“Alrighty then.” Beside my unit, a male nurse fumbled with a package and dropped it. What reason did he have to be nervous? That was my job.
A quick pinch on the back of my hand was followed by a burning numbness. The languid, chemical snake slithered down the tubing, aiming for me. My breathing stalled. With my eyes focused on the yellow drip, I didn’t inhale again until the caustic substance reached my quivering hand.
“Hey, relax.” The guy tapped my shoulder. “It’ll be over in minutes. The gasses kick in once the lid closes, and…well, you know.” His lopsided grin came across like a grimace. “All that cryo stuff. You won’t feel a thing. Any of it. Promise.”
Great. Remind me that in a few short minutes, my body would drown in an icy slurry. My last thought would be a prayer the ship made it to Eris, and they had no trouble reviving me.
I attempted a smile, but my lips had forgotten how.
Whistling an off-key tune, he squinted at the drip chamber. He started to leave but turned back. He cleared his throat and leaned close to my ear. “Doesn’t make sense, kid, but I’m sorry.”
He moved away.
Wait.
A coppery taste filled my mouth, and I ached to spit.
What did he mean by sorry?
Acid churned up my throat as chemicals ambushed my brain. Noises around me faded in and out. People shuffled past, their steps echoing in the high-ceilinged room.
My lid closed, leaving me alone in a silence broken only by my echoing gasps.
A sputtering hiss erupted above my head, followed by an accelerating whirr. Mist drifted across my face, cloying and sickly sweet.
Joe had gone to sleep before his lid closed. Why was I still awake?
Something was wrong.
I coughed, and with each inhalation, a gaseous mix of toxins rushed in.
I struggled against the straps pinning me down but couldn’t break free.
Help. Oh please, anyone, help!
Blackness crowded out my vision.
Chapter Five
I woke up coughing and struggling to pull in air. A cloud of smoke hung around my face, burning in my sinuses, and making my eyes sting. Every breath I dragged in scorched my lungs.
Where was I? What was happening?
Think, Lesha.
Falling into stasis.
The launch.
Eris.
Somehow, everything was wrong. The flickering pits of hell surrounded me. I broke out in a sweat as panic took hold.
Joe. I had to help my brother.
“Joe!” His name came out in a croak.
The lid above me was still closed. I’d slipped sideways in my stasis unit and lay partway up one wall, making the edge of the nylatec pad cut into my back. My pulse thundered in my ears. If we’d landed on Eris, my lid should have opened. Where was Dad? What was going on?
Outside my unit, fire galloped along the composite walls with thick clouds riding behind.
Stasis lag hovered, ready to yank me under. I had to force my eyes to remain open. Stay awake! I needed to help everyone escape before we were burned alive.
One of my arms stretched in front of me while the other lay wedged underneath my back, both still strapped in place. Pins and needles prickled my hands, and my fingers refused to move. But if I could reach my knife, I could cut myself free.
Gasping prayers, I scooted my butt to the center of the pad, freeing the hand stuffed between me and the side of my unit. As the strap bit into my wrist, I strained to reach the knife in my pocket.
Got it. A click of the button, and my blade slicked open in welcome. Wheezing and with my lungs aflame, I dropped the damn knife before I could slide it under the strap holding my arm in place. No!
Eyes blurry from smoke and tears, I strained to reach my knife. Shit. I was going to die only millimeters from the one thing in the world that could save me.
Get a hold of yourself. I sniffed and redoubled my effort to reach my knife. My fingertips brushed along the handle, and it shifted, skittering across the glass. Thankfully, in my direction.
The blade cut through the material, making me grateful I kept it sharp. One arm free. Twisting on the nylatec pad, I sliced through the other strap, finally freeing myself completely.
I put away my knife and clawed at the glass surrounding me. My fingers couldn’t find purchase; they slipped and slid along the thick surface.
“Let me out!” Why wouldn’t the lid open?
The nose of the ship angled up as if it lay on a hill. But that was wrong. We should have landed flat. A blaze shot into the room from the computer bank, lighting up the room and sending sparks through the air like falling stars. Tiny fires bloomed wherever they landed, but all I could see around me was endless rows of stasis chambers. Not a single person moved within the main chamber. Where was everyone?
