Wastes of Space

by Darcy Town

  Howls drove them back to back. Mica swallowed nervously. “So do we run or suicide by gunfire?”

  Rake ground his teeth together. “You just love this don’t you, you blonde fuck.”

  “Love what? Being eaten alive? Really Rake, you think so?”

  “The goddamn thrill of being able to act the hero. Why didn’t you leave, Mica? You got your money.”

  “I don’t know, Rake. Why did you stay with the girl, you got your junk?” The pair grimaced. Mica counted all of the men and women that approached. “We have—”

  “Don’t fucking tell me!” Rake lashed out with a kick to the first that neared. “You came back didn’t you, couldn’t stand the idea that I was doing something good.”

  Mica rolled his eyes. “Yes Rake, because my life really does revolve around what you’re doing.”

  Rake smiled. “You can’t stand that I might be a good guy too.” He leaned back on Mica and kicked a man in the sternum, sending him flying. “They’re still too cautious, but give ‘em a few minutes. They’re going to rush us.”

  Mica nodded. “You could never stand how easily I helped the bad guys.”

  Rake laughed. “You were never a good Luke, Mica. I always kicked your ass with our plastic lightsabers.”

  Mica grinned. “Katarina walloped you.”

  “Yeah, but Lara beat on you too.” Rake snorted. “Taken down by your own sister.”

  “Shut up, Lara was older than me and scary.”

  Rake looked over his shoulder. “So, want to make a rush of it?”

  Mica shrugged. “Not really.”

  “Yeah me neither.” He looked over at Virote; they’d walked a fair distance away. “Did you get it already?”

  Mica glared. “I don’t always remember where your fucking knives are hidden.”

  “It’s in my goddamn belt. They’re always in my belt!” Rake brought his fists down on the neck of a man that tried for a tackle. “Sometimes Mica, you really come off as mentally retarded!”

  “What does that make you, friend?” Mica got his plastic cuffs cut. He grabbed the ultrathin knife and sliced Rake’s open. Rake reached for the knife. Mica kept it. “No way.”

  Rake glared and cracked his knuckles. “Asshole.”

  The line of encroaching people paused at the sight of a weapon. Rake and Mica were thoroughly surrounded. The men and women pulled out crowbars, broken bottles, knives and broken pieces of glass.

  Rake eyed the glass shards. “Hardcore.”

  Mica sighed. “I really don’t want to die with you at my side.”

  Rake shrugged. “Ditto.”

  “So, no dying today.”

  “Yeah, good plan.” Rake and Mica tensed. The crowd rushed them. The pair raised fists and weapons for attack.

  Ravil flashed in front of them making everyone stop in their tracks. She hit the ground and stumbled. She held her hand over one eye. She looked around confused. She turned, saw Rake, and smiled. “I did it!”

  A man grabbed Ravil and hoisted her over his head as a prize. Rake snarled and leapt for her, striking the man in the throat with his fist. Ravil dropped into Rake’s waiting arms. He held her tight.

  She twisted in Rake’s grip and grabbed Mica’s hand. They disappeared.

  The three dropped from the air several blocks behind the black cars, leaving the crowd of growing hungries without breakfast. Ravil dumped both men and ran back towards the cars.

  Rake leapt after her, woozy from the jump. “Ravil, wait!” She disappeared before he’d taken two steps. He gaped, his hand outstretched towards nothing.

  Ravil reappeared at the cars themselves. She grabbed rifles and handguns, zipping between people. Rake dropped to his knees. Mica rubbed his eyes. Ravil vanished and reappeared at Rake and Mica’s side. She dropped the guns at their feet. Rake reached for her, but she took a step back as if pushed, her entire body strained against it. “Rake, about your last order. Rescind it or I must leave.”

  Rake frowned. “What?”

  Ravil cringed in pain. “Rake, revoke the order!”

  “Uh…Uh…” Rake stuttered, “Or—order rev—revoked.”

  Ravil gasped in relief. She opened one eye only to keep her double vision at bay. “Okay now what?”

