Chapter Five

ELLE

Since I was sitting in the co-pilot seat, I pulled my console over and checked on all the systems I was familiar with. I tried rerouting the power through a couple of different paths, but none of them would bypass the malfunctioning converter. I glanced at the viewscreen. The blue planet was approaching us way too quickly.

“Those converters are supposed to be replaced every fifty parsecs.” I was furious that a lazy mechanic hadn’t done their job. We were going to crash.

“I never thought about it. I should have had you check over the shuttle before we launched.”

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t have made any difference. It’s supposed to be part of routine maintenance and inspected monthly. They hardly ever blow, they’re one of the most stable parts on a shuttlecraft.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Ayrie shrugged and worked at his console. He had a determined look on his face as he began to explain the emergency equipment. “Our shuttle is equipped with some parachutes that will deploy every few seconds.”

A jarring bump shook the deck.

“That’s the first set. There’s also the air bag, which will deploy when we hit.”

I thought Ayrie was moving pretty frantically considering we were about to make an amphibious landing. “Are you worried about running into the water? Can we reduce our speed so we’re not crashing into it?”

The ship shuddered as it released a second set of parachutes.

“Where we hit is still important. The depth of the ocean is different everywhere. You don’t want to smash into shoals that are only eight feet deep, do you?”

I started to tremble. “No, I suppose I don’t.”

“I think this place will do just fine.” He pointed at a map on his screen. “The location is reachable given our current flight path, and the computer says the depth will let us have an emergency landing we can walk away from. I think I can steer us there in time.”

“Sounds great if we need to select a crash landing site.”

“Exactly.” He took the controls and began gently guiding the shuttle on a new course. “There’s only one problem. It’s in a communications dead zone. Once we land, we’ll have no way to signal for help.”

Our speed was staying constant. The parachutes only provided enough drag to stop us from further acceleration. If the ship were working properly, we would be moving much more slowly than now.

“Haven’t you sent our coordinates back to the ship?”

“I tried, but I don’t know what our signal strength is like.”

I shook my head. “If the converter is malfunctioning, it’s probably messing up the power of the communications unit, too.” We were going to be in trouble even if we survived. The planet was moving toward us way too quickly for comfort.

“Ayrie, we need to get out of the ship as soon as we land. The converter is probably overheating right now. It might ignite.”

“Are you sure? I was hoping we could stay on the shuttle.”

I shook my head. “That’s a bad idea.”

“What do you propose we do?”

I shrugged. “How are you at swimming?”

AYRIE

A few minutes after the converter failed, we crashed into the Vandwa ocean, somewhere in the dead zone in the southern seas. The impact was painful, but it didn’t kill us. The airbags absorbed a lot of the energy. The water took most of the rest.

Elle removed her restraints immediately. “Is there anything around here that can help us stay on top of the water?”

“There are a couple of floaters somewhere.” I found them and we climbed out the door.

“Let’s go.” She tossed the floater into the water and jumped after it.

I hesitated.

“Ayrie, we don’t have time to wait around here.” She sounded worried.

“Are you sure we have to leave?”

“Yes, I’m sure. We don’t know how much longer the converter can last before bursting into flames.”

“The converter’s not the only problem,” I muttered. After hesitating for another second, I jumped. I felt an explosion behind me throwing me far over the water. Landing felt like hitting cement. I swam rapidly to the surface, gasping for air.

Elle was swimming toward me, but she seemed far away. I was so winded that I was barely keeping my head above the water. When I caught my breath, I started moving in her direction. I grabbed onto the flotation device, feeling more tired that I had expected.

“Ayrie, I can’t believe what I just saw. Are you all right?” She put her hand on my cheek and gazed into my eyes with concern.

“I’m going to be fine. How about you?”

“I’m a trained lifeguard. You don’t have to worry about my swimming skills.”

A frightening thought popped into my head that I didn’t verbalize to Elle. I didn’t need to worry her about things over which we had no control. For example, enormous prehistoric animals that could swallow us in a single bite.

Vandwa had a wall in the water called The Barrier. It kept ocean predators away from people. The natives on this world could breathe underwater, like fish, and spent a lot of time swimming.

I wasn’t sure if we had crashed onto the side of The Barrier that was filled with people, or filled with wildlife.

We spotted solid ground a few minutes later. After a little swimming, we found ourselves on the beach of a small island. Since we were still alive and no prehistoric water predators had eaten us, I assumed we had landed on the safe side of The Barrier.

We crawled onto land, and I felt more grateful than I could imagine. I collapsed once we reached the dry sand, feeling exhausted from swimming. Elle crashed down next to me. I took her hand, letting the physical contact reassure me that she was safe.

“We made it.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“Of course we did.” I felt like bruises covered my back, from crashing into the water, but I was still alive. It could have been much worse.

“Ayrie, now what do we do?”

I stared up at the clear blue sky and let myself enjoy the feeling of the afternoon sunshine. “We find cover, and try to start a fire before nightfall.” I stood up stiffly and held my hand out. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

ELLE

“The first thing we need to do is make a shelter, Elle.”

“Are you an expert on that?” Ayrie pushed aside a bundle of leaves to peer into the jungle. We had come ashore on a beach that led to some dense vegetation.

