Nodding, I twirl toward the wall and push against the rectangular plate.It opens with a click.A fist-sized orb pulses faintly, its purple glow reminding me of a dying heart.My fingers close around its smooth surface.
“Got it,” I whisper, cradling it against my chest.
The ravine answers with another tremor, only this one is much stronger than before.
Dust rains down and the ship lurches, forcing me to throw out a hand and grab the back of the passenger chair.
Kael curses in Volderen, grabs the back of my harness, and yanks me just as the skirmisher shudders with a deafening crack.
I fly straight up, through the hatch opening and into the weak sunlight.My feet find the hull and I regain my balance.
“Jump.”Kael’s voice is a whip, and we sprint along the length of the skirmisher as the tail slopes closer to the ground
We jump, and my boots slam against the unstable ground as I land.The hiss of the mist drowns everything, swallowing even the clatter of our boots against the rock.
Somewhere distant, metal groans as the ship’s hull contorts, muffled by the fog.
My own breathing is loud in my ears, ragged and shallow, punctuated by the dull thump of Kael’s footsteps at my side.
Sprinting, he and I pound our way back to the ravine’s wall.
Kael tugs on the cord, clips its metal end to my suit, then shoves me upward.“Climb!I’ll be right behind you.”
I stuff the power core into my front chest pocket and scramble, my muscles screaming, the core heavy against my sternum.Halfway up, the line jerks with Kael’s weight as he ascends from behind.A boulder shears off the wall, slamming into the stone a few feet below.Sparks fly.
“Kael!”
“I am okay.”His voice is raw and fierce.“We are almost there.Keep going.”
He’s right.The lip is right above me.I give an enormous push to the rope and pull myself up onto flat ground.With a final haul, I stand.Running to the rod, I push the button on top, anything that’ll make it easier for Kael since he doesn’t have any sort of safety harness.
It begins reeling the cord.Five seconds later, Kael appears, scrambling upward until he stands next to me, locking his arms around my waist.“Gods.”
We collapse onto solid ground, gasping.
For a moment, neither of us speaks.The world is a blur of green haze and pounding hearts.Then Kael cups the side of my visor, his thumb brushing away grit.His eyes—filled with storms darker than black holes—search mine as if memorizing every line.
“You are a reckless, stubborn human,” he murmurs, his voice trembling.“I do not want to lose you.”
An urge to laugh and kiss him at the same time rises in me, but the core pulses; a reminder our fight for survival isn’t over.
I swallow hard and nod.“Then let’s make sure neither of us get lost.”
The trek back feels endless.The ravine behind us is a scar on the horizon, and the old Volderen base, a speck of hope, lies across a barren stretch of silver dust.My oxygen gauge blinks yellow, mocking me with every step.Why is it low?I should have two more hours left.Well, if I’d been walking at a normal pace and breathing at a normal rate, it should.But I haven’t, have I?Between the quakes, climbing the gorge, and running for my life, I’d been burning oxygen twice as fast, maybe more.
“Kael.”My voice cracks through the comm.“I’m running out of O2.”
He grimaces.“So am I.”
Wind howls across the moon’s surface, carrying flecks of stinging ice against my visor.Kael stops abruptly, unhooks his mask, and presses it into my hands.
“Retract your visor.We will share it,” he orders in s rough voice.
I hesitate.“What about you?What about frostbite?”
“We will be fine with short exposure times.The base is not far.Do not argue.”His tone is steel.“Breathe.”
I slip on the mask and inhale sharp, sweet air, then pass it back.
