by Lea Linnett
“Silas?” Noe’s face went pale. “Who the fuck is Silas?”
“He’s another alien,” Bree said, laughing sharply. “Wow, that sounds insane, doesn’t it? Just another alien…”
A smile crossed Noe’s face. “Yeah, it’s… I know the elders always went on about how advanced they were and how they ruined the planet and whatever, but if it weren’t for the earthquakes and the big cats staring us down whenever we left the Barracks, I’d have hardly believed their stories.”
“Right? Aliens from outer space? Ancient human cities made of glass and metal?”
“So crazy.”
“But it’s real,” Bree marveled. “So real.”
“You would know. You’ve gotten a real eyeful of at least one of these aliens, right?”
Bree looked away. “Not so much as you’d think.”
She held her breath as Noe’s eyes narrowed, but to her relief, she left the topic alone. “Anyway. Tell me about this escape. You said we’d get a… what?”
“A transport,” Bree said, and when Noe just blinked at her, she added, “It’s what they call their spaceships.”
“I’m sorry, you expect me to get on a fucking spaceship?” Noe asked. “Who’s going to drive? Him?”
“I… didn’t get a chance to ask that far.”
“Bree, you know we can’t let him come with us, right? Sure, he might get us out of here, but we’d be leading him right to our goddamn doorstep.”
“He’s as much sub-species as the two of us—”
“I don’t care if he’s sub-species.” She grabbed Bree’s arm, forcing her to look her in the eye. “He’s not human. He doesn’t belong with our people.”
“And he doesn’t belong here, either,” Bree snapped. “None of the sub-species do. The levekk treat them like second-class citizens.”
“So? You want to change how their entire civilization works? It’s not our world, Bree!”
“Then our world must be pretty damn small!”
Noe sighed. “Look,” she said softly, threading her fingers through Bree’s. “I’m not gonna judge you for caring for him. You’re right—you were alone here. I can’t blame you for looking for help. All I’m saying is, don’t get too attached. He can’t come with us, and we sure as shit can’t stay here. Our worlds, they… they just can’t mix like that.”
Bree’s eyes widened, her jaw tightening. “Noe…”
“And whether you like it or not, we might have to cut him loose,” the blond insisted, her gaze hardening. “For his sake.”
Bree’s stomach turned, and for a moment, she wanted to shake off her friend’s comforting hand. “I can’t use him to get out of here and then just abandon him,” she said. “I couldn’t live with myself.”
Noe grimaced, squeezing Bree’s fingers. “You might have to.”
---
When one hungry night and morning dragged by with no sign from Marek, Bree started to grow nervous. There had been no more attempts at interrogating them. No one had brought them food. No one had even come to check on them.
“Are you sure we can’t pull this thing off the wall?” Noe called through the open bathroom door, her head precariously close to the toilet. “It’s gotta go somewhere.”
“If you want to climb through a tunnel full of shit, be my guest,” Bree muttered. She sat cross-legged on the end of the bed, her chin resting on her fist and her eyes glued to the door. She’d been sitting this way for close to an hour, but it felt like longer. “Besides, I tried that when I first got here.”
Noe’s blond head whipped around, and although Bree couldn’t see it in her peripheral vision, she knew the woman was scowling. She’d been doing a lot of that since their conversation about Marek.
“Well, maybe it’ll budge with two of us pulling.”
“We just have to wait, okay?” Bree said, running her hand through her hair. “We need to give him time.”
“What happened to you? You were never one to sit back and let the world pass you by.” Noe came and leaned her hip against the bathroom door, crossing her arms. “I remember when Luis tried to say you were too young to join the hunting parties when we were fifteen. You fought back, said it should be about skill, not age, and he told you to prove it. You went ahead and shot three fake deer targets in the eye and then asked him whether that was proof enough.”
“He still said no.”
“So? You grabbed your arrows and did it over and over again until he said yes. Where’s that Bree disappeared to?” Noe asked.
“Maybe I’ve recognized after all these years that the hunt is supposed to be about patience. Sometimes, you have to wait for the right moment when your prey passes within your sights.”
“And sometimes, you have to make those moments, Bree. Set a trap, follow a herd, whatever it takes to keep your people fed.”
Bree sighed, finally glancing up at her friend, who returned the stare with a raised eyebrow. “I know it feels like we’re giving up, Noe, but we’re not. We’re waiting for a signal, so we know the right moment to strike. Say we break out now—where will we go? Right into one of Urek’s traps, probably.”
“Fine, fine. You made your point.” Noe waved a hand dismissively. “We’ll wait, but that doesn’t mean I have to sit on my ass.”
“Great. Do what you like.”
The blond scoffed and turned away. “You’ve gotta get your fight back, mon amie.”
Two more days passed, but at least the hunger was becoming a dull ache that Bree could ignore. Noe had given up on the bathroom and had started in on the window by Bree’s bed again, but this was worse, because now Bree couldn’t even escape her by hiding under the sheets.
“Must’ve been some great alien dick to have you mooning around like this,” Noe snapped as she picked at the seal on the window. Outside, the sun had almost set, tinging her face pink.
