by D. A. Hicks
Waves sloshed overhead, and I wanted nothing more than a breath of air to ease the pain in my chest. But I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. Her body jerked, and bubbles came out of her mouth. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I didn’t get her breathing soon.
Catita’s face appeared out of nowhere. Pinching Ari’s nose, she pressed her mouth to Ari’s and breathed for her. I released my sister’s hand and kicked my legs, letting my body rise to the surface. Air rushed to my lungs and brought everything around me into focus.
When I returned, the debris had shifted. Catita pointed at Ari’s foot, where it was trapped at an odd angle in the curve of the handrail, which was still attached to part of the poop deck and sinking slowly. After all she’d been through, she couldn’t die like this. It wasn’t fair. Pushing her toes forward until it felt as if the top of her foot would snap in half, I pulled at her ankle with my right hand and freed her. I kicked hard and got us back up to the surface.
“Ari?” I squeezed just below the rib cage to get her to breathe, while the waves tossed us around among the wreckage.
Her head bobbed, then fell limp to the side. I placed a trembling hand over her mouth. When a warm breath left her, I exhaled and hugged her tight. I didn’t know how, but we were still alive.
“You’re stronger than this. Come on.” I did two more compresses against her chest.
I needed to get Ari to inhale. If I waited until we got to shore to do proper CPR, it might be too late for her. I kept pressing while the rip current continued to drag us away.
“Keep trying.” Catita treaded water, eyes shifting from one end of the horizon to the other.
I wanted to assure her we weren’t lost yet, but I didn’t have time to waste. I squeezed just below Ari’s ribs and counted to three. This time she came to, coughing and arms flailing as if she were drowning. In the process, she kicked my shin hard. At least that meant she was still strong enough to swim on her own.
“Calm down.” We both submerged for a moment, then came back up. “I won’t let you go, but you need to help me.”
She nodded, and an immediate relief flushed through my left arm. Resting against my chest, she paddled with her feet in tandem with mine, and that was all the help I needed. I scoured the horizon for a point of reference, until the top part of the Blue appeared to our right.
“We’re fine.” A chuckle of relief escaped my lips.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Catita gasped for air.
I nodded and swam back toward my boat, slowing down every few strokes to make sure Ari was right behind me. As it always happened after the effects of the Ukruum wafers wore off, she looked pale and moved at a denser pace.
“I’m so sorry, Tek.” Ari let me help her up the side ladder to my ship.
“You have to stop doing this.” I grabbed my clothes off the deck. “It won’t bring mom back or change a thing.”
“I know.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek to my chest. “Sometimes, I can’t control this anger.”
“Ari,” I said under my breath, meeting Catita’s gaze as she donned her military uniform. She furrowed her brows as if she truly felt Ari’s pain.
“Dad says he’s found a way to get the cure.” Ari wiped her eyes with both hands.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to send you on yet another wild goose chase.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? After what you put me through tonight…I never would’ve guessed that was a concern for you.”
She gave me a weak smile. “Come see us this weekend? See if this is another one of Dad’s crazy ideas.”
“You know I will.”
“Wait.” Catita half raised her hand. “I still need a ride back to Alexa’s bar? I’ve stayed out here too long.”
“Sun’s out.” Ari rubbed the back of her head. “The marina is crowded with QEC commandos. How are you going to get past them?”
6
Don't Say Good-Bye Yet
Tek
I stepped away from Ari and busied myself with the sails. If the wind kept up, we’d make good time back to the marina. For both our sakes, I hoped Catita’s sister would be there waiting for her. I sat in the captain’s chair and tried to relax, or rather tried not to think about what we’d have to face once we reached the docks.
“Thank you.” Catita touched my shoulder. “Despite the weird night, I’m glad I met you.”
“Me too.” Oddly enough, my words rang true. “Stop by and visit next time you’re in town. You know, if you need a place to hide or something.”
“I didn’t think you’d be funny.” She chuckled.
