by Megg Jensen
With a fluffy robe wrapped around her body, Rell went back into the bedroom. She pulled a fresh set of clothes from the closet, slipping into them as easily as if she'd been wearing simple linen pants and tops her whole life, instead of the long, scratchy robes of the buried.
Months ago, she would have spat in the face of anyone who told her this was where she'd end up. She had liked living underground. It was her destiny and her place to serve the Menelewen Dored, the gods the buried worshiped.
Her entire view on life had changed quickly. So much so she felt like a different person. And perhaps she was. She certainly wasn't a full human like everyone else she'd grown up with. No, inside her coursed dragzhi DNA. It gave her the power of fire, which had served her in tight situations but had also caused the death of her human father.
Rell pulled her damp hair into a ponytail, securing it with a hair tie she'd found the night before. Rell exited the room. A uniformed man stood rigidly outside her door, his eyes focused on the hall in front of them. His skin was so pale it shimmered in the light.
"Hello?" Rell asked.
His head snapped to the side as a smile broke over his face. "Hello, Rell. Can I help you?"
"I'm supposed to head toward the mess hall." She studied his face. It was devoid of emotion, though his eyes sparkled with intelligence.
"Sure. Follow me. I'll guide you there." He turned to the left, then took off down the hall at a brisk pace.
Rell stayed on his heels, taking in everything she could. The silver walls and blue carpeted floor were common enough. The walls were lined with doorways, all closed, hiding secrets she longed to discover. In many ways, the EU ship reminded her of the dragzhi ship she and Torsten had landed on the first time she'd used her power to teleport.
Rell bit her lip, remembering the night before. She'd tried so hard to teleport back to Phoenix. Back to her friends. Back to Torsten. It hadn't worked. The familiar spinning sensation was absent. Eventually, she had given up and fallen asleep.
The man looked over his shoulder, flashing Rell another smile. "It's not far now. I hope you're hungry. They're serving eggs and bacon this morning."
Eggs and bacon? Rell recalled the words from stories about Earth, but she wasn't familiar with the foods. She hoped they tasted better than the krullers, a sort of space barnacle she and Torsten had been given on the dragzhi ship.
A sweet, warm scent wafted toward them as they approached the mess hall. Rell's mouth watered. Her stomach rumbled, and she wondered how long it had been since she'd had a proper meal. It seemed like months ago that Leila had shot her in the stomach, and Torsten had taken her to the dragzhi for healing.
Rell reached for the spot where the bullet wound should have puckered her skin in a deep scar. Her skin was as smooth as it had been before. No sign of the bullet wound. No sign of stab marks from the tark who'd tried to forcibly remove the liquid dragzhi Rell once had inside her body. No sign of the death she'd died when the dragzhi removed it successfully. It was as if she'd been born anew.
As what, she wasn't sure.
"Here we are. Enjoy your breakfast." The man smiled as he gestured toward the open door to the mess hall.
After Rell had entered, he left, heading back the way they'd come.
"Ah, Rell, welcome! I hope you're hungry." Admiral Lee smiled.
"I am." Rell ventured a small smile, hoping to soften the woman for the barrage of questions she had. As she sat, a woman with a blunt blond haircut placed a plate in front of her. Rell grabbed a fork, poking at the yellow blob on the plate, but it was the crispy brown strips that grabbed her attention. "It smells so good. What is it?"
"Bacon." Admiral Lee pointed at the strips. "And eggs," she said, moving her finger to the yellow blob.
Rell tried stabbing the bacon with the fork, but it was too crisp. She set the fork down and grabbed it with her fingers. She took one bite, and her eyes closed in ecstasy. It was the best food she'd ever tasted.
"This is amazing. Where do you get bacon?" Rell asked.
"We'll discuss that later." Admiral Lee said. "How was Cordan? I trust he guided you here without incident?"
"Yes," Rell said, swallowing a bite of the eggs. They weren't as tasty as the bacon, but they were hearty. "Thank you."
"Good. Could you tell he wasn't human?"
Rell glanced back over her shoulder, though the man was long gone. "Not human?"
