by Amy Braun
Fresh sweat trickled down my neck, spine, and temples, not just caused by the boiling heat getting trapped in my jumpsuit. I knew Abby was here, that she was terrified and desperate for help, but my body didn’t want to move. It didn’t trust the darkness or the red lights. I didn’t want to turn a corner and find flames, or Hellions, or my sister’s unseeing eyes as she lay on a pile of corpses.
Something touched my shoulder. I jumped, though it was Sawyer’s hand. I caught a glimpse of Nash and Gemma moving down the hall behind him. Sawyer waited patiently. I could only imagine how he was seeing me through the horrible black goggles covering his face.
“Come on,” he said, muffled by the mask. “There’s a door over here,” he pointed to a tall, red shadow on our right, indicating there was an open doorway heading to another room. “Let’s start there. Maybe it’ll lead us to your sister.”
I was still trapped in a frightened haze, so all I did was nod and follow him.
Sawyer led me through the cavern, moving briskly but not running. We couldn’t see any Hellions, but there was no point in risking the sight of a guard or a grunt worker. Something was keeping this demonic ship running, and I doubted it was all electricity.
I focused on Sawyer’s back as he walked, not wanting to engrain more of the terrible heat and atrocious, burning smells into my mind. The cutlass Sawyer usually wore on his hip was now strapped to his back, hiding it from the initial sight of any Hellions we might encounter. I’d also seen him tuck knives into his boots and the belt around his waist. Hellions didn’t use knives or any weapons for that matter, preferring to rip at their prey with their bare hands. The marauders had hidden their pistols, knowing the sound of gunfire would alert any Hellions to our presence if they were forced to use them.
I didn’t have much, save for a pair of knives Sawyer had given me, my last three flashbangs, and the Volt, which we needed to take down the Behemoth. If it came to a fight, it would be to the death.
Sawyer pressed his back to the wall when he neared the burst of red light coming from the nearby door. The intensity of the heat doubled until I was gasping for breath under the mask. The leather of the jumpsuit clung to me, and I felt like I was going to boil in my own skin. Sawyer was grunting beside me, trying to steady his own breathing. He had to be going through the same thing I was, but he was determined to ignore it.
Harder to ignore were the terrified screams carrying the sound of fire. There was a living survivor on the Behemoth, in awful pain.
Sawyer slid along the wall carefully until he reached the corner, then turned his head around to get a better look. I saw his shoulders stiffen and heard his breath hitch. Sawyer turned back to me, his expression unreadable thanks to the mask.
“There are two Hellions in that room with an adult male. A human.” Fury laced his voice. “We have to do something.”
I was nervous about saying no, that it was too risky. Sawyer didn’t give me the chance to protest. “I can also see another door leading to a darker corridor. We should take it and see where it goes.”
After I nodded, he turned back to the opening of the door, pushed off the wall, and walked around the corner. I followed him casually, though my heart rate had sped up considerably because of his warning. I walked around the corner into the furnace room, and froze in place.
Walking into the furnace room was like walking into a fire. The air was stifling and thick, sliding through the vents in the Hellion mask and going down my throat like tar. Across from us was a black kiln that stood close to eight feet tall and was the same distance across. The doors of the kiln were thrown open to reveal an enormous blaze of red and orange flames that thrashed outside of the metal stove. Rings of black smoke swelled out of the furnace, sweeping along the roof before being sucked up into the vents overhead. Two hulking Hellions stripped of their shirts worked in front of the flame, thick muscles rippling as they stoked the glowing coals and fuelled the fire.
Then I noticed the human.
Trapped in the grip of the larger of the two Hellions was a frail, sickly looking man whose age I couldn’t determine. He was also stripped of his shirt, his skin covered in bruises and dried blood. He tried feebly to escape the crushing hold the Hellion had on his arm, but his struggles were useless. He was like a piece of paper trapped under a rock. He wouldn’t live much longer.
Before I could say or do anything, Sawyer removed the cutlass from his back and lunged forward. The Hellions heard him, turning their gaze to us as one of their own seemed to charge them. Sawyer’s first attack was directed at the Hellion holding the survivor. He slashed the sword at the Hellion’s throat while the creature jumped back. The edge of the cutlass nicked the Hellion’s throat, but was nowhere near deep enough to kill him.
To make matters worse, the Hellion stoking the flames had been drawn into the fight. It swung the shovel toward Sawyer, the flat edge of the burning tool striking him in the back. Sawyer screamed in pain, dropping to his knees and trying to regain his composure. The Hellions screeched their rage, drowning out the screams of the survivor. Both Hellions rushed Sawyer, the injured one lurching down to grab the marauder while the other raised the shovel over Sawyer’s neck, preparing to bring the tool down and sever his spinal column. If I didn’t do anything, Sawyer was going to die.
But I hadn’t been standing idly when the fight started.
