Page 52

“Check her pulse,” Eden said.

Ash knelt in front of Georgia and took hold of her wrist. Her pulse was rapid and her breathing labored.

“How are we doing with our unwanted tail?” Blaze called to Rexx.

“They’ve dropped back.”

“We’re keeping an eye on them to make sure they don’t follow us, but I think they’ve lost interest,” Daisy said.

“They probably know that flying through this asteroid belt would be a suicide mission,” Rexx muttered as he fought with the controls.

“How long until we get to the Apocalypse?” Ash said.

“With a fully functioning ship, two hours. With the mess we’ve got, five hours, at least,” Rexx said. “We took several hits from debris. We’re lucky this thing still flies.”

“That’s too long. We have to find a place to stop and pick up medical supplies.” Ash stroked Georgia’s hair off her sweating forehead.

“Can’t you do an energy transfer?” Rexx said.

“I’ve already tried. It had no effect. Georgia’s in real trouble.”

Daisy unstrapped from her co-pilot seat and joined Ash. Her eyes widened as she stared at Georgia. “I didn’t realize she was this bad. But Georgia can beat anything. She won’t let this defeat her.”

“I hope you’re right. But we don’t even know what this is. And it’s spreading through her system.”

Daisy turned back to the cockpit. “Rexx, what’s the closest place to land so we can get supplies?”

Rexx checked the screen in front of him. “There’s nowhere friendly close by. There are two hostile planets we don’t want to go anywhere near.”

“What about outposts or way stations?” Daisy said.

Rexx grunted. “There’s one. Fenland Three. It’s full of criminals, deviants, and those who can’t fit in with regular society.”

“How far out?” Ash said,

“Twenty minutes if I push it,” Rexx said.

“Then push it. That’s where we need to go. They’ll have the supplies we need to save Georgia.”

Rexx glanced over his shoulder at Daisy and then nodded. “Agreed. And the ship’s taken a few hits. I reckon it’ll get us back to the Apocalypse if we go slowly, but we could use the stop to get repairs done.”

Ash scraped a hand down his face. “Get us there as fast as you can. I don’t know how much longer Georgia’s got left.”

Daisy reached over and caught hold of his hand. “We’ll get there in time. We’ll make her better. You’re not going to lose her.”

The next twenty minutes felt like the longest of Ash’s life. The ship’s engines groaned as Rexx pushed it to its limits to get them to Fenland Three.

The whole time, Georgia remained unconscious, and Ash could do nothing but sit with her, hold her hand, and promise her everything would be okay. But he wasn’t sure it would be. This was the first time he hadn’t been able to heal Georgia with an energy transfer. That was why he was her partner, to keep her safe and protect her, and he’d failed in his duty.

He couldn’t lose Georgia, not now. Not ever.

“We’re arriving at the outpost,” Rexx said. “Docking in two minutes.”

Ash glanced out the window. He could make out the bright lights and tall buildings of the outpost. He’d never been here before but had heard plenty of rumors. Laws tended to be ignored and deals done to ensure criminals got to stay free.

He cared nothing about that. All he needed was to get to the nearest medical facility and make sure Georgia got treatment.

Once Rexx and Daisy had docked the ship, Ash unstrapped Georgia and lifted her into his arms.