“If you are feeling something, then don’t blow that off. I’ve learned the hard way to trust my instincts. Maybe we should call the shuttle back.”
Nix was about to agree but movement near the rear of the truck caught her eye. The sight of a weapon had her jumping into action. She lunged at Corey, knocking them both down to the ground, just escaping a bullet that whizzed toward them. That had been a human gun. Both she and Corey rolled apart, pulling out their blasters and firing back. They crawled to a dip in the ground, about four feet deep, enough to give them coverage. A blaster hit the edge of the hole they hid in. The looked at each other in shock.
“That was a Drastan blaster.” Corey stated.
Nix nodded. Their attackers had both human and Drastan weapons. How the hell had they gotten their hands on them? She peaked over the edge and shot off a few blasts. “I think I see three males.”
“Can you call back the shuttle?” Corey asked, shooting as well.
Nix patted her pockets, then froze. “I don’t have my pad. I must have dropped it when I knocked us to the ground.”
“Fuck!” Corey took another shot. “Yes! Got one of those bastards, that leaves two.”
“That we know of.” Nix took another shot and wounded one of the males in the leg. “One of them is down.”
“Should we rush them?” Corey asked.
Then the sound of the truck starting up had them both standing up out of the hole. They fired at the wheels, but the truck kept going. They ran after it for a few paces, but the truck was already moving too fast.
“Damn it! They got away,” Nix said.
“At least we’re not hurt and we’re still alive,” Corey reminded her.
“Maybe not for long. That storm is almost on us.” Nix looked over at the rapidly approaching sandstorm. The wind picked up dust spinning it fast and high into the air. It was like a wall of dust coming toward them, making it hard to see past it.
“I’ll go look for the communicator and call the shuttle back,” Nix began to pull herself out of the hole but Corey grabbed her yanking her back down. He opened his pack and pulled out a blanket.
“There’s no time. Get on the other side of the hole, use your back to press this tight against the wall of the hole. Hold one end of the blanket and I’ll hold the other. Our helmets will provide oxygen even if we’re buried a foot or so right?”
Nix sat down, reaching for the blanket and pulling it over her head. “Yes.” Fear coursed through her entire body, making her shake. She didn’t like things over her head, like swimming underwater, caves, and definitely like being buried under sand. She could feel the wind trying to rip the blanket from them, then sand piling on top, making it heavier and heavier. She felt like she was suffocating.
“By the Gods, we’re going to die,” Nix whispered, closing her eyes. She always imagined her death would be an honorable one, giving her life in battle, fighting to protect her people. Not like this, buried alive in a sandstorm in the middle of nowhere. Corey would be missed by Maggie and the rest of his friends. Would anyone mourn her loss?
*****
Corey had never seen Nix look so vulnerable before. As the blanket started to get covered with sand, they lost the light. He could tell she was trembling.
“Nix, we’re going to survive this, we just need to stay strong until the storm passes. Talk to me.”
“Talk about what? I can’t think…”
“Tell me about your family. I know nothing about you.”
“I was born the only child of a high ranking commander. I’m a warrior. That’s it.”
“There has to be more.”
She sighed, “My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all were commanders and served in the Drastan military. I followed into the military like them.”
“Your father must be proud.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Her voice was tense. He couldn’t imagine any father wouldn’t be proud of a daughter like Nix. She was strong, smart, beautiful, and...other things. Corey couldn’t afford to think of those other things, so he continued to ask her questions.
“It sounds like you didn’t get along with your father. Not that I’m judging, my own father was a selfish asshole.”
“I’m an only child...a female child. It wasn’t what the great renowned Commander Saber wanted. He pushed my mother into getting pregnant again but she lost the baby—another girl—and died of complications. My father put me off on family and friends while he devoted his time to going into one battle after another, until one day, he didn’t come back. He died as a warrior with no sons to continue the Saber line. It died with him.”