“You’re the first one to think so.”
Up ahead thin slivers of light spread across the horizon. My heart rate picked up the pace again, as it did every time the uniforms were around. Fear was how we stayed alive. As if the gods had given their blessing for this escapade, we docked next to the other boats with the water splashing gently against the barricades.
By the time we reached the harbor, the morning sun was on full blast. Hiding from the QEC would be damn near impossible. With a bit of luck, if we hadn’t used it all up already, the Martians wouldn’t think it necessary to send out the QEC to look for a first-year cadet. The way I understood it, they were the lowest ranked in the Martian military.
“Why don’t you wait for me below deck?” I asked Ari.
Her eyes drooped closed as she nodded. “Yeah, I need a nap.”
“It was nice to meet you. Stay out of trouble, yeah?” Catita squeezed Ari’s arm.
“Come back and see us soon.” Ari smiled.
“It’ll be two years before we spin back out here. But yes, I’ll stop by.” Catita exchanged a look with me. We were all thinking the same thing. In two years’ time, Ari would not be here.
“Bed now.” Ari pointed to herself.
I wrapped my arm around her waist and helped her climb the steps down to my private cabin. She quietly curled up on my bed and went to sleep. Ignoring the tightness in my chest, I shut the plexiglass cover and walked off the boat.
“Will she be all right?” Catita followed me, staying close to my side as if I had any sort of ability to protect her from her own people.
“She needs to sleep. That’s the best medicine for her right now. I’ll take her home later.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I think your best bet would be to sneak in through the bar entrance. I can wait for Ry outside and bring her to you.”
“Are you going to be okay?” She flicked her thumb behind her toward Ari.
“We’ll keep trying to find a cure for her. That’s all we can do.”
The pity in her eyes told me she knew Ari was in the final stages of Dep. When I’d said we were looking for a cure, I meant we were looking for a miracle.
I stopped when she did and followed her line of sight. Well hell. “The QEC? Are you sure you’re not some sort of criminal? Did you kill someone?” I pulled her off the pier and into an old supply store at the end of the street.
“They’re not here for me. That’s Lady Sonja’s security detail.” She stared at the platoon of immortals crowding the entrance to Alexa’s bar. “It sounds idiotic now, but I just wanted to see the planet, go on a mission with Ry.” She ran a hand through her hair.
“Well, do you see her?” I snuck a glance through the grimy window. “I’ll see if I can get her to come with me.”
“I should turn myself in. I don’t want to drag you into this.” She pulled on her hairband to release her ponytail. The salty ocean breeze clung to her curls as she ran her fingers through them.
I raised my eyebrows at her. “Yeah?”
“You know, any more than I already have.” She offered a half smile, cheeks pink. With the same familiarity she’d been using all night, she reached for me and squeezed my fingers. “Thank you for everything, Tek.”
“Don’t say good-bye yet.” I caught a couple of her tresse
s and fixed them behind her ear. “We still need to find Ry. Come on.” I ambled toward the back of the store. “The store owner is a friend. He might let us use his secret access. It’ll be a straight shot from there to the bar’s alley door.”
“Tek.” Lee stood at attention behind the register when Catita leaned on the glass display.
“She’s with me. She’s a friend.”
“Lots of QEC out there this morning.” His gaze shifted toward the street, then back to Catita. “The situation at the Ukruum fields only made them angrier.”
“I know. Last night was a total clusterfuck.” Only two days ago, I would have called it a damn good plan to rid us of the virus that made the QEC immortal.
“Wait.” Catita turned to me. “That was you? You caused the explosion out on the fields last night?”
“You saw that?”
“Yeah, that’s why Ry sent me to Alexa’s bar. Did you do it?”
Technically—”
“No, don’t tell me. If I end up in solitary, there’ll be an inquiry and I won’t be able to lie.” She braced her hands on her knees and blew out air.
“Lee, Catita needs to get back to Alexa’s bar, unseen.”
