Instead, she went to see if there was anything Murphy needed assistance with. There was nothing she hated more than waiting around while there were things that needed to be done.
Murphy was with two of the men, who were less shaken from the crash, carrying loads of supplies from the ship. They hadn’t salvaged much so far. In the pile they were creating, Sloane could see there were only six of the food and water kits, which were meant to last one person for a week. The three boxes of weapons in the pile appeared to be unscathed, and there was also a container that held the space habitat for them to sleep in at night. Not that they should need it; the air was supposed to have enough oxygen for them to breath freely.
‘Is it safe to take these suits off now?’ Sloane asked, as she approached.
Murphy was so focused on the bag he was dragging that he didn’t hear her to respond.
‘Murphy?’
‘I’d leave him be. I think he needs a few moments to gather himself.’ Sloane turned to the voice, her gaze naturally flickering to the name emblazoned across the man’s chest. It was Skinner who had spoken; one of the men she had helped earlier. He was leaning indifferently against one of the strange trees. His eyes were hard as he stared her down. ‘The Commander was his mentor.’
Sloane swallowed uncomfortably, not liking how the Commander’s death sat with her. She didn’t exactly feel guilty, but she didn’t feel free from guilt either.
‘And I wouldn’t take your helmet off just yet,’ Skinner said. ‘Or do, it makes no difference to me.’
Sloane ignored his jab at her. Instead, she considered the trees that surrounded them. They looked so alive. Surely they couldn’t survive there without oxygen. This planet wasn’t her own though, so she could be wrong.
‘There’s supposed to be oxygen here; we should be fine to take our helmets off,’ she argued. The atmosphere on Aries was the only reason they’d travelled such a great distance to colonise the planet. It was too far from Earth to build a habitat city on, like they’d done on the Moon and on Mars. Without oxygen on this planet their mission there was null and void.
‘Did you hear what you just said?’ Skinner asked.
‘What?’
‘Supposed to be oxygen. We won’t know for sure until we check it.’
Sloane merely nodded in response. She wasn’t an idiot, so she would keep her helmet on a while longer. Even if she did want to throw it off, just to spite Skinner’s obvious negative attitude towards her.
She glanced back to Murphy, who had stopped unpacking things and was staring up at the two moons that hung low in the sky. She wished she had the words to make him feel better about his loss, but she knew all too well that words held little comfort when you lost someone you cared about.
‘I doubt any of them will forgive you.’
‘Excuse me?’ She turned back to face Skinner. His face was smug, and she could see a malicious glint in his eye.
‘You stole Perry’s seat, and the pod crashed because he wasn’t there to fix it. No one will forgive you.’
She shrugged, not wanting to provoke him any further. She wasn’t there to make friends, and she certainly wasn’t going to let this ass make her feel bad. The pod crashed because the engine was completely damaged. She’d seen the way the pod had been lit up red on the screen, and she highly doubted that Perry’s presence would have changed things. There was nothing any of them could have done to fix the problems with that pod.
‘What did you do to Perry?’ he continued, a sneer on his lips.
‘The same thing I’ll do to you if you get on my bad side,’ she responded coldly, not a single emotion in her voice. She turned and walked away from him before he could say something that would really piss her off.
She shouldn’t have responded at all. He was clearly just trying to get a rise out of her. But she wouldn’t have him harassing her, and people like Skinner needed to be put in their place. She’d dealt with men like him before.
She walked over to Dean, who was pulling a long sheet from one of the cases he’d retrieved from the pod. ‘You ready, Sloane?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, of course I—’ she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence though as her attention settled on the smallest flicker of light caught by the corner of her eye.
‘Fire!’ she yelled, pointing to the pod. She didn’t wait for the others before she launched herself towards the ship. Her body felt heavier on this planet, and her suit was incredibly cumbersome to move in, but she ran as hard as she could to get back to the pod.