  Rake and Mica looked at the guns, then each other. They smiled, picked up the weapons, and opened fire on the cars. Weaponless, Virote and his men jumped behind vehicles, but the cars were not bulletproof. The duo spent their rounds until the metal looked like a cheese grater. Blood, gasoline, and oil dripped to the concrete in an oozing mess.

  Rake grinned. “Told him he’d be killed by a man in a skirt.”

  Ravil grabbed onto his belt. “We’re being encircled.”

  Mica looked down an alley at the homeless that crept between buildings. “I’m out of bullets.”

  Rake picked up Ravil. “Now we run.”

  Ravil locked her legs around Rake and grabbed Mica’s hand. She pulled them both into the blue light between. She searched for the landmarks she’d been to before. The closest was the rooftop of the gambling house. She willed them to it and dropped all three of them onto the roof. It was burnt, but sound in structure, and more importantly, flat.

  Mica came down first and rolled, stopping when he hit a vent. He threw up over the side of the building. Rake landed on his feet with Ravil in his arms. He stumbled, but kept from falling over. He panted, staring at nothing.

  Ravil gave him a squeeze. His eyes focused and he came back to reality. He let out the breath he’d been holding in his lungs. He sat down slowly, his eyes fixed on hers. Ravil expected him to dump her on the ground and scoot away, but he locked his arms around her even tighter. He pulled her into a hug and said nothing. He rocked her, his fingers dug into her sides. He couldn’t let go.

  Ravil pulled back until she could look into his eyes. She found him in near tears, and her own eyes welled up in response. She cupped his face in her hands. “Surprise.”

  Rake searched her face. He didn’t know what to feel. He was confused. Elated that she was safe, but shaken up by whatever they had just gone through. He tried to find his voice. “I…I…”

  Mica wiped his mouth and crawled over. “That was the best-worst experience of my life.”

  Trying to understand what had happened was beyond Rake at the moment. His primary concern was Ravil’s safety. He focused on that and put all the other matters aside. He touched her cheek, her skin was cool. He leaned in and brought her forehead to his. “Are you hurt?”

  She grabbed his hand. “Not badly, are you?”

  “I’m fine.” He ignored the pain from earlier punches. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He wiped flecks of blood off her upper lip.

  Ravil smiled. “Yes Rake, but are you?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded and checked her over for injuries.

  Dead Lara hissed. “Stop groping her!”

  “I’m not doing that!” Rake snarled at the image.

  Mica and Ravil looked into the blank space. Mica frowned; Ravil touched his forehead. “Who are you speaking to, Rake? Did you hit your head?”

  Rake shook his head. “No one.” He rubbed his temples and looked back into her red eyes. “Ravil?”

  She swallowed nervously. “Yes, Rake?”

  “What was all that stuff that you did?”

  She blushed. “I stepped into the place between and jumped us three through it to this location.”

  Rake chewed on his lip, his eyes not dropping from hers. He thought over their conversations. “You…you’re what the Empire wants. It’s this thing that allows uhm, this jumping?”

  “Not a thing.” She took his hand. “It’s me.”

  Rake gazed into her red eyes. “The Navigating, you weren’t making that up. It wasn’t a fever dream.”

  “Correct.”

  “How?”

  Ravil stared him straight in the eye. “I’m an alien, Rake.”

  His face stayed emotionless. “An alien.”

  “Fr
om space.” Ravil pointed up towards the sky. “Space, you know, with stars and stuff.”

  Rake inhaled. “You’ve been out there.”

  She nodded. “I have, Rake. I…I’m from there.”

  Mica grinned in dazed shock. “Whoa. A real alien.”

  Rake jumped to his feet. He stepped between Ravil and Mica and pressed the last gun he had to Mica’s forehead. “You get back.”

  Mica put his hands in the air. “Rake!”

  Rake looked at Ravil. “Get us out of here, jump or whatever. We’ll talk about this elsewhere.”

  She gaped at Mica. “We can’t leave him here!”

  Rake nodded. “I can. He’s already thinking profit; look at his beady little blue eyes. I bet those warrants for your arrest have a reward.”

  Ravil thought back. “They did last time I saw.”

  Rake waved the gun. “Look Mica, nothing personal, if it makes you feel any better if you were anyone else I would have shot you already.”