"Cordan is a cyborg. A robot that looks and behaves like a human."
Rell tried to hold in her shock, though she feared she'd done a poor job. She didn’t want to show her ignorance.
Admiral Lee laughed. "No, don't feel bad. I purposely didn't tell you so I could gauge your reaction. It's so rare we meet someone who doesn't know about cyborgs. It was a good test of Cordan's skills."
Rell gulped. "Are you…?”
Admiral Lee rested her hand on Rell's. "Feel the warmth? I'm as human as you. Cordan's hand would be much cooler."
Rell finished her breakfast as Admiral Lee watched her. "Thank you so much for rescuing me from the dragzhi. I was wondering when I can go back to Phoenix."
Admiral Lee's smile faded. "I have some bad news for you, Rell. I wanted to ease you into it, but I wasn't quite sure how."
Rell attempted to maintain a straight face while her heart pounded. "What is it?"
"We were able to get you, but your planet... It was destroyed by the militant dragzhi before we could stop them." Admiral Lee pointed a small handheld device at a nearby window, pushing a blue button. A set of metal shutters rolled opened, and Rell could see what lay in the distance.
Rocks everywhere, floating in space.
"No," Rell whispered, wishing she'd eaten less. Suddenly she felt like throwing up.
"I'm so sorry." Admiral Lee rested her hand on Rell's again. "But at least you're safe with us."
"I want to go back to my room now." Rell stood, her chair clattering to the floor behind her. Before Admiral Lee could answer, Rell fled the mess hall, tears streaming down her cheeks.
7
Rell sat on her bed, her chin in her hands, her eyes glued to the window. Every so often, a piece of debris would float past. She wished her room was on the other side of the ship so that she could see all of it at once. Another part if her was glad it wasn't. At first, she hadn’t paid much attention to the window, assuming anything floating outside was space trash. But it wasn’t.
Torsten. Rutger. Malia. Her fire dragzhi father. Even Leila. Gone. The planet just a mess of space rock.
How could it have happened? Why now?
A tentative knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Rell took in a shuddering breath before standing. She dragged herself to the door, pressing a button to open it.
A woman with long red hair stood outside the doorway, her dark brown eyes soft and her red lips in a slight frown. "I'm Dr. Anderson. Can I come in?"
Rell stood to the side, gesturing to the doctor to enter her room. After setting a tablet on the table, Dr. Anderson settled on a chair, crossed her legs, and rested her hands in her lap. "Close the door, Rell, and sit down. I'd like to talk to you."
Rell nodded as she pressed the button to close the door. She sat on the bed, tucking one leg underneath her.
"I can't imagine how you must feel," Dr. Anderson said, leaning forward.
"I'm feeling everything," Rell admitted. "Anger. Disbelief. Sadness. Regret. I can't process any of it right now."
"I understand." Dr. Anderson relaxed into the chair. "I know you don't want to hear this now, but you will survive this. I'm here to help you start."
Dr. Anderson must be some sort of counselor, Rell realized. Underground, they'd had people who served in that capacity, helping others deal with devastating circumstances. Her mother had seen one after Rell's father died, but Rell wasn't allowed to speak to the counselor. She knew now her mother had been trying to protect Rell's powers from discovery. But back then it had felt more like punishment.
Rell rested her face in her hands. She
had so many questions. She wasn't even sure where to start. "I'd like to know more about how it happened. When? How long did the dragzhi have me on their ship?"
"I'll do my best to answer all of your questions." Dr. Anderson reached for the tablet she'd set on the table. "Let's see," she said under her breath as her fingers moved across the screen.
Dr. Anderson set the tablet down, looking into Rell's eyes. "There was only one of our ships and thousands of theirs. There wasn't anything we could do to save them. It was just yesterday that our ship was contacted by the dragzhi dissidents. They claimed to have a human on board, one they no longer had need of."
Rell thought of the dragzhi she'd spoken with. She'd finally seen the three become one. When liquid, fire, and rock combined, they became something far larger, far greater. A great winged beast covered in scales, with talons as long as Rell's body. Moving as gracefully as a stream, strong as rock, flames of fire from its mouth. It truly was a fearful thing.
