Cami
“Wake up.” A deep, soft voice whispered before brushing a kiss on my forehead.
My eyes fluttered open. “What time is it?”
I pushed up, freeing Zorvak from underneath me. After walking all night, then staying up half the day, I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow. Well, Zorvak’s shoulder.
I felt better. I now had a little sleep, Zorvak wants me to go with him, and Munic uploaded a ton of information about Ulaya onto my NI to better prepare me for life there. Now that I understood the common language, everything was simple.
“It is almost time to go.” I glanced at the window and noted the soft red glare. A scene I’d seen over and over. It wouldn’t be long until dark.
“I’m sure Oddle has prepared us a bowl of soup to feed us before we leave.”
“I would rather starve…I think.”
I slapped his chest playfully and smiled. “You need to eat. Besides, you don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
I stood, then grabbed the new cloak Oddle had made for me. She had also made Zorvak some black short pants that came just below his knees. My eyes roamed his muscled body, but every time I saw the pants, my lips twitched. I tried not to laugh.
“You are staring again.”
I can’t help it. Those pants look ridiculous.
I do not think Oddle liked me walking around in a loincloth.
Maybe Munic was the one who didn’t like it.
He inclined his head in agreement while I slid the cloak on. Flipping my hair out of the collar, I grabbed a piece of cloth and tied it back at the nape.
“Ready,” I proclaimed. He held his hand out; I smiled and then placed mine in his.
We found Munic and Oddle in the kitchen, and yep, the soup was waiting. With any luck, this would be the last time I had to eat it. One day, it would be a distant memory to laugh about.
With my stomach full, I looked around before turning my gaze to the two of them. “Are you not taking anything with you?”
They glanced around, their eyes touching on various objects. Munic shook his head. “No. This is how we got by, not how we once lived.”
“Alright. Let’s go.” With the whip in his hand, Zorvak led the way. I followed with my hand gripping the gun in my pocket.
Hiding in the hooded shadows of my cloak, we stayed on the main path. It was just as before when I made the trek, but now I felt safer behind Zorvak.
Adrenaline flooded my body when we neared the fight club. Memories of the Humchin grabbing me--- touching me--- an involuntary shiver ran down my arms.
Are you ready?
Are you kidding? I’ve been ready since crashing here!
Up ahead, there is a shuttlecraft with two guards. I’ll disable them while you get the Jaurians into the shuttle.
How can you see them? I strained my eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the guards. After a few minutes, they finally came into view. From this distance, they looked purplish, with grates for mouths. I gaped; I couldn’t help it. Never had I imagined anyone like them before. How did they eat? What did they eat? With a quick shake of my head, I quickly pushed all thoughts aside and concentrated on the task at hand. This was it.
Not wanting to come at them straight on, Zorvak veered to the right. I could only see flashes of movements, hear grunts from the fight. I stepped closer, more images coming into view. The two of them circled Zorvak. He stood motionless, as if waiting on something. When one lunged, he stepped to the side and caught the guard in the side of his head with his elbow. One down, one to go. The last one lunged. Zorvak’s huge hand caught him around the throat and squeezed until the guard lost consciousness.
Let’s go!
I waved Munic and Oddle forward as we neared the shuttle. The guards lay unmoving on the ground. Did you kill them?
No. They will be fine.
Quickly climbing the steps, I headed for the pilot’s chair. It was different than what I was used to, but an air of relief washed over me as I slid into the chair. Gently gliding my hand over the controls, I smiled at the familiar feeling. One I hadn’t felt for far too long.
With the loud clank of the hatch door, Zorvak yelled, “Let’s go.” He slid into the chair beside me.
The power lit the controls with just a thought as I now had a new understanding of my NI.
“How did you do that?” Zorvak asked as we lifted off. “You are not even touching the controls.”
“On Earth, we had advanced technology. To better help me pilot the ship, Earth’s government placed a NI right here.” I pointed to my right temple.
“NI?”
“Neuro-ocular Implant. It is constantly learning, and so am I. When they captured me at the fight club, something happened. Instead of a piece of equipment, my NI became a part of me, an extension of myself.” I glanced outside and felt instant relief. We were free of that planet. “Give me the coordinates and I’ll program the shuttle.”
“I got it,” he said as he manually programed our destination. “The incinerator?”
I grinned. “My NI now actively searches for connections, so instantly I knew how to work the gun. I just tell it to fire.”
“Amazing. We have advanced technology on Ulaya, and we have experimented some but have not been successful.”
