by Ruby Dixon
By the time morning comes, I’m exhausted. I let the fire die and take a quick nap in the sunlight until the bleating of a nearby dvisti herd wakes me up. I head off toward the crashed ship again, and when the suns are high in the sky, I arrive at the ship.
HAEDEN
It takes everything I have not to go to Jo-see’s side during the night and offer to assist. She would not appreciate it, and when I see her creating the windbreak with the snow, I know she is smart. She will be fine, if not comfortable. Still, I stay closer than I normally do, my spear at the ready, and watch over her. She is in the open, and if anything tries to approach her, I will gut it for daring to get near my mate.
After her morning nap, she takes off again and I follow behind her, far enough so she will not notice me. As I do, I notice that her path crosses other tracks in the snow. I slow, letting her get ahead so I can study them. I crouch low and touch one. The snow has not crusted, which means it is fresh.
And the clawed toes? Metlak. Many of them.
Jo-see’s in danger.
JOSIE
The flashing light I’d seen in my spyglass is a lot brighter the closer I get. It’s an exterior light of some kind, and blindingly bright, making me see spots every time it goes off. I shrug off a fur wrap and throw it over the light, only to hear my fur sizzling and the smell of burning leather. I quickly yank it off again. The light’s so hot the snow melts when it touches it. Well, that’s not a good sign.
I circle around the wreckage to give it a once-over. There’s snow piled up around it and so I can’t make out the shape, but the boxy end that’s torn open and sticking out of the snow? Yeah, that looks familiar. The mountains that looked like purple glass from a distance are clearly ice, and I’m amazed at the massiveness of them. This ice must be hundreds - or thousands - of years old to have formed mountains, and at the base, I see a tinge of green. Okay then, how did the ocean become green if these mountains are purple? I wish I knew. Maybe it’s algae or something. I’m not a scientist, so I can only guess. But the snow that falls is white, as are the drifts covering the craft, which tells me that this is definitely a recent addition to the landscape. I circle around it one more time, trying to determine how big it is. It’s not like the ancestor ship, which is a long, rounded oval as big as a shopping mall. This one’s more like a wedge, I think, and as long as a city block. Most of it is buried in snow except for the cargo end. If there was debris - or bodies - they were covered by the snow a long time ago.
I’m kind of glad for that. I don’t want to see a bunch of corpses sticking out of the snow. I shudder at the thought.
I approach the busted end of the spaceship that sticks out of the drifts. It’s tilted to the side and one end sticks out high from the snow, but the other end is climbable with a little effort, I think. “Hello?” I call out. “Anyone home?”
No answer. Not surprising, given the remoteness of the location or the fact that the ship’s crashed. If this was Kira’s ship, everyone was dead before the thing ever landed. I swallow hard at the thought, squeamish. I’ve seen TV shows with car accidents… I hope I’m not going to see corpse-splatters all over the inside of the ship. Or worse, corpse-splatter-popsicles. I press a mitten to my mouth and hurk a little.
But I’ve come this far. I need to keep going.
After the overheated flashing light, I worry that parts of the ship will be too hot to touch. I throw my fur wrap over the part I’ve designated as my point of entrance, and when it doesn’t sizzle, I climb in to the dark hollow pit. “Hello?”
No answer. No light, either. Crap. I retreat back out and attack one of the scrubby bushes nearby, taking twiggy limbs and ripping them off, then twisting them into a bundle. I hold my bundle against the flicking emergency light until it smokes and then lights up. It’s a crappy torch and drips embers everywhere, but it’ll do. I don’t plan on staying down there long. It gives me the creeps.
I crawl back into the busted hull carefully, torch in hand, and start to explore. I thought this was the cargo area, but apparently not. It’s a different part of the ship, and it looks like the entire thing is turned sideways. I’m in a narrow hall and standing on what was probably a space-window or something. There’s furniture and other small objects peppered on the floor, mixed in with debris, and I kick through it, looking for guns. The aliens that kidnapped us originally had guns that looked a lot like clubs the size of a rifle, and I could use one of those.
