by Tracy Lauren
“Where is everyone?” I whisper. Rylan just shakes his head.
We stay like that for an hour or more, monitoring the airfields, but no one comes. It isn’t a lunch break or changing of the guards then. There simply seems to be no one there.
“There were many on watch the night of my arrival,” Rylan whispers to me.
“Well, no one’s there now,” I point out. “Look, Rylan, I want to be cautious too, but we might be missing our opportunity here.”
He nods his head solemnly as he continues to study the area below. “I have been thinking the same thing,” he admits.
Together we make our way back down the hill a bit and crouch behind a stone outcropping. “What’s the plan?” I ask.
“We leave our bags behind, we will not need them on a ship and I do not want them encumbering us if we need to run…or fight. We take only our chargers.”
“Sounds good,” I agree, even though it’s a little scary to me to leave our rations behind.
“We go fast but cautious in the meadow, staying below the grasses. That is the most dangerous part of this last leg. If someone spots us, they might not hesitate to take us out from a distance.”
“And once we get to the docks?” I ask.
“We will keep our eyes out for guards.” He shrugs, seemingly still troubled that there is no one watching over the ships. “Beyond that, I saw a few vessels that are good candidates for our escape. This isn’t like a busy space station, I doubt the ships will even have their lockout mechanisms running.”
“Okay.” I nod. “Are you ready?”
“We need to cover one last thing, Faith,” he tells me, his eyes burning.
Here it is, I think to myself. We’re going to have to talk about last night’s sex. My stomach feels uneasy and my hands begin to fidget.
“You made a promise to me and if there was ever a time to keep it, it will be down there on those docks,” he says sternly.
“Huh?”
“When I offered to help you escape I had but one condition, that you would follow any instruction I give you. If something happens down there, I will cover you, but you must go straight to a ship and leave this place. Head back to Nydor. There is a male that works the docking station, his name is Derson. He can help you find my sisters on Aragran, you must go to them and tell them to head for the Iredescan colonies.”
“Rylan!” I exclaim. “This isn’t a suicide mission!”
“I am not saying that it is. Somewhere along the way I will catch up to you, but I do not want to waste any time if I am held back. You must agree to this, Faith, for my sisters. I need to know that they will be safe if something happens. That you will all be safe.”
I huff out a long sigh, not liking this one bit. But I ruined Rylan’s life…and his sisters’ too. The least I can do is keep this promise. If I do, maybe it can help redeem me.
“Alright. I know I’ve made a mess of your life Rylan—”
“Faith—”
“No, let me finish. I owe you this. If anything bad happens, you have my word. I’ll make sure your sisters are safe.”
“Thank you,” he tells me gravely. I nod my head fiercely, feeling a little overwhelmed by the emotions swirling inside of me. Tears well in my eyes, and when Rylan reaches for me I try to blink them away. His talons lovingly graze my cheek and just as I start to lean into him, Rylan wrenches himself away and jumps to his feet.
“Rylan, what the—?” I say, startled, but a second later everything makes sense when a hunter descends from the trees.
His feet land heavily on the ground. He’s the same one from before. The one that Rylan hit over the head on our first day together here. A sickening smile spreads across his face. He looks between Rylan and me knowingly, making my skin crawl with the unspoken insinuation he wields in his eyes.
At the same moment Rylan and I raise our chargers at the guy, but the hunter has a weapon of his own. With his supercharged blaster gone, it looks like he’s found a replacement. It’s some type of electric whip and I hear it crackling as he snaps it toward Rylan, knocking the charger out of his hand. I fire on the guy without reservation, but the bursts of energy that shoot from my weapon connect with a chest plate, and instead of harming him they seem to simply be absorbed by his armor.
“Run!” Rylan commands me, but I brace myself and keep on firing, aiming now for the hunter’s face. The whip cracks in my direction, but Rylan grabs the lighted rope before it can reach me and he screams out in pain as the hunter rips it away again. His eyes meet mine and he commands me again, “Run.”
