by Rinelle Grey
He checked outside as soon as he realised his predicament. Marlee and Nelor had only been gone a little over an hour, but already the snow fell heavily and the howling wind grew with each passing minute. To make matters worse, the snowfall had changed the surrounding area so much that he didn’t trust himself to pick the right path. It was safer to remain in the ship than to venture out there.
The snowfall was wild, true, but it would blow itself out in a couple of days. Then he’d be able to make it back to the village.
Which was only slightly better than being here. Oh sure, he’d probably survive the winter there, the villagers seemed to have managed so far. But his prospects of repairing the ship weren’t going to look much better in spring or summer. The damage to the rocket booster would prevent him getting off the planet, and the lack of processed anysogen would prevent him getting back to Urslat in his lifetime. Doubly screwed.
He was stuck on this rock.
Not something he wanted to think about. Unfortunately, there was little else to occupy his mind as the snowstorm raged outside. He went over plan after plan to get the Hylista airborne. There was plenty of fuel on this planet. Surely he could find some way to extract it? But even sparing some of his power to research how anysogen was processed didn’t lift his spirits. It was impossible without specialised equipment that he just didn’t have. And it would do him no good if he couldn’t get his ship into the air.
Accepting that he was stranded here was just as hard to swallow. So he went around and around in circles, until two days later, the silence outside told him the snowstorm had stopped. Since anything was better than sitting and contemplating the rest of his life on this planet, Tyris ventured outside.
A blanket of white greeted him. Though he knew the general direction of the village, even a tiny miscalculation could mean he would miss it altogether. This weather didn’t help.
Still, there was no point to sitting in his ship waiting. He pulled some spare clothes out of the closet and stuffed them into a backpack. Adding a few energy bars and a bottle of water for the trip back, he glanced around the room. There really wasn’t much else here that he could use.
No point in taking his video collection, he had nothing to play them on. His tablet computer would be useless when it ran out of charge after a few hours.
He laced up his boots, pulled on his jacket, and stepped out of the doorway. He touched the panel that hid the door controls, and when it slid open, he keyed in a pin code to prevent anyone else entering. Then he stepped down into the woods.
Every step he took away from the Hylista felt like he was saying goodbye to the life he knew. He would never see his little brother again. He pictured Kerit’s face, his blonde hair hanging over one eyebrow. Could almost hear him saying “Hey, bro,” as though he were there. Tyris swallowed.
And Milandra. She wouldn’t need to divorce him now. Playing the grieving widow would earn her far more sympathy points. She’d be lapping it up, while he was stuck here on this rock. Alone.
He wasn’t even sure what he’d be going back to in the village. The thought of heading back into Marlee’s house, hiding there until he felt like he could face reality, felt safe. But the truth was, he had no idea if she would want him back. She’d been excited about the prospect of escape, but would she welcome him so willingly now that hope was gone?
And how long could he really stay with her anyway? Her house was small, and there was only one bed. It wasn’t practical.
Were there any other options? He hadn’t felt this helpless in... well, forever. Even as a teenager, he’d had a goal to get into the Space Force, and his parents had supported him. For the first time in his life, he was completely alone and helpless.
As he walked, he lost all sense of time and direction. He paid little attention to his surroundings, and the cold seeped in through clothes that were woefully inadequate for the temperature, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He just trudged on, putting one foot after the other, because he had nothing else to do.
A scream split the silence, and his head jerked up. Without stopping to think, Tyris ran towards the sound.
It took him a few agonising minutes to reach the spot on the banks of the creek. His eyes searched the area that was now eerily silent, drawn to a huddled heap on the bank, dark fabric standing out against the white snowdrift.
He broke into a run, dropping his backpack on the ground and kneeling down. Marlee turned and looked up at him, her face ashen.
“Are you hurt?” Tyris asked, still gasping for breath.
She clung to him, clenching her teeth in pain. “I slipped on the stone. Twisted my ankle.”
Tyris looked down towards her feet and realised they were still in the freezing water. Without wasting a moment, he gripped her under her armpits and pulled her back a couple of feet, then stripped off her sock to examine her ankle. “Does this hurt?” he asked, pressing it in a couple of places.
Marlee winced. “A little.”
“That’s good,” Tyris said. At this point, it would be more concerning if she couldn’t feel anything. He rifled through his backpack, pulling out a pair of socks. They weren’t as thick as hers, but at least they were dry. He stripped off both wet socks, and replaced them with the dry ones, before looking up at her. “What were you doing out here on your own?”
“I was worried you weren’t coming back.” Her lower lip trembled.
“Of course I was coming back,” he said roughly. “I just had to wait for the storm to pass.”
“Oh,” Marlee said, her voice small. It was obvious she thought he was stupid enough to put himself into serious danger. Tyris ignored the fact that she was nearly right.
He helped her to sit up. “What were you going to do if I wasn’t coming back anyway?” he teased, hoping to keep her spirits up.
Marlee looked at him stubbornly, and if she had been standing, she surely would have stamped her foot. “Drag you back, you idiot.”
Tyris hid a grin, and had an inkling of why Nelor let himself be bossed around. She was cute when she was angry.
