No. I couldn’t believe it. Please, no!
My dad. All this time, I’d struggled to keep trying because I knew I had a reason. Dad waited for us on Eris. But what if he was dead?
Horror rose inside me like a living beast, slashing and snarling and ripping me apart. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
“Hey,” Malik said. His arm went around me. “I’m still holding out hope, too.”
“That’s not what you think, though, is it?” My words came out bitter, but I wasn’t angry with him. I was pissed off at Eris. At the Earth government for sending us to somewhere unsafe.
At myself for believing.
“They’re waiting for us in the mountains, and I’m not believin’ anything else.” Colin lifted Will’s feet and nudged his chin toward Riley. “Come on, dude. Take the other end. Too hard to dig here.”
Riley grumbled but hefted Will’s shoulders. Complaining, they hauled him over the rock circle and into the desert.
I ignored them while my brain struggled to process what Malik had implied. It couldn’t be true. Will and Piper were only two dead. Whoever had taken them and done such unspeakable things couldn’t have…I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought. There were three-hundred colonists on Eris. They had infrastructure, weapons, military personnel. Plenty of defense. They’d been on the planet for five years before our ship arrived, but that was a lot of people. Too many people to murder.
“We’ll find them, and Dad will be with them. He’ll have a good excuse for not coming for us,” I said. Something. Anything. Just please be alive. “Maybe their equipment failed. It’s been a long time. Things happen. Stuff breaks. Or Trey has the frequency wrong.” It had to be that. I couldn’t believe anything else.
Malik ran his hands up and down my arms, but the friction raised my anxiety, rather than lowered it. “That’s what I’m banking on.”
I jerked out a stiff nod, unable to speak. My eyes stung with tears I refused to release, but they trickled down my face, anyway.
Malik gathered me into his arms. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“Please. I have to have hope.”
“I won’t take it from you,” he said against my hair. “Hang onto it, Lesha. I’ll do the same.”
Backing out of his embrace is yanked in a breath and shoved it out.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “If Nikolai’s still alive, I can’t let them do this to him, too.”
“We don’t know that it’s the same group.” What a terrifying thought. Were there multiple groups of…people? Creatures? Following us. Stalking us. Picking us off like prey? I squinted into the desert but saw only rippling heatwaves.
Colin and Riley had set Will down and were scooping out a hole in the sand with flat rocks to bury him.
Nothing else moved that I could see. But it was beginning to get dark, and the moons created more shadows than light.
“Will disappeared our first night here,” Malik said. “Then Piper and Nikolai. Someone’s playing a deadly game with us, and I intend to find out who they are, get our friend back, and make sure this ends now.”
“Okay. Whoever it is has declared war. We’ll find a way to get even. I understand that. But I can’t let you go alone. Who’ll watch your back?” I tightened my shoulders. “Let me get my crossbow.” If we eliminated the threat, everyone would be safe.
“I’ll move faster, quieter without you.” His eyes darkened with sorrow, and he lifted a hand to stroke my cheek. “I’d love the back-up, but it’s safer if you stay with the group. And…as much as I want to bring war to them, I know I can’t. Not in the dark. I’ll look around like I did with Piper, but unless I find anything, I’ll be back within a few hours.”
“You won’t be safe.”
“I don’t think any of us are. Not as long as whoever did this hunts us.” He cleared his throat. “This isn’t the first time someone’s been gunning for me. I’ll be careful.”
I pressed my lips together to the point of pain. “Before you go, show me how to track. I know there’s not enough time to learn much, but if you…” I swallowed. “I want to know what to look for.”
He nodded and gestured for me to go ahead of him. We strode in an ever-widening circle around the place where they’d left Will until Malik’s quick eye picked up something different. Squatting on his heel, he pointed to the mark in the ground. “See, right here. By the way the print is sunk in,” he traced the outline of footwear in the soil, “you can tell where the person’s weight shifted and it gives you clues into where they were headed.”