I hesitate only for a second, my heart torn between my promise and my love for Rylan. I know for him, my promise trumps all. So, I turn away from the fight and I run.
“Don’t run too far!” I hear the hunter calling after me and my stomach turns in disgust. Still, I head for the docks.
At the bottom of the hill the trees fade away and I reach the meadow. Sprinting forward, I’m enveloped in the tall grasses, the dry and yellowing plant-life rustles and pokes at me as I go. It is nearly too tall for me to even see through and I worry about being spotted by some unseen guard and shot before ever knowing I was in danger. Now and then I get a view of the dome and it reassures me I’m still running in the right direction.
I run and suck down air, complying with Rylan’s request, but inside me a war is waging. I hate leaving him behind. I hate not knowing if he will meet me at the dock. Do I do exactly as he asked or should I wait for him, if only for just a couple of minutes? What if he needs my help?
Help, I think loathingly. Does nobody want my help? We’ve been a team, Rylan and I. Partners, when I thought I would be doomed to spend the rest of my life alone. He shouldn’t make me leave him like this. He needs me! My brain screams in revolt at the increasing distance between Rylan and me.
But ahead I see a metal staircase leading up to the docks and, true to my word, I keep moving forward. That is, until an unnerving sight makes me stop dead in my tracks. There, at the base of the stairs, is a crumpled mass that I know could only be one thing. A body.
I stop and crouch low to the ground, sucking in my breath, my heart pounding from adrenaline and exertion. Slowly, I inch my way forward, looking all around for signs of a predator. When I reach the body, I can tell by the uniform that it’s a guard. I reach down and touch his cheek. He’s not quite cold, but not quite warm either. It couldn’t have happened too long before Rylan and I set up our watch.
I eye the gun slung around the guard’s chest. It’s big and dangerous looking, but I remember how important it was to Rylan to not kill anyone and I still have my charger, so I leave the gun behind without much regret.
There might be danger ahead, but I know for a fact that there is danger behind me, so I press onward. With my charger drawn, I make it to the top of the steps and scan for enemies. From this vantage point I can see down the perimeter of the docks. Every 50 feet or so I see a downed guard and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Ahead of me, towards the ships, I hear the groan of metal and I flinch, aiming my charger in that direction. I train my ears for even the slightest sound, but it’s something in the opposite direction that catches my attention.
Halfway across the meadow, I see the grasses quaking. Someone is running through it. I duck behind a docking log station and stare intently out at the grass, hoping to see the green and black shades of Rylan rather than the blood red of the hunter.
A simple plan blossoms in my mind and I hope it isn’t a betrayal to Rylan. I will wait, hiding here to see who comes up the steps. If it is Rylan, then we’ll board a ship and escape together. If it’s the hunter, then I will let him pass and slip away silently. At least that way I’ll know, I tell myself. If Rylan doesn’t make it, I need to know. I can’t head to Aragran hoping the whole time that maybe one day he’ll catch up to me. I can’t face his sisters with no answers.
From my hiding place my view is obstructed in some ways, but as soon as the person passes me, I’ll
know. I watch my slim view of the meadow until the movement there is outside my range and I take deep calming breaths as I try to hold my charger steady.
Alone with my thoughts, I can’t help but think how stupid this all is. Rylan shouldn’t be the one facing that killer back there. I earned my place on this planet by killing Jesek Lahan. Rylan is a good man, devoted to his family. He doesn’t deserve to be here, in a place like this.
Each second feels like an eternity until I hear cautious steps on the staircase. Whoever is ascending them has found the bodies. I peek around the cover of the docking log station and my heart soars when I see that it’s Rylan. He’s bleeding and his hair is wild, but it’s him and he’s alive.
Just as I’m about to call out to him a rumbling makes me stumble to the ground and clutch my ears. The sound is thundering and I look over at Rylan. His eyes go to a large ship rising in the air. I call to him, but my voice is drowned out by the engines. Feeling the sense of safety ease back into my body, I push myself up and head towards him. His gaze is locked on the ship and it dawns on me that he probably thinks he’s watching my escape. I hope he isn’t too mad when he finds out otherwise, I think wryly.
