Bladen

by Arcadia Shield

  “Everything is on standby, so it’s a case of us getting things going and launching the ship into the atmosphere. I need to figure out how to get through the force field, though. Thunde achieved it with Jessie, using a distortion of the vibrational frequency. We’re going to be flying on guesswork as to what frequency he used. If we get it wrong, we risk destroying the whole ship and us with it.”

  Laser fire bounced off the side of the ship, and Bladen cursed as he moved his fingers over the slick looking controls. The blast shield slammed into place as he discovered the right button. “That will buy us some time.”

  “How about you send your message directly to Axen from here?” asked Grace. “If he knows you’re in trouble, he can come in and help us.”

  Bladen shot Grace a smile. “Open the comms channel to your left.”

  Grace’s gaze scanned the controls in front of her, and she tested a few options before finding the comms control and flicking it to open. “What message shall I send?”

  She looked over at Bladen and saw his eyes were closed and sweat beaded on his forehead. “Bladen! What’s wrong?”

  “Tyran’s blade.” Bladen slid his hand away from his stomach, revealing a dark spot of rapidly spreading blood.

  Grace jumped from her seat and ran to his side. She pulled aside the ragged material of his shirt, revealing a deep wound that pulsed blood. She yanked off her own shirt and pressed it against the wound. “Hold that in place.” She grabbed Bladen’s hand and pressed it against the shirt. “I’m going to get the medics kit. They must have one on board.”

  “No time,” said Bladen. “If we don’t get out of here, the Fraken will break through the hull. You’re going to have to fly us out of here.”

  With bloody, shaking fingers, Grace returned to her seat and stared at the controls. “Tell me how.”

  “To your right is the thruster,” said Bladen. “Bring that online by sliding your hand up the panel.”

  Grace did as instructed and felt the engines throb louder. “Now what?”

  “Disengage the traction and the brake.”

  Grace’s eyes stung as she stared at the alien controls. “Where are they?”

  “Should be somewhere on your left.” Bladen groaned, and his eyes closed.

  Grace scrolled through several options before finding what she wanted. “How much thrust do I use to get us off the ground?”

  “Try fifty percent,” said Bladen, through gritted teeth.

  Grace wiped the sweat off her top lip and then released the brake and traction. The ship jumped into the air and hovered unevenly several feet from the ground.

  “We need to get higher,” said Bladen. “Out of the range of the lightning sticks.”

  Grace used what looked like a gaming console joystick and pulled it back. The ship responded instantly and shot upwards.

  “Slowly,” said Bladen.

  “First-time flyer here,” said Grace, her heart in her throat as the ground shot away from them.

  “You’re doing great.”

  “What now?”

  “Hold the ship here and get the message through to Axen,” said Bladen. “Let him know we’re in the air and could do with a hand getting out. If they’re nearby, they’ll be able to track the movement of this ship and come get us.”

  Grace kept one hand on the controls as she typed the message. She sent it to the coded link Bladen told her and hit send. “Let’s hope he gets it quickly. Not sure how long my luck will hold out trying to keep this ship in the air.”

  Bladen slumped forward and groaned. “Set it on autopilot. These things can almost fly themselves.”

  Grace shook her head. “I have no idea how to do that.”

  Bladen swiped a hand over the controls, leaving a smear of blood as he did so.

  “You need to rest,” said Grace. “I’ll keep the ship as steady as I can until Axen arrives. Then he can take over.”

  “Might not be enough,” gasped Bladen. “The Fraken have lots of ships. One will already be on its way to take us out.”

  “Then we’ll fight them,” said Grace. She bent over the controls, trying to figure out how to engage the autopilot and where the weapons were.

  She glanced up at the sound of scuffling and was about to reprimand Bladen for moving and aggravating his injuries, when Tyran lurched up next to her and grabbed hold of the back of Bladen’s head, before slamming it into the controls.

  Grace jumped up, her mouth going dry and horror filling her veins.