We followed the marks. Under his direction, I began to see how he picked them out of the jumble of sand, rock and sticks that made up the land around us.
“It’s easier to track in soft soil,” Malik said. “But if someone wants to remain hidden, they’ll watch where they place their feet. Broken sticks, bent branches, or even crushed vegetation leave a trail you can follow if you know how.”
“I’ll practice.” The stabbing in my chest made each breath agony. What if something happened to him? I sunk into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. My eyes burned with tears. I tilted my head back. His razor stubble gave him an irresistible, devilish appeal. I stood on tiptoe and captured his lips with mine. Our mouths melded together. Desperate heat flared in my belly, and I tried to memorize how it felt to hold him near. His taste. His smell. I’d wrap it up inside me until he returned. We pulled away, but our eyes remained locked together.
“I’ll be back,” he whispered. “I promise.”
I nodded. Afraid I’d break down, I didn’t speak.
He stroked my face before he headed for his supplies. I followed at a slower pace but with determination in every stride. Colin and Riley caught up and walked with me.
“Go on, Colin,” Riley waved his hand.
The other man moved ahead of us.
What now? I glanced at Riley, and my palms grew damp. “I think we should stay with Colin. No one wants to end up like Will, do they?”
“Colin can stay within sight, but he doesn’t need to hear what I have to say.”
“And that is?”
Riley held up a finger. He watched until Colin was some distance ahead of us.
I fiddled with my zipper. “I don’t think we have anything further—”
“Enough.” His chest heaved, and he strolled ahead of me up the hill, like we took a leisurely walk in the countryside. “You don’t think you’re the only one who has a pairing lined up for them at the colony, do you?”
Halting, I glared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
He turned and walked backward, somehow avoiding the larger rocks that would have sent me tumbling. “Couldn’t help noticing your tender moment with Malik.”
Anxiety twisted inside me. Was he stirring up trouble again?
“I don’t like you kissing another man, but I can’t blame him for taking advantage if you fling yourself at him. Who wouldn’t?”
“You’re an asshole.” I shoved past him as we crested the hill. “Just fuck off.”
The sun rested on the horizon, spearing orange and gold across the dusky sky. Night would be here soon. Little warmth lingered.
Someone had lit the fire. It crackled, and colorful sparks rose into the air. Muted conversation drifted our way.
Colin reached the outer rock ring. He glanced back at us before stepping over it.
Riley paused beside me. “Malik has someone waiting for him at the colony. Pretty kid, if I remember the pictures correctly. Becca. She was thirteen when they left Earth.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
By morning, Malik still hadn’t returned.
“We’re moving out,” Riley said, kicking out the dregs of the fire.
“I want to wait for Malik to come back.” I gnawed on my lip and stared south, the direction he’d taken. The longer we stayed in one place, the more we were in danger. But where was he? Was he okay? Why hadn’t he come back? “We can give him some more time.
He’s gone for Nikolai, one of us.”
“Not happenin’,” Colin said. “We can’t wait for him or we’re endangerin’ us all.” He hefted his supplies onto his back. “You’re welcome to stay here and wait for him if you want.” A sneer came through in his voice.
Riley watched, saying nothing, but I knew what he was thinking. That slimy curl of his lips told me he was reveling in the pain he’d dealt me last night with his words.
Tiff gripped my forearms to the point of pain. “I’ll wait here with you if you want.”
We’d be vulnerable alone. And I couldn’t ask Joe to stay here, too. But dividing the group and sending my brother with the others didn’t feel right, either. I couldn’t ask Tiff to do this and staying alone wasn’t an option.
“He’ll catch up, right?” I asked her, begging for hope.
“He will. I’m sure of it.” She gazed toward the desert. “So do we stay or…?”
“We have no choice, do we?” I wouldn’t endanger Tiff and I’d be stupid to remain here alone. Might as well stake me out for whoever hunted us.
With a sigh, I gathered up my stuff and trailed at the back of the group, making myself place one foot in front of the other, even though my heart called for me to remain behind to wait.
