Jessy is the first to grab my wrists. “Right! So I’ve seen this mechanism before. They use magnets to lock and unlock them.”
Her face differs from what I’ve seen before. The former rocket scientist sticks her tongue slightly out of her mouth as she holds my wrists prone.
“Girls, this will suck, but I need you to kick the small panels under the window. That’s where they house the large magnets that keep this bus afloat. If we remove them, we can disable the mag systems for the bus and break these cuffs.”
Jessy turns and faces the window. She grips her hands on the handlebar near the ceiling and swings her bare feet into the metal panel. They land with a thud that sounds painful, and she winces.
She doesn’t stop and kicks it again. “Girls, come on, I can’t do it myself!”
The panel begins to give despite the blood left by her feet. She takes a deep breath and hits the flesh to metal once more.
Two more girls start the painful work as something rams hard into the bus again, making us swerve dangerously close to the edge of the mag lane. The Deenz driver swears and increases his speed even more. He scrapes the side of another vehicle as he pushes it from the flow of traffic. I crane my head and watch as the displaced vehicle plummets to the ground.
I turn to Jessy and see that she’s gotten her panel pried open enough to reach her hand in. She’s armpit deep behind the sheet metal, gritting her teeth. The muscles in Jessy's neck strain as she rips a chunk of machinery out. When she pulls the magnet from its housing, the bus wiggles slightly. As if the Deenz thinks it’s another ramming attempt, we fly even faster through the air.
Jessy places the long magnet against my cuffs, and they release quickly. I pull my hands up and rub the raw red wrists.
“Thank you,” I tell Jessy, who nods.
We move to the seat directly in front of us and slam our combined body weight into the panel until it gives. Jessy removes another magnet bar, and the bus drops lower in the sky.
“I got it!” I hear the tall brunette say triumphantly as she holds the magnet in the air.
“Me too—”
The bus is slammed again, but it drops from the mag lane and begins to spin. All the women are pushed to the back of the bus on the initial spin and held prone by the g-force and the crush of the other women’s bodies. I can’t keep my bearings about me as the spin quickens.
I fear I might vomit just as the nose of the bus crashes into something. It’s almost like the world is in slow motion as I watch the Deenz burst into a mass of purple chunks. For a second I think it’s snowing, but I realize quickly that it’s the glass shattering.
Chunks of glass spray toward us, and I raise my forearms to protect my eyes. Before the glass can hit, the bus teeters backwards and falls. Our bodies tumble to the roof of the bus, and I reach toward Jessy for stability as the vehicle slams into the icy water. The pressure smashes all the remaining windows running along the sides, allowing the sea to flood the bus. I take several deep breaths and wait for the inevitable.
At least I won’t die a slave.
At least we gave it our all.
?GRA’ETH
I watch in horror as the transport unit that carries my queen and my best friend's mate crashes into the tourist docks head-first. My heart stops as it tips backward into the sea.
“Fucking get down there now!” I scream to the driver of the tactical cruiser.
The jets roar to life and shake the whole vehicle as we increase our speed.
“What’s happening?” From my communicator, Ke’ain’s terrified voice fills my ear.
?KE’AIN
My heart shatters into a thousand pieces as Gra’eth speaks…
“The transport unit has crashed into the sea… it’s sinking fast.” The words stick in his throat.
“Where?” I whisper.
“The tourist docks.”
I rush to the front of the tactical vehicle. Gra’eth isn’t far ahead of me, but every second counts. I push the pilot from his seat and press my hand on the throttle until it reaches the hilt—the tactical cruiser slams into motion, and my body is braced against the seat.
I will make it in time, and I will save Opal.
