“Four weeks? I guess that means we're going to have to give you a hand until you can do things for yourself again,” said Vega.
I expected to find a scowl on her face when I turned towards her, but her matter-of-fact tone was matched by a straight expression. It didn't stop me from resenting the fact I would have to rely on other people while it healed.
“I'm sure I'll be fine,” I replied.
“Aurora, we're on Earth now. None of us are fine. If we don't die in a flood or an earthquake down here, there could also be animals that want to eat us,” said Fletcher.
“Come on, aren't you being a bit dramatic? I'm sure if we stick together, we'll be fine.” I shook my head.
“He's right,” said Domino as she came back with a torn piece of material. “There were many dangerous animals on Earth before we evacuated, and if they survived I'm sure they've grown use to not having to share their planet with humans. When I was a young girl, I remember a boy I went to school with got bitten by a snake. It sent him blind.” She slid the sling under my forearm and fastened it around my neck. “There, how does that feel?”
I didn't know how to answer after her story. Blind. It was going to be hard enough to navigate Earth with my sight intact. Her words had me hoping snakes hadn't survived the end of the world.
“Is it okay?” she asked again.
“It's a bit sore, but feels much better,” I answered with a smile. The support took the weight off the joint and it lessened the throbbing pain. “How are those two doing?” I pointed towards the patch of grass where Maya and Alber lay.
I'd been putting off asking. I wasn't sure why. For starters, I didn't want to upset Fletcher after he'd been buried under rubble during our crash, and secondly, I wasn't sure how much more bad news I could take. The death of my mum, the revelations about my dad and the floating cities, they all swirled around the back of my mind despite how hard I tried to push them away. Reaching up with my good hand, I took a deep breath, holding onto my pendant.
“Maya has a broken arm. I've done my best to splint it and wrap it up, but I'm not sure why she hasn't woken up yet. I can only hope it was a bump to the head or her body going into shock. I'll keep checking her heartrate and breathing, and I'm sure she'll be okay sooner rather than later though.” She glanced towards Fletcher as she spoke the last words, and he gave her a small smile in return.
“And Alber?” I asked.
“He's had it the worst. His body is battered and bruised. To be honest, I'm not sure if he's going to make it.” Her tone was solemn and her eyes moistened.
I swallowed hard at her words, releasing my pendant. Alber had been the brains behind getting me to safety and away from the Utopian Guard. He'd been the one to dream of an Earth that wasn't a death sentence the moment you stepped foot on it. He'd done his best to help us escape. Now it may have cost him his life. Gritting my teeth helped force tears away, and pushed the sadness down with the rest of the memories I'd been avoiding.
“You okay?” Fletcher reached out and touched my hand.
Too afraid to answer in case all of the emotion I'd been bottling up decided to escape, I gave him a sharp nod and a small smile.
“How on Utopia did we all survive that?” questioned Vega, staring towards the destroyed airship.
The main body where most of us had been sitting had a hole torn out of the side, and half of the ceiling was missing or burnt out. The back of the ship had disappeared, and the front of the ship lay scattered all over the place. Smoke still rose from the back end of the remains of the ship, and I spotted Braven and Lark walking through the debris. How had we survived?
Domino joined us all in staring at the wreckage. “We can all thank Alber for our lives. I begged him to strap himself in and brace for the landing, but he insisted if he remained in control of the ship he could land us more efficiently in the hope no one would be killed. Maya insisted on staying with him, but I convinced her to strap herself to the bar in the cockpit. If it wasn't for Alber, I'm afraid we'd all be dead.”
Alber had known he could do it. He knew we could escape to Earth and be safe. If only we'd listened to him in the first place. Maybe things would've turned out different.
“I'm going to check on Alber and Maya again. You lot rest until Braven and Lark decide what we're going to do next.” Domino pulled her eyes from the airship and returned to her patients sides.
“It's so much to take in, isn't it?” said Fletcher.
“Just a bit,” I replied.
“A few hours ago, I thought I was saying goodbye to you and Maya forever and was going to live life with my Mum and Dad. Next minute I'm being held at gunpoint, escaping into an airship, and then crashing to Earth.” Fletcher looked out towards the floating city.
It was a little distance away, and clouds blocked out some of it, but its sheer size made it hard to miss. The glass walls reaching up from its metallic base glistened in the sunlight. It looked like a huge floating bowl. The Utopians would be going about their days, having no idea what had unfolded, that their lives could be built on a lie. What the lie was I had no idea, and now we were on Earth I had no idea how we would discover the truth. All we had was my dad's pendant, and no way to retrieve the information it held.
“It's huge, isn't it? said Vega.
“Huge is an understatement, it's a monstrosity,” added Fletcher.
“I never could've imagined a whole other city lived beneath us our entire lives,” I said. “So many secrets and unanswered questions. What now?”
“Are any of you lot well enough to help Braven and I scavenge the ship?” Larks voice made me jump as he approached us.
“I'm good to help,” I replied, wanting the distraction.
“Me too. I think I got off the easiest.” Vega smiled at me.
Nope, her friendliness was going to be hard to get used to if she kept it up. I almost wanted to tease her about her fake red hair to piss her off again.