Without discussing it, we skirted the area where we’d found Will.
“Stay together,” Trey said from the front.
My heart crunched. Malik was the one who’d rallied us since we’d crashed. We had a new Pied Piper now.
Exercising my recently acquired skill, I loped back periodically, seeking tracks, my knife alive in my hand. I found nothing to indicate we were being followed. While I walked, I repeated the same words in my head. Malik would return. He’d promised. When he got back, I’d ask him about the girl waiting for him at the colony. Becca. His pairing. Maybe he didn’t know about her. He wouldn’t kiss me if he planned to be with someone else when we got there, would he?
At first, as we moved toward the mountains, I jumped at any sound echoing across the desert and hastily counted heads. But after a while, exhaustion, starvation, and thirst wore me down. While I continued to maintain a tight vigil, fear couldn’t drive me forever.
We left the rocky areas and strode across an expanse of burnished sand.
The worst thing about walking in the desert was I reached the point where I didn’t care if I lived or died as long as it meant I got the chance to lay down and sleep in the shade. The little kids zombie-stumbled. Even Riley’s smirk lost its kick.
Sweat darkened my clothing. Our salt-coated nylatec suits became stiff, and I changed into jeans and a tee. My backpack scraped my shoulders and back, rubbing my skin raw with sand that found its way underneath. I gathered the leaves I’d discovered and spread them around for us to tuck between our skin and packs.
Only one consolation kept me going. We drew closer to the mountains. Safety was within our reach.
The wolves caught up, coming close enough one time I could almost count their teeth when they snarled. We threw sticks and rocks at them but while they backed off, they continued to shadow us, waiting for one of us to drop.
The further we’d walked from where we’d last seen Malik, the more euphoric Riley grew. It was all I could do not to kick him.
By the end of our seventh day on Eris, two days after Malik went after Nikolai, we were more than halfway toward the mountain range, a tempting oasis perched on the edge of the desert a four- or five-day hike away. Assuming we lived long enough to get there.
I struggled to hold on to a thread of hope that Malik would return to us, but the thread kept slicing through my grip. The thought of him lying somewhere in the desert stalked my nightmares whenever I fell asleep.
After helping to collect wood and set up the rock ring that evening, I took my crossbow from Trey and nodded to Joe. We strolled over a rise where we wouldn’t be seen, pretending we needed a bathroom break. Not much chance of that. With so little water to drink, we made next to no pee.
Out of sight, I made up a target with sand and my survival blanket. I backed off and pulled a bolt from the pouch. “Watch like you did last night, okay? You see anything move, give a shout, and run for the others. I’ll be right behind.”
“Yep.” Joe’s face screwed up with intensity. Standing on a rock, he glared at the desert while rotating in a slow circle. Nothing would sneak up on me with my brother on duty.
I practiced loading the crossbow until the movement became seamless. Then, I lifted the weapon into firing position and shot at my blanket. I collected the bolt. Load. Shoot. Repeat. I kept at it until the blisters that had formed on my fingers the night before popped and seeped clear fluid.
Wiping the sweat from my face with the back of my hand, I grinned at the results of my efforts. My last bolt had struck the center of my target. While I might never achieve sharpshooter status, I hit the center more than fifty percent of the time.
Joe jumped off the rock. “Can I try?”
I ruffled his hair. “I’ll teach you when we get to the colony.” When we had other people around to guard us, that is. “Right now, I need you to watch so we stay safe.”
Before the sun slipped below the horizon, we headed back to the others. When we set up camp, we purposefully chose an open area for better visibility. In this part of the desert, there were no rocky sections. Snake duty tonight would be hell.
As Joe and I arrived, Colin and Riley were fooling around, laughing and shoving each other. Tiff and Trey worked on the communicator since they still hadn’t reached the colony. Mandy sat with them, handing them tools like a surgeon’s assistant, a miniature techie in training. Kalani and Felicia patrolled outside the circle with sticks in their hands.
Everyone acted completely normal. Then why did every hair on my body stand at attention? I looked around before shrugging off my worry. No one would sneak up on us.