Bree sighed. “If you’ve got a problem, say it.”
“They’re lizards.”
“No, they’re not. They may have some scales, but the rest of them is just like us.”
“I’m sorry, have you seen those weird growths on their heads? And their claws?”
“Marek doesn’t have any.”
“Oh sure, but I bet he’s got bells and whistles on his di—”
“Just stop it, Noe.”
They glared at each other for a long moment, and Bree suddenly wondered if this place really had changed her. The hours she’d spent with Marek had flown by, and apart from when she’d tricked him in the sehela pen, they’d never fought. Meanwhile, after only three days stuck in a room with her best friend, she wanted to strangle her.
It was just the hunger and frustration causing the friction, Bree knew. She and Noe had been through tough periods before, especially during Luis’ more imaginative training camps that took them high up into the mountains, but nothing like this. Here, the very real fear of never seeing their home again gnawed at Bree’s thoughts, wearing her down.
It didn’t help that Marek’s absence felt like a hole in her heart. It had been days since they’d share that tiny slice of paradise in his office, shutting out the loud reality of the levekk mine. Her anxiety over whether or not he was really out there trying to help was bad enough, but it was nothing compared to the sharp, icy voice that said she should have heard from him by now. What if Urek had cottoned on? What if Marek had been banished back to the underground—or worse, harmed in some way?
That was when Bree felt truly powerless, and she flexed her fingers beneath the bedsheets, wishing she had her mother’s bow to calm her.
“That’s it, I’m gonna go ahead and break this fucking thing if I have to.”
Bree’s eyes shot open as Noe picked up the heavy, freestanding chair that had been tucked under the table. Noe grunted, failing to lift it on the first try, and the dark metal made a horrific screech as it dragged across the floor.
“The hell are you doing?”
“Breaking us out of here!”
B
ree climbed out of bed, unsure if she intended to help or hinder even as she placed her hands on the chair. They both froze, staring at each other.
“Well, are you gonna help me?” Noe asked, and she sighed when Bree remained silent. “I’ll shut up about your alien boyfriend for at least a day if you do.”
Biting her lip, Bree tightened her grip on the chair. She looked outside, where the world looked far colder and drearier beneath its wet blanket of cloud than Bree’s room did. She knew the glass had to be thick. The chances of them breaking through it were slim, and whether they succeeded or failed, they were bound to alert the guards. But still…
At least it would be something more than this endless waiting.
After a brief nod, they lifted the chair, both groaning as they struggled to hoist the thing over their heads.
“The fuck is this made out of?” Noe complained, her face turning red. “I thought futuristic technology was supposed to be convenient.”
“It didn’t seem this heavy when it was on wheels!”
They crab-walked towards the window, and Bree was sure that, if they succeeded, this escape attempt would go down as the most embarrassing one in her people’s history.
“You ready?” Noe asked. “On three.”
“One.”
“Two!”
They both froze as the lights suddenly went out, submerging them in true darkness for the first time since Bree had entered this permanently-lit alien world. Seconds later, someone in the hallway cried out.
Their momentum lost, the weight of the chair became unbearable, and Noe yelped as it slipped through her fingers. Bree side-stepped, just avoiding the chair as it threatened to crush her rubber-soled toes, and they shared a look.
Outside, something hit the door and slid down, and then the yellow emergency lights flicked on.
“What the fuck was that?” Noe whispered.
“I don’t know. Let’s use the chair.”
They sprang into action, each picking up one arm of the heavy piece of furniture and heaving it between them.
“Move closer to the door,” Noe grunted, and they shuffled back the way they’d come, holding the legs out before them like a shield.
BZSST!
The door panel turned blue, signaling that someone was about to enter, and Bree held her breath. She knew who she hoped it would be, but they couldn’t take any chances.
The door slid back just as the emergency alarm sounded outside, but Bree barely heard either. Her entire focus was centered on the figure filling the doorway, his golden scales turned almost green in the dim light.
But she recognized him, and even though the heavy chair was cutting into her fingers and their guard lay slumped beside the door, a smile broke out across her face.
“Marek!”
22
Marek breathed in deep, his spine pressing against the wall. He fisted one hand at his side, and in the other he gripped the auto-injector full of sedative. Around the corner, just a few feet away, was Bree’s room, with one of Peris’ security team stationed outside, as they had been ever since the second human had appeared. Evidently, Urek saw her as a threat.
He’d considered just getting it over with and storming around the corner. It was the same guard he’d had a cicarian messenger distract away from Bree’s door a few days earlier, and he seemed young, untested. Marek knew how to handle himself in a fight. Years of working alongside solayans that preferred to settle their disagreements with their fists had taught him that much.
But he was a scientist, not a solayan, nor a soldier like Urek. He knew that strategy, and sticking to the plan, was the only hope he had of getting Bree and her friend out of this place.
Now, he just needed Silas to complete his part of the plan. If he did, the lights should go down in three, two, one…
With a static buzz, the fluorescents failed, plunging Marek into a darkness so complete that he could no longer see his hand before his face, and he made his move.