  Mica shrugged. “No worries.” He looked to Ravil. “Alien, seriously?”

  Ravil nodded. “Yes, but I’m not ten.” She tugged on Rake’s arm. “I’m not ten.”

  Rake put his hand on her face and covered her mouth. “Ravil, be quiet.”

  She bit his hand. “You can’t order me to be quiet!”

  “What can I order you to do?”

  “Just movement and locations.”

  “Then I order you to take us…uh take us to somewhere you feel is safe.”

  Ravil grabbed his hand and pulled. They disappeared. Mica stared at the spot they had occupied. He shook his head. “Aliens!”

  ***

  Kennedy skidded to a stop. Lincoln had to leap over his body in order to keep from hitting him. Kennedy tore off his sunglasses and sank to his knees. “No!”

  Lincoln wrapped an arm around him. “Are you hurt?”

  Kennedy squinted. “They’ve moved.”

  “What is the issue?”

  “Far! They’ve jumped, prey has jumped.”

  Lincoln frowned. “They have brought another Navigator then, disguised with dyes to look different.” He looked sadly at Kennedy. “You know what this means, what I must do to you.”

  Kennedy clutched Lincoln’s shirt. “No! He cannot be Navigator, it not possible! He tastes of those here. I know this! You will see! Please wait!”

  Lincoln let go of Kennedy. “Where did he go?”

  “Far!”

  “Off the planet?”

  “No, another continent.”

  Lincoln sighed. “That’s almost worse. Come, I will inform Marx.”

  ***

  Rake and Ravil landed in a remote forest clearing, the sky above dark. They smashed through bracken, separated, and rolled. Ravil face-planted in moss. She scrambled to her feet and didn’t see Rake anywhere. “Rake?”

  He raised his hand. “Present.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Nope.” Rake tossed his gun into the bushes. Despite the shock he still managed to smirk, he had been out of bullets. He lay on his back and stared at the sky.

  Ravil ran through ferns. “Sorry! It’s changed since I was here last, I’m sorry!” She knelt by his side and put her hands to his cheeks. “Are you really okay? You look pale.”

  He gazed up at her. “We seem to go through this routine a lot.”

  Her smile was shaky. “I guess so.”

  He took her hand, trying to make sense of everything. Beyond her face, the sky was clear, dark blue as the sun set. He took a deep breath, clean crisp air. He looked back to her eyes, red and luminous. “Your eyes glow in the dark. Did you know that?”

  Ravil nodded. “Only under certain circumstances.”

  Rake interlaced their fingers and stared at the stars. He smiled. “I knew I smelled space on you.”

  She didn’t know what to say. He was calm, an emotion she had not expected. He must still be in shock. She curled up by his side and rested her head on his chest.

  Rake could feel her heartbeat, it matched his. He brushed her hair out with his fingers. “Your heartbeat matches mine, Bebette.”

  Ravil stared into the woods. “We’re blood bonded. Mine will always match yours now when we are close.”

  He looked down at her face. She appeared sad and afraid, but honest. His heart pounded harder, hers responded in the same way. He pulled her into a hug. “Does that hurt you? Can I help you?”

  “No, it doesn’t hurt.” She closed her eyes, guilty. “I’m so sorry, Rake.”

  “Sorry? Bebette, what could you possibly be sorry about? You just saved my life, again.” He sighed. “Why you keep doing that I don’t know.”

  Her voice was a whisper, “I have drawn you into something that you did not ask to be a part of.”

  “What?”

  “A war.” Ravil let go of him and rolled to her back. She rested her head on his shoulder. The pair stared at the stars. “A civil war.”

  He held her hand. “That’s nothing new, someone is always at war.”

  She shook her head. “But in this war I am a resource, and I’m wanted by both sides.”

  Rake looked over at her. “I already told you I wasn’t going to let anyone have you. I will keep you safe. I know I’ve failed pretty badly so far, but I’ll get better.”