I wasn’t as fast as a Hellion, but I launched into the furnace room and grabbed the shovel before it could hit Sawyer’s neck. My arms were no bigger than twigs compared to the Hellion’s, but my sudden arrival shocked it and stopped the killing blow. I shoved with all my strength, pushing the shovel away. Below me, I heard metal sliding against the floor. Sawyer grunted as he collided with the second Hellion, moving their fight away from me. I wanted to watch Sawyer’s back, but I had my own problems. I started a fight with a Hellion that didn’t know I was human, and would butcher me the moment it found out.
The huge monster swung its shovel at my head. I ducked until my knees were almost touching the floor, feeling the air over my head split around the shovel. Still crouching, I darted away and grabbed the knives sheathed on my belt. I wasn’t an experienced fighter, but having two blades in my hands gave me the illusion of strength. A fantasy I didn’t think I could hold onto much longer.
The Hellion shrieked and slashed the shovel down at me. I jumped to the side, watching the shovel spark as it clashed with the iron floor. The Hellion didn’t relent, bringing the tool back up to slice open my stomach. I leaped back, my spine hitting the wall. I faltered for a second, giving the Hellion the exact moment it needed to charge me. I jerked my head to the side, avoiding the shovel as it slammed into the wall inches from my skull, but I was helpless against the rest of the attack.
Dropping the shovel, the Hellion didn’t risk getting closer to my face, instead choosing to pummel my ribs. I cried out as it beat at me, the leather of the jumpsuit doing nothing to absorb the blows. It was a small reprieve to know it hadn’t attacked me with its claws, but each punch threatened to completely shatter my ribs. If the assault kept going, I wouldn’t be able to move.
Screaming a war cry to ignore the pain, I shoved both my knives into the Hellion’s stomach. It howled angrily, stopping its attack just so it could step away from the knives. It didn’t look very hurt, only enraged that I’d been able to injure it. When I looked into its face, seeing those furious red eyes hanging behind a curtain of black, stringy hair, I nearly screamed again.
The back of the Hellion’s hand was a blur, crashing against my face and knocking me onto the ground. The mask was wrenched from my face as I fell. I groaned as pain clawed through my head. Hurt gave way to panic as I realized I was exposed. The Hellion knew what I was. It wouldn’t hold back this time.
My knives were lost, rendering me helpless when the Hellion roared and grabbed a fistful of my hair. I yelped as it whipped me onto my back. The red intensified in the Hellion’s eyes, its lips peeling back to reveal a razor-toothed smil
e. I fumbled for a weapon, anything that could save me, and I couldn’t hold back my scream when the Hellion descended.
Its mouth was open wide, aimed at my throat, at the same moment I found my discarded Hellion mask. I simply reacted, turning the mask so the sharp point was aimed at the Hellion’s face. The needle at the tip plunged into its skull, causing the monster to twitch once before it dropped onto me.
I screamed again as its weight crushed my bruised ribs, driving out the air I was desperate to keep. I trembled, waiting for those horrible fangs to sink into my skin, but they never did. I pushed the Hellion back just enough to look at its face, seeing the glassy sheen covering its eyes.
I had done the impossible– I killed a Hellion.
The idea didn’t thrill me as it should have.
Moving slower than I wanted to, I brought my arms under the Hellion and tried to push its corpse off me. I couldn’t hear Sawyer, and needed to know if he was all right. But I couldn’t move. The Hellion seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, its heavy bulk and dead weight turning into one massive boulder on my chest.
I grunted and shoved, but barely budged the corpse. Then the weight was rolled off my torso, relieving the pressure and allowing me to breathe again. I sucked in a lungful of air so hard I coughed, wincing as my lungs expanded against my battered ribs. A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped, calming down when I looked at a masked Hellion holding me. I gasped, trying to push away from him. The monster wrenched off its mask, revealing that it was only Sawyer.
Like me, he was roughed up. A bruise was forming on his temple and there were claw marks along his upper arms, but he seemed to be holding himself together way better than I was.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded, while gently brushing away some strands of hair that had fallen into my eyes.
I batted his hand away. “Don’t blame me,” I fired back. “You’re the one who charged headfirst into a fight with monsters. I was trying to make sure you didn’t actually get your head torn off.”
Sawyer frowned, but I saw the glimmer in his tawny eyes. “I’m a pirate,” he reminded, “I’m supposed to dive headfirst into danger.”
Before I could offer him a snide remark, Sawyer clasped my hands and pulled me to my feet. I grimaced as I drew myself up, feeling the bruises stretch along my sides. Sawyer put his fingers under my chin and turned my face to look at the forming bruise.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, frowning.
I slowly pushed his hand down. “Fine. Besides, there’s nothing you can do to heal it.”
Sawyer didn’t like that answer, his frown deepening. But he dropped his hand and stepped back. He slid his sword into the scabbard on his back and turned to show me the corpse of the Hellion he killed. A huge slash lined the monsters face, nearly splitting it in two halves. I shuddered at the brutal sight, shifting my gaze to the awfully thin man in the corner.