There’s a door half open ahead of me, and I hold my torch aloft, peering in.
Bodies. Lots of bodies, frozen in their seats. I stagger backward and retch, then get angry at myself for doing so. Of course there are bodies. Quit being so girly, Josie. I picture Haeden chastising me, but instead of filling me with irritation, I’m filled with wistful sadness. I wish he was here. He’d hold the torch and put an arm around me, and it wouldn’t matter that I’m a little girly and scared, because he’d be by my side. And he only needles me because he’s scared of how fragile I am.
The realization strikes me like a brick.
That’s why he’s so protective. That’s why he’s such a dick when I try to be independent and is constantly talking about how women should be protected. He’s scared someone’s going to die and then the remaining mate will have to suffer like he has.
Maybe I’ve been too mean to him.
I pick a different passageway and head through it, determined to be strong. It’s a dead end though, blocked by debris and slag and hanging cables. I can’t go further, so I turn around and look for the next passage.
A short time later, my torch is burning down to cinders in my hand and I haven’t found anything useful. Well, scratch that. I found a room that was private quarters, and the only things not rotted away were a small blanket made of a weird, plastick-feeling material and a cushion-like pillow made out of the same. I stuff them both into my bag even though I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. I decide to check one last hallway before heading out, because I’m determined to find something I can use.
But the moment I step through the next doorway, I’m hit by old memories.
This is the cargo bay. Or was. There’s a hole in the ceiling that is letting light in, and there’s a light dusting of snow in the middle of the floor. The cargo bay’s contents are scattered everywhere, crates smashed and their contents destroyed. I swallow hard at the sight of this place. If I close my eyes, I can hear the crying, smell the unwashed bodies, see the faces of the guards as they leered at us…and more.
I bite the inside of my cheek until I no longer feel like screaming, or weeping. I’ve already cried over that, and I won’t give it more time in my head. I shake the bad memories away and focus on the good things. If this is the cargo bay, maybe there’s food. Maybe there’s supplies.
When I turn to the left, though, I see them.
Tubes.
Oh God.
I head toward the wall, trembling. There’s a thin coat of ice on it, and half of it is collapsed. I can barely make out three tubes. I brush a hand over the snow and ice and immediately amend my count. Two tubes. There’s nothing but scorched remains of the third, the wall crumpled away. I hope you didn’t have an occupant.
When I smooth away the ice and snow over the next one, though, the green light flashes. I remember that light.
It means there’s someone inside.
“Shit. Fuck. Damn.” Saying the words aloud doesn’t make it any better, but it feels necessary. I run a hand over the next pod’s panel. Yellow lights flicking to green. I don’t know what that means, but I’m betting it also has an occupant. “Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!”
This? This I’m going to cry over. I allow myself to burst into tears and sob.
Because now I have to go back.
11
JOSIE
When I emerge from the ship, I don’t expect to see another person in the distance. But up on a distant hill, I see blue skin and horns and the graceful movements of a male sa-khui locked in com
bat. It’s obviously Haeden. I recognize his motions even as my khui starts a low hum in my chest. My anger and frustration at being followed disappears when I realize why he’s turning on one leg and flinging a spear. He’s fighting something that looks…well, a bit like a skinny grey yeti. A metlak, my brain tells me, though I’ve never seen one. I’ve heard the stories. They’re tall, monkey-like creatures that are almost as intelligent as they are vicious. Liz has told me hair-raising tales of running across them in the wild, and I’m alarmed to see one here.
As another pounces on Haeden’s back only to be brushed off, I realize that there’s not just one or two, but a dozen of the creatures.
Oh shit. Were they following me? Is this my fault? Guilt and alarm surge through me, and I rush forward to offer my assistance as another pounces on him, only to realize that I have nothing but a tiny knife.
Fuck! What do I do?
I look over at the flashing emergency light and am nearly blinded by it as it blinks again. I need something else to burn. They’re afraid of fire. But the only thing I have is my bag.
