by Day Leitao
She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, really? I didn’t know you guys already had male-to-male reproduction.”
It had been just a manner of speaking, meaning that they were doomed to stay there forever, but he wasn’t going to apologize, and he definitely hadn’t meant to imply… He just shrugged. “What can I do… superior technology.”
They were following a stream towards the mountains. That was a huge island, much bigger than the islands where Saytera had grown up. Her heart tightened with the memory. Meanwhile, her mind was whirling. So her captor wasn’t a Teren, and probably hadn’t been looking for her. She knew it because of the flicker of wonder and awe in his eyes when asking her if she was a Teren. It meant that her biggest worry—that he’d been sent to capture her—wasn’t true. He was probably just a Lunar out to kidnap sentinels or who knows what. Why he looked like a Teren, she had no idea.
But the downside was that there wasn’t much she would learn from him. And the other downside was that nobody would come and rescue them. No, maybe they would. If Lunars could come to the planet, maybe someone could reach this place. The issue then would be trying to get back to Cliffbound. She didn’t trust his word and didn’t trust him.
Dess now walked in front of her. She let him. If they came across anything dangerous, he would be the one to face it, not her. And she was wondering why she was helping him, now that she knew there wasn’t much to learn. Well, maybe she could get some information about the Lunars and how they were getting to the planet. That could be good knowledge—if ever she found her way out of that island. He also intrigued her. He had that sort of energy about him that she’d only seen in people in the islands or maybe with the seer in the continent. She’d have a long time to figure it out.
Dess turned. “Everything fine?”
“Perfect. Stranded on an island. Haven’t had a better day.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “You could be in a nice comfortable spaceship. Your choice.”
She still didn’t understand why he had those rings. And why he was showing off his hair. Saytera crossed her arms. “And then in a prison. No, thank you.”
Dess shrugged. “It’s not like you’d stay there forever…” He turned as if to continue walking.
Saytera pulled his elbow. “So that was where you were taking me? A Lunar prison?”
He stared in her eyes. “Well, I was taking you somewhere. The rest is your guess.”
His gaze was somehow unsettling. “Aren’t you ashamed? Of kidnapping people?”
He laughed. “Aren’t you ashamed? Of shooting incoming ships?”
“Well, just concede that stupid moon that doesn’t belong to you, and you can come all you want. Easy.”
“Doesn’t belong…” He scoffed. “Regardless, you do realize I’m not in the Lunar government, right?”
“As part of its people, you have a say.”
Dess shook his head. “Can we keep walking and debate politics later?”
“You’re the one who stopped walking.”
“I was just checking on you.” He looked at her up and down. “Are you sure you don’t want my coat?”
Well, it was getting chilly. That said, taking his coat would feel weird. Perhaps it was just that she didn’t want to be the one accepting help. And she’d already said no. “I’m fine. I told you.”
He nodded and turned. As they walked some more, the trees cleared to a valley with dunes. Saytera’s heart sped up, dreading whatever was coming,
“Let’s turn around,” she whispered.
“Too late. Stay back.”
His answer was puzzling until she noticed a large form emerging from under the sand and moving towards them. The guy ran towards it, then to the side, parallel to the line of trees. That didn’t make sense. It was like telling the thing “I’m here.”
It was some kind of lizard, yellow like the sand. It looked like the canteens from the islands, but much bigger. It was also faster, and apparently aggressive, but then the stupid dude’s pointless running was what caused it to chase him. Saytera flinched when the thing approached him, but he turned just in time and shot it. Once, twice. It didn’t seem to work. The creature slowed down, but kept approaching him.
Saytera was too far for a decent shot, but she ran towards him and aimed an arrow. It hit the thing’s back, making it turn. It was now advancing on her. Saytera had better get this shot right or it would be her end.
She took a deep breath and calmed down. There was nothing in the world other than her arrow and her aim. Nothing else. When the target got close enough her arrow flew and hit the creature’s eye. It stopped at her feet, fallen. Saytera’s crappy shooting skills had saved her.
The creature was indeed immobile. It didn’t deserve to die like that, but then, she didn’t deserve to die either and had to make a choice. Its other eye was hurt. So the guy had managed a decent shot, it was just that zappers did little against those creatures.
He ran towards her.
Saytera smirked. “Turns out I managed with my arrows.”
He stared at her bow. “I guess.”
His thankfulness was touching.
“Two to one. Twice I saved you now.”
The dude ignored what she said, looked at the fallen lizard, and whispered, “There might be more. Let’s get away from here.”
And that was when three lizards emerged from the sand. They were smaller than the previous one and definitely reminded Saytera of the docile creatures she used to play with. “They might not attack us.”
The creatures were still, then started to make a rattling noise. More creatures emerged around them. No way she could shoot them all. Then she heard two loud bangs and couldn’t see much more, as they were engulfed in smoke.
A hand grabbed hers and pulled her back from where they’d come from.
“Let’s stick together,” he whispered.