Smoke billowed out from the gaping hole that had been torn in the side of the pod, and she hesitated by the entrance just long enough for an arm to grab her and pull her back.
‘Are you crazy? You can’t go in there!’ Dean yelled.
‘Are you crazy? Wilson is still in there!’ She turned to take off into the pod but was yanked back again.
‘You have an oxygen tank on your back. Not to mention the fuel tanks could catch alight and the whole thing could go. You can’t go in there.’
She didn’t have time to argue with Dean, so she slammed her foot down on his instep and threw her elbow into his ribs. He loosened his grip on her arm as he groaned, and she used the opportunity to escape from his grasp before racing into the pod. She didn’t have time to risk being gentle with him, but she knew she hadn’t broken any bones. She could have easily done more damage if she had wanted to.
The pod was filled with a smoke so thick Sloane felt relieved she’d kept her helmet on. There was no way she’d be able to breathe in there, even if the air on this planet was safe. She could barely see anything, but she knew Wilson was close to where the wall had ripped open, so he shouldn’t be too far.
She heard a cry for help and set off in the direction of his voice.
‘Wilson?’ she yelled into the smoke.
‘I’m over here,’ he yelled back, as she caught sight of him on the floor.
‘How did you get down there?’ she asked, crouching down beside him. She didn’t bother listening for his response. She needed to figure out how to get him out of there. He was a massive guy, and even though she was strong there was no way she could lift him out of there by herself. She definitely couldn’t do it without making his injury worse.
‘Here!’ She turned to see Dean throwing her a fire blanket, which she quickly caught. ‘Lay the blanket out on the floor, and we can pull him with it.’ She nodded and quickly did as she was told.
Dean took one side of Wilson’s body and directed Sloane where to lift him from the other. ‘We’ll move him on three. One, two, three.’
The two of them lifted Wilson onto the blanket without too much trouble. Then they each took a corner to drag him from the burning pod.
‘You need to move quicker…’ Dean grunted to Sloane, as they slowly heaved Wilson towards the exit.
‘I’m trying,’ she said, through clenched teeth. It was taking everything she had to pull Wilson as quickly as they were. She was just as keen to get out of there as Dean was.
When they got to the exit, Sloane noticed a hissing noise behind them. It sounded like gas being released, and it panicked her into moving faster.
‘Let’s go, let’s go,’ Sloane yelled, adrenaline driving her forwards as they staggered through the smoke that billowed from the torn mouth of the pod. When they got outside, the other crewmembers caught sight of their struggle and rushed towards them to help.
‘Quickly!’ Dean yelled. ‘Grab the edges!’ The others seized the sides of the blanket, and they were able to lift Wilson easily as a group. Together they raced away from the thick, black smoke that now engulfed the battered pod.
Sloane collapsed down onto the ground once they were a safe distance away. She lay on her back, heaving and trying to catch her breath. Everything felt more tiresome on Aeris, especially after spending months on board the Explorer. She wished the Captain had allowed her to train during their journey out there.
Moments later Sloane heard a deafen
ing bang as one of the engines on the landing pod exploded. Several of the men who were standing near her were thrown by the force of the explosion and landed face down on the ground.
She pushed herself up and looked at the cloud of flames and dust that erupted up into the air. Against the dusky night’s sky, the flames were terrible and brilliant all at once. The explosion could have easily happened while she’d been in the pod. It was a miracle they’d gotten out in time.
She looked around at the men who had been knocked over by the blast. They were all slowly getting up and peering back at the pod, which was now engulfed in smoke and flames.
‘Going back to the pod for Wilson was stupid,’ Murphy said, coming to stand over her.
She shrugged. ‘It turned out fine in the end. We couldn’t just leave him to die in there.’
Murphy frowned. ‘You put the entire crew in jeopardy. Don’t think for one moment that saving Wilson excuses what you’ve done. I don’t care how brave you think you are or want to be; I don’t want anyone else to die on this mission. We’ve already had too many casualties.’ He stumbled over the word casualties and she could hear a hint of the emotion in his voice as he said it. ‘The moment I get in contact with the Captain, you’ll be gone.’