He sat on the ground with his hands wrapped around his knees, rocking back and forth and staring straight ahead with wide eyes. As I steadily walked closer, I saw him tremble and could hear him muttering under his breath.
“… the engine, we fuel the engine, we fuel the engine…”
I knelt down in front of him, glad to be relieved of the mask so he wouldn’t scream the sight of me.
“Are you hurt?” I asked in my softest voice.
“I can’t go in the engine, I don’t want to be fuel,” he looked at me, his eyes bulging with fear. “Don’t let me be fuel!”
I hesitated, not sure what he was talking about until I looked at the furnace. It was hard to see at first, but soon I recognized the shapes burning in the flame. The blackened arms, legs, torsos and heads thrown in the fire to serve as kindling for the dreadful ship.
Unwilling to look at the flames any longer, I focused on the mumbling survivor.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Claire, we don’t have time for this,” Sawyer said impatiently.
I ignored him and looked into the man’s wide, scared eyes. “I’m Claire,” I told him before pointing over my shoulder. “That’s Sawyer. We can get you out of here, but we need your help.”
Sawyer reached me quicker than I anticipated, clutching my shoulder tightly. “What are you doing?”
I shot him a glance over my shoulder. “Saving a life in the hope of saving more. He may know the layout of the ship, which can get us closer to taking it down.” My heart hammered with the next thought. “He might know where the others are.”
Sawyer frowned deeply, clearly not liking the risk. “Look at him, Claire. He’s broken.”
I left the man and rose to my feet, balling my fists at my aide as I glared at the marauder. “We came here to save people. He might be able to help us. Doesn’t that make him worth saving?”
“He’ll lose his mind if he sees another Hellion. He can’t fight. He’ll be a burden.”
My hands clenched tighter. “We are not leaving him.”
Sawyer fixed a harsh gaze on me, but I didn’t back down. If he was so determined to do the right thing, to hit the Hellions where it hurt, this was the best way to do so. Sawyer might have seen that if he weren’t so hell-bent on revenge.
“Riley.”
I whirled around at the whispered voice, looking at the man in the corner.
“My name is Riley.”
Forgetting about Sawyer, I knelt in front of Riley. He cringed at first but relaxed when he saw I meant him no harm.
“Can you help us, Riley? Do you know the ship well?”
“How long have you been here?” asked Sawyer, not bothering to hide his skepticism, or his suspicion.
Riley paused to think. “Once I got the routine of how they fed me and when they took me out, I started marking the walls of my cell,” he said. “Every day, with my nails or blood from any wounds…” His eyes widened and grew distant again. “I’ve been here for two years.” A tremor filled his voice. “They wanted to make me fuel.”
My heart broke for him. I clutched his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“I won’t let them hurt you, Riley. I promise.”
Riley stiffened at first, looking in my eyes to see if I was lying. Then he gripped my hand so tightly I thought he would break it.
“You’ll get me out of here?” he whispered.
Sawyer sighed dramatically behind me, but I ignored him and told Riley yes. He relaxed, hope filtering into his eyes for perhaps the first time in two years. I carefully stood up, bringing Riley with me. I started to hand him a knife, hilt first, when Sawyer appeared at my side and snatched it away. I pinned him with an angry glare.
“No weapons,” Sawyer explained harshly. He gave Riley a scathing look. “Not until he holds up his end of the bargain. Which I don’t agree with, by the way.”
“Fair enough,” Riley said uneasily, clearly uncomfortable around Sawyer. He quickly turned his eyes on me.
Now that I could see him better, I noticed that he was probably around Sawyer’s age, just a little older than me. His hair was a pale shade of blond stained with dirt. Despite his clear emaciation, he looked lean and strong. Angry scars lined his stomach and chest, like a Hellion had taken joy in trying to rip him apart. Puncture scars lined his neck, evidence that he’d been bitten multiple times by more than one Hellion. Clear blue eyes gauged and considered me, though I could see the hidden fear in them as he stood alone in the furnace room.
“Take us to the other captives, please,” I asked.
Riley nodded and briskly walked to the right wall. He avoided Sawyer’s hard glare as he moved to a door we hadn’t had the time to notice earlier. I was following Riley when Sawyer grabbed my elbow and pulled me back.
“I don’t trust him,” he muttered.
I had to restrain from rolling my eyes. “Look at the state he’s in. He wouldn’t work with the Hellions.”
Sawyer’s eyes intensified. “They’ve had him for two years. I seriously doubt he would have lived that
long if they weren’t using him for something.”
I scowled and jerked free from Sawyer. “He’s a prisoner, Sawyer. He deserves to be free.”
Sawyer’s anger dissipated, turning into sadness when he said, “Even prisoners can have secrets.”
I wasn’t sure what Sawyer was trying to suggest, and I didn’t care. We had found someone who could lead us through the Behemoth and give us a better edge. I wasn’t about to waste more time arguing Sawyer’s paranoia. Riley was proof that there could be more than one survivor here, and I refused to leave anyone behind, no matter what their secrets were.