hoped they'd soon reach their destination.

  At long last, Dara's guide stopped walking. Visibility was poorer than ever now and, as her guide gave her hand a final squeeze and let go, Dara had the sudden, panicky fear that their supposed rescuers might run off with Letizia and leave Dara stranded in the middle of the storm. A few seconds later, Dara heard a grating sound and her guide took her hand again, tugging her forward.

  "Careful. You'll need to go down some stairs," her guide said. "We can't risk any lights, so you'll have to feel your way. I'm sorry."

  "Okay," Dara said, her voice a squeak. Her arms stung from a combination of the cold and the grit that the wind flung at them.

  "We'll get you something warm to wear, once we're down."

  "Th-Thanks," Dara stuttered, almost numb from fatigue, cold, and fear.

  "Hold onto my shoulders and try not to trip."

  "Okay."

  Navigating the stairs was a slow and difficult process. Though Dara tried to be as careful as she could, she felt so little sensation in her legs that she stumbled several times, nearly sending both herself and her guide plummeting down the stairs. She almost collapsed with relief when they reached the bottom.

  "Mal? Tasha? What the—" another male voice said. "You found Letizia?" He sounded every bit as incredulous as Dara felt.

  "She's injured," Mal said.

  "Put her down. I need to examine her," the new person said, his voice brisk and authoritative.

  Squinting in the dim light, Dara could at last make out the features of their two supposed rescuers. As Mal and his new companion bent over Letizia, Dara studied the three strangers.

  Mal crouched, cradling Letizia cautiously, his well-toned muscles rippling under his dark skin. His handsome features creased in concern, and Dara took in his closely cropped, curly black hair, his dark eyes. He appeared to be in his early twenties, younger than Dara would have guessed.

  Even more surprising was Dara's guide, who looked to be younger than Dara herself. Like Mal, the girl had dark skin, but her brown eyes were softer than Mal's. A beautiful, riotous mass of brown curls sprang around her lovely face as she moved her head, trying to see what the two men were doing to Letizia.

  The new guy mostly had his back to Dara, so she couldn't see his features very well, but she did catch a glimpse of a straight nose, full lips, and caramel-colored skin several shades lighter than Mal's. He wore his straight, thick, inky-black hair slightly longer than the men in the domes typically did. With great care, he pulled the gauze away
from Letizia's head, his face stony as he looked at the wound.

  "We need to get her inside," he told Mal.

  "Inside where?" Dara asked. The three of them looked at her suddenly, as if they'd forgotten about her. "Where the hell are we? How do you know Letizia?"

  The new guy held his hands up in a placating gesture. He met Dara's gaze with warm, steady brown eyes.

  "We don't have time for explanations. We need to take care of Letizia right now," he said.

  "Where are you taking her? How do I know—" Dara began.

  "I know you don't trust us, and you have every reason not to," the girl broke in gently. "But Raj is right, he needs to take care of Letizia. Come with me and I'll explain everything to you."

  Too exhausted to argue anymore, Dara nodded and watched as Raj and Mal hurriedly carried the barely-conscious Letizia away. Dara felt a shiver of fear.

  "She'll be okay," the girl said. "Raj will take very good care of her."

  "What does Raj know about taking care of her?" Dara demanded. She winced at the harsh tone of her voice, but the other girl didn't look at all perturbed.

  "Raj had formal training. He was going to be a doctor."

  "He...he was going to be a doctor?" Dara repeated.

  "Come on, let's get you warmed up. I'll talk as we walk. My name is Tasha, by the way." She turned and began to walk away, Dara following.

  "Mal is my brother," Tasha said, glancing over her shoulder at Dara. "We met Letizia through Raj."

  "But are you...how..." Dara had no idea how to phrase the questions she wanted to ask.

  They entered a small, bunker-like room, its walls, floor, and ceiling all lined with concrete. A couch stood against the center of the far back wall, with a couple of chairs on either side of it. To their right, there was a small kitchenette, complete with a tiny fridge and a portable burner.