Sloane felt uncertain how to respond without antagonising Murphy further, so she kept quiet until he walked away. The other crew members all shot silent scowls in her direction as they followed Murphy past her. Only Dean stopped as he carried two bags over towards where the men had started setting up camp.
‘If you want to live to see your twenties, you need to learn to think before you act,’ he said.
She shrugged. She didn’t particularly care how long she lived; all she wanted was to protect her sister and find her brother. If she died doing that, it would be worth it to her.
‘So, what happens now?’ she asked, attempting to avoid making any promises she couldn’t keep.
‘Now, we do what we were put here for. We find the rest of our crew and see if this planet can be lived on.’
CHAPTER FOUR
The crew began to set up camp about a hundred metres away from the crash site. They could still see the landing pod however, on the other side of the clearing. The sight of it, lying there all charred and blackened, served as a harrowing reminder of the Commander’s death and their inability to return to the Explorer.
No one so much as looked at Sloane as they went about making camp, let alone spoke with her. Instead, she was treated like an empty pocket of space, their eyes sliding right through her if they ever looked her way. They didn’t just dislike her—they wished she didn’t exist.
She wasn’t allowed to assist with setting up the space habitat or help with sorting out supplies. She was even stopped from carrying their gear closer to the camp. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to help; no one would let her touch a thing. She hated being useless more than anything, so she put herself in charge of watching Wilson, who drifted in and out of a fitful sleep. In the brief moments when he was awake, he would ask after his wife and someone named Lily. He was confused and addled. He couldn’t remember the crash, or even the fact they were on another planet.
‘How is he?’ Dean asked, when he came to check on Wilson.
‘He’s doing okay, I think. He keeps asking after his wife though. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell him she’s not here; he keeps asking.’ Sloane sighed and drew her knees up to her chest. She was never one for reflection, but after spending hours sitting there with Wilson she’d become almost pensive.
‘It’s okay. You’re doing great,’ Dean said. ‘The habitat will be up soon, so we’ll be able to move him inside and look at him properly.’
Sloane looked over her shoulder to the others who were working on erecting the habitat. It was a massive tent-like dome with an airlock that branched off the side. It looked like it was nearly finished, but she was uncertain how much longer it would take.
‘Have they done a reading of the atmosphere yet?’ Sloane asked Dean. ‘I’m dying to get out of this space suit.’ The helmet was starting to feel much heavier now, and her shoulders and neck strained under the pressure.
‘Not yet,’ Dean replied. If they didn’t get a reading soon, she’d probably just risk it and throw her helmet off. Sloane felt almost certain the atmosphere would be fine.
‘Surely if the air here is bad, we won’t have enough oxygen to last us now that the pod is gone.’
Dean hesitated before he answered. ‘We’ll deal with that problem when we come to it. The oxygen generator for the habitat survived the crash, so we’ll be fine once it’s set up.’
Sloane nodded and turned to look up at the sky. Stars twinkled brightly against a deep navy backdrop. She knew her sister was up there somewhere, but it felt like she was extremely far away. ‘Have they managed to re-establish communication with the Explorer?’
Dean shook his head. ‘No, not yet. The equipment was damaged when we crashed. It might be a while before we can contact them. I expect we’re going to be blind down here for a while.’
‘And Ash’s team?’
Dean hesitated before he spoke. ‘Hopefully we’ll get more answers when we send a team to their pod.’
‘We’re not all going?’
‘No,’ Dean replied. ‘And I’m sorry, Sloane, but I doubt they’ll send you.’
She frowned. ‘Why not? I’m one of the Academy’s best trackers, I’d beat every one of you in a fight, and my aptitude tests were all off the charts. Not to mention that if things hadn’t gone to hell back on Earth, I’d have finished first in my class.’ There was no point in being modest. Sloane had worked hard to be the best and she was hardly boasting. Her words were fact.