She shuddered, goosebumps traveling from her shoulders to her toes.
"I know this is hard. We can stop whenever you want." Dr. Anderson offered a small smile. "I'm here to help you, not push you."
Rell waved a hand in the air. "No, it's okay. I need to know everything. I might as well find out now. The sooner I know, the sooner I can start to heal."
"I think, given time, you'll heal beautifully. I can already see your strength." Dr. Anderson leaned back in the chair. "There is something else you should know. You're not the only inhabitant of Phoenix on our ship."
Rell sat up straight, her heart pounding. Torsten? Could it be?
"A man named Joshua."
Rell's hope sank to the bottom of her stomach, but she couldn't restrain her curiosity. "How did Joshua end up on this ship?"
"He was in a shuttle with three others. We returned them to Phoenix, but Joshua was injured. We took him for medical care."
"Three others?" Rell didn't need confirmation. She knew who they were. Torsten, Malia, Rutger, and Joshua had taken her to the dragzhi ship to be healed. "And you're sure they went back to Phoenix?"
"Absolutely." Dr. Anderson nodded. "One of our pilots took them back himself. He returned a few hours later without them. His official report says he dropped them off with promises to return soon with some of our people to help them." Dr. Anderson paused. "It wasn't long after that the dragzhi returned and blew up the planet."
Rell’s eyes, again, welled with tears. So it was final. Torsten was gone. Forever.
"Do you want to see Joshua?" Dr. Anderson rested a hand on Rell's trembling shoulder.
She shook her head. The only person she wanted to see was Torsten. The lumbering acolyte who'd lectured her on her faith was the last person she wanted to see.
"He expressed interest in seeing you. How about I tell him you're not ready yet?"
Rell shrugged. She supposed she should feel some connection to Joshua since they were the only two survivors from Phoenix. But she couldn't muster an iota of interest. "Whatever you want to say is fine, as long as no one forces me to talk to him until I'm ready."
"It will be sooner than you think." Dr. Anderson stood, making her way toward the door. "I'll check on you again later this afternoon. Whenever you're hungry, feel free to make your way back to the mess. They always have something warm ready since we're all on different schedules." She offered one final smile, then slipped out the doorway.
Rell stood and walked to the window. She pressed her fingers against the glass, watching the occasional piece of debris fly past her window.
"Torsten," she whispered. "I'm sorry. So sorry."
Rell collapsed on her bed. Devastation soon gave way to sleep. She drifted off thinking of the times she'd had with Torsten. All the good. All the bad. All the mistakes she'd made and could never correct haunting her memories.
8
After three days of traversing the desert, Torsten began to worry. Their water was nearly half gone. By sunset of the next day, they'd have to make a choice: turn around and head back to the tower or keep going in the hope they might find the other humans.
It was a topic most of them continued to ignore. Except Chuck. He couldn't stop talking about it. Torsten had nearly reached his breaking point with the man. If Chuck weren't Rutger's brother, Torsten would have sent him back to the tower ages ago.
His eyes met Malia's, and her expression echoed all of his fears. She, too, was concerned. She, too, was afraid to admit defeat.
"Hey, bald girl," Chuck called out from behind them. "Why hasn't your hair grown back yet? We've been out here for days. You should have some stubble."
Torsten noticed Malia's fists tighten at her sides. He'd never asked her about her lack of hair. Not only did Torsten not care, but also he also figured it wasn't his business.
"Cut it out, Chuck." Rutger's annoyed tone was obvious to everyone.
Everyone except Chuck.
"I want to know." He reached up, rubbing the stubble on his cheeks. "I'd like a shave, too, if you're hiding something in that bag that could be useful."
Torsten gripped the hilt of his electric sword. He'd be happy to shave Chuck's face with his blade. And if he slipped and cut off the guy's head, oh well.
"Come on! What's your secret?" Chuck called out.
Malia's head snapped around, her eyes blazing. "I have a medical condition called alopecia. I can't grow hair. Notice my eyebrows are missing, too?" In a huff, she turned around and stalked ahead of all of them.