“I'm good,” replied Fletcher, attempting to stand. He swayed with the motion before falling against the tree.
“I'm afraid you're out of action for a bit, young man. Doctors' orders,” instructed Domino. “Aurora can help as long as she's not doing any heavy lifting and only using her left arm.”
“Rest, Fletcher, you'll need your strength. We can't stick around here too long, the Utopian Guard will be out looking for us once they discover we didn't make it to Eden,” said Lark. “That's if they didn't already see us crash.”
“That gives us about eight hours max to collect the little possessions we have and get as far away from the crash site as possible,” said Braven, arriving behind Lark.
“And where on Utopia are we going to go?” I asked. “We have no food, no water…”
“We might be lucky and find some food in the wreckage. But other than that, we carry on to Eden. We need to get there to find the answers we seek,” replied Lark.
“Right, and what do we do when we get there?” asked Vega, her sassy tone returning. “Have you forgotten Eden is a floating city? How do you suppose we get up there? Sprout wings and fly?”
“Now that I'd like to see,” said Braven, giving her a wink, making her cheeks flush pink despite her glare.
“To be honest, I have no idea. But it's the only plan I've got, so it's where we're heading. Australia was a big country before the world ended. Head the wrong way and you could end up in the middle of a damned dessert and get lost for days before dying of dehydration. Australia was also dangerous before the world ended, if the wildlife remained it could be more so now.” Lark's words made my stomach churn. It was hard to believe so many people had lived in such a dangerous country.
“Well, let's go see what we can find on the airship. Fingers crossed we find some food and water canisters to at least get us through until we find fresh water,” said Braven.
“If you find my balls, can you please bring them back with you too?” asked Fletcher. It was killing him to sit and rest while we did the work.
<
br /> I smirked at him. “Are you sure you had any to start with?”
“Hilarious. I guess I walked straight into that one.”
Chapter Eighteen
Walking into the wreckage of the airship, smoke still clung to the air, irritating my throat and making me cough. The remaining insides of the ship were black with soot from the fire and, by the looks of it, I'd be surprised to find anything of use inside. Being inside made it harder to believe the only injury I'd sustained was my dislocated shoulder.
“Crazy, huh?” started Braven, “to think we survived this.”
“We were lucky to have Alber flying for us. And seeing as the Utopian Guard haven't shown up yet, I'm guessing they didn't see us crash,” said Lark, his eyes searching the debris. “Still, we better get this done before they notice we're missing. They won't hesitate to shoot us down here, out of the eyes of the Utopians. Braven, help me with this.”
We all walked over to where he was wriggling his fingers under a large sheet of metal. Braven followed suit, and his added strength helped Lark lift the metal and push it to the side to reveal the lid of a large metal box.
“Is that what I think it is?” asked Vega stepping forward.
“If you think its medical supplies and food, then you'd be correct. We need to dig it out and find a way to bust it open,” replied Lark.
“I reckon this oughta do it.” Vega held up the blow torch Alber had given her.
“I reckon you'd be right.” A smile spread wide across Lark's face as he took the torch from Vega and tucked it in his utility belt.
We each did our best to remove the debris from around the box until Lark and Braven were able to take either side of it and lift it up and over onto a patch of grass next to the airships carcass. The blue flame of the torch in Lark's hand sliced through the lock.
Lark pulled the remainder of the lock from its latch and lifted the lid. Inside, albeit in a disorganized mess, there was a first aid box, bread, dried fruit, jerky and two jugs of water. Underneath the food were a couple of blankets and rolled up backpacks.
“Why do they have all of these snacks?” I asked.
“Because the Elite couldn't go a few hours without feeding their greedy faces,” scowled Vega.
It was reassuring to see glimpses of the Vega I knew coming back. The nice one scared me a little. She needed her fight back if we were going to make it to Eden.
“Well, thank you to those greedy Elite. At least now we have some food to send us on our way. But I'm afraid this isn't enough to last us for our whole journey, let's hope we can forage for some food along the way,” said Lark.
Forage for food? I didn't have the faintest idea on where to start looking for food. Our meals were always provided for us on Utopia. We'd taken for granted our basic needs were met every day. On Earth, we were going to have to do it all for ourselves.
“Out of curiosity, how long could someone live without food?” I asked.
“Trust me, food is not what you should worry about. Without water we won't last but a few days, and these two bottles may look big but they won't sustain us for long in this humidity, especially if we have to carry Maya and Alber. But we're in the tropics, so there's bound to be water around somewhere. All we have to do is find it. It'll be much harder as we get closer to Eden.” Lark closed the lid of the metal box and he and lifted it with the help of Braven, to carry over to Domino and Fletcher.
Lark stayed with Domino to show her what we'd found while Braven returned to help us continue our search.
“So what else are we looking for, exactly?” asked Vega kicking a lump of debris.
“More food or water, weapons,” said Braven.
“Weapons? What for?” I asked concerned.
“If the Utopian Guard finds us, they're going to want us gone. Plus who knew what was running around down there? There's been no humans to cull predators for the past sixteen years, and I'm sure they'll be interested in finding out what we taste like.” I didn't like the way he grinned.