He only had a few precious seconds. Whirling around the corner, he stormed towards the guard, the auto-injector locked tight in his fist. The hallway was silent except for the thump of footsteps and the thundering of Marek’s heart, which slowed to a crawl as he flew through the darkness.
One flicker of the struggling lights felt like seconds to Marek, and it was just enough time to find his target. He collided with the guard, forcing his weapon off to the side, and then he stabbed the auto-injector into his neck and released its contents.
A pained cry, claws raking a sharp trail down his arm that ripped his sleeve and pulled up the scales beneath, and then the guard dropped like a stone. A moment later, the darkness lifted. Emergency lights lit up blue along the floor, the fluorescents overhead flicking to a dull yellow, and together, they turned the entire corridor a sickly green. Silas’ sabotage had worked, and the upstairs had moved to secondary power. The levekk would retreat to their quarters while the sub-species moved down into the underground.
Marek would not be joining either of them.
He hauled the guard into his arms, grabbed his wrist and pressed his palm to the door panel. His stomach clenched for a half-second, fearing that the guard wouldn’t have access, but then the panel flared with light, and the door slid open.
To reveal two humans standing with their feet apart, both holding up a heavy chair between them, ready for an attack.
Bree’s dark eyes lit up when she saw him, his name on her lips, and she dropped her half of the chair, making her friend curse in another language that Marek recognized: French.
“You are all right?” he asked as Bree cannoned into him, her arms wrapping around his torso. “Urek did not harm you?”
“We’re fine,” she breathed into his chest. “Hungry, but fine. What about you?”
“I am all right. I am sorry I could not come sooner.”
Bree shook her head. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
His gaze flicked up to the other human, who rubbed at her hands, a perturbed expression crossing her face as she watched them embrace. He cleared his throat. “You have recovered from your injury since we met last?”
The human’s eyes narrowed, and she jerked her head away to hide the healing cut on her scalp. “Yeah. Sure. So, you’re here to rescue us? We should probably get going, if so.”
“Yes,” he agreed. The human pushed past them and into the corridor, but in his arms, Bree let out a shaky sigh. He touched her face. “What is wrong, toshaan?”
“Nothing,” she said, squeezing him once before pulling away. “I just… I’m glad to see you. It was hard… waiting.”
Marek’s chest tightened, and he reeled Bree back into his arms, capturing her lips and thrilling at how they melted against his own. They had no time, but he gave into the impulse to run his fingers through her dark hair as he kissed her, hoping he could take away the doubt in her eyes. His heart soared when she kissed him back, even though her fingernails dug into his back as if she were terrified he might disappear.
He could have stayed this way forever, but an impatient sound from the hallway broke them apart. Bree’s chest heaved, her eyes wet when she looked up at him.
“You worried I would not come for you?” he asked, caressing her cheek as if he might wipe the unshed tears away, but she blinked them back.
“No,” she said, avoiding his eye. “I did worry that you couldn’t come. I didn’t know if Urek would still trust you. I was so scared that he’d do something to you and I’d be stuck in that room unable to help.”
“You wish to protect me?” He couldn’t help the swell of warmth that colored his voice, and Bree chuckled.
“Always. You’ve helped me so much. I’ve got a lot I need to repay you for.”
“No,” he murmured. “It is I who owes you, for reminding me what is important.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, the alarms and the mine fading away, and Marek felt that he could drown in Bree’s eyes, which had been turned darker than
the night sky by the dim light.
“You guys coming? Thought we were in a hurry.”
The other human appeared in the doorway, tapping her leather-clad foot impatiently. “Name’s Noe, by the way.”
Marek nodded, and when he stepped away from Bree, she seemed as reluctant to leave his arms as he was to let go of her. “I am Marek. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Noe’s blond eyebrow rose, her expression hard. “Sure.”
Ah, that was a face he recognized. The human looked at him with the trepidation of a sub-species and the contempt of a levekk. His heart sank, and it became shielded by a familiar armor-like acceptance as he said, “And you are correct. We must hurry. Follow me.”
He ushered them away from Bree’s room, his hand finding his human’s elbow even though he knew she didn’t need his help. It was an excuse to touch, a reason to feel her warm skin through the fabric of her bodysuit. He wanted nothing more than to wrap himself around her, to feel that warmth coursing through him, but this would have to be enough.
And it would have to last, because this might just be the last he ever felt of her.
He had a plan to get the humans out. One of the transports had been fueled and prepared for travel. Marek had been ready to pilot it, but after seeing the look in Noe’s eye, he realized that might no longer be an option. That look was one of distrust. It was a look that told him he didn’t belong.
So if this was his last chance to hold Bree, he would take it. Getting her out of here was his only priority, no matter what it cost him.
But this was all beside the point. First, they had a transport to steal.
---
Marek led them through a set of corridors so winding that Bree could barely keep track. She knew the hangar was located a level below, set into the rock of the mountain, but to her surprise, they didn’t head toward the big elevator they’d taken to the underground. Instead, they wound their way south, coming to a stop before a much smaller elevator ringed in black, matte metal.