  Tyran grabbed Bladen around the throat as he dragged him backwards out of the seat.

  The ship tilted precariously, and Grace felt it begin to drop.

  “What’s it going to be, Earth girl?” asked Tyran, as his breath rattled out of him. “Save yourself or your warrior? You can’t have both, and we’re going to crash if you don’t grab that controller.”

  Grace hovered her hands over the controls. If she didn’t get the ship stable, they would all be dead.

  Bladen twisted in Tyran’s grip, his fingers clawing at his arm.

  “Keep on fighting me and I’ll snap your neck,” snarled Tyron, his muscles straining as he kept hold of Bladen.

  Grace’s panicked gaze shot to Bladen, and she saw him shake his head.

  “This can all be over if you just surrender to me,” said Tyran. “I’ll even forgive you for trying to kill me.”

  “I’d do it again if I could,” said Grace.

  Tyran’s eyes narrowed. “I like my women to have spirit.”

  The ship began to shudder, and Grace grabbed the back of the cockpit seat.

  “We’re almost out of time,” said Tyran. “I can save you all; just say the word.”

  Grace took one final look at Bladen, her heart ricocheting blood around her body so fast she felt dizzy. She grabbed hold of the console stick and slammed it downwards, sending the ship careening towards the ground.

  ***

  Bladen’s eyes blinked open, and he discovered darkness around him. Coarse, cold sand slid about him as he moved his arms and legs. His side burned where Tyran’s blade had pierced his stomach, as did his shoulder, and he traced his fingers over the wounds, feeling fresh blood leaking out.

  The last thing he remembered, Grace had plunged the vessel into the ground, and he had smashed to the floor, taking Tyran down with him.

  Panic washed over him as he moved his gaze around, not seeing Grace. The remains of the ship lay in a smoking heap not far from him.

  Bladen dragged in a painful lungful of air and tried to call Grace’s name. But he didn’t have the energy to get the words out and see if she was still alive and had survived the crash.

  Slowly and painfully, Bladen dragged himself to his hands and knees. The effort covered him in a slick sheen of sweat and made his wounds bleed faster. He knew why he was still alive. It was thanks to the nanobots the Deorg had given him, and they would be working on healing his injuries. But Grace didn’t have any nanobots inside her. How could she survive the crash?

  He crawled forward, still trying to find some sign of Grace. But his senses were too muddled to identify her scent, and he kept seeing double every time he looked around the sand dunes. He kept crawling closer to the crash site. If she was anywhere, she would still be in there. Maybe she’d had time to strap herself into a seat to give her some protection from the impact of the crash.

  Bladen’s hand landed in something warm and wet. He lifted his palm and inhaled. It was blood, but not his and not human. But it was definitely Vorten. Tyran must be somewhere nearby.

  Bladen fumbled with his weapons harness and pulled out a blade but dropped it instantly and he cursed. Everything ached, and he was too weak even to hold a blade. The nanobots needed to work faster to heal him.

  He was determined to find Grace, no matter what had happened to her and no matter how much he hurt. It would hurt him more not to know, and his heart ached at the thought that he’d failed to keep her safe and give her the freedom she deserved.

>   Sliding forward on the sand, his fingers brushed something soft. He raised his head and discovered Tyran’s face staring back at him. Bladen flinched back but then realized there was no way Tyran could cause him or Grace any more harm. His head was all that was left of him.

  Bladen pushed the head aside with a grunt. There was no way Tyran would come back from that.

  He reached the crash site and saw the ship still smoking and a hole smashed through one side. Bladen dragged himself through the hole and stared into the cockpit. Grace was not in there. He inched through the ship, looking for any signs of her, but there was nothing.

  Maybe she’d survived but been injured and had crawled away to get help or get away before the Fraken arrived at the crash.

  Bladen discovered a smashed medical kit and grabbed a handful of Medi-patches, applying them to his wounds as he left the damaged vessel. They would help to mask the pain and give him more time to locate Grace.