He didn’t want us to go in there, did he?

“No, but we’re going to have to do the best we can. We’ll need poles, leaves, vines.” He turned back to look at me. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

I frowned. “I’m coming.” I didn’t want to go in there, but I didn’t want to be left behind, either.

He nodded his head and moved into the thick brush. Thirty minutes later, we were still fighting our way through the lush growth. This planet was not a tropical paradise at all.

Without warning, we emerged into a small clearing. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw a dilapidated building that looked as though no one had been there in years. It wasn’t falling down, but it appeared to be neglected. “Check it out, Ayrie. It looks like someone had a little getaway here.”

“That must have been a long time ago.” He started to move forward.

I put my arm out to stop him. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I was going to check it out.”

“What if there is wildlife in there?” I felt afraid, and I hated it.

Ayrie took my hand and pulled me out of the shadows into the sunshine. “If the books are right, Vandwa doesn’t have any. There are birds, and an ocean filled with things that might eat you in a heartbeat. But no land animals.”

“Considering the way today is going, we might discover a new species.”

“Let’s just take a look. We can watch out for each other. Most islands don’t have bugs. If this place seems structurally sound, we won’t have to build a roof over our heads.”

“Okay. That might save us a lot of work.”

“Even without going inside, the fire pit means we don’t have to dig, as long as we can start a fire.” Rocks surrounded a small hole about a foot deep. He grinned at me, and I felt warmer, not from the fire but from the brilliance of his smile.

Ayrie opened the old door, and we crept in. The cabin was a single room about thirty feet long. On the far side was a couch. A single armchair rested in the corner. On the side closest to us was a rickety table covered with dust and two chairs. It wasn’t much, but a lot better than what we had just a few minutes ago.

When I looked up, I noticed a little loft about the size of a double bed. At least there was a place to rest.

“I think this is everything we need. There’s a bed so we can sleep, and an area to cook and keep warm. I guess we’ve found our new home.” He climbed the old ladder leading to the loft.

“Be careful. Are the rungs rotten?”

He shook his head, leaning over the railing to look down at me. “They’re supporting my weight, so it should be strong enough for you.”

I let out a long breath. We might be stranded on a deserted island, but we had something. It would have to be enough until someone rescued us.

I looked around at the decrepitude and filth around me. Home, sweet home.

After a couple of hours, we had cleaned out the loft. We used a makeshift broom made from a bundle of twigs to sweep it out before covering the platform with armfuls of soft grass. I had taken a quilt I had found hanging on the back of the couch and washed it in the ocean until it seemed clean enough to use. It was already dry from the wind and heat.

Ayrie made a fire, and we sat outside the shack by the pit. We were close enough to make my heart beat faster than normal. I thought I could hear my pulse pounding in my veins. I let my feet get warm by the fire as I watched the sun begin to descend past the horizon and wondered where Ayrie had learned to do all this stuff.

“Were you a boy scout or something back on Auxem?”

He had found a weed called fire plant, which was easy to ignite with a spark from some rocks. According to Ayrie, the fuel would burn for hours. I wished there was some of it on Earth. Our planet had undergone severe deforestation when people cut down trees for firewood.

He added more weed to the crackling flame, and I wiggled contentedly beside him. I loved having a fire. “Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

It sounded like I had confused him. Most races in the galaxy spoke Standard. A long time ago, the Galactic Consortium decided a common language was necessary for trade, so they invented one. It was easy enough to spell and learn. All the verbs were regular. It was completely different from an organic language. All citizens in the Consortium had to speak it within ten years if they wanted to remain.

Teachers learned it first. All classes were taught in Standard, ensuring the next generation would know it from the beginning of their lives. Adults attended immersion classes. It cost the Consortium a lot of credits, but they saw it as an investment. On Earth, some people still spoke ancient languages in addition to Standard, and I assumed it was the same on other planets. English was the most long-lived language, especially in the Districts where people wouldn’t give it up so they could spite the governments who forced them to adopt a new language.

Standard had regional vocabulary on every planet, of course. Apparently, there weren’t any boy scouts on Auxem.

“The boy scouts are a club for kids that focus on learning survival techniques.”

“Nope, we don’t have anything like that. I learned how to do this from a friend. We would camp out on the islands when we did field work, and he built us shelter and fire. We wouldn’t even bring anything with us.”

“This guy sounds like quite a nerd. Educated and wilderness skills.”

Ayrie laughed again, and it made me smile to see it. He was rarely cheerful at home. This trip was showing me a different side of him.

“He’s far from a nerd, but that’s hilarious. Wait until I tell him.”

I tapped my hand against my leg. I wished he wouldn’t say anything. It had just popped out of my mouth. “I didn’t mean to be insulting.” I felt upset. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell him. I wouldn’t call him that to his face.”

He took my hand in his, and I drew in a shaky breath. We were too close and too happy together. It was almost uncomfortable. The last time I could remember being happy, I was a young child and didn’t know any better.

“It’s not insulting at all. But it’s pretty funny.”

I didn’t see how anyone could find my comment amusing, but it didn’t matter. I had another pressing question that had just occurred to me.

“Ayrie, where are we going to sleep?”