SUMMER

Okay, so calling Warrek “motherfucker” was not my proudest moment. He’s not, really. Well, at least, I’m pretty sure none of the sa-khui tribe have anything to do with their moms. And I don’t normally have a salty mouth like Liz or Maddie or even Brooke. I’m just so frustrated and scared…and I took it out on him.

Now I’m staring at him, shoulders heaving, mind racing, and I’m ashamed that I lashed out. The apology I want to give is sticking in my throat, because I know it’ll turn into a long, rambling explanation of why I called him that and probably why I decided to use a cuss word, and then I’ll launch into etymology, and we don’t have time for that shit. So, for once, I shut my mouth.

Warrek doesn’t get pissed, though. He just gives me another one of those thoughtful, uncomprehending looks and then puts a hand on my back. “We are not rescuing anyone yet. We are going back to the fruit cave to wait for nightfall.”

Wait, what? I stare up at him like he’s crazy. Maybe he is. Maybe seeing what happened below snapped his mind. “We can’t wait for nightfall! That ship’s going to take off with our people inside it!”

“If it does,” he says slowly, calmly, “there is nothing that you or I can do about it. If we march down there in the bright daylight, they will greet us with their light-spears and take us as slaves with the others.”

I close my gaping mouth, because he’s…not wrong. We can’t just waltz up to them, indignant, and demand that they let the others go. Still, the thought of leaving them behind feels like…the worst possible thing to do. Like I’m the biggest, most selfish jerk in the world for even thinking it. “We really have to leave?” I ask, my voice dropping to a whisper at the thought. It hurts me physically just to imagine turning and walking away.

I know what it’s like to be enslaved. I know that terror all too well. My hell started when I woke up to hear my college roommate screaming in the middle of the night. I sat up in bed and looked over to find someone—an alien someone with green skin, a thin body, and big eyes—standing over her bed. I gasped, and their attention turned to me. After that, all I remember is a flash of light and waking up in a dirty cell on a spaceship, my clothing gone. My roommate was nowhere to be found—I don’t even know if she’s still alive, and I guess I’ll never know.

I was in a cell with Brooke, and we were waiting to be bought. It seems that humans are grabbed and sold on the black market like…gosh, I don’t know. Like Chihuahuas. Except I think the people buying humans want them for far more nefarious reasons than people want a pet dog. I expected the worst.

I got dumped on the ice planet instead.

And, okay, it’s not so bad here. The people are nice, and even if the weather sucks, it beats being in a slave hold. Anything does. I shudder, remembering the filthy straw in the small cell I shared with Brooke, the stink of our unwashed bodies, the buyers that would come in and give us lascivious looks, feeling our arms or hair, and one even looked at my teeth. It was horrible.

I can’t imagine what Brooke must be thinking right now. She must be frantic at the thought of being enslaved again. And poor, pregnant Harlow with a mate and a young son—what’s going to happen to them?

I stare up at Warrek, but he only reaches out and pulls the furs tighter around my body then gestures back at the way we came.

I know he’s right. I know that he’s not saying we’re giving up. We’re retreating to figure out a course of action. But I can’t help but feel a little hysterical at the thought. I manage to hold it together—all of it—inside me as we head back to the cave. I’m silent. I’m actually proud of how quiet I am.

And then the wave of hot, moist air hits my face, and it feels safe again.

And I lose my cool.

A hysterical, noisy sob breaks out of my throat, and I drop to the cave floor.

WARREK

Suh-mer is weeping so hard that I worry she will make herself sick.

I know how she feels. My spirit feels lower than it ever has, perhaps even lower than when the cavern collapsed and my elderly father did not make it out alive. Somewhere out there, our tribesmates have been stolen and we are the only ones left…

Except for the village. Croatoan. If the slavers go there… I swallow hard at the thought. I do not like to think about that.

I feel helpless. Like Suh-mer, I want nothing more than to rush out there with my spear and demand that our tribesmates be freed. But I know that my job is to keep Suh-mer safe here at my side. That is what my chief would want. It does not sit well with me, but I cannot risk her. She is a life-bearer, and our tribe is still too small to risk one such as her.

The human’s frantic sobbing slows to a few hiccups, and I look over to where she is crumpled on the floor, a huddled ball of misery. I want to wrap my arms around her and hold her close, but I remember her angry slaps and know I would not be welcomed. She blames me for taking her away when she would go to their side. Brave but unwise.

I feel hollow inside at the thought, but I know we must hide away and not be seen. I sit at the edge of one of the ledges and stare down at the lush greenery

Suh-mer sits up and flings her shiny hair back. She wipes her fingers under her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. Okay.” She hiccups and then nods and gets to her feet.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s been at least an hour,” she says in a tear-scratched voice. She heads for the entrance to the fruit cave. “I want to make sure that ship is still here.”

I follow her, because I feel as if I must protect her, at all costs. We…might be the only ones left at some point.

I push the thought out of my mind. I am not going to think like that.

Suh-mer nods and heads back into the cave before I can make it to her side. “Still there.” She scrubs a hand under her nose and sniffs. “I got my freakout out of my system. Now we need a plan to figure out how to save the others.”