But, as I press forward, the last of my hope and happiness drains away as I see the hunter appear at the top of the stairs, not far behind Rylan. In his hands he no longer carries the electric whip. No…instead he’s holding the gun I chose to leave on the murdered guard and it’s now pointed at my lover’s back.
“RYLAN!” I scream. I scream so loud it feels like my throat rips in two, but no sound can be heard over the roaring engines. So, I point my charger at the hunter and fire mercilessly as I run toward them. Every blast gets absorbed, leaving no damage in its wake, but at least I’ve stolen the hunter’s attention.
My movement must have caught Rylan’s attention too, because in the last seconds he spins. His eyes go wide at the sight of me and realization washes over his face as he takes in the full picture. At the same time, the hunter shifts the weight of the gun in his hands… It’s a blaster, I notice absently as the tip lights up. Then there’s a flash and I feel the metal grate of the docks hard against my back before I sense the searing heat in my stomach.
Slowly, the sound of the engines fades away. But there’s a new thunder in my ears now, it’s the sound of Rylan’s bellow of rage.
My weapon is gone and I blindly search around me, but my hands come up empty. Must have lost it when I was shot.
Everything around me keeps moving, despite the fact that my brain feels like it’s operating in slow motion. Rylan, on the other hand, seems to be moving with super speed as I watch him stalk over to the hunter, who doesn’t look as vicious as he looks smug. But his pride melts from his face when Rylan grabs the barrel of his blaster. The weapon fires again, but the beam shoots off at nothing in the sky before Rylan rips it from his grasp and tosses it out into the grass.
Then his hands are on the hunter’s neck, lifting him up high off the ground. No words are spoken between the two, not like they were when it was Jesek Lahan and me. No, it’s different for Rylan when he kills the hunter, it’s quick. His talons pierce the alien’s flesh and then there’s a terrible cracking sound as Rylan rips out his throat and tosses the man aside. Then I feel the grate tremble with every stride it takes for Rylan to get to me.
I close my eyes, squeezing the tears away. I don’t want Rylan to see me crying, not this time.
Chapter 23
Rylan
What is this new hell, I wonder as I hurry to Faith’s side.
“No, no, no,” I murmur as I look at the wound on her abdomen. She tries to cover it with her hands, but blood oozes through her fingers at far too quickly a rate. “Keep putting pressure on that,” I tell her. “We will find a ship with a sufficient med bay—”
“No. Rylan, stop,” she says. Her words taking much effort. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she chokes out.
“There is nothing for you to be sorry for, my Faith.”
“I didn’t want you to have to kill for me.”
“I’d kill them all to protect you,” I tell her. “I’m only sorry I didn’t kill Visakha when I had the chance, maybe then you wouldn’t—” I look down at her wound, unable to find the right words. Blood slips through the holes in the dock grates. “We don’t have much time,” I say more to myself than to her. I reach to pick up my Faith, but she slaps my hands away, fighting me, though her face looks pale and tired.
“You should not have waited for me!” I yell at her, and despite the fact that I want to be strong for my female, tears spill from my eyes. Her hand touches my cheek as I hang my head in anguish.
“Don’t worry. It’s over now. It’s finally done.” Her voice is weak and rasping.
“Don’t say that! Please, Faith, we must go.” I try to pick her up again, but she won’t let me and I see her wince in pain as she pushes my hands away.
“I want to…I want to make it better. I’ve been trying to find my way back from all this and I see what I’m supposed to do now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re going to take me back and claim the prize.”
“Never—!”
“Look at this, Rylan.” She moves her hand away from the wound and a swell of fresh blood seeps out. “It’s over for me and…and I’m ready to help again. I want to do some good.” The strength in her voice is fading.
“Stop this. Stop saying this.” I shake my head at her.
“I want to help you. Let me die. Let me save you and your sisters. Please, I want to make up for…for everything I’ve put you through,” she pleads, her voice is barely above a whisper now, and her eyes slowly begin to blink, not focusing on me any longer.