The sun left the sky, and our two moons rose. We lit a fire and nine of us gathered around it. Make that seven, since two stood guard.
Tiff and I sat with Mandy and Joe between us while night eclipsed day. We snuggled as close to the fire as we could, blankets around our backs. Stretching out my legs, I warmed my feet on the fire, giving them a break from my shoes. Who would have thought I’d come to hate my orange treds?
Exhausted, everyone but the guards went to bed. I took the midnight watch with Colin. Snakes came at us in a steady stream, eager to take their shot at slithering past us to bite those sleeping inside the barrier.
Did they smell us, like the wolves?
I grimaced every time one came near. Scrape. Scratch. The shifting of small stones as it moved out of the dark and into my glolight’s beam. It was a snap to kill them, because they didn’t fight back. They lay in the sand, looking up at me with dark eyes while my tred came down to mush them. The dark, sticky goo that squirted from each end made my stomach flip. By the end of my two-hour shift, I’d gotten pretty good at aiming my foot. As long as I didn’t look at the evidence afterward, my stomach remained settled.
My theory had been proven true. We hadn’t seen a single snake during the day.
I was turning to wake Tiff and Trey when a sound drifted across the desert. A scrape. A shuffle. Probably another snake. But this noise was different, like something bigger moved our way.
Was it the wolf pack? Or were we under attack by whoever had taken Will?
Adrenalin flew through my veins, making my heart smack against my ribs. I tightened my grip on my crossbow. They wouldn’t take us without a fight.
I swept my glolight beam into the desert. A body loomed, nearly jolting me out of my skin. Malik stumbled toward me. Gasping, I dropped my crossbow and ran to him. Colin’s treds thudded behind me.
Malik tumbled into my arms. I braced my legs, barely keeping us from falling. Colin grabbed his other side, and we half-led, half-dragged him to the circle and up over the barrier.
It was a wonder he’d found us.
“Lay him by the fire,” I
said.
Malik struggled in our arms. “I gotta keep looking. Gotta find…” He groaned, and his hands rose to cup his face. “No. Please, no.”
“Are you hurt? The snakes. Were you bitten?” I lifted his sleeves and pant legs, looking for marks, but found nothing but clear skin.
He shook his head. “I searched when the moons were high. Slept during the day.”
I waved at Colin. “Get him some water.”
Colin paused. “Who’s water you offering ‘cause he’s not drinking any of mine.”
Irritation lit my veins on fire. “Dammit, get my backpack. Beside Joe.”
Colin brought it to the fire and sat across from me, pawing through my stuff, which made me flinch. Taking pee breaks with a buddy was bad enough. The only privacy I had left was in my bag.
“Hey, you’ve got a lot of food and water in here.” He glared. “You holding out on us?”
I yanked my bag from his hands. “I don’t have more than anyone else.” I just hadn’t been eating or drinking much of it.
Colin linked his arms across his chest. “If you say so.”
“Whatever.” I pulled out a water bag and uncapped it. Sliding my hand under Malik’s shoulders, I lifted him. “Hey. Wake up. Take a sip.”
His eyes opened and focused on mine as he swallowed. After a few sips, he pushed the bag away. “Enough. I can’t drink your water.”
“It’s okay. According to Colin, I have tons because I’ve been hoarding it.” I studied Malik’s ragged face. He might have slept in the shade during the day, but he’d blistered during the times he’d walked in the sun. “What happened?”
Malik brought his knees up and rocked. “Nikolai. Poor kid.”
“Did you find him?”
“They left him for me.”
Oh, hell. Tears leaked from my eyes as the horror of what he must have seen filled my mind. “Like Will?”
He fisted his hair. “Nikolai was still alive when I found him.”
I gasped. “But…”
“He died a short time later.” The anguish in Malik’s eyes stabbed through me. “They cut him. Like Will.”
Phoenix Arise: YA Sci-fi Thriller (From the Ashes Book 1) Page 21