It didn’t take long until a large oblong hunk of metal came into view. It was obviously a space station with ships docked all the way around it. I tilted my head to the side as I studied it with fascination. It wasn’t new; it looked more like a rusted hunk of metal that was frequently used.
“There it is.”
“And we will steal a larger ship?”
“Yes. This will be much more dangerous.”
“Why is that?” I couldn’t imagine anything more dangerous than the planet we just escaped from.
“By now the shuttlecraft has been reported stolen. We are not getting permission to dock so the guards will converge on us quickly. Go tell your friends that we have to hurry as soon as we land.”
“Okay.” I headed toward Munic and Oddle, who sat near the back, and relayed the message. Oddle looked worried, but Munic appeared as stoic as ever.
They are aware that we must hurry.
We are landing.
I hurried back to my seat to get a better view. Zorvak controlled the shuttle since I had no idea where to land. He set it down quick and hard and hurried out of his seat. “Let’s go!” He threw open the hatch door, descended the steps and waited for the rest of us to follow. Munic and Oddle moved quicker than I thought possible.
We had landed on an abandoned part of the station. The smell of stale air coupled with various holes in the metal, steam coming from broken pipes - it looked unsafe.
Why did you land us here? I asked as we put as much distance as possible between us and the stolen craft.
It will take the guards longer to reach us.
And give us more time to get away?
Yes.
We raced down the narrow corridor, metal walls lined on both sides, turning one corner after another trying to get to the crowded part of the station. Munic and Oddle kept up better than I thought they could.
The guards are close.
What do we do? My heart pounded when I heard boots pounding metal.
Zorvak abruptly stopped, halting everyone’s steps, then looked one way, then the other. In here.
He ushered us into a small storage closet, the size of a bathroom. The smell of chemicals mingled with mold tickled my nose. We stood silently as the four of us crowded together. The sounds grew, the fear of getting caught made my legs tremble slightly until the sounds grew faint.
Are they gone?
Almost. When everything was silent, Zorvak whispered, “Let’s go.”
I cringed when the door groaned as it opened. Zorvak stepped out first, his broad shoulders filling the entrance and blocking the view. Before I could follow, a high-pitched noise filled the air.
A grunt of pain.
Zorvak fell to the floor, face first.
A half scream caught in my throat. Panic flooded the air when I saw the Humchin standing in the doorway, a gun now pointed at me.
Memories of before flashed through my mind. Them touching me. The sex slave market. Talk of selling me to make a lot of money.
NO!
Without thinking, I automatically pulled the gun and pointed it at him.
He grinned, sharp spindle teeth flashed, sending shivers down my spine. “That will not work for you.”
Want to bet? I ordered the gun to fire! I watched his eyes widen in fear when the gun hummed to life. Within seconds, a pile of ash lay where he once stood.
Glancing down the walkway, no others waited, nor did I hear anyone coming. We still had to hurry. With teary eyes, I prayed he’d be okay. It didn’t look good. My chin quivered as I dropped to my knees, placed a hand on Zorvak’s back and gave him a little shake. “Zorvak?” Nothing. Zorvak, please wake up. Please don’t be dead! With adrenaline-strength, I laid the gun to his side and rolled him over in one swift movement. His eyes were closed, his mouth slack. Oh, God!
At that moment, I realized how much he meant to me. It had only been a short time, and I don’t know if it’s possible to fall in love that quick, but I couldn’t lose him!
“Aww…,” his voice was a raspy croak as his hand went lazily to his chest; his body wretched with spasms as he involuntary shuddered.
“Where are you hurt?” My hands frantically roamed his body, looking for blood. Obviously, he’d been shot, but I couldn’t find an entrance wound.
Without opening his eyes, I heard a pained, stun gun.
As bad as it looked, I still felt a sigh of relief. I cast a worried glance over my shoulder to make sure we were still alone. We needed to get away from here. Can you get up?
His eyes fluttered open before another spasm had his neck taut. Another grunt of pain. I am trying.
Let me help you. I don’t know how he did it before, but I tried to project strength into my mind and push it into his.
Slowly, he rolled to his sides and pushed up with one arm, I draped his free one over my shoulder, trying to help lift him to his feet. Using his legs, he pushed up, stumbled a little until I steadied him with my weight.
Thank you.
When Munic and Oddle stepped out of the room, my gaze touched on their solemn faces. Not talking to one in particular, I threw out the words, “Someone hand me my gun.”
Munic quickly handed it to me. With one arm around Zorvak, I held the gun with the other as we slowly headed to the crowded part of the space station.