It was the first time he had smiled in two days. What was it about her that did that? Made him forget, even for a moment, that his situation was completely hopeless? He’d been worried that she wouldn’t want him back in her house, yet here she was, out in the weather they all seemed so afraid of, because she was worried about him. He looked down at her flushed face inches from his, her eyes sparkling with determination and had a sudden and inexplicable urge to kiss her.
As though she could sense his thoughts, her expression turned serious, and she met his gaze without wavering. His eyes darted to her lips, full and moist, then back to her eyes. He moved his mouth minutely closer to hers then paused. Her eyes didn’t leave his, and her lips parted. She seemed to be barely breathing. He was sure he wasn’t.
Then a shiver shook her body violently. Tyris pulled back, crashing back to reality with a jolt. He shouldn’t be taking advantage of her, especially not now. They were sitting in the snow on the banks of an icy creek, miles from anywhere.
Marlee watched him with disappointment in her eyes. Or was she just cold?
They needed to get indoors, somewhere warm. The Hylista was closer than the village, but it was in the wrong direction. The sky was still clear, but he had no idea how long it would last. He couldn’t risk taking her back to the ship.
They’d have to head for the village. He reached into his backpack and handed her a chocolate bar. “Here, eat this. You need to keep your strength up.”
Marlee looked at him suspiciously. “What is it?” she asked.
“Try it and see,” Tyris suggested.
Marlee took a tiny bite of one corner. Her eyes widened, and she took another, larger bite. She looked up at him in amazement. Then to his amusement, she demolished the rest, as though she was afraid it might disappear if she waited. “Do you have more?”
That won a laugh out of Tyris. “I do, but I think I might save it.”
“For what?”
“In case I need to bribe you later.”
Marlee’s eyes narrowed. “That won’t work, you’re coming back with me, whether you like it or not!”
“You don’t need to convince me,” Tyris said. “I was already on my way back. But I may need it in the future. I suspect it’s going to be a long six months.”
Marlee was silent, understanding the importance of his words without him having to spell it out. He held his breath, waiting to see what her reaction would be.
“You don’t need to bribe me,” she said quietly. “You can stay with me for as long as you like.”
Emotion choked up his voice. He wanted to say that she didn’t have to offer, but he had nowhere else to go. He swallowed. “Thank you,” he managed.
Marlee just smiled at him and held out a hand for him to help her to her feet. He pulled her up carefully. Even so, she stumbled and fell against him, and he caught her automatically.
Her chest pressed up against his, and he felt the curves hidden under her bulky, outside clothes. Her face was only inches from his, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold. She caught her breath sharply, and her eyes flicked up to him.
What if he didn’t have to be alone? She was cute, and she seemed to like him. If they were together, he wouldn’t feel so alone and helpless.
He blinked. What was he thinking? What about Milandra? True, he might never see her again, but could he really just forget her that easily? And Marlee obviously still cared about Nelor. He didn’t want to disrespect those feelings either.
He stepped back a little, but still kept hold of her in case she fell. “Do you think you can walk?”
Marlee looked at him strangely for a moment then put her foot on the ground and tested to see if it would take her weight. She winced, but nodded. “I think so.” Then she looked ahead. “But how are we going to get back across the stream?”
Tyris looked at the stepping stones and marvelled that Marlee had made it the first time. With his longer stride, he could probably get across them, but Marlee, with her injured foot, definitely couldn’t. “We’ll have to find somewhere else to cross.” He glanced up and down the stream, debating which way was better, but they both looked similar. He chose upstream, assuming that as the stream flowed down, it would only collect more water from the melting snow.
They walked for several hundred yards, Marlee leaning on Tyris’s shoulder and hobbling on her injured ankle. Tyris began to worry. The longer they took to find a way across, the longer they were out in the cold. Even once they crossed the stream, they still had quite a walk, and Marlee’s injured ankle slowed her down. He debated giving up and going back to the stepping stones when ahead of them he saw a tree that had been brought down by the storm.
It created a perfect bridge across the stream, and it only took him a few minutes to clear most of the branches in the way. Marlee’s teeth were chattering, and Tyris’s own fingers and nose were numb. Once they crossed the stream and retraced their steps back to the stepping stones, Tyris encouraged Marlee to walk faster.
Time blurred and all Tyris could do was focus on moving one step at a time. Marlee soldiered on, not mentioning her ankle, but pain furrowed her brow. He would not let her give up. By the time they reached the edge of the trees, he was half carrying her. Several hundred metres of stirred up muddy fields with patches of partially melted snow still stretched in front of him.
He had never been more relieved to see someone than when Nerris and Kalim struggled through the mud toward them. “What happened?” Nerris asked.
“Stubborn woman came looking for me,” Tyris managed to gasp out. “Twisted her ankle crossing the stream. Had to bring her back.”
Nerris didn’t ask any further questions, just took Marlee’s now unresisting body from Tyris and struggled back towards the village with her. Kalim took Tyris’s arm and helped him cross the final distance.