Soot poured through the vents above my head, and I dragged in a cruddy mix of air too thick to breathe. My heart pinched in protest, as I couldn’t stop coughing.
Flames slapped the walls, trees in a category six storm. They reached for me with burning fingers.
I scrambled onto my stomach and flung my back against the top of my unit. Again. The lid still wouldn’t budge. Scooting lower in my unit, I hammered my feet against the end cap. Nothing was working. I couldn’t get out! I flipped around and slammed the glass with my fists, trying to beat my way through.
“Someone. Please.” My voice croaked. Tears seeped from my eyes and down my face. “Somebody. Get me out of here.”
I’d come so far. I couldn’t die now.
Fear-laced sweat poured from my skin. I clawed at the seal between the lid and the base, tearing my nails to nubs. My fingers scrambled across the glass, leaving bloody streaks behind.
The heat of an oven on high surrounded me. My gut-wrenching wail pealed around me.
OhmyGod. OhmyGod. OhmyGod.
Pulling my knife, I wiggled it into the seal, prying out black chunks that rained on my face. Yes. This could be a way out. I stuffed my blade away and shoved my fingertips inside the gap. Shit. Even though I groaned and strained, I couldn’t pry it apart.
Overwhelmed by horror, I sagged. My hands flopped to my sides. Blackness hovered on the edge of my vision. I didn’t want to give up. I had to save Joe and everyone else. But…I was…sleepy.
I drifted away from shore, drowning as death came to claim me.
My lid popped open.
Gasping, I tumbled to the edge of my unit, my hands scrambling to slow my fall. As my legs plunged over the edge, I grabbed the cushion, holding on. Someone snagged my waist and helped me stand upright.
“I’ve got you,” Malik said by my ear. His arms wrapped around me for a second, making me feel secure, which was crazy because I was anything but safe on a burning ship. “You okay?”
“I think so.” The words rasped in my throat. Rearing back, I stared at his ash-covered face. My vocal cords spasmed. It hurt to talk. To swallow. To breathe.
The entire ship tilted backward. I needed to hold on, or I’d fall. My brain spun. How was this possible?
“Get off the ship.” Malik pointed to the hatch to the right of the computers. Smoke and flames left the opening, alternating with clear air as if the ship was a beast breathing fire.
I grabbed his arms, coughing through my words. “I want to help.” And I wouldn’t abandon my brother. I squinted, but couldn’t see more than a meter. Where was Joe’s unit? Somewhere near the front of the chamber, but which one? Sixty-one. Sixty-two? Why couldn’t I remember?
Thirty-two plus years. Cryo messed with your mind.
Malik grabbed my hands, and his white teeth flashed. “Already got him. He’s outside. Go. There are only a few people left. I’ll help them.” His eyes blazed in the flickering light. “Please, Lesha, get out of here. I’m right behind you.”
“Right.” I stepped back and grabbed my pack from where they’d clipped it to my unit.
A dim light shone from the exit near the top. The diam
ond-plated floor shifted and creaked as I moved around my pod, desperate for clean air. Desperate to make it to rescue. Dad and the other colonists would be up there, helping us escape.
Stasis units lay between me and the door, a hillside of closed caskets, which made no sense. If the people had gotten out already, why bother to shut the lids?
I wiped off the soot coating the glass chamber in front of me. Riley’s younger brother, Vick, lay inside, unbelievably still. My heart plunged to the floor. Damn. The others hadn’t escaped. They were trapped, like I’d been trapped. Like Vick was trapped. I couldn’t leave him.
I pushed the button to open his unit, but the top wouldn’t give. Stooping down, I examined it closer. A piece of metal, some sort of clip, held the lid in place. What the hell? With that there, the lid wouldn’t release.
The realization burned through me, spiking every hair on my body. Someone put clips on after we went to sleep so we couldn’t escape our units if we crashed. If? When we crashed.
Doesn’t make sense, kid, but I’m sorry.
