We peer over the edge of the cliff. Our mounts are waiting impatiently. Part of me wants to fly down, but it’s too rocky and there’s nowhere to land.
“We’re gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way,” Raven says with a rakish grin.
I’ve always liked Raven. Bright and quick-witted, he thinks on his feet and never hesitates to simply act. In short order, weagree I will repel down to the man because my climbing skills are the strongest. Hunter will fly down on his mount and hover in the air nearby in case something goes awry.
A while later, once I reach the man, it’s clear he will survive, but he’s groaning in pain. He eyes me skeptically.
“I don’t want to go back to Earth,” he says.
“So you jumped off a cliff to stop that?” I counter.
“Yes. I’ll give you all the information you want. I’m a spy on Earth. You can confirm it with the authorities there. The other men I traveled here with have been communicating with the protesters on your planet. That’s why we planned this trip. The leadership on Earth is changing.”
The man winces when he tries to move. “We’ll talk more once you’re safe,” I say.
I quickly prep him to be carried up on the climbing ropes. A few minutes later, I’m making my way back up the cliff with Raven guiding us by rope and Hunter keeping an eye out along the way. Once we’re safe, Raven sets to work, taking care of the man’s injuries. His name is Jack.
All of this takes long enough that we figure it’s best for us to wait for another hovercraft to come back the following day. We communicate that to Kayden and the prince, who assure us a small hovercraft will arrive at daybreak tomorrow.
This time, we make ourselves comfortable in the outpost and gather more information from Jack. Earth has been in the throes of an oppressive and frankly stupid regime for centuries. The desperate decisions they’ve chosen have been made worse by the lack of resources.
“There are good people on Earth,” Jack says. “They would like to give women their rights back. They would like to cooperate with other planets in the galaxy so that we can repair our planet and use the new technology available to survive better. These men heard about the rumors up here and decided,I guess”—he rolls his eyes at this—“to come here, a place that’s amazing, and make it shitty like Earth.” He shakes his head. “Even the men are miserable there because the women hate them. It’s just…” He circles his hand in the air. “Quite literally, a stupid and vicious circle.”
The building we’re in rattles from a gust of wind. I open one of the windows to see a massive storm rolling in over the mountains.
I take a breath. “Looks like we might be here for more than a day.”
Jack glances between us. “What do you mean?”
“On this side of the planet, storms usually last at least a full day, and they’re fierce,” Hunter explains.
“Don’t worry, we’re safe,” I add. “This outpost is built into a mountain. If the wind gets too bad, we have shelter deeper in the mountain. We’ll just wait it out. We have enough food and supplies for our planet’s full army to live here for an entire year.”
“For the three of us, we’re good to go,” Hunter chimes in.
Jack looks between us, letting out a wondering laugh. “And the fighters on Earth are made to fight for nothing. God, we’re so stupid.”
Hunter chuckles. “Disaster makes people desperate, and desperate people don’t always make smart and strategic choices. It’s a scramble for control.”
We wake the following morning with the storm still raging. We’re not even able to communicate. Our remote cameras do work, though, because those lines are impervious to the poor weather. The team tells us via video feed that they will return once the storm ends.
I miss Romi, and it’s obvious Hunter misses Melody. Once again, I feel the tug in my heart. I silently tell her I love her and will be safe. I feel worry reverberating through the line.
Chapter Fifteen
ROMI
When we go to meet the returning security team, Hunter and Thorne are not with them. I look at Melody and see my own anxiety and fear reflected in her eyes.
“What does this mean?” I ask the prince a short while later.
We know there are prisoners because we watched them being escorted off the hovercraft, along with some of the men from Earth. It’s a shock yet not at all surprising to those of us from Earth. We know what the men from Earth are capable of.
“One of the men from Earth tried to make a run for it,” the prince explains. “Hunter, Thorne, and Raven stayed back to rescue him and get him medical treatment. We were planning to send a ship to them in the morning since the man from Arthur is fairly injured, and although Raven has done his best, we need him to be here at the hospital.”
Melody throws her hands up. “I don’t care about the man from Earth. Men from Earth are simply cruel. Why didn’t they just leave him?”
The prince nods, and Jane presses her lips into a line. I can see her disappointment.