I hesitate a moment, and then dump my food and water pouch out on the ground and gather up a few handfuls of the debris at the edge of the ship, then stuff one of my furs into the bag. In goes my new pillow. In goes the small blanket of the strange, shiny material. Then, I rush forward and hold my bag against the light, squeezing my eyes shut against the flare of red light as the leather sizzles angrily. There’s no time to gather more wood for a torch and I pray that the leather will catch on fire.
The bag hisses angrily and smoke starts to pour forth. “Come on,” I whisper, glancing up the hill where Haeden was fighting just a moment ago. He’s still there, flinging another metlak aside, and my heart hammers with a mix of relief and worry. “Come on,” I tell my bag again. “Hurry!”
The damn thing doesn’t want to catch, though. I give a low growl of frustration and then toss my bag down. The shiny blanket catches my eye and I grab it and hold it against the light, hoping that it’s not flame retardant, or I’m really screwed. If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to go help Haeden with my bare hands. Leaving him is not an option.
The blanket begins to hiss as I hold it against the super-heated light, and my fingertips blister as I hold it there. I squeal and jerk my hands away, but the blanket is smoking. It’s working. Before I can think about it too much, I shove the blanket against the light again and hold it there, trying to ignore the pain in my hands. Hot tears pour from my eyes and I moan as my fingers continue to blister. Just when I can take it no more, the blanket catches. Yellow flames lick at the edges and then the entire thing starts to crawl with fire. I pull it away and dash toward Haeden with my flaming bundle, yelling at the top of my lungs.
I don’t know who’s more surprised to see me running at them, full throttle with a flaming blanket - Haeden or the metlaks. The big blue male pauses only for a brief second, and then he slams his spear into the side of the creature he’s fighting. The others back off even as Haeden roars, a primal sound. I shake my burning blanket at them as they cringe backward, and one by one, they peel off and run away, dashing for the hills.
Just in time, too. The blanket’s crawling flame has only been aggravated by my running and the wind, and it’s licking at my hands. With a yelp, I toss the blanket to the ground and then blow on my stinging, burning hands.
“Jo-see?” Haeden’s voice makes me turn. His big shoulders are heaving as he pants, and his vest is torn. There are scratches and gouges on his arms and one on his face from the metlak claws, but he looks fine otherwise. I face him, ignoring my throbbing hands for a moment, and wait for the lecture. Knowing him, it’ll start with females are weak and end with something about me playing with fire. Oblivious to the emotion spitting between us, my khui hums a happy song in time with his.
He says nothing. Is he waiting for me to admit I’m sorry? Not gonna happen. I wave a hand at him, beckoning. “Go ahead and give it to me—“
Haeden puts an arm around my shoulders and in the next moment, I’m pulled to his chest, my cheek squished against a broad pectoral, as he hugs me to him.
I freeze, because it’s the last thing I’m expecting. His arms wrap around me and then he’s holding me with both big, strong arms, as if I’m the best thing he’s ever seen. I realize I’m not going to get a lecture - well, not yet - because he’s relieved.
He’s so happy to see me that he’s hugging me. And okay, it feels really good to be hugged. His hand strokes over my hair as he holds me to his chest, and I close my eyes and bask in the warmth of his body against mine, and how wonderful it feels just to have someone touch me with simple happiness. I’ve never been hugged much, and I can see right away why some people are addicted to cuddling. Haeden’s strong body holding me close is bliss. In his arms, I feel safe and protected and the worries of the world slip away.
But then one of my hands brushes against his clothing, and a shot of pain rips through me. I hiss and back away, gazing at them. My fingers and my palms are purple and starting to blister.
Haeden grabs one of my hands, taking care not to touch the injured spots. “Jo-see, what have you done?”
Ah yes, that’s the Haeden I remember. “It’s called saving your ass.”