Only when they were back among the trees her vision cleared. Dess took something from under his coat and threw between them and the sandy valley. It had a loud boom and a bright light. He let go of her hand and they ran some more, then walked back to the beach.
Dess turned to her. “You’re right. We’ll have to go around the island.”
“There could be sea creatures. You got any more of those bombs?”
He shook his head.
That wasn’t good. Saytera then said, “Your energy pistol, the zapper, it’s useless against creatures with thick skin.”
“I noticed it. But I thought the eye…”
“You got it, but it didn’t go deep enough.” She was curious about something. “Why did you run towards it?”
The guy shrugged. “Maybe I got poor training on what to do against weird sand lizards. What are those things?”
“I don’t know. I’ve seen lizards like those, but they weren’t hostile.”
They were circling the island by walking on the beach and climbing rocky shores. Saytera didn’t think the guy’s friend had great odds. They weren’t going to make it before nightfall, and perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to get there once night set in.
Dess turned to her. “Are you hungry?”
“Is that a question? Thing is, if we stop to fish we might take too long.”
He took something from under his coat, then tossed her a square beige thing.
“What’s this?”
“Rations for travel. You can have it.”
At this point it didn’t make sense that it would be poisoned. Saytera bit into it. It tasted like sand and maybe some kind of insect but she tried not to grimace. Food was food. She ate the whole thing quickly, realizing she’d been a lot more starved than she thought. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Saytera then wondered why he wasn’t doing the same. “Shouldn’t you eat one, too?”
“It was my last one.”
She felt guilty, or maybe angry that he was trying to guilt-trip her and win her over. “We should have shared.”
He
shook his head. “I’m good. You’re the one helping me find Marcus instead of fishing, so it’s fair.”
Saytera glanced at the mountain. “You do realize we might not reach it before sundown, right?”
He took a deep breath, a wistful look on his face.
She then asked, “And how do you know he’s there?”
“I just do. Can’t explain it. Same way I know you caused the failure on my ship.”
Why was he insisting on that? “I never touched anything.”
“Some things don’t need touching, do they? It’s all the same energy.”
“I’m serious, Dess. I wouldn’t even know how to do such a thing.”
Wouldn’t she? All the power failures came back to her mind now. What if? But still…
He rolled his eyes. “Sounds convincing.” He then frowned and stared at her. “What are you?”
What? Charming. “Excuse-me?”
“What’s a Teren doing in Mainland?” he kept staring.
Saytera once had wondered the same thing, but she didn’t know why he was asking this about her. “I didn’t say I was one.”
“Some things don’t need to be said.”
He had his dark eyes locked on her, which made her look away. “If you know me better than I do, why bother asking?”
“But I don’t know anything. I mean, what are you doing poorly disguised as a Mainland sentinel? Where are your people? How many of them are alive? Where are they hiding?”
So many questions for which Saytera had no answer, bringing up memories she’d struggled for a long time to keep buried and pain about to consume her. And even more pain, now that she was stuck on that island, maybe never again to find any answer. All her disappointment, her anger, her regret, came out bubbling.
“Listen, you murderer. I owe you no explanation.”
He didn’t flinch from her gaze. “True.” He looked briefly away. “Talking slows us down and we’re running out of time.”
She wasn’t going to let him have the last word. “You started it!”
“By offering you food!”
“What was it? Powdered cockroach?”
“Cricket.”
“I didn’t want that.” She gestured around her. “I didn’t want any of this.”
He stared at her, his jaw trembling. “I should have let you die from the fall.”
“You would be dead by now, especially considering you don’t know basic logic when confronting an aggressive creature.”
“Basic logic? Cause I ran towards it? I was trying to keep it away from you. Sorry for my presumption. I had no idea your arrows actually worked.”
So that was what it had been? It made sense, in a way. She could have escaped while he drove the thing away. But then, it had been based on his feeling of superiority, thinking that she was weak.
“And no idea your stupid pistol was worthless.”
He approached her, his face closer than half a palm away. “Let’s see how worthless it is when you need it.”
That made no sense whatsoever. “You’re stupid. I have my arrows.”
He laughed. “Have fun with them.”
“I will. Alone.” Saytera turned around.
“Hey,” he yelled. Saytera turned. He had his arms crossed. “We had a deal. You said you’d help me find my friend. Are you going to go back on your word?”
In her anger, she had forgotten it, or maybe wasn’t sure how important her word was when dealing with an enemy, but it made no sense to break it now. She narrowed her eyes. “I just turned around for a second. Of course I’m keeping my word.”
He stopped for a moment, then looked down and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m worried about my friend.” He looked at her. “I might have snapped.”
It was hard to be angry or annoyed at someone who offered such an honest apology. “I’m stressed, too.”
“You’re helping me. That’s what matters.” His smile seemed genuine.
For the first time since the previous night, she had a smile, too.