Lee rubbed the leathery creases on his forehead. “You’re putting me in a pickle here, son.”
“I know. She’s sort of in trouble because of me.” I met his gaze, and he conceded with a nod.
“Let’s go.” I grabbed her by the elbow and ushered her toward the back of the small building.
Lee’s storage shed had the same setup as Alexa’s with a hidden gate that led to the alley. From there, there were only two ways out—the murky waters of the sound or the street on the opposite end.
When I swung the door open, I ran into a QEC commando in full gear. I recognized Ry’s face immediately, but my heart rate spiked anyway. Every time the QEC showed up, someone died.
“Ry.” Catita ran to her side. “I’m sorry I had to leave. Captain Weston’s unit barged into the bar, and I had to get out of there.”
“Never mind about that. I’ve been pinging you for hours. Why didn’t you answer?”
“I left my comm device in my jacket.”
“Where’s the rest of your uniform?” She eyed me up and down.
“Left it in someone’s yard. Second house off the main road.”
She exhaled loudly, the way she always did when I’d done something stupid. “Let’s get you inside. You can stay there until Lady Sonja and Eli clear out.”
“Ry, this is Tek. He helped me last night.” Catita patted my shoulder.
“Nice to meet you.” Ry smiled, a genuine gesture I’d never seen a commando do. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Glad I could be of service.” I followed Ry and Catita across the pitted, narrow road to Alexa’s place. By anyone’s definition, my promise to help Catita had been fulfilled. But I didn’t want to leave her yet.
Inside, Ry blocked the small hallway that lead to the front of the tavern while Catita and I scurried to the office across from the storage room. When we barged in, Alexa shot to her feet, eyes wide.
“What the hell, Tek?” She leaned on the desk.
“You were right. I found them across the way,” Ry said to Alexa and plopped herself on one of the chairs. “What a fucking night. First the crops, then I lose my sister.”
“I wasn’t lost, Ry.” Catita sat next to her, eyeing Alexa. “I came back just like you asked.”
Catita didn’t know Alexa like I did. But she was right in thinking Alexa’s disposition from last night had changed. She’d been in a foul mood since the QEC arrived a month ago. Now I understood why. Alexa had a one-night stand with an immortal over four years ago. She refused to talk about it then, but I got the sense that for Alexa, their brief affair had meant something. Was Ry that person? After all this time, how was she not over it?
“If you need to, you can use my apartment.” Alexa sat across from Ry, her gaze trained on her.
“Thanks. But that won’t work.” Ry shook her head, smiling. “In broad daylight, we won’t make it far. We wait here.”
In her dark breastplate and high-tech utility pants, Ry looked menacing and imposing. Next to her, Catita seemed younger and more like a civilian.
“So what happened with the crops?” The question flew out of my mouth before I gave it any real thought. Shit. But I wanted to know if at least some minor damage had been done.
“Not much. Just a scare. Lady Sonja saw it as a personal insult to her. As it is, she has little patience for things. But this morning, she was in rage mode.”
So it was as we’d thought. All our efforts had been for nothing. This fight with the immortals would never get us anywhere. If we could call it a fight. A human against an immortal was hardly a fair anything. They were faster and stronger, with all the tech in the worlds. We had nothing. If they wanted to raid our lands, our resources, there was nothing we could do to stop them.
With a loud sigh, Ry rose to her feet. “You three stay. I need to make sure Eli isn’t looking for me.”
The minute she disappeared behind the door, Alexa blew out a breath, dropping her head into her hands. “Jesus, fuck. Why do I keep doing this to myself?”
“We’ll be out of your hair shortly.” Catita glared at her. “If it helps, we’re shipping home soon.”
Alexa squeezed her eyes shut. “No, that doesn’t help.”
“Are we talking days, weeks?” I sat next to Catita. If it were up to me, if we didn’t have the QEC breathing down our necks constantly, I’d ask her to stay a bit.
“A few days.” She knocked her knee to mine.