“You have saved more of me than my ass,” he says, and I swallow the smart-ass comment bubbling in my head. He glances around and then retrieves his spear. With his other arm, he pulls me close again. “The metlaks will be back. We need to find shelter and build a fire.”
Shelter’s not a problem. “I know the perfect place.” I point at the wrecked ship with its flashing light.
For a moment, it looks as if he wants to argue, but then he nods. “I will follow your lead.”
Now there’s a change.
HAEDEN
She’s safe.
Overwhelming relief moves through me in waves, as if spurred by my khui. It has been humming its song loudly ever since she appeared on the horizon, waving a flaming blanket. To think that she risked her safety to protect me from metlaks? It is humbling. While metlaks are normally not a danger to hunters, these were younger and therefore more aggressive. Their attack caught me by surprise, as did Jo-see’s rescue.
She came to rescue me.
I rub my chest, absurdly pleased by the thought.
My mate heads toward the flashing, strange light on the horizon, chattering. It’s a ship, she tells me, even as she cradles her injured hands in front of her, palms up. It’s a ship and she has found others inside and that is why she was returning down the trail because she realized she couldn’t stay and do nothing and it’s frustrating but she has to do the right thing because that is what others would want her to do if the tay-bulls were turned. I listen to her with half an ear, lost in the song of my khui. It is overwhelming me with her nearness, and I want to press her close to my body again. This is the first time I have been this close to her in days, and although I knew she was healthy, I cannot stop staring at her, at the sway of her hips as she walks, her graceful motions. She says something, and I grunt a response just in case she expects one. A moment later, she stops and turns to me, frowning.
“Will they be back?” she asks me.
Ah. “The metlaks? Yes. They will be curious and return once they have their courage. If we have a fire once more, they will leave for good. They are not smart creatures.”
She bites her lip and nods, squinting when the red light flashes bright into our eyes. “Don’t touch that thing, by the way. I learned the hard way it’s a little hot.” She waves her damaged hands in the air.
“You did not have to do that,” I tell her.
“I wanted to help. They were attacking you. Were you in danger?”
If I was at full strength? Not likely. But I am weakened by the khui’s unfulfilled song and many days of travel. I nod.
She smiles brightly as if pleased by my feebleness. “Then I helped.”
The urge to correct her rises in my throat, but she is so happ
y to be helpful that I bite the words back. I am still pleased by the idea that my mate sought to protect me. No one has ever fought for me before. And she hurt herself in the process. I am distressed by this…and humbled by it as well. I take her by the elbow and glance into the dark recess of the strange cave. “Stay here and I will check for animals.”
“I’ve already been inside,” she says, wrinkling her strange, flat, movable human brow at me. “Weren’t you listening?”
Do I admit that I have ignored some of her chatter in favor of eyeing her body? I glance away, and then back at her seeking eyes. “My concentration…the khui…it is difficult.” I rub my chest to emphasize my lame answer.
But she nods understanding. “I know what you mean.” Her cheeks flush a bright pink and she glances away as if shy. “At any rate, it’s safe in there. No live things.” She shivers. “Just dead ones.”
“Very well.” I want to chide her for wandering blindly into a cave that could have any sort of creature nesting in it, especially in metlak territory. But we…are not yelling at each other, and I am reluctant to make her angry. Not when the relief of seeing her is still pouring through me.
I enter the mouth of the strange cave. It is much like the Elders’ Cave with its strange smooth walls and floors. It makes me uneasy, but Jo-see needs shelter and a place to rest, so it will do. She clambers in after me and I reach out to help her, as she is favoring her hands. We move inside the large chamber several paces, and when we are far enough from the entrance, I gesture. “Sit,” I tell her. “I will make a fire in this cave and then we will take care of your hands.”
“I’m fine,” she says quickly. “I can help—“
“Jo-see,” I say, my voice gruff with irritation, and I watch her back stiffen. I choose my words carefully. “You are clever and you are brave, but you are still injured. I am not. Let me do this and we will take care of your wounds. The sooner we treat them, the sooner they will feel better.”