Something breaks inside of me now that I am face-to-face with this bleak reality. It is all happening too fast. I need a minute to adjust. A small part of me had been in denial until this moment.
As Leelee turns the car onto the long, rutted drive to the cabin, I glance back towards the road behind us, searching for any sign of our pursuers. “Leelee, there’s nobody behind us,” I inform her. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not coming.”
The vehicle jolts and bounces as she drives it along the dark path back to the cabin. I continually scan the area behind us but do not see any signs of pursuit. We are far from safe, but we are also not in immediate danger.
The cabin, warmly lit from the inside, appears like a beacon in the dark. I see a silhouette of Mango in the window and my heart breaks even more.
Leelee drives off the path and around the cabin, skidding to a halt near the garage.
We tumble out of the vehicle, scrambling towards the garage. Our eyes lock, the fiery spirit in her gaze makes my love for her burn brighter in my soul.
“You start the ship and I’ll get the garage door open,” Leelee calls out to me.
I summon my nanites mentally and instruct them to connect with the ship, initiating the startup sequence. I feel the resonance in my veins as they spring into action. My cybernetics link to the vessel and begin the startup sequence.
Leelee fumbles with the keys to open the small access door to the garage before finally sliding the key into the slot and gettingthe door unlocked. She flips on the light as I command my ship’s access hatch to drop open. Then Leelee presses the button to open the large bay door. Entering my vessel, I sprint to the cockpit, sliding into the captain’s chair. My fingers fly over the glowing interface, coaxing the engines back to life. The hum of the dormant reactors sparks to life.
As the ship begins to shudder, I press the button initiating the hover sequence. The familiar weightlessness lifts me from my seat until the artificial gravity kicks on. I monitor the console’s readout, ensuring the ship is ready for launch.
With a satisfied nod, I slip out of the cockpit and jump from the hatch to the garage floor below. The spaceship now sits suspended above the ground, kicking up dust into the garage.
Leelee is standing in the open bay door, scanning the area for our pursuers. She is illuminated by the bright glow of the headlights of her still-running car. She looks like a spirit out of ancient Cryzorian mythology. A living goddess.
Giving the darkness outside one last look, Leelee rushes over to me to help me guide the ship out of the garage. Following my instructions, we find an empty space far enough away from the cabin that it won’t be damaged when I take off.
Leelee’s beautiful face, full of fear and worry, makes my chest ache.
“Okay, once you get in the ship, I’ll take the car and head back to town. I’ll distract them until you are gone.”
Leelee turns as if ready to head back to her vehicle. Without direction from my mind, my hands snap out and grasp her hands, stopping her mid-flight. As she pivots back to face me, confusion in her eyes, I draw her into a firm hug, my body dwarfing hers, encasing her in my arms.
I pull back to take one last look at the woman I love.
Our faces inches apart, I can’t resist tasting her, and so I capture her lips with mine – a gentle, reassuring kiss. With thisgoodbye kiss I try to convey all of my feelings, all of my love. As I pull away, I seek the deep pools of her gaze. I memorize the features of her face – something I want to etch into the recesses of my memory.
“Leelee, you are my heart. One I didn’t even think I had. I love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are better than I deserve, but I will cherish you always. I love you and will continue loving you until my last breath.”
Leelee’s eyes fill with tears which spill over her cheeks as she blinks up at me.
She opens her mouth and I hold my breath, hoping, and also fearing, to hear the words back. But instead of speaking, a blast of noise fills the air, and she jerks in my arms. She stares up at me, her face a mask of shock and pain. And then I see the red stain of blood spreading across her chest.
“Ravok?” she gasps out, her voice barely a whisper.
CHAPTER 48
Lily
Ravok loves me.
This is simultaneously the best and worst moment of my life. Ravok loves me but he has to leave. The only sound is our heavy breaths and the low hum of his ship. I open my mouth to tell him that I love him too. However, an ear-splitting blast of noise drowns my voice out. Before I even have time to react searing pain tears through me. For a confused instant, I’m certain someone has struck me in the back with a sledgehammer, knocking the wind from my chest.
Following Ravok’s horrified gaze, I glance down in a daze. Blood. Dark and crimson, soaking through my shirt at an alarming speed.
A gasp chokes my throat, freezing in the air as my world begins to sway dangerously. “R-Ravok…” His name comes as a whisper, a desperate plea. His eyes widen, filled with raw fear. He bellows my name, “Leelee!” It is a raw sound of fear and desperation.
“Step away from the woman, alien!” a man’s voice screams. “Freeze! Put your hands in the air!”
It is all a swirling, chaotic cacophony, but all I can see is Ravok. My alien has never shone an ounce of fear but now his face is a mask of terror as he stares at me, ignoring the chaos around us.
