The Dead Planet Series: Exodus (Book 1)

by Drew Avera

  Chapter 30

  Kara and I stood in front of the mirror in our new clothing. The smooth cloth was designed to keep you cool in the heat and keep you warm in the cold. Kara looked like a different person now that she was dressed in all black. The black pants and black top were a stark contrast from the silver gauntlet that was wrapped around her wrist. She completed her new look by pulling her hair back into a thick braid that fell halfway down her back. I have to admit, she looked the part of resident bad ass, and I was impressed.

  "It's a good look on you," I said and she starred into the mirror mesmerized by how much she had changed.

  "Thank you. It feels right, but I don't know about you."

  "What about me?" I asked.

  "There's something missing that we need to complete your look," she said as she grabbed my old jacket from my policeman uniform. The jacket had my rank insignia on the collar that she removed before handing it to me.

  "Put this on," she said. "Don't zip it up though because I want to see what it looks like on you open."

  I pulled the jacket on over my shoulders and let it hang open. The bottom of the jacket rested on the back of my calves and the open front allowed me to have more freedom of movement.

  "What do you think?" I asked as I turned in a small circle in front of her.

  "I think you make the jacket work," she said with a smile. "It definitely completes the look."

  I laughed at what she said, but it really did go pretty well with the new clothes. "Are you ready for lunch?" I asked.

  "Sure. Let’s go."

  Kara and I walked out of the stateroom and headed for the galley. The galley was quite a bit busier than it had been earlier, but the food was well worth the wait. It was essentially the same meal, but I was still expecting the freeze dried food to show up at any time.

  "You really did well with your training today," I said trying to strike up a conversation. Kara was busy shoveling food into her face and just shook her head as she starred over across the galley. "What is it?" I asked as I tried to see what she was looking at. The galley was filled with people and I wasn't sure what Kara had seen.

  She swallowed hard before speaking. "Serus, there is something that I need to tell you, and I want you to keep an open mind. Can you do that?" She asked.

  "Yes, of course," I said. "What is it?"

  "It's Laurel," she said. "She is on this transport."

  "What?" I craned my head and tried to see her, but I couldn't find her face in the crowd.

  "She's over there by the desert bar," Kara said. I looked at where Kara had pointed and could see Laurel standing there. She was dressed in a uniform representing the company that ran the transport ship. My jaw dropped at the fact that other than the uniform she essentially looked exactly the same.

  "I can’t believe it," I said. "I haven't seen her in five years."

  "I've seen her from time to time at the university on business. I haven't really spoken to her for a few years though. It's kind of awkward, you know," Kara said before shoveling more food into her mouth.

  "How so?" I asked.

  "I don't know, it's hard to explain, but she was never really the same after you were recruited. It was like a part of her died and it was hard for me to see her like that. Eventually we just stopped speaking," Kara said.

  "I see," I sat there and looked at Laurel. She was still beautiful with her brown hair and blue eyes. I could see her acknowledge a patron at the desert bar and turn like she was about to leave. I couldn't lose her. I had to speak to her now. "Excuse me a moment," I said to Kara as I stood up and walked towards the desert bar.

  Laurel's back was to me when I stepped up to the bar. "Excuse me, Laurel?"

  She turned to look at me and I was so close to her that I could see my reflection in her eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized who I was. "Serus?"

  "One and the same," I said.

  "I can't believe it's you!" She wrapped me up into her arms as tightly as she could. "I can't believe that you are here, right here!"

  "Yeah, it's kind of a long story about how that happened," I said as I nervously ran my hand through my hair.

  "Are you still with the Agency?" She asked with a little less enthusiasm pouring out of her lips.

  "Actually no," I said. "I'm kind of a fugitive."

  The look of shock spread across her face. "A fugitive?"

  "Yes," I said meekly.

  "Who are you running from?" She asked with grave concern.

  "I'm not really running," I said. "It's a long story and I would love to tell you about it, but now isn't really the time."

  "Alright, I can understand that," she smiled at me and it almost broke my heart. We had been so close to having a life together before it was taken from us. I knew that I still carried scars from that moment, but the thought that she shared those same scars was hard to handle. "I get off shift after dinner tonight. Would you like to meet up then? I can meet you in the cargo bay?"

  "Yeah, sure," I said. "Right after dinner I'll meet you in the cargo bay."

  She smiled and brought me closer to her and kissed me on the cheek. "I look forward to it."

  "Me too," I said as I turned to walk back to Kara, trying hard not to take my eyes off of Laurel, afraid that she would disappear forever. I stumbled and bumped into someone all of a sudden and looked up to see who it was.

  "Excuse me, I'm sorry," I started to finish my sentence, but stopped short as I looked into the eyes of Sorell. He was inches away from me and there was nothing that I could do. I wanted to kill him right then and there, but there were too many people who could get hurt in the process.

  "Serus, I almost didn't recognize you," he smiled and gave a slight chuckle when he said it. "You should watch your step. You never know who you will end up bumping into," he laughed and made a gesture to a policeman standing next to him. Apparently Kara and I were not the only people armed on this transport.

  "I'll take that into consideration," I said as I started to walk away, brushing my shoulder against Sorell's as I did so. I walked over to Kara who was standing next to the table that we had been sitting at before.

  "Is everything alright?" She asked me.

  "Yeah, well at least it will be. Laurel wants to meet me after dinner," I said.

  "That's great, but I was more asking about your encounter with Sorell."

  "Well that's another matter entirely. He came with policemen to guard him."

  "I can see that," she said. "The problem is that now he knows that we are here," her voice carried the weight of concern.

  "It will be alright. You have enough skill at firing your gauntlet that I'm not concerned. Besides I’ll still be here to protect you," I said. "Let's get out of here though."

  Kara followed me down the passageway away from the galley and we headed back to our stateroom. We both needed to get some sleep and both of our gauntlets needed to be charged. This was an afterthought though because tonight I would have an opportunity to be with Laurel for the fire time in five years. Just the idea of seeing her reminded me of the emotions that had been returning to me recently, and I could feel my heart race at the thought of seeing her again tonight.