by Luna Hunter
“It’s getting dark,” he says.
“Why does that scare you? You lived in the dark your whole life.”
“This was a mistake.”
“Then leave,” I roar. “Go! Go cower, go hide, go live your days in fear, in horror, waiting for the creeps to come crawling through your cave and murder your wife, your mother, your daughters.”
“Zoran asshole,” Timber barks as he turns to walk away.
I grab him by the shoulder and yank the Zoran blade from his paws.
“You won’t be needing that,” I growl.
He snarls at me, baring his fangs. “What am I supposed to do if I’m attacked on my way back?”
“Stick your head in the ground, it’s what your kind does best.”
Fuck, I’m a total asshole.
Timber walks away, cursing under his breath as he picks up the trail we made when we left the Thundercat several hours ago. I continue on, marching towards my certain death.
I killed a Ygg Queen once before, but that was more a lucky strike than anything else. Next time, I might not be so lucky.
Not that it matters.
I have lost my honor; failed my loved ones. I have nothing left to live for.
17
Kelly
I stare into the darkness, sitting on a stump outside the ship.
Night has fallen, and the temperature has dropped severely, but there’s no way I’m going to bed. I can’t sleep knowing Koryn is out there somewhere.
Bey brings me another cup of chau-chau, but I’ve lost my desire for them.
I’ve lost my desire for a lot of things.
Hours have passed, and my nagging fear has grown into full-blown dread.
“Drink something, please,” Bey says, her hazelnut eyes filled with worry.
I shake my head.
“At least put a vest on, then,” she pleads. “I’m freezing my butt off and you don’t even have any fur.”
“No.”
I’m cold as hell, but at least I’m feeling something. I won’t allow myself to be warm and cozy while Koryn is out there, lost in the cold, dark woods.
I don’t want to care so much about him, but I do. I want to let go, to listen to that nagging little voice in the back of my head that says I told you so. He’s a warrior. They walk out on you. They love the hunt more than you. Forget about him. He’s just like the others.
But I can’t. And I won’t. Koryn managed to break the armor around my heart, the armor that’s been there ever since my father walked out on me and my mother. When I’m with him, I feel whole, for the first time in my life.
I can’t let that go. I won’t walk away from that. I don’t know where Koryn disappeared to, or why, but I’m not giving up on him. Not now, not ever. I’ll chase him to the end of this planet if I have to.
It’s true what he said: I’m as stubborn as a Zoran General.
“I’ll wait with you then,” Bey says as she sits down next to me. She wraps her arm around my shoulder, and her fur is thick and soft, and I’m grateful for her warmth and kindness.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For everything.” I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like her. Without her keeping me sane, I might have stumbled into the wilderness alone. She keeps me grounded. “Are all Berans as kind as you?”
Bey smirks. “I like to think so.”
“Why did you travel with us?” I ask.
The female bear shrugs. “Koryn needed help returning you to the ship, so I volunteered, of course. It’s the least I could do.”
“Have you ever been on the planet’s surface?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head.
“What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” she answers. “There’s so many plants, herbs and trees, and the air is so clean. And the sky!” she says, looking up at the stars.
We can see a part of the night’s sky through the clearing in the woods. The stars shine brightly, providing us with a breathtaking view. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a starry night as beautiful as this: on Earth there’s too much pollution and artificial light to see the sky properly.
“Can we see your home world from here?”
“No,” I laugh. “It’s far, far away.”
“I’d like to see another planet someday,” Bey says, sighing wishfully.
“You just got to the surface of this one!” I say.
“I know, and now I want more,” Bey laughs. “All my life I dreamt of venturing outside the cave, but our leaders have always forbidden it. Too dangerous, they said. And now destiny delivered a human and a Zoran to my doorstep,” she says with a smile. “Thank you for showing me the stars.”
“You’re very welcome.”
The conversation helped take my mind off the ache in my heart, even if only for a moment. We gaze up at the stars together, and I don’t feel as alone anymore.
The rustling bushes in the distance break the silence, making my heart leap into my throat.
Is it him?!
A seven foot tall figure stumbles out into the clearing, and I rise to my feet.
The man steps into the light – and I see the thick, dark fur covering his entire body is tangled with leaves and a few stray branches. My heart sinks as I realize it’s not my mate.
“Timber,” Bey says, rising to her feet as well.
“Where’s Koryn?!” I ask, unable to keep my voice from shaking.
The scowl on the Beran’s face fills me with dread. He shakes his fur, pawing at the leaves cluttering up his fur. “He’s lost his damn mind,” he grumbles. “Chasing Ygg, trying to get himself killed.”
No. No no no no no.
I sit back down, all the energy leaving my body. How could this happen…
“Timber!” Bey says sternly. “That’s her mate you’re talking about! You left us without so much as a word or a warning. Explain yourself!” Her big brown eyes burn with fire as she glares at him.
The Beran looks taken aback by Bey’s fiery outburst.
“I just marched for a whole day straight,” he says defensively.
“And we’ve been waiting here, worried sick about you,” Bey counters. “So start talking!”
