I pause to shift over and meet his eyes. His thick brown brows furrow when I frown at him. “Let’s just worry about getting you untrapped, okay? While you wait, go through the bags and gather what food you find. You’ll want to look out for weapons and medical supplies too. I have none with me.”
“Got it…” His voice trails off, realizing I might not be as helpful as he wants me to be. His eyes shift behind me like he’s still expecting more help to arrive before disappearing inside.
I turn back for the remaining branches that are keeping the door from opening. I’m not optimistic for Benjamin and the others but without my help right now, they’ll die if they remain trapped inside the evacuation vessel.
Trying not to look at the looming pine trees on every side, I hope Krellix shows up before someone or something else does in the meantime.
Moving to grab the next branch, something takes my arm and I’m spun around. Pressed up against the vessel, my eyes lock with Krellix’s.
My shoulders sag. “It’s you,” I breathe out with relief. “Thank god.”
He clamps my throat with one of his large hands and pins me back, forcing me upright against the heated metal. Confused,I try to pull his hand off me but it doesn’t budge. Glowering at him, he hisses in response.
“Is something going on out there?” Benjamin calls out. “Are you okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I reassure him, staring at Krellix’s angry features. “Release me,” I grit, now pulling at his arm with two hands.
“You left,” he growls.
“You left first,” I say.
“I was scouting the area.”
“Well, I was responding to the people calling for help.” I can barely see his features in the low light of burning debris but the nearness of his body is enough to keep my focus elsewhere. His heat quickly smothers me, making it hard to breathe. “Calm down. I’m fine.”
“Fine? You dangerously traveled through the dark where you could have hurt your ankle again. Not only that, these humans could hurt you like the ones from before did, capturing you and keeping you as a captive,” he rumbles. “You were not supposed to leave.”
I yank his hold off me, and push my way free. “I’m not a simpering princess. I’m far, far from it, Krellix. I’m a soldier, or I was. Pretty much since I knew how to speak. I knew you would find me if I left, I didn’t hide my trail.”
“Staying put was for your safety.”
“I was safe!” I snap, moving to the open part of the hatch where Benjamin is trying to see who I’m talking to. “Try pushing the door open,” I tell him. “It should be clear now.”
When the door still doesn’t budge, Krellix pushes me aside and grips it. Benjamin jerks backward into the ship upon seeing his clawed-tip hands. “Oh, what the hell!”
With a screech of metal against metal, Krellix shoves the door open and into the ship. Afterwards, he backs away but keeps his tail coiled between me and the newly open space.
“You can come out,” I say, eyeing the nervous cluster of forms inside the ship. Soft smoke pillows out, partially obscuring them.
Silently, Benjamin peels away from the others and walks out, his gaze flicking between me and Krellix. With a large gulp and a twitch of his hands, he turns around and ushers the other two out. Another man appears, younger than Benjamin though not by much, carrying a teenage woman in his arms.
When they’re all out in the open and nervously watching Krellix, Benjamin shifts his worried gaze to me. “Thank you again.”
Before I can speak, Krellix responds first. “You three will need to move from here and soon if you do not want to alert others of my kind to your presence. Head north until you come to a river, cross it, and travel into the forest on the other side. Do not journey into the mountains west or the ones east. Stay central between the two, and you will find an encampment of humans.”
“You speak…” Benjamin guffaws before swallowing again and looking at me. “You’re leaving us?” he asks.
“No one’s going anywhere,” I interject quickly, approaching the girl who must be Olivia to check her arm. The man holding her, Quinton, sets her gently down on the ground. “Not until we get some answers.” I catch Krellix’s gaze and frown at him in question before turning back to her. “Are you okay if I take a look?” I ask. Younger than I hoped she would be, she couldn’t be older than her late teens. I start worrying about her safety out here immediately, glancing at Krellix again.
“It’s too dangerous to remain here,” Krellix hisses at me in warning, but hesitates when I roll Olivia’s sleeve up and shewinces. She has to be hurt, and hurt badly, based on how soaked her shirt is with blood, so I start searching her flesh for the wound.
“We won’t hang around long,” I reassure him then turn back to Olivia.
“Are the Ketts coming?” I ask Benjamin who’s still eyeing Krellix nervously. “He’s not going to hurt you. Not unless you do something really stupid.”
Both men freeze at my words. Eventually, Benjamin shakes his head and looks between me and Krellix. “I don’t know anything about the Ketts.”
“Then why are you here and what happened to The Dreadnaut?” I can’t help the relief I feel at his words.Anything but them…“Someone find me clean clothing from the luggage for bandaging.”
