Chapter Five

LAZ

We were fucked.

A dull buzz rang in my head as I staggered off the ground. Chunks of burnt metal and seat upholstery covered the dirt around me. Some of the seats were still ablaze. I dusted off the dirt from my clothes and looked around for Gabriella. She wasn't on her feet yet, but she was still alive.

I took a quick head count of my men. They were slowly getting to their feet, appearing dazed but otherwise unhurt. I hadn't been the only one to carry out one of the Earth women; we had tried to save as many as we could. A few of the brides were unconscious. My men picked up the women who were incapacitated and carried them over their shoulders, heading into the woods where they could find cover.

A few Xylo guards still surrounded us. I signaled to Dallas, Kraig, and Maxwell, who pulled out their firearms and created a hail of laser fire, making the Xylo flee. They ushered the remaining brides to safety.

They left the Xylo prick who had destroyed my favorite shuttlecraft for me. I didn't need anyone endangering the lives of Gabriella or my men. The bumbling bastard was still struggling with a missile launcher. He was dragging it along with him when he caught me looking at him. He ditched the shell launcher, which was still leaking smoke from its ashen mouth. I didn't want to chase him down. I pulled out my weapon and shot him twice in the head.

Gabriella started coughing violently behind me. I turned away from the guard's twitching body to face her. She clapped a hand over her mouth and fanned at her face. The black smoke and fumes made her eyes red. One of the sleeves of her dress had ripped and was falling off her shoulder. Apart from the bruises on her arms and legs, she looked like she would survive.

I adjusted the satchel on my back, searching through the wreckage for my gas mask, which had somehow detached from my face in the explosion. Pushing aside several pieces of rubble, I located the mask lodged under a broken headrest. I jogged back to Gabriella and carefully placed it on her head before lifting her off the ground. As she whirled around, swinging her arms behind me, I removed a rag from my satchel and tied it over my mouth.

"Thank goodness I can breathe again, but I can't see anything now! Laz? Are you still there?"

I wanted to respond, but I couldn't say much with a rag in my mouth. Instead, I put my hands on her waist and positioned her behind me, trying to shield her with my body.

My eyes flickered to the region where we had created an entry point in the Xylo outpost. A steady stream of black and red Xylo uniforms moved toward us. In fact, they were coming quickly and appeared to be well-armed. We needed to leave before they overtook us.

Gabriella had seen them as well. "Heaven have mercy..." she muttered. She began to back away slowly.

I pulled my makeshift mask down for a moment. "We're going to have to run for it. Keep your head down and don't look back!" I hollered over my shoulder.

I positioned my weapons on my hips and moved backward. The doomed Xylo in the front absorbed the initial volley. Most of them crashed to the ground. The ones who survived started to panic, shakily raising their weapons. The guards in the back tripped over their fallen comrades, tumbling over in quick succession. I glanced over my shoulder, moving toward the sounds of Gabriella's slow-moving footsteps.

I quickly caught up with Gabriella. Hooking my arm under her legs, I tossed her over my shoulder once again. With my brows furrowed in concentration, I raced up a dismal trail and dove into a dark wooded region. I opened a mirror attached to the rear sight of my weapon and checked behind me. I only slowed down when I was satisfied we had lost our pursuers.

"Damn it! I said, let me down!"

Gabriella banged her fists against my shoulders. Granting her wish, I gently placed her on the ground. I massaged my shoulders and stretched out my arms repeatedly, trying to crack the soreness out of my back. The human woman was heavier than I had anticipated. She alternated crossing and uncrossing her arms, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. With the oversized gas mask over her petite frame, she looked like a giant magfly sizing me up for a bite to eat.

"Is everyone on this planet out of their minds? First, my shuttle gets shot down. Then I get taken hostage by those psycho aliens. When you come along, you start throwing me around like a beanbag. What are you even doing here?"

I raised a hand, indicating that she should hold that thought. When I reached into my pocket, I realized why my men hadn't contacted me. My hand emerged from my pocket holding fragmented pieces of my communicator. The damn thing must have broken when the shuttle explosion tossed me through the air.

I narrowed my eyes and carefully examined the parts of the device up close. Although it was in fragments, I thought I could repair it, given tools and time. The problem was the damaged Morse board. I would have to get a new one if I wanted to fix it.

"Son of a bitch."

My angry words echoed through the stale air around us. I growled, pocketing the useless parts of my communicator. What were we going to do now? I looked around me, trying to analyze my surroundings.

"Laz? What's wrong?" Gabriella demanded. She removed her mask and held it against her hip. "It's like I'm talking to a wall here. I swear, I'd have a more productive chat with my reflection!"