Timber rubs his temples with his paws, sighing deeply.
“After we placed Kelly in the… thing…”
“The medi-computer,” Bey corrects him.
“That’s what I said. Koryn grabbed a bunch of weapons – swords, spears, things like that – and told me he was heading out to find the Ygg Queen. Said if it was defeated, the monsters would all leave our planet.”
Timber sits down, picking at the leaves that clutter his fur.
“He asked me if I wanted to avenge my people… I said yes, of course. I couldn’t let this offworlder take all the glory. If someone would take revenge, it should be a Beran.”
Bey shakes her head as she listens to the warrior talk. “Men,” I hear her mutter under her breath.
“He left straight away, and I followed. It all happened so suddenly, as if he made up his mind on the spot. I would have told you, but I didn’t see you.”
“Then what happened?”
Timber looks down at the floor, avoiding eye contact.
“I lost my nerve,” he says softly. “I realized that he was leading me on a suicide mission. I tried to talk him out of it, but he …”
“He what?” I ask.
“He couldn’t be reasoned with,” Timber says, looking up at me. “I saw it in his eyes. It’s like he wasn’t himself no more. Of course, I barely knew him, but… there was so much rage inside of him.”
The Beran hangs his head in shame.
“So I left.”
Bey rests her paws on the soldier’s shoulders.
“It’s okay, Timber,” she says, running her nails through his fur.
“No, it’s not,” he sighs. “I left the cave, then I left you, now I left the Zoran… I’m trying to do the right thing, but it’s so hard.”
The pit in my s
tomach grows, my worst fears confirmed. Somehow I already knew it, but a small part of me hoped for a more reasonable explanation as to why he disappeared like that.
He’s somewhere in the vast wilderness, hell-bent on revenge.
It’ll be the death of him.
Why, Koryn? Why this suicide mission? Why didn’t you stay by my side?
18
Koryn
I wake up with an aching back and a stiff neck.
Sleeping on the forest floor is not as comfortable as it looks. Not that it matters. I’ve picked up the Ygg’s wretched scent. They can’t be far away now.
I do a quick sweep of my camping ground, but none of the booby-traps I’ve laid out have been triggered. I dismantle them, as I don’t want to injure any stray Berans or woodland animals.
Not that I’ve seen any on this planet so far.
The silence is suffocating. Even the wind has stopped blowing. The only thing I hear are my own footsteps. I do a quick check of all my weapons, making sure I’m prepared for battle.
I run through my mental checklist three times, as I keep getting distracted. My mind keeps drifting back to her.
Kelly.
I wonder what she’s doing right now. Did her leg heal fine? The medi-computer is a prototype, though I have the utmost faith in Zoran engineering. I hope she’s not too worried about me.
By now that coward Timber has no doubt returned to the Thundercat, and informed them of my decision.
The image of Kelly forms in front of me, so real I feel like I can touch her. She runs her hand through her golden-blonde hair, that crooked smile on her face that I love so much.
Is it cowardly not to march to your death? she says. Did you not stop Vinz when he tried to do the same thing on Cotonia VI?
“That’s not the same,” I say to no one.
Isn’t it? her azure-blue eyes ask me.
I shake my head to get the thoughts out of my mind. That chapter of my life is over. I’m a warrior, and a long time ago I dedicated my life to the hunt. I can’t rest until the universe is safe from the Ygg, once and for all. Anything else is a distraction.
It’s not like what we had meant something, anyway.
“Liar.”
Kelly appears again at the edge of my vision, her gorgeous smirk mocking me.
“You love me and you know it, you’re just too scared to admit it.”
“Am not,” I growl.
“Are too.”
I keep marching, trying to put some distance between me and my inner demons, but it’s to no avail. Kelly’s a part of me now, and she travels with me wherever I go. I spend the entire day following the trail, Kelly’s singsong voice commenting on my every move.
Finally, after a long and hard day, I find the entrance to the cave. The smell is unmistakable. The Ygg are down there. Zora knows how many.
I pull my blade from its sheath, my hand steady. I glance over my shoulder, at the immense forest behind me. Kelly’s somewhere in that sea of trees.
“Goodbye,” I say.
Here goes nothing.
19
Kelly
“We have to find him.”
My lips are pulled into a thin line, my hands resting on my sides.
I am not backing down on this.
Bey looks up at me from her breakfast, and she sees the determination in my eyes.
“Okay,” she says softly.
Timber eyes are as big as the moon. “Are you crazy?” he says, as he pushes his plate away. “You could get killed out there.”
I spent a restless night on the ship, not getting a moment’s peace. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Koryn pinned down by a Ygg, in desperate need for my help. I know I’m not a warrior like him, I can’t take one of those beasts down single-handedly.
But I can’t sit idly by while the love of my life goes on a reckless suicide mission either.
“He might already be dead,” Timber says.
“He might not be,” I answer.
Might. Just using that word kills me.
“I know he’s alive,” I correct myself. “I can feel it.”