I watch her, amazed. Her voice is calm, and she takes deep, steadying breaths. “Rescue?” She is very brave—brave but foolish. “I am but one hunter, and you have never carried a spear. How will we rescue them against an Elders’ Cave full of light-spears?”

“Don’t you want to save them?” She moves to sit down on the slick floor of the cave, across from me.

“More than anything.” My tribe is all I have after the death of my father. I feel responsible that they were taken while I was in the cave with Suh-mer, admiring her hair and the golden cast of her skin.

“All right, then, we need to think strategy.” She blinks a few times and then grabs a small, chalky rock and begins to draw a grid on the stone floor. “I’m going to think of this like a chessboard. We’re one player, and they’re the opponent.” She draws a circle outside of the grid. “That’s them.” She draws two small circles on the far end of the grid. “This is us. Now, we just need to think of this like chess. In chess, whoever’s in control is the winner.”

“Chess?” I echo. “What is this?”

“It’s a game humans play,” she says, coloring in some of the squares in her grid. There’s an intent, focused look on her face. “You use strategy to outsmart your opponent. You’re only allowed to make one move at a time, but if you do things wisely, you can control the game before your enemy even gets started. That’s what we need to do here. We need to outthink them.”

“In…this chess, you use light-spears?”

She shakes her head and starts to place berries on the grid she has created. “You have playing pieces and you move them. It’s not a physical game. It’s a game played with the mind. I’m pretty good at it.” She gives me a small smile. “Chess club, you know? Didn’t exactly make me popular, but I liked it anyhow. Now, these pink berries are going to be our pieces, and these darker, yucky-looking berries are going to be the others. Not that we really need berries or we need to map out our moves, but visualizing it helps me think things through. And talking. Talking helps.”

“Then talk,” I say to her. I like to hear her thoughts, anyhow.

She flashes me a quick, grateful look and then continues. “In chess, it’s a mind game as much as it is a game of moves. You need to establish your territory before your opponent can, and once you do, you can keep them guessing and keep them off-guard as you strategize around them. These four squares here,” she says, pointing at the center of her grid, “are the sweet spot. You control this, and you control the entire board. I’m going to think of this as the valley itself. Whoever controls the valley is going to end up winning this game between us and them. So…” She thinks for a moment and then continues, toying with one of the berries that threatens to roll away. “We’re going to have to assume that they’re not going to fly off in the next few hours. If they do, it doesn’t matter what we do anyhow. The others will be lost to us no matter what we strategize.” For a moment, her lower lip quivers, but she shakes it off. “It’ll do no good thinking like that, so we just won’t. I have to go with the assumption that there’s a reason they’re still here. Maybe they’re staying for the night. Maybe they’re recharging their batteries. Maybe they’re waiting for more of the tribe to show up to nab them all. Whatever it is, they’re still here, so we’re going to use that to our advantage.” She studies the board for a moment. “We need to make the first move.”

I am impressed with her clever, quick mind. “Go on.”

“In chess,” Suh-mer says, picking up one of the berries and moving it forward. “The pieces have different names and different moves they can do. Normally I’d say we open with moving a pawn to create a path for the stronger pieces. Right now, though, we only have two pieces, so I’m going to sweep all of these others off the board and assume we’re playing with a handicap.” She pushes the pink berries aside except for two.

Interesting. “I saw four of them,” I tell her, leaning forward and nudging some of the darker berries off of the “opponent” side.

She flashes me a happy smile, pleased that I’m following her strategy. “Okay, there might be more of them in the ship, but I don’t recall it being that big. Unless they’re all squished in the cargo hold, we’re going to assume there aren’t many more on there. Maybe the old crew.” She thinks for a minute and then shakes her head. “No, two things must have happened. Either the ship got taken over and the crew was disposed of, or they’re working together somehow. They took out Mardok like the others, you said?” At my nod, she continues on. “So we have to assume that they’re not his friends. Let’s go with four for now, and we can adjust them. And we’re going to add another piece because they have the ship and we don’t.” She gazes down at the modified board, and I can see the thoughts racing in her head.

“And…” I ask.

“I’m thinking,” she says, crossing her arms and tapping a finger on an elbow. “We’re in a dangerous position right now. We’ve got two pieces, you and me. I’m counting you as the king, because just like in chess, if you get captured, I’m totally lost. I need you to win this. So that leaves me as the queen. She’s the one that makes the big moves. But…I can’t approach the ship. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I think my chess analogy is running out of steam.” She picks up one of the pink berries and gives it a frustrated, miserable look.

I take it from her fingers and place it back on the board again. “If you were at home on your planet, and you wanted to stop someone from leaving, how would you do so?”

She tilts her head back and forth, thinking. “I’d take their car keys, of course. Can’t drive the car, can’t leave. But they have a spaceship. Then again, I suppose a spaceship can be like a car. I can’t get the keys, though…” Her eyes brighten.

She has an idea. I gesture for her to continue. “Go on.”

A smile spreads across her face. “Well…if we don’t care about damaging the ship, we could always slash their tires.”