"Put your mask back on," I snapped at Gabriella impatiently, still facing away from her. "Stand down. Let me think."

My nostrils flared as I started to pace. I unconsciously adjusted the knot on the rag, tightening its hold on my face. Even with the makeshift mask, I made sure to breathe out of my mouth. Centuries of chemical warfare had turned the air of Xylox poisonous and chemical-ridden. In the worst parts of the planet, breathing the toxic air could cause severe respiratory problems. Native Xylo developed an immunity to the fumes but were becoming disfigured over every generation.

The uneven terrain barely concealed caves of varying sizes. Although I knew there were animals here, moss and disturbing patches of fungi were the only visible sources of life. All the trees in our spot of the woods looked like they had died a long time ago. Their trunks were thin and sickly, and the few that had managed to stay alive had black, moldy fruit hanging off their gray leaves.

I needed to figure out a way to communicate with my crew so we could all get out of here alive. We only had the supplies and ammunition we carried and it was starting to get dark. I didn't know much about this planet; Xylox was the furthest thing from a tourist attraction.

Mapping out the land would have been my first objective, but all the tracking tools I relied on had been stored on the shuttle. I would have to go back to the roots of my training.

"Laz! Will you please say something before I lose my mind over here?"

I usually worked with military men, and wasn't used to being in a combat situation with a civilian. "I said, stand down!" I roared.

Gabriella tripped over her own feet, toppling backward. The look of terror in her beautiful blue eyes made me calm down at once. She had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling. I sucked in my breath roughly and relaxed my stiff shoulders. I took a few steps back to give us both some room.

I felt like scum. Up until now, I had been subconsciously treating her like a soldier under my command. The situation was complex. I suspected that if I tried to put myself in her shoes, I would also be woefully unprepared and want to talk about everything. This was likely her first brush with death or violence, and probably the worst day of her life.

So now what? Should I pat her on the head or something? I had never been comfortable sharing my feelings or talking. I was a man of action.

As Gabriella started to push herself off the ground, I extended a hand. She looked away from me, determined to take care of herself.

"Right," I whispered. "Come with me, and put that mask back on."

She hesitated for a moment before she decided she would follow me. I took stock of the caves in front of us. I wondered if they were inhabited. Picking up two rocks from the ground, I leaned in front of the entrance and knocked the stones together. Would anything react?

The sounds of shuffling feet and angry growls came out of the cave. We quickly retreated. I wiped off the sweat trickling down the side of my face with the back of my arm.

"Are you all right back there?"

I peeked at Gabriella from the mirror on my weapon. She made a dismissive noise with her tongue. The rag over my mouth flapped when I let out a frustrated sigh. I shifted my neck to my right and flicked my head toward a northbound trail.

"Let's go this way."

I could hear her wheezing breath behind me as I took the lead. Before night settled across the leaden skies and washed out the faint light, I found an empty cave. It wasn't large, but looked spacious enough and was nicely located behind a small stream and waterfall. We wouldn't be thirsty, at least. I brushed aside the withered vines and fallen branches obstructing the entrance. Several minutes had passed, but Gabriella had still not said another word.

I got down on one knee and moved my satchel in front of me. Rifling through my tools, I pulled an emergency light from the bottom of the bag. I twisted the red cap on the end of the cylinder, revealing a white button. When I touched it twice, a bright light shot out from the end. I held it over my head like a torch and entered the cave.

"You can rest there," I said gruffly, pointing to a dry spot in the back of the cave. Setting the light against the wall, I added, "The emergency light should last until I return. I won't be long."

I unloaded some ammunition to lighten my satchel before heading back out the cave. Tapping a bronze star pinned to my chest pocket activated a flashlight. It would illuminate my path and reveal boulders and deep fissures in the cracked earth.

I went around the obstacles and made my way to the water source behind the cave. The water looked clear and delicious. I reached out my hands to scoop a drink, and it tasted better than I could have imagined. Satisfied, I took out two empty containers and filled them from the stream. I returned to the cave with the water, setting my satchel on the opposite corner from Gabriella.

Her side of the cave looked empty. I had one jug of water with me as a peace offering. But as I knelt down next to her to hand over the water, she flinched away from me. Her shoulders moved back, and I noticed a momentary look of fear in her eyes once again. Not knowing what to do, I set the jug down beside her and nodded brusquely before retreating.

I lay on the floor and propped my back against the wall. My emergency travel supplies poked out from the side of my satchel. I ripped off the seal and proceeded to inflate a stuffed pillow and unroll a thin blanket. I piled the items behind her before creeping meekly out of the cave again.

This was not how I wanted to start things between us.