A ribbon of adrenaline ran through me. By the look in her eyes, I was certain she felt the same. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it tight. I would have loved for tonight to have ended differently, to get more than a few hours with her.
“What is this you think?” I ran the pad of my thumb over the soft skin on her wrist. Like last night when we first touched, an electric spark prickled my skin, but I didn’t pull away. Instead, I let it spread up my arm and chest.
“I don’t know.” Her eyes fluttered closed. “But I feel it too.”
“Two years is a fucking long time to see you again. Don’t you think?”
“Catita.” The door swung open, and Ry rushed in. “All of you, time to go.”
“What happened?” Catita jerked free from me and shot to her feet.
“Sierra told Eli about you.” She gripped Catita’s arm and pulled her to her side. “Alexa and Tek, you need to get out of here now. Go home and stay there for a few days.”
Alexa pursed her lips and darted to the corridor outside her office. When I joined her, a commando as wide as a fridge blocked our path. I made to shield Alexa with my body, but the asshole clocked me right on the side of my face.
I hit the wood floor hard, tasting metal in the back of my throat. Alexa knelt next to me to protect me from a second blow. The commando gripped her arm instead, and she yelped in pain.
“They’re with me, Mak.” A loud crack of bone against bone followed Ry’s voice as she struck him across the jaw.
Mak flew through the air and landed on top of one of the small tables in the front room. He slammed his fist on the top, and the whole thing crumbled like pieces of bread. If they couldn’t kill each other, how would they ever stop? I blinked several times to bring the room back to focus. Or maybe my vision was just fine, and they were too damn fast.
“Tek.” Catita touched the wet on my cheek. “You’ve done enough. Please go home.”
“I got him.” Alexa hooked her arm under my elbow and pulled.
I stood and leaned against the paneled wall. At the end of the corridor, Ry and Mak kept at it in a blur of punches and kicks. A normal person would have been pulverized by now. Why was the commando so pissed at Ry? Because she stood up for us?
“I can’t leave you like this. Come with me. Ry will find you.”
“Captain Weston already knows I�
�m here. It’ll be worse if I run.” She gripped the front of my shirt. “Go, please.” The urgency and fright in her voice made my stomach churn.
“Yeah, Tek.” Alexa tugged on my arm, pointing at the wide window at the other end of the building. “The really angry one is headed this way.”
“That’s Captain Weston. He’s one of the highest-ranking officers on the Epoch. Second only to Lady Sonja.” Her breath hitched, as she shoved me out away from her.
“I’m never going to see you again, am I?” I shuffled back toward the storage room.
“No.” Catita pursed her lips.
Behind her, the angry commando stormed through the door, plucked Mak off the floor, and shoved Ry against the counter bar. This was our only chance to make it out of here, while he was still busy with his own crew.
Every time the QEC descended upon our beach, bad shit happened. The acid burning at the pit of my stomach was the usual fear that lingered after an immortal encounter. Except this time, dread and longing was part of it too. Whatever this thing between Catita and me was, I had to let it go.
7
Out of Uniform. And Out of Place
Catita
Tek disappeared into the dark storage room. A gust of wind lashed down the narrow hallway, carrying a small trace of his scent—a mix of ocean breeze and sweat. Smiling, I stared at the dilapidated red door, breathing him in, memorizing every detail.
Downloading to Earth hadn’t been a mistake. I was glad to have met him. The guy from my dreams had turned out to be way more than I thought. He was brave and kind. Best part was, he didn’t die today as he did in my nightmares. I made a mental note to ask Ry if she was sure she’d never seen him before. Why else would Tek be in my head? Ry messed with my thoughts on the daily. Maybe Tek had been a residual afterthought.
Immortality and the virus had been around for over one hundred years, but we still didn’t know everything about it. Ry and I were Wela’s guinea pigs. Since we were little, she’d been impressed by how well Ry’s compulsion worked on me. She figured it had to do with the fact that we were twins.
