***
THEIR STEPS WERE MUFFLEDby the noise around them. The air cleared until it was almost fresh. No decay, no smoke,nothing. She raised her eyes to see that there were several others up ahead, but she paid them no mind as her dad dropped his arm from her shoulders when they got closer.
They entered a large room. Her breath hitched. Her feet stopped.
The escape pods.
Elodie twisted out of his grip. “No.”
“The ship’s under attack. We can’t stay here. We need to leave.”
“You heard what Gunner said about the pods, we’re no safer in them then we are here.”
Chesnik smiled, brightly, hopeful, and it took her aback.Why is he smiling?
“It’s the Peace Keepers.” Her dad lifted the distress beacon in his hand. “They’re the ones attacking the ship. They’re the ones saying to stand down. All we have to do is get off before they blow a hole in the hull and we’ll be free! They won’t hunt down captives.”
She eyed the beacon warily as her father turned it up. Elodie could hear men talking on the other side but it was all still crackly and faint. Regardless, she could make out words likeneutralizationand the constant, monotonous blip ofstand down.
“We can’t be that far away from commercial airspace,” Chesnik said. “It’s time to go.” He moved away from her but turned back when she didn’t follow. She was still trying to listen to the wispy noises coming through the machine. “Ely?”
“Then why are they firing on the ship if they know we aren’t all pirates?” she asked. Several men filtered around her, heading for the escape pods. She watched as each crewman began to prepare their own.
“Maybe because we’re not fucking standing down? We can’t trust that this old ship will have a functioning life-support system. If the damn captain’s firing back then there’s no choice for them but to go on the offensive. Either way, we can’t stay.”
“How can you be so sure?” She took a step back. Gunner was heading to the bridge at this very moment—if he wasn’t already there.
“Don’t be an idiot. They know.”
“Know what?” One of the programmed escape pods shunted into the wall and then vanished. Her eyes drifted from it to her father.
“They know the ship has captives on it, because all pirates take captives.” Her dad reached for her again and she took another step back. “They connected to our distress signal. They’re expecting us. We won’t be fired upon. Come now, it’s time to leave.”
Just then another explosion hit the ship, worse than before, and she and her father were knocked off their feet. A hum filled her ears as several of the systems nearby restarted. Elodie balanced herself against the tremors as her father regained his feet. She twisted to look down the hallway. “What about the others?” The ones they had just walked away from. The man with the broken leg and the burns on his face.
Her dad pulled her up with a grunt. “There’s no time for them.”
“And Gunner?” she hissed.
“He has his own agenda. You know that as well as I do.” He grabbed her arm violently and jerked her forward. She slid several steps before she fought him. His hold on her arm tightened painfully.
“I’m not leaving!” she shrieked.
“They’re neutralizing the fucking ship, boy! If we don’t leave, we’ll die! Hard vacuum doesn’t give a shit whether you are a pirate or not!” He dragged her to the pod and she resisted the whole way, but the more she struggled, the harder he pulled. Pain speared up her forearm. A rush of adrenaline surged through her just as they reached the pod’s doors.
Leveraging all of her weight and muscle, Elodie jerked backward and wrenched her arm free. The momentum flung her on her ass and tripped her father. She skidded away as she rose to her feet.
“Dad,” she mustered, breathless from fear and adrenaline. “I told you I’m not leaving.”
Another explosion had her careening to the side, sending her back to the floor. Her fingers strained over the metal as she scrambled to stand again, holding her ground. Suddenly, the lights flickered overhead, diverting her attention just long enough for her father to slam into her and wrap his arms around her back. He lifted her off the ground until her feet no longer touched the floor.
“Ely! Stop fighting!”
She couldn’t stop fighting. She wasn’t going to leave Gunner.
Elodie sank her teeth into her dad’s shoulder. Curses filled her ears, and his hold on her faltered. A second. It was enough to pull away and get her feet onto the ground. But he was stronger than her and she knew she was going to lose the battle. There was no way her dad was going to let her stay on the ship.
“Please,” she begged. She knew he was going to win and send her off into space, and if that happened she knew she would never see Gunner again. “Please!”