"She doesn't have hair... anywhere?" Chuck asked, incredulous, his eyes roaming Malia's body. "Not even—“
Chuck couldn't finish his question before Rutger punched his brother in the mouth. "Shut up."
Chuck rubbed his cheek. "Hey, little brother. That hurt." He spat a wad of blood to the side.
"Good." Rutger took off in a run, catching up with Malia.
Chuck nudged Torsten with an elbow. "He loves her, doesn't he?"
"Yeah," Torsten mumbled. The last thing he wanted was to discuss Rutger and Malia's relationship with Chuck.
"That's good. I haven't seen him happy in years. Not since we were little kids and things were different. Before all the bad stuff happened."
Torsten couldn't help but be intrigued. Rutger had never mentioned anything bad from his past. But it wasn't his place to pry. "Rutger's in a good place. Purposely offending Malia won't help the two of you be any closer."
Torsten thought of his sibling. He and Leila had fought, repeatedly, but he couldn't imagine ever purposely hurting his sister. No matter what she did.
"I didn't mean to. I was just surprised and curious. No harm meant." Chuck rubbed his eyes. "Glad the sand isn't blowing this morning."
"Yeah, me too." Torsten's scarf hung around his neck, rather than over his face. It was far more comfortable and easier to breathe like that.
The two walked in silence. Torsten wasn't good at small talk. Besides, he had nothing else he wanted to say to Chuck.
Instead, he spent the time scanning the distance, looking for anything that might give away the location of the tark. All he could see in the distance was a rocky outcropping. It never seemed to get any closer, no matter how far they walked each day.
Torsten knew it must be where the tark were hiding. It had to be. He remembered seeing it the last time he’d been in the desert. When the tark had taken Rell and she'd escaped, she'd happened upon Torsten and Rutger the same night. They couldn't be too far away.
Torsten hadn't had a chance to ask her before everything had gone wrong. There was too much left unsaid between them, answers he would never hear.
His eyes fell on Rutger and Malia again, their hands intertwined. Torsten couldn't help but be happy for them and jealous at the same time.
Malia abruptly ripped her hand away from Rutger. She grabbed her shotgun from her hip, holding it steady at her waist.
"What is it?" Torsten asked, running up alongside her, his eyes scanning the horizon.
"There's something ou
t there." Malia's eyes narrowed as she pointed the barrel of her shotgun to the left.
Torsten squinted. There it was. A moving form. "At least it's not one of those mwunbas. It's too tall."
"And it has long hair," Rutger said. "I don't remember them having long hair."
"It's a human, I'm sure of it," Malia said, her finger resting easily on the trigger.
"Then we're close. I knew it." Torsten held himself back from pumping a fist in the air. He jumped up and down, waving at the person.
"They're walking really slow." Malia's finger stayed on the trigger. "I don't feel good about this."
"Maybe they don't see us," Torsten said. He waved more enthusiastically.
The figure stopped.
It rubbed its eyes.
It looked toward them again.
"Hello!" Torsten called out as loudly as he could, his voice cracking with the effort.
The figure took off in a staggering run, coming at them quickly. Before Malia could pull him back, Torsten ran toward the figure. There was something familiar about the way it moved.
As Torsten got closer, he could make out blonde hair streaming behind the person.
It couldn't be.
"Tor!" She called out, her voice cracking.
"Lei!" He couldn't believe it. He'd come upon his sister, of all people, in the vast desert. The odds were overwhelmingly against it, and yet, there she was, stumbling toward him.
Leila took three final steps, collapsing in Torsten's arms. She ran her tongue over her cracked, dry lips, trying to say something. Torsten thrust his water flask into her shaking hand.
"Shh. It's okay." Torsten let Leila place all of her weight on him as they made their way back to his friends.
"Who is that?" Chuck asked, curious.
"Malia, put the gun down." Torsten shot her an angry look. "It's Leila."
"I know exactly who it is." Malia held the gun steady. "She tried to kill Rell last time we saw her. Twice, in fact. No way am I putting my gun down."
"Malia! Now!" Torsten helped Leila settled on the sand. "Let's make camp."
