Ally forced a smile, squeezing Evie’s hand in return. “We will. You’re right.”
Evie brightened, and she started to pull out ingredients for a meal. “This is just a temporary bump in the road on our journey back,” she said, then began to hum as she prepared their dinner.
Ally stared at the stained ceiling and fought the anxiety that was eating up her insides. She’d been working hard to keep her sister sheltered from the reality of their situation, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep stringing Evie along.
Reality was much darker than she wanted her little sister to realize.
Making enough to get us off this damned asteroid is going to take most of my life at this rate.
Ally could barely make enough to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. She had next to nothing saved for the fare off Gamma-17. And even if she could somehow get them to the Rings, she had no idea how she could support them. The cost of living there was one of the highest in the galaxy.
I have to tell her but not just yet. Let her hang onto her hope for a little while longer.
“You’re going to have to eat quickly if you want to make it in time for your shift at the plant,” Evie said, dishing up a bowl of stew and passing it to her sister with a spoon.
Ally started to eat, trying to convince herself that she hadn’t eaten the same thing every day for months now. They kept the stew going, day after day, adding more water and whatever vegetables and starches she managed to bring home. Meat was a rarity, mostly scraps she got from the butcher who was nicer than he should be. Just enough to flavor the stew but not enough to really fill her belly.
Still, she was thankful for what they had. Scooping the last bit of potato into her mouth, she wiped her face clean before changing into the plant-approved coveralls. “Stay inside.”
Evie nodded. “I always do.”
Ally leaned in, kissing her little sister on the cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
The walk to the plant was short and uneventful. Ally took her position on the line, grabbing the laser tool and hitting the button that started the conveyor belt. The first giant centipede carcass dropped onto the belt and headed for her.
As quickly and efficiently as possible, Ally made the required slices, separating the centipede into pieces as it rolled down to the next station. Three other employees would continue the separation process until there were enough tiny pieces to fit through the holes at the end of the belt.
As she worked, a part of her mind wandered. Although her heart had been banging against her ribcage when she’d entered the tavern earlier, she’d felt strangely calm when confronting the Raven.
Maybe it was his eyes. They were dark, so dark that she couldn’t tell the pupil from the iris. Twin pools of darkness a girl could get lost inside of. He was tall, strong, and “handsome” really didn’t begin to cover how arresting his looks were.
He’s a pirate, stupid. And a liar.Ally’s mouth flattened into a line.You know things are bad when a monster like that looks good.
She concentrated on the task at hand, and several hours later, she set aside her tool and stepped away from her spot on the line. She got one break during her ten-hour shift. Twenty minutes only. Ally always headed outside for air, hating the pent-up environment of the plant, not to mention the smell.
De-shelling giant centipedes was not only hard work. It stank. Literally.
She stood against the side of the building, the one facing the lot where the trucks brought in the centipedes from the off-world farms where they were bred. Pulling out a hunk of bread from her pocket, Ally took a bite and chewed slowly, hoping it would be enough to make the dull ache in her stomach go away.
It never seemed to be enough though. Hunger had become a constant companion, one she resented more than a relative who’d overstayed their welcome.
She’d just put the last piece into her mouth when a familiar voice made her head spin in its direction.
I didn’t even hear his footsteps, she thought as the Raven walked out of the shadows.
“Purple is your color,” he said as he approached.
Ally looked down at the purple spattered all over her coveralls. Her hands were stained the same color, and although she’d washed them for her break, she hadn’t spent the several minutes it took to get the stain off her hands, not wanting to waste so much of her break when she was just going to stain them again during the rest of her shift.
His comment irked her. No woman in her right mind would choose to cut up centipede carcasses for a living, staining themselves with their innards. “Thanks. And I guess you look best in red. As in red-handed.”
He chuckled, coming close enough for her to see the ghost of a scar on his chin. “You think you’ve caught me in something?”
Nodding, Ally leaned her head back to meet his gaze.Godsdamn, he’s tall. “You have my heirloom.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t. So you clearly haven’t caught me red-handed in anything, little girl.”