‘No one doubts that you’re very skilled, and I’ve seen with my own eyes how you excelled at the Academy. You’re right; you would have finished first in your class.’
She felt a sense of pride at his words, but it quickly evaporated when he continued.
‘But you’re unruly and you never think before you act. You’re a liability and you need to accept that you shouldn’t be here.’
She opened her mouth to object, but he kept going. ‘People far more qualified than you were chosen for this mission. This isn’t one of your training drills, and two people are already dead. It’d be best if you just stayed in the shadows until we can get in contact with the Explorer and send you back.’
Sloane frowned into her lap. Dean was being blunt, and usually she’d appreciate his forwardness. But tonight, after everything she’d done to help get the crew to safety, it cut her more than she’d like to admit.
‘I know you don’t want to hear what I’ve said, but you need to exercise some restraint. This mission is far too important to be put at risk by the impulsive decisions of a teenage girl.’ Dean turned and strode away, not giving Sloane a second glance.
She scowled as she watched him leave. She was so tired that she couldn’t give him a defiant look or pledge to prove him wrong. Right now, in her exhausted state, she actually felt that maybe he was right.
Maybe she was a liability.
Sloane woke to an annoying beeping noise in her ear. The last thing she remembered was watching over Wilson while the others set up camp. They had been at it for hours, and she must have dozed off. It wasn’t exactly surprising. Watching Wilson was about as exciting as sitting through one of the dreary monologues her military history teacher used to give. It would have put anyone to sleep.
She slowly pushed herself up, the motion more difficult under the weight of her helmet. One of the moons was gone and had been replaced by two suns that sat low in the sky. The closer sun was double the size of the sun that shone down on Earth. The other was more of a large, bright star in the distance. None of the crew were anywhere to be seen. Even Wilson had disappeared from where he had lain beside her.
‘Hello?’ she called out.
The beeping noise grew more frenzied, and she gave a cursory glance at the display in t
he corner of her visor, which showed her stats. The oxygen level was flashing red and was nearly completely depleted.
She bolted to her feet.
Shit.
She turned and ran towards the habitat, hoping like hell that was where the crew had all disappeared to. The world was still and unnervingly silent as she ran, and all she could hear were her own shallow breaths in and out.
When she reached the habitat, Sloane slammed her hand against the button to open the outer door and entered the airlock. She waited impatiently for the light overhead to turn green, before she finally pulled the helmet from her head.
She couldn’t find the words to describe how relieved she felt the moment she was free of the thing. When the door to the habitat slid open, she could clearly hear the other men’s voices.
‘You guys just left me out there?’ she yelled, as she stormed in. ‘My oxygen was running out. I could’ve died out there!’
‘Well, that would’ve been one less problem for us,’ Skinner said, smirking as he laid out his bedroll. ‘Or are you going to sabotage the habitat too?’
Sloane bristled at the insult, but Murphy saved her from responding. ‘Leave it, Skinner,’ he said. ‘She didn’t sabotage the pod.’ He didn’t lift his eyes from the bowl of food in front of him as he spoke and went straight back to eating as though nothing had happened.
She couldn’t tell if Murphy really believed what he’d said or if he was simply trying to keep the peace. She caught a frustrated look on Skinner’s face though and was grateful Murphy had intervened.
Most of the team had stripped off their space suits already and were dressed in the special long johns that they wore underneath. Only Dean and Wilson were still wearing their suits. Dean was hovering over Wilson, who lay on a table, and Sloane could see he was methodically checking Wilson over.
She began to strip out of her suit, leaving on just the generic jumpsuit everyone on the Explorer wore. She’d had it on when she’d stolen the suit and hadn’t exactly had time to find something more appropriate for space travel.
In Ice We Burn (The Liftsal Guardians Book 1) Page 3