  He stumbled away from the crash site, aware that if he stayed too long, the Fraken would arrive and capture him. They would have seen the ship go down and would be hunting for the wreckage, determined to see if anyone survived.

  Swiping a hand over his face, Bladen’s vision slowly cleared. He looked around the outside of the vessel before making his way slowly towards a triangular shaped rock. If he could get up on it, it would give him a better view of the surroundings, and he’d be able to spot Grace.

  His eyes homed in on a splatter of darkness in the sand, and his heart clenched; it was Grace’s dark hair peeking around the side of the rock. He increased his pace, ignoring the ache from his stomach wound. She must have had the same idea he did and had tried to get up to a higher elevation to see where she was.

  Bladen fell to his knees as he discovered Grace. She was face down in the sand, unconscious, and bleeding heavily from a wound on her forehead. His fingers went to her pulse, and he let out a relieved sigh. She was alive.

  He tried to lift Grace over his shoulder but fell to his knees; he was still too weak to be of any use to her. He growled at himself for not being worthy or capable of helping his female.

  He grabbed her arms and began to drag her through the sand, farther away from the crash site and away from the Fraken, who would be descending upon them soon.

  Bladen’s stomach wound pumped out more blood as he dragged Grace along, but he refused to give up on her. He needed to get them somewhere safe, give them both a chance to recover and give Axen time to figure out where they were and come to get them.

  He adjusted his grip on Grace’s hands and continued to slide her along the sand. But it was too much effort, and he fell to his knees, dropping his hold on her. He let out a frustrated groan and his forehead touched the sand. He couldn’t go any farther.

  The wind swirled sand around his head, stinging his eyes and cheeks. Bladen grabbed hold of Grace’s hand and squeezed. They had come so close to getting out and starting a new life together. As his eyes began to close, he realized the Fraken had won.

  Chapter 22

  Grace fought against the heavy weight pinning her face down on the ground. Something was covering her, trying to smother her and steal the breath from her lungs.

  She squirmed around, kicking and punching, but the weight was heavy on her legs, and she couldn’t move.

  Grace opened her mouth, and gritty sand filled it. She spat it out and twisted onto her back. She was lying partially covered by sand. Her skin felt rubbed raw as if she’d been scoured by a wire brush.

  And as she looked at her surroundings, her drumming heartbeat slowing, Grace realized there were heaps of piled sand all around her, and she must have been out cold during a sandstorm. She was lucky not to have been buried alive.

  She coughed out more sand and dug her legs out, shaking the sensation back into them and feeling pins and needles dig through her skin as she did so. Where was the crashed spaceship? The last thing Grace remembered was aiming the ship at the ground and then jumping into the seat and hanging on as metal screamed and glass smashed. But it was nowhere to be seen. In fact, these surroundings were new. How did she get here? And, where was Bladen?

  She shot to her feet and looked around, the early morning light dazzling her as she peered frantically through the growing heat haze for any sign of her warrior.

  He must have moved her after she crawled away from the wreckage. But he wouldn’t leave her, not unless he’d been forced to. Fear trickled down her spine. Had the Fraken taken him? Or had Tyran managed to defeat him?

  Grace looked at the different heaps of sand surrounding her, and one caught her eye. She hurried towards it and sank to her knees, her breath gasping out of her. “Please let this be him.” She raked some sand away from the human body shaped lump and let out a gasp when she discovered a large, calloused male hand, a hand that had stroked emotions out of her she never thought possible. It had to be Bladen.

  Grace increased her digging and quickly uncovered Bladen’s face. She let out a strangled moan when she saw how sick he looked. His skin camouflage kept flickering across his skin, changing him from different shades of yellow, to green, and then to dark grey.

  Grace placed a shaking finger against the pulse in his throat. It was weak and too rapid to be healthy.

  She kept digging and uncovered the rest of Bladen's body, feeling sick as she saw the large dark patch of blood surrounding him where he’d continued to bleed from his stomach wound. Grace grabbed hold of Bladen’s arms and tried to pull him out of the sand, but he was too heavy to move.