I racked my brain to remember some of the bigger scary animals that'd called Australia home before the Earth ended. Considering we'd come from the damned country, all we learned about at school was the nice animals from all over the world. Whales, elephants, I remembered reading about koalas once. The same lesson about koalas had mentioned a few others come to think of it.
“You mean like crocodiles and dingoes?” I asked. Crocodiles had looked like large lumps, but their long snouts were full of sharp teeth. Dingoes looked a lot like what people would have had on Earth as a household pet. Dad had told me about his dog Bailey he grew up with on Earth. He'd shown me a photo once, I thought Bailey looked cute, not scary.
“Sure those too, but it's the snakes I'm worried about.” Braven quivered at the thought.
“Big scary Braven is scared of snakes, huh?” smirked Vega.
“Me? Never! I'm not scared of anything. But be careful if you sneak off into the trees for a pee,” he said.
“We have to pee in the trees?” I asked.
“Where did you think you'd be peeing? Unless you thought to bring a toilet along for the ride,” Braven replied.
Gross. Not only did I have to worry about being bitten by snake or eaten by a dingo or crocodile, I also had the added anxiety of peeing in the bush.
“Didn't pick you for a princess,” Braven nudged me before bending over to lift some more debris.
I felt useless only having one good arm. “I'm no princess. Guess this is all sinking in. It's hard to believe we're on Earth. The one place I never thought I'd step foot on in my life, the one place we've been told our whole lives is dangerous and deadly.”
“Well, they may've been lying about a lot. But the deadly and dangerous were true,” said Lark as he re-joined us. “What've you found there, Vega?”
“A stun gun. It's not a real, shoot 'em dead gun, but it's better than having no weapons, right?” She shrugged.
“Domino still has my stun gun, so there's a start,” said Braven.
“And I'm afraid it's going to have to be the finish,” said Lark. “We've been here for way too long. We still have to make up beds to carry Maya and Alber on so we can get out of here. Let's get back to the others and get packed up. Grab two of the bigger pieces of metal, I want to get deep into the rainforest before we stop again.”
Vega glanced at me with her eyebrows raised and her lips pursed. We were going to do this. We were going to attempt to survive on Earth.
* * *
Lark was getting agitated and restless by the time we'd rigged up beds using some sheets of steel from the ship for Alber and Maya. I carried one of the bottles of water in my good hand and Fletcher insisted on carrying the other. Despite being sore, he'd convinced Domino he was feeling much better and wanted to contribute in some way. I think he needed the distraction from seeing Maya still and unconscious. She looked so peaceful, it was hard to believe she wasn't having a sleep.
Alber was much paler, bruised and sore. A big gash bled through the bandage wrapped around his head. I wished there was a way we could get him better medical attention. Domino had done her best, but she was no match for the doctors and advanced technology on Utopia.
“Everyone ready?” called Lark.
I looked around the area, making sure we'd grabbed what we needed. “Yup, good to go.”
“Okay team, let's roll out.” He swirled his index finger in the air before dragging Maya's bed behind him.
Braven dragged Alber's bed, and Domino walked between the both of them, making sure they were comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could be strapped to a sheet of metal and being towed through the rainforest after being in an airship that crashed to Earth.
“So, what's the plan?” Vega asked Braven.
“Lark was in the army when he was on Earth. He knows his way around. I trust him, and so should you.” He shot her a reassuring smile.
She nodded, accepting his words. I couldn't help but remember their embrace on the air
ship before we'd crashed. There was a spark between them. But again they were back on friendly terms as though they were merely companions in a rebel group. Part of me wanted to pry, to know the truth. But I knew it'd only piss Vega off, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to like the new, less bitchy Vega. Maybe she'd decided her fellow redhead wasn't as bad as she'd thought.
“What do you reckon is the go with those two?” Fletcher asked, as though reading my thoughts.
“I was thinking the same. One minute they're arguing, next they're all cuddled up together, and now it's like they're friends,” I replied.
“Right? Maybe they were together, and Braven cheated on her? That'd explain the comments she was making about that guard,” suggested Fletcher.
“The one who had the hots for you?” I teased.
“Yeah, the smart one.” He beamed.
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Maybe he doesn't know she likes him?”
“Maybe…” began Fletcher.
He was cut off by Domino. “Maybe you two should stop making up crazy stories and ask what the truth is?”
“Sorry, Domino. You're right,” I replied, my cheeks flushing pink.
“So, are you going to tell us the truth?” Smirked Fletcher.
“Look, I'm only telling you so the both of you drop it, okay? They were together. But for some reason unknown to me, Vega broke it off,” she said.
Vega broke it off with Braven. I'd never had guessed it'd be that way around.
Domino continued, “Braven was pretty upset and went all man-whorish, which only pissed Vega off. I think she still cared about him, despite breaking it off. I hope one day the two of them can sort out their issues and get back together. They were great together.”
I looked to the front of the group where Braven dragged Alber behind Lark and Maya, and Vega lead the way under Lark's instructions. I wondered what made her call it off when it was obvious to me she still loved him.
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