Sabotage. Shaking off the horrifying thought, I pried off the clip and stuffed it into my pocket. The lid opened easily after that.
“Wake up.” Grabbing Vick’s shoulders, I shook him. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
He flopped. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth fell open in an unheard scream. No breath whistled past his lips. I felt for a pulse and searched for signs of life longer than I safely should.
The echo of his little boy laughter trickled through in my mind. In a flash, I replaced Vick’s face with Joe’s. Tears streamed down my face. How could this be happening?
The fire crackled around me, bringing my brain into sharp focus. I had to get off the ship and track down Joe. He’d be frantic. My treds squeaked as I moved around to the front of Vick’s unit. Bending to take in less smoke, I scrambled along the floor, heaving myself toward the opening.
Steel groaned around me, and the ship tilted to the side. My feet slid, and I slammed against another closed stasis unit. Rising to my knees, I pried off the metal clip and flung it at the wall. I smacked my fist on the button, and the lid flew open. The person groaned as I sliced through his wrist restraints.
Muttering prayers, I crawled along the floor, opening each unit I passed. They’d all been locked in place with a clip. This was a death sentence. Why would anyone do this to us? We only wanted a chance to live.
While a few people climbed from their units and stumbled for the door, most didn’t. Death surrounded me. The shock of it made me want to scream.
The roar of my pulse in my ears outdid a jet engine. I kept my eyes on the growing light ahead, putting one foot in front of the other. The metal plating underneath me squished like rotten soil, and heat burned through my soles. Did the fire consume the supplies in the hold below? I had to get out before the ship collapsed.
Air whistled through the hatch as if the ship drank in the energy it needed to engulf everything around me.
Reaching the doorframe, I slumped on the lip and flung my backpack through the opening.
Crisp air slid down my throat, bringing welcome relief. Staring at my new world in a daze, I blinked as I took in a black night dusted with foreign constellations. Two moons. How weird was that? Crooked stairs glinted in front of me. Because the ship was tilted on its side, they ended at least a meter above the ground.
I lifted one leg over the hatch.
Someone yelled inside the ship. Squinting, I spied Malik struggling with a closed unit. Forget escape, I wouldn’t leave him when he needed help. He’d gotten Joe out. He’d saved my life and many others.
I released the doorframe and fell back into the jaws of the beast, and it snarled and welcomed me home. My feet skidded along the floor until I came to rest against the closed unit.
“He’s trapped,” Malik yelled as I pulled myself upright.
I wavered on my treds. Chemicals filled the air, choking off my lungs. How could Malik remain inside the ship this long? We had to get out.
Inside the unit, Riley’s vivid blues locked onto mine.
His mouth stretched wide, but the roaring fire masked his words.
I yanked my hands back, shaking them as if burned.
“Help me,” Malik shouted. “The lid’s stuck. Get the other side.” Malik wedged his fingers into the seal and leaned backward, his forearms bulging with the strain.
The determination in his eyes undid me. On leaden feet, I moved around the unit.
Fissures appeared on Malik’s face as he struggled to get the lid open. “Pull.”
With my added effort, it finally gave way.
Malik leaned inside and cut Riley’s wrist straps, and the other man jumped out, his chest heaving as he gulped in the smoke-filled air. The men grinned at each other, and Riley slapped Malik on the back.
“I’ll check again, but I think you’re it.” Panting, Malik waved toward the hatch. “Get off the ship.” He raced to another unit.
Riley came toward me with outstretched arms.
Dread filling me, I stumbled back until I ran into the unit behind me.
Riley grabbed my arms and hauled me against his chest, his mouth mushing onto mine. He lifted his head and smiled at me. “Thank you. Thank you.” While I stood in shock, he nuzzled my neck.
“Get away from me.” I scrambled out of his grasp.
The relief in his eyes disappeared, replaced by confusion. “You don’t know about the p—” Coughing took over, scrambling his words. “You don’t know about us?”
My mouth agape, I glared at him. There was no us.