“You owe me nothing, Faith. For every moment, you have been worth it! Before you I lived my life in a society that tried to devalue me and make me feel unworthy, but you helped me let go of all that. It doesn’t matter what the rest of society might think of me, of my family, of anything. Because with you, I feel worthy. I’ve always wanted more out of life, but before you came along it was all a dream. You made that dream into something real. I would never take my sisters back to Conglomerate society after this, because I see it now. We’ve been prisoners too, my sisters and I. I don’t want strategic marriages for them or for myself. I need more now. I need freedom and love. And nothing, nothing, in this life could make me take a single cred of the blood money they offer for you.”
Faith blinks again and for a second, I think she sees me. Her lips move, but no words escape them. Then, she closes her eyes.
“Faith? Faith!” I bellow. I jump to my feet, cursing myself for wasted time. I swipe my hand over the docking log and enter a query for a ship with the most advanced med bay. The computer shoots back an instant reply. Row seven, bay nine.
I scoop Faith’s unconscious body into my arms and run. When I ran through the field trying to reach her I thought I was running so hard that my muscles would snap. Now, I push myself even harder.
Chapter 24
Faith
“Let me help you,” I try to tell Rylan as the sun begins to disappear. It’s getting so dark, which is funny because I thought there were still hours to come before nightfall. Nevertheless, I’m veiled in blackness, slipping into another one of my nightmares.
Without logic or warning, I find myself in an altogether different place…one that’s hauntingly familiar. Though I only spent 10 days here, I recognize it immediately, for I see it every night. It’s the stage of all my worst nightmares: Jesek Lahan’s compound.
My stomach clenches and I feel like I could be sick. I don’t want to be back here in this place of nightmares. I want to feel the warmth of Rylan’s arms, but all I feel is cold. It’s a creeping cold, crawling out from somewhere deep inside of me, choking me with its unyielding grip.
I try to tell myself that the worst is over as I stare down at Jesek on the floor. I’m standing in a pool of his blood. Or is it my blood, I wonder? No
, I remind myself. I cut him open and watched his guts spill out. It’s his death I’m watching.
“The worst is over,” I say out loud this time, looking into his open eyes, wondering if there’s still life there. When I look up though, the worst isn’t over. There are seventeen faces staring at me. Some are human, some are alien, all are female…all of them Jesek Lahan’s slaves.
The worst isn’t the dead man lying at my feet. It’s the horror on the women’s faces. They look at me in the same way I imagine I looked at Jesek when he first took me out of my cryobag to play with me. The older women pull the younger ones away, shielding them from me, as if I’m some kind of monster.
“We have to go,” I urge them, but they all gasp and jump back when I take half a step toward them. Then they start screaming for the guards.
My stomach burns with an icy heat as I run and it’s so hard to catch my breath. I don’t remember how I got here, but I’m at the doors of the pod. I can hear the guards coming for me, their boots pounding on the metal grates as they run. I’m shaking with the force of it, but still, I can’t remember how to get in the pod. Frantically I work the entry pad, but it makes no sense to me. I want to cry. I want to scream. I want the searing pain in my stomach to stop. Frustrated and panicked, I look down at the pool of blood I’m standing in.
“I cut him open, not the other way around,” I remind myself. Still, his blood followed me here, just the same. Pounding helplessly on the pod doors, I wonder if the guards will catch me, but when I still I realize I can’t hear their boots anymore.
Then, almost magically, the doors to the pod whoosh open and a fresh blast of air hits me. I scramble inside the safety of the ship and the doors close behind me. But for some reason, I’m so weak I collapse against something hard and heavy.
Even though my eyes are closed I recognize the smell of the object I rest my weight against. It’s so damn familiar it makes my eyes prick with tears and I shake my head, refusing to open them. I don’t want to see what this dream has to show me. Mostly though, I’m afraid it’ll turn into a nightmare and I’ll find I’m not really in this safe, old place I used to know so well.