“What for? No one is coming,” Calloor snaps.
“We came for Daley and Sawle. Someone will come for us.” Ava stands. “Wraight, with me. We’re going to look for some suitable shelter.”
Now the mining company has lost two ships…will they send a third? I want to believe Ava, but I’m not sure.
I’m not sure the planet is uninhabited either.
Chapter 3
Wrapped in the survival blanket—it’smade of metal and is self-heating when scrunched—I take off my boots and socks and flight suit. Between the blanket and the fire, I’m almost feeling warm again.
My palms are scratched and bleeding, and my lips are chapped. From the cold or from his kisses? I can’t stop looking at the lake, like I expect him to walk out of it and return to my side. I shouldn’t be alive…
“I’m freezing my ass off, Larkin. You want to share the blanket?” Calloor asks.
“You can have it when my clothes are dry.” I pull it tighter around me. My flight suit is spread by the fire.
While it’s cold, it’s not bitter and there is no wind to strengthen the icy bite. At least not yet. Whet the sun sets, I can imagine the night will be brutal. I have no idea how long day or night lasts here. It didn’t seem important when we were just supposed to swoop in and grab the ship and any surviving crew.
I finish my hot water and put the cooling cup down. Someone, probably Ava, had the good sense to grab a crash bag. There wasn’t much in one, a day’s worth of water and meals. Some tablets to purify water, a knife, a cup and a few other bits that are supposed to help an individual survive should the ship crash somewhere with breathable air. I guess we have air in our favor.
The fire crackles and sparks fly up into the sky. The ship crashing through the trees made plenty of kindling—another unexpected bonus. Not everything is terrible. But it isn’t great either. “Did you get any readings before the ship sunk?”
“No.” Calloor doesn’t even look at me.
I want to ask him why he parked on a lake, but he didn’t choose it so much as end up on it. It was bad luck.
Cursed planet.
And the being in the lake? I close my eyes and feel his lips on mine, the much-needed air in my mouth and then my lungs. He could’ve let me drown like the two security guys, but he’d returned me to the surface. I can’t help but feel there is now a debt between us.
“I found a bit of a cave.” Ava strides over, looking like she’s enjoyed an afternoon hike.
I lift my eyebrows.
“It’ll offer some protection. And I don’t think we should be in such an exposed position over night. It’s too hard to secure and we don’t know what animals live here.”
I dress; my clothes are almost too hot to put on after being by the fire. But I savor the moment because it won’t last.
“We’re close to water here.” Calloor says. “Given that we only have one water bottle—”
“Because none of you thought to grab a bag.” Ava glares at everyone, including me. “They are by the door for a reason. Maller tossed several out before he jumped, and the delay cost him his life.”
Calloor shrugs. “The bags are still on the ice if you want to get them.”
Whatever happened while I was under has only fractured the relationship between Calloor and Ava—not that they ever liked each other. Calloor thinks Ava’s prickly, she says he’s a prick.
I should’ve grabbed my survival bag as well as the med kit. I glance at the frozen lake. It doesn’t scare me. The ice is thick even though the water beneath is fast.
“I’ll get them.”
They both turn to stare at me. I weigh less than the security guys and I’m not afraid of the ice or what will happen if it breaks beneath me.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you’ll still be cold inside, and you were under for a long time. How do we know something isn’t wrong with you?”
I take a moment to consider. If it were anyone else, I’d be telling them to rest. I’d want to monitor their heart and oxygen saturation, but I feel fine and I don’t have the equipment to do more than take a temperature, stitch a wound or set a bone. “I guess we wait and see? In the meantime, we need the bags.”
I do up my flight suit and pull on my boots. They are soft soled for walking around a ship, they’ll last about two days on the ground. We aren’t dressed or equipped for this. Nothing on the ship would’ve helped. There’s no cold weather or camping gear. But some extra meals, water bottles and blankets would be welcome. I pass the blanket to Calloor, and he huddles into it.