Finally, they were both sitting rugged up in blankets in front of the fire inside the village hall. Marlee’s face was white as a sheet, but her eyes fluttered open when her mother pressed a cup of tea to her lips. She drank it gratefully before lapsing into a fit of coughing. Karla checked Marlee’s ankle, decided it was just a sprain, and prescribed a few days’ rest. As he sipped at his tea, feeling the warmth flood through him, Tyris was equally relieved to see colour returning to Marlee’s cheeks.
“That was a reckless thing to do, Marlee. You could have died!” Tyris could see the unshed tears in Yasmyn’s eyes and knew her scolding was out of concern, despite the rough and angry tone.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Marlee said, eyes downcast. Then she looked up and gave him a brilliant smile. “But I did it. I brought him back!”
Unfortunately, that comment made Yasmyn turn on Tyris. “And you, young man, staying out there in the first place, encouraging Marlee to come out after you. Don’t think you’re going to get off lightly.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I was on my way back,” he added defensively. “I didn’t think anyone would come looking for me.”
“Well, I’ll forgive you, because Marlee is okay, but you’ll have to learn that we look after each other in this village,” Yasmyn said sternly.
Marlee shot her an angry look, and opened her mouth, but didn’t speak.
Tyris bit back a sigh. Yes, he needed to learn how to fit in. “Yes, ma’am,” he said meekly. He suspected his first lesson in fitting in would be to learn to listen to the council members. Well, he could manage that. He was used to taking orders.
Yasmyn nodded approvingly. “I’ll see you both home.”
Practicing his listening skills, Tyris nodded. “Thank you,” he said, surprised to find that he was, after all, grateful. He suspected Marlee wasn’t going to be much help in getting things organised, and he had no idea what to do.
Yasmyn took her daughter’s elbow, but Tyris stepped in. “Let me,” he said, and before Marlee or her mother could protest, he picked her up entirely. She let out a little squeak then settled against him, tucking her head into his shoulder. Tyris rather liked the feeling. Carrying her was not a strain. She didn’t weigh much more than Milandra, despite her extra curves.
He really needed to stop comparing her to his wife. It wasn’t helping any. Especially not since Marlee kept on winning the comparisons.
He pushed that thought out of his head.
Yasmyn looked at him for a moment, then gave him a rare smile, and led them both back to Marlee’s house. Though the ground had been trampled hard by years of trudging feet, it was still slippery. Tyris concentrated on keeping his balance.
Inside was only slightly warmer than the chill outside. Tyris realised why, as he settled Marlee by the cold fire. He thought it was completely out until Yasmyn pushed aside the ashes and found a few still glowing embers. Putting some leaves and bark around it, she blew on it gently until it caught. He should learn how to do that. He would learn how to do that.
The fire burned brightly and the house began to warm up. Marlee smiled sleepily over at him and snuggled in her blankets as her mother heated some stew. Once they had eaten and warmed up, Marlee’s mother left them, admonishing them to get some rest.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Tyris enjoying the feeling of the warmth creeping slowly into his skin. Finally, seeing Marlee’s eyes beginning to droop, he said, “We’d probably better listen to your mother and get some rest. Only this time, I’ll take the floor and you can sleep in the bed.” Marlee opened her mouth to say something, but he shook his finger at her, “No arguments, missy. Bed it is for you.”
“Yes, Tyris,” she said meekly. “Only I put the pallet away, so there is only the bed.”
Some of his discomfort must have shown in his face, for she added defensively, “Well, you weren’t here, and I kept tripping over it.”
Tyris sighed. “Where is it? I‘ll make it up.” It was the last thing he felt like doing, the warmth having seeped into his bones, relaxing them.
Tyris searched her face for any hidden agendas, but he saw only sleepiness. Fairly sure that he himself had no such intentions, he hesitated for only a moment before nodding. He would get the pallet out in the morning, he promised himself as he crawled in beside Marlee, surprised at how much more comfortable her soft warmth made the hard bed.
Chapter 11
A dull throbbing in Marlee’s ankle pulled her from her dreams. Not even a hint of dawn light made it inside the house yet. She felt a presence in the bed beside her, and for a moment, thought it was Nelor. Then she remembered.
Sometime during the night, she and Tyris had slipped from their careful positions on opposite sides of the bed to lie side by side, and now Marlee’s hip rested snuggly against his. She should have felt the urge to move away from him, but instead, the thought of how near he was sent a little flutter through her body, and reminded her of their nearness at the stream. Had Tyris really been about to kiss her, or had she just imagined it?
She lay there with her eyes closed for a moment. His breathing was soft, and he muttered something unintelligible. His hand fell against her side, sending another shiver through her along with a pang of guilt. She shouldn’t be feeling this way about Tyris. She loved Nelor.
And now she could never be with him. She hadn’t talked to Tyris about his ship yet, but he seemed to have given up on repairing it, until after winter at least. There would be no escape from Zerris, no chance to be with Nelor on another planet. Instead, she was here with Tyris. She’d told him he could stay as long as he liked. Since Nelor wouldn’t be back, he might as well.
It would probably buy her another week or two before her mother started pushing her about finding a new partner again. Tyris muttered something again and rolled over, and the movement in the bed caused her ankle to throb more.