  She managed a small smile. “I am not going to hold you to your promises, Rake. You said those things when you didn’t know what you were involved in.” She turned her head to look at him. “You said that when I was dying. I am hardly going to—”

  “I made you a promise, Ravil.” Rake’s face was serious. “You were sick, but I wasn’t. I meant what I said. No one is getting you. No one is going to use you. If you need to get to space, then we’ll go. We’ll do whatever you need.”

  Ravil gaped. “Rake, you can’t say that. You don’t know what you’re agreeing to!”

  “You said there was a Resistance and you’re a Navigator; you do what you just did but with ships right?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  He looked at her. “See now I know, maybe not the specifics, but I’m sure you can fill me in.”

  “But—”

  “Will you answer my questions?”

  “Yes.” Ravil rolled to her stomach and elbows and stared at him. “But Rake, how can you say that?”

  “I get to ask the questions.” Rake put his finger to her lips. “So my little alien how did you get here?”

  “But…”

  He shook his finger. “I have my process, just start there.”

  Ravil collected her thoughts in silence. She took a deep breath. “I was kidnapped from my home world by a team of Resistance fighters. The fighters split and were meant to rendezvous with a Resistance fleet. Mine came under attack and went off course. Eventually, we found this place, but our ship was too bad off to go any further. We crashed. We stayed. Obviously, I was never picked up. The Empire tracked us here.” Her feeling of guilt increased. “They caused the Space Silence by blockading the entire planet. Rake, I am so sorry, it’s my fault! You lost your dream and job because of me!”

  “I hardly think the Space Silence is entirely your responsibility.” Rake smiled. “What happened when you got here?”

  “We ran. We have been running from Hunters ever since we arrived. The day I met you, one of my guardians Sirana died, her mate Calpsan was the only one left. He had to find me someone that could fight, someone that could protect me, that would protect me and he found that person before he died.”

  “Me.” Rake rubbed his face. “What the fuck was he thinking?”

  “You did protect me though.”

  Rake smiled. “Yeah but, I was the best he could find? What was he doing? Looking in back alleys exclusively?”

  “He looked through the entire city, he honed in on you.”

  Rake made a face. “That guy has questionable taste in guardians, Ravil.”

  She smiled. “You were supposed to be fierce, full of sense, a soldier.”

/>   He smirked. “Full of sense because you didn’t have any.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

  “What else was I supposed to be?”

  “The person I needed was one who I could not care for, one who I would not grow attached to.”

  Rake frowned. “Why?”

  “Navigators react physically to those we are around and the situations we are in. You made me feel safe. My body took that as a sign that I could grow.”

  “You age when someone makes you feel safe?”

  Ravil tried to phrase it. “You know of certain creatures that go into stasis, hibernation when resources are scarce? You have these here?”

  “Sure.” Rake thought back to school. “Or they stop having babies and stuff.”

  Ravil nodded. “Navigators do that, but we also go into stasis in times of crisis. I have not had an ideal situation to shift, and so I did not, until you.”

  “Huh.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “Isn’t it better to be older, larger, more physically imposing?”

  “You saw how sick I got. Shifting is a dangerous time for my kind because our immune systems completely shutdown. Some Navigators die from it.”

  “So you got sick, but the disease was only a symptom.” Rake mulled that over. “So if you hadn’t felt safe you would have remained the Ravil I first met?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Calpsan wanted me to avoid shifting by never trusting you, never relying on you. You were to be expendable.” Ravil took a deep breath. “But you’re not. I…I was never supposed to like you, he forbid it actually.”

  He rubbed her arm. “You were alone and scared, you couldn’t help but get some kind of attachment.”

  “I was supposed to run from you, but I couldn’t.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I made so many mistakes, but I can’t make myself regret them.” She covered her eyes with her arm. “I saved you when we were jumping on the roofs from the helicopters, just like I pulled you and Mica away. But you weren’t supposed to live through it, Rake.”

  “I wasn’t?”

  “No one lives, at least I thought so, but apparently Wasters do. I don’t know why. It’s confusing.” She shook her head. “I didn’t expect it, but because of saving you a change took place in me, a blood bond and now I’m your Navigator. It’s not something I can undo, but I don’t want to. You’re my pilot, but…I…you’re more than that to me, Rake. You’re my friend.”