“What about you?” Timber says, pointing his paw at Bey. “You have a mate, back at the cave. Shouldn’t you get back to your duties?”
“My duty is with Kelly,” Bey growls. “Without Koryn, who knows what could have happened? That monster could have killed every last one of us in the cave. He saved all of us.”
“Without these offworlders, the monsters would never have found us in the first place,” Timber says.
“You don’t know that,” Bey says, rising to her feet, locking her arm with mine. “I stand with Kelly.”
Timber slams both his paws down on the table and the empty plates go flying through the room, crashing against the metal walls. He stands up, towering over me, though Bey doesn’t flinch for even a second.
“I…” Timber growls, baring his fangs, his brown eyes now seeing red. For a second I fear the two Beran are going to wrestle it out right here in the ship’s kitchen, but a moment later Timber relaxes his shoulders, seemingly shrinking a whole foot.
“I… can’t let you two go alone,” he says, sounding tired and defeated. “I’ll go with you.”
We spend the day in silence as we march through the lush forest. Bey and Timber both have an incredibly well-developed sense of smell, and they can follow Koryn’s path, even a whole day later.
I wonder if they developed these powers because they lived down in poorly lit caves their whole life, or if the Beran have always been such keen hunters.
The tension is high, and I don’t know what to say, afraid to upset either of the two. A part of me feels bad for dragging these two cave-dwellers out here into the open to search for my purple-skinned warrior. This is my plight, and not their cross to bear.
What if Timber was right? What if Koryn and I did lead the Ygg straight to the Beran’s home?
I shudder at the thought. If those innocent Beran died because of me, I won’t be able to live with myself.
Bey rests her paw on my shoulder and nods to me, as if she can read my mind.
“We’re close,” she says. “The trail is fresh.”
It’s the first words we’ve exchanged in hours.
I nod, mentally preparing myself for what’s to come. Any moment now, we’ll stumble upon my mate and find him, alive… or dead.
I feel like he’s still alive and well, but as a scientist, I know I can’t fully trust my gut. I have to see it with my own two eyes to be absolutely sure. Still, I haven’t been more certain of anything else in my life. Koryn is alive.
Because he has to be.
My heart is beating like a drum, and my hands are clammy. In fact, every part of my body aches – my feet are killing me, my back is sore, and my head feels like it’s going to burst.
Still, I continue, taking one step at a time.
We’re so close.
“Here,” Timber says. He moves a set of vines out of the way, revealing the entrance to a cave. I see a bunch of Zoran weapons – a spear and an axe, among others – stacked up against the entrance.
“Do you want to enter?”
I take in a deep breath. I hoped to find him sleeping somewhere, but I knew deep down that wasn’t going to happen. This is it.
“You don’t have to follow me,” I say as I pick the axe up. I’ve never held a weapon before… well, except for the vase I used to knock Senator Gorgi out when he was holding Jillian hostage, but that feels like a lifetime ago. I don’t know what horrors will await me in the cave, but I hope that when all this is over, I can go visit Jillian, Vinz and their newborn baby – with Koryn by my side.
“Nonsense,” Bey says. “We’re with you, every step of the way. Right, Timber?”
“Right.”
“Thank you,” I say as I light up a flare and descend into the darkness.
We’re coming, you stubborn Zoran. Hold on for me, okay?
20
Koryn
&
nbsp; My strike is deflected by the beast’s mighty pincer.
It lunges forwards and I barely manage to jump out of the way, doing a roll on the floor as the monster crashes against the cave wall, causing the entire cave to shake and crack.
The Ygg Queen is the biggest bug I’ve ever seen. Its armor has a dark green hue, and its massive mouth is dripping acid as it tries to devour me. Unsuccessfully.
So far.
“Come at me,” I growl, waving my sword in front of its bulging eyes. “Do it!”
I’m trying to get the beast to make a mistake so I can strike at its soft belly, but it’s not letting me get close. I’ve been going toe-to-toe with monster for far too long now, and the battle is taking its toll.
My arms hurt, my legs ache, and my chest feels like it’s going to explode. The Queen spews its acid on me every time I get close, and it’s starting to eat away at my armor.
I’m fighting a losing battle.
I’ve yet to land a blow, I’ve yet to get a proper a hit in, while I’m about to collapse from exhaustion. A cool head is a warrior’s greatest asset, yet once again my emotions have gotten the best of me. I should have rested, I should have prepared for this battle, but the Kelly I’ve been imagining due to exhaustion has been right all along.
I see that now, through the sweat, pain, and blood.
I love her.
And that terrifies me.
I’ve been fighting the same demons all my life, and now that I’ve had a taste of happiness, a sliver of what it’s like to be whole, I chose fear over happiness at the first sign of trouble.
I chose to battle with the Ygg, rather than with my own feelings.
The Queen jumps forward, its pincers snapping shut, gripping my blade tightly. I try to pull it from its grasp, but to no avail. It jerks its massive head back and I fly across the room, hitting the wall with a powerful thud. I crumble on the floor, my body broken. I climb back to my feet, but my knees are weak, pain shooting through every fiber of my body.