“I guess you’ll see, won’t you?” With that parting shot, he spun on his heel and ran for the door. His foot snagged on something, and he fell, slamming into a stasis unit. He writhed, clutching his leg, but then rose and limped for the opening.
I started to follow, but my muscles wouldn’t cooperate. Stars flashed in my periphery, and I slumped against a unit, weak from inhaling smoke.
“Come on.” Malik rushed to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. Half carrying me, he helped me to the hatch. “Go. I’m right behind you.”
I climbed over the edge and slid away from the door. As I bumped down the stairs, I grasped the rail to slow my fall. My hips smacked on the metal treads until I flew off the end and landed on the ground on my belly, my teeth jarring from the impact. After locating my pack, I stood and stared around blankly. Darkness overwhelmed everything, blocking out our new world. Where were Dad and the colonists? Tiff and Trey?
Joe.
“This way.” Malik took my hand and pulled me forward, into the night. Half running, half stumbling, we ran through the loose soil, putting distance between us and the ship. Mounds lying in the sand appeared ahead of us. Survivors.
Tiff and Trey lay together in the sand. Nearby, I located Joe’s limp body. I slumped to the ground beside him, and Malik dropped down on Joe’s other side.
I dropped my hand onto Joe’s chest, and it rose and fell, rhythmic, at peace.
Calm stole through me, and the relief sinking into my bones made it possible to breathe again.
We lived.
For now.
Chapter Six
A distant sound woke me, and I jerked upright.
Darkness swallowed everything, broken only by the smoldering ship lying like a tortured carcass some distance away. A broken phoenix burned beyond recognition in the flames. This bird wouldn’t rise from the ashes.
I stared around dully, unable to feel. Why wasn’t I leaping to my feet? Rushing around screaming?
Crying?
For whatever reason, I could only stare around blankly.
My shipmates slept in the sand nearby, locked in stasis lag. Unless some had moved from where I could see, there were too few of us. Everyone else must be dead, either from smoke inhalation or burned alive.
That thought woke me up. It churned through my belly, shooting bile up into my mouth. I scrambled to my knees, and my st
omach heaved in rolling waves. The spasms continued until I lost whatever remained in my gut after years in stasis. My stomach twitched. Rubbing it, I slumped back on my butt.
Something exploded inside the ship, and flames burst from the hatch. I couldn’t host even a tiny bit of concern for me. But Joe. Protecting him was my sole focus. I huddled over him, shielding him from the sparks. The flash lit the night to day, outlining our area. In the flash, I saw low hills rippling in every direction, mounds of gravel spiked with bushes, stunted trees, and big rocks.
No colony. No emergency personnel rushing toward us. No Dad.
A long, dark band stretched behind the ship, confirming what I’d already suspected. We’d crash-landed. Somewhere. Wherever somewhere was.
This had to be Eris. Where else would the ship take us? My concern backed off a notch when I realized the colony must be nearby. I bit my lips to hold on to my hope as the cold wind swirled around me.
Rescue would be here soon. It had to be. For now, we were marooned passengers, adrift on a sandy sea.
Joe slept with his mouth slack, but his breathing felt regular beneath my hand. He was okay. We were both okay. Focusing on that fact would keep me sane.
Malik lay on Joe’s other side, his long lashes resting against his blackened cheeks. Reaching over Joe, I put my hand on his chest, seeking movement. His eyelids slid open, and his sleepy browns met mine before softening to pools of warmth.
While I was grateful he was okay, I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling. I guessed maybe I was capable of feeling something after all. Fear had awoken inside me, a gnashing beast eager to break free.
I took a deep breath and pushed out my anxiety with the air. “Thank you for what you did on the ship.” I nudged my head in that direction.
“Anytime,” Malik croaked. His eyes slipped closed again as stasis lag took over.
Beyond Malik, Trey huddled against Tiff’s back, his arm around her waist. Tiff must have gotten too close to the fire, because her durasuit had melted off her shoulder, exposing pale skin covered with angry, fluid-filled blisters. In my medical kit packed in my bag, I had ointment she should put on her burns.
Phoenix Arise: YA Sci-fi Thriller (From the Ashes Book 1) Page 4