17
Keep Walking
Dess was still trying to figure out the girl. Saytera. She was magnificent like a Teren, regardless if she was one or not. It was as if he could see the power radiating from her, as if she were brilliant. Pure star fire. Like everyone, sure. But in her case, it was visible. Of course, there was the nasty detail that she thought he was capable of doing despicable stuff and probably thought he was dumb and weak, just because her arrows had been more effective against those stupid lizards. But his bombs had gotten them away, too. Not that she thanked him. Well, he’d kidnapped her, so she’d probably despise him forever. Maybe not forever. They would spend a long time on that island. Being eternally stuck there. Not something he wanted to think about.
He thought back about the moment right before she got scared. Maybe she did have a point. For a brief second he had enjoyed overpowering her. Perhaps it was just his competitive nature. He then wanted to hug her when she stared at him, terror in her eyes, but he didn’t because it would only make things worse. He shouldn’t be thinking about any of that, though. They had to focus on getting to Marcus.
His stomach was rumbling. He really shouldn’t have given her his entire ration. Shouldn’t have given any of it, for that matter. And then there was another matter: water. He was getting thirsty.. The sky was cloudy, though. Perhaps it would rain soon, then it was just a matter of finding a place to collect the water. Until then, his throat was going to get glued together.
Saytera stopped and pointed. “I think we can go up the mountain from here.”
“I agree.” She was walking ahead of him, up the mountain. His natural instinct would be to take the lead, but she was right that she probably knew the land better than he did.
And so they walked in silence among narrow trees. Sometimes she stopped to look or listen. If he didn’t fear he would probably spend years in that place, he’d enjoy the walk. He’d never been surrounded by nature for so long. The trees were all different from each other, some narrower, some thicker, some with plants on their trunk. Then there were sounds as if the whole thing were alive. Insects close by and in the distance, maybe some small mammals, and plus the overwhelming ocean with its powerful presence in sound and smell. He’d dreamed so much about spending time in nature, and now he was getting his wish, except that it was the last thing he wanted. Maybe once they found Marcus he’d clear his thoughts, think about a strategy, maybe try to plan their lives for the next days. Or months. Or years. No, he didn’t want to think about that.
Saytera’s long brown hair flowed with the wind to add to her unreal, magic effect. Eventually he’d learn where she’d come from. That was something he’d wanted for a long time, too: meet someone with magic, with closer contact with Terens, learn the truth about them. And, again, he was getting his wish in the worst possible way. Stuck on an island. His own fault. He’d known there was something different about her. He just couldn’t have imagined that she would have caused his ship to crash. Too late, now.
And Marcus… No, there was no point worrying. His friend should be all right. And yet, Dess had that pang on his chest, an odd feeling pushing him forward. He touched the comm on his wrist, wishing it could work, wishing he could get an answer from his friend.
Something jumped on his head. Dess pushed it, pulled out his pistol and aimed at it, then felt a hand pushing his down.
“It’s harmless,” she said.
Dess looked and saw a brown, furry, small creature, now running away. “I wasn’t going to shoot it.”
She let go of his hand. “Didn’t look like it.”
It annoyed him that she was acting as if he’d been scared of the small animal. It was just common sense and self defense. “First I aim, then I check. The other way around doesn’t really work, right?”
The girl just shrugged. It was then that a small red-and-black shape jumped on her face. To her credit, she didn’t scream. Before Dess even registered that it was a spider, and prob
ably a poisonous one, he was shooting it with a zapper at full force. The spider fell dead on the ground.
Saytera stepped back and looked at him, livid. “Are you crazy? You could have killed me.”
“I have good aim. And it’s poisonous. Probably.”
“You shot my face.”
“That thing could have killed you. It looks like one of the four type of killer spiders on this planet.”
She crossed her arms. “But you’re not sure.”
Dess exhaled, getting exasperated. “Wanted me to wait and see if it killed you first?”
“Just don’t shoot my face.”
“Well, aren’t you glad I don’t use arrows? And the crappy pistol just saved your life.”
“I saved yours more times.”
Dess laughed. “So you guys don’t learn how to count, huh?”
“And how do you even know about spiders?”
“I studied a bit of survival techniques.”
She scoffed. “Already planning for the day you’ll come and conquer the planet?”
“Sure.” He started walking up the mountain again, and she was beside him. “Our plan is to come and live in precarious conditions in inhabited places. No, we study it as a precaution.” They hadn’t studied that much, though, except maybe for Dess, fascinated with nature.
“And if you know about our wildlife, you are confessing you don’t need me to help you.” She narrowed her eyes. “What’s up, then?”
Dess shrugged. “What you learn in theory is never the same as reality. You probably know a lot more about the reality here.”
She shook her head. “Not here. It’s not the same.”
“I’m sure you know how to swim, for example. It’s helpful.”
She stared at him. “Wait. You don’t know how to…” She was scoffing now. “Swim?”
It annoyed him, but he tried not to show it. “You think we have swimming pools on our moon? Or beaches?”
She paused for a second, then said, “I don’t know. Never stopped to think what life is like out there.”
“It’s fake. Just a bubble on an inhabitable rock. The view is great, though.”