  Her head pounded from the injury she’d received when the ship crash landed, but she kept digging, determined to get Bladen out and wake him up. There had to be a way out. They were so close. She couldn’t give up now.

  She discovered a handful of Medi-patches stuffed into Bladen’s waistband. She yanked up his shirt, cleaned his stomach wound of sand the best she could, and applied two clean patches. It would help take the edge off the pain he must be in.

  Grace looked around, fearful they would be discovered at any moment by the Fraken. They must have located the crashed ship by now. And they wouldn’t give up searching for the two of them until they’d found them, dead or alive.

  Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, and her throat parched as the sun heated the sand around them. If she didn’t get them into somewhere cooler soon, they would both die of exposure.

  But every direction she looked, there was nothing but sand, those peculiarly shaped sand scoured rocks and blazing sun.

  Grace let the exhaustion take her to the ground. She gently took hold of Bladen’s hand and stroked the back of it. This incredible warrior had fought for her throughout this game. He’d shown her there was a different way of living, something bigger and better to strive for. It had taken her a while to see that, and now they were almost free, it seemed so unfair they would be defeated at this stage.

  Her head whipped up as she heard footsteps sliding across the sand. She grabbed a knife from Bladen’s weapons harness and climbed to her feet. The Fraken must have found them, maybe even tracked them through the sand. Bladen could have left behind a trail of blood as he’d carried her away from the crash site.

  She kicked sand over as much of Bladen as possible, trying to conceal him from view while ensuring he was still able to breathe.

  Grace stopped as she saw his eyes flutter. “Stay with me. But keep quiet. I think we’ve got company.”

  Bladen gave a groan and blinked up at Grace. “What’s happening?”

  She placed a finger against his lips. “The Fraken have found us.”

  Bladen tried to move, but pain lanced across his face, and his eyes closed again.

  “There’s nothing you can do,” said Grace. “I’ll defend us. Just stay still and quiet. I will lead them away from here so they don’t find you.” She ran to the side of the rock and pressed her back against it, before risking a glance around the edge. What she saw made her heart shrink. It wasn’t Fraken, but there were two Vorten str
iding towards her. They must be working with the Fraken and had been sent to track them down and kill them.

  She ducked back behind the rock and held the blade against her chest, her tongue sliding over her cracked lips. There was no way she’d be able to defend Bladen against these Vorten, but she’d do what she could. They weren’t going down without a fight.

  Grace looked over at Bladen and saw his eyes were still flickering. He was fighting just as hard as she was to stay alive. She sucked in a big breath and stepped out from behind the rock, straight into the path of the two Vorten. She held out the blade and glared at them. “Don’t come any closer.”

  The taller of the two Vorten, a dark-haired, muscular alien with a broad flat nose and a large scar over his eyebrow, raised his hand slowly. “You must be Grace.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “And you must be here to kill me.”

  The two Vorten exchanged a glance, and the shorter one with a cocky smile and light brown hair grinned at her. “Just the opposite, gorgeous. We’re your rescue party.”

  Grace swung the blade towards him. “And I’m supposed to believe that. We’ve just had to fight one Vorten betrayer. What’s to say you don’t also work for the Fraken?”

  “A Vorten attacked you in this game?” The taller Vorten asked as he took as step closer.

  “Stay where you are,” said Grace, as her fingers clenched around the blade. “I know how to use this.”

  “I don’t doubt that.” The Vorten took another step and placed a hand on his muscular chest. “I’m Axen. And this is my warrior brother, Lazet.”

  Grace blinked and lowered the blade a fraction. This was the Vorten Bladen had told her about, the one she’d sent the message to. “How do I know it’s really you?”

  “If you’re here with Bladen, you can ask him if I’m being honest,” said Axen. “How is my brother doing? We lost track of things in the game when the Fraken faked a power outage. I had to assume Bladen was disrupting things so much they didn’t have any suitable game footage to show the audience.”