Phoenix Arise: YA Sci-fi Thriller (From the Ashes Book 1) Page 16

  Survival. Using your wits and courage seemed like a good way to face the world. My eyes were drawn to the wasteland stretching between us and the mountains. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

  “If I have any say in it.”

  I struggled to tamp down my unease. Like he said, it was a matter of trust along with a big dash of hope. An attitude I needed to adopt. “What else did you learn to do in a desert?”

  He inhaled sharply, and his eyes darkened to coal. “I learned how to leave people to die.” Rising, he pivoted on his heel and stalked toward the ship.

  “Whoa.” I jumped up and ran after him, pulling him around to face me. “What do you mean by that? Who’s gonna die?”

  “No one.” He looked away. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t shut me out. What did you mean?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “You brought it up.”

  As if the ground held an infinite fascination, his eyes wouldn’t meet mine, even when I tugged on his sleeve. “I lost some friends in the war,” he finally said.

  That would explain his prior comments. “I’m sorry.”

  His hands rubbed his hair. “We were under fire. Too many were hit. I got one woman out, but when I went back, the others had died. I…I didn’t get there in time to save them all. I…” He turned away, leaving me only his anguished profile. “I was scared. After I took the woman in, I…sat in my hovercraft, waiting. I don’t know for what but I couldn’t put that vehicle in gear no matter how hard I tried. I waited too long.” He held up his hand before I could speak. “Who knows what would have happened if I’d left right away? If I’d gotten to them, would they be with their families right now? I’ll never know. Except in here.” He tapped his chest and smiled, but the expression held no joy. “It’s crazy. They called me a hero but I know the truth. I’m a coward.”

  I grabbed his arm when he started to walk away. “Fear’s a damned hard thing to overcome. You’ve learned from your mistake.”

  His laugh was rueful. “Have I?”

  I squeezed his hands. “Please. Find a way to forgive yourself.”

  “I don’t think I can.” He pulled away and dragged his feet toward the ship.

  As we walked back in silence, my brain whirled. No wonder he kept beating himself up every time something happened.

  Too bad he hadn’t figured out that just trying was enough.

  When we reached the ship, I strode over to where Joe and Mandy slumbered on our survival blanket like flaked out pups in the heat. They’d had breakfast, leaving chocolate smeared across their faces.

  The weight of Riley’s gaze dragged me down, but I shut him out.

  Colin stood beside Riley with his arms crossed on his chest, glaring at me.

  We’re leaving. We’re leaving. The words sang through my veins. Leaning over, I shook Joe and Mandy. “Pack your stuff, kiddos. We’re outta here.”

  A short distance away, Tiff and Trey fiddled with their electronics.

  “Where we going?” Tiff asked, looking up at me.

  I crimped my lips together to hold in my rage. If I opened my mouth, I’d scream at her and that would do no good.

  “Lesha?” she asked.

  Trey hopped to his feet and sashayed his butt in the air. “I got it. I got it,” he sang. Fiddling with the dials, he lifted it to his face. “Hello? Anyone out there? Mayday. Mayday.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We rigged a communicator.” Tiff got up and walked over to me. “Trey’s hailing the colony.” Grabbing my arms, she tried to make me dance with her like I used to on Earth but I planted my feet in the sand. “They’ll be here to get us in no time.”

  I yanked away from her. “Great.”

  Her face fell. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me what you did?” Even though I whispered, no one could miss the anger in my voice, especially a friend. “Last night we talked, and you could have…” My voice cracked. “You should have told me then.”

  Her lips curled down. “Oh.” She glanced at Riley. “He told you?” Her trembling hand rose to my face. “Let me explain.”

  I wrenched away. “There’s not much you can say about it, is there? You manipulated things. You manipulated me. And he…” I shook my head. “It seems pretty plain to me.”

  “I—”

  “Don’t. Just, just don’t.” Moving around her, I strode to Trey. “You reached the colony?” I couldn’t wait to talk to Dad. Would they put him on the line and let me speak to him? I just… My shoulders curled forward. I wanted to let someone else deal with things for even one day. Was that too much to ask?

  “Mayday. Mayday.” Trey glared at the device and twisted the dials. “It’s working, but they’re not responding.”

  Joe took it from him and did the same, his little voice chirping. “Mayday! Dad! Please, Dad. Answer.”

  Tugging him up from the ground, I hugged him but spoke to Trey. “Are you using the wrong frequency?”

  “Back on Earth, I learned all about radios. Antique stuff, but it’s what they thought would last the longest here.” A sigh of frustration rushed from his mouth. “They’re not picking up.” He lifted the device again. “Hello? We’re Starship Orion. We crashed in a desert. Anyone out there?”

  Static greeted his words.

  I’d been so close I could have touched him, but with no response, Dad seemed a galaxy away. “You’ll keep trying?”

  His face twisted. “It’s not all a loss. The communicator showed me where the colony is.” His arm rose, pointing east. “Somewhere in those mountains.”

  “Malik and I are heading there. Joe and Mandy, too.”

  “Yes,” Joe breathed. “If Dad isn’t coming for us, we’re going to him.”

  Why hadn’t I seen my brother needed a purpose just like I did? This waiting was stomping on our hope.

  Walking to Mandy, I nudged her up from the blanket and lifted it to shake off the sand. Folded, it fit into my pack beside our vid. I did the same with the others. “We’re not waiting any longer for the colonists to show up,” I told Trey over my shoulder. “We have even more reason to head east, now.”

  Beside Trey, Tiff stared toward the mountains before nodding. “Malik’s right. We need to leave now.” Her eyes met mine, and her spine stiffened. “We’re coming with you. Don’t try to tell me no.”

  “Your choice.” I turned my back on her.

  Malik stooped in front of Mandy. With a piece of the spare blanket he’d cut into triangles, he fashioned a sling around her neck. He loaded her supplies inside then sat back on his heels, studying her face. “You okay carrying this? It’s not too heavy, is it?”

  She shook her head and gave him a gap-toothed grin.

  I glanced at Riley, who sported a fat lip courtesy of Malik. And a lacerated arm courtesy of me. Someone had wrapped it with gauze. His eyes met mine, and the fury shining in them made shivers flee across my skin. We couldn’t leave the ship fast enough.

  Malik fastened two slings around his neck and loaded the tools he’d taken from the ship. A few small plastic containers joined the mix, telling me he’d been back inside the ship scavenging. He adjusted the slings so one hung on his back and the other across his chest, balancing the weight.

  Riley whispered with Colin before stalking to us. “What’s going on?” His glare passed from Malik to me.

  I backed up. Being anywhere near him felt toxic. “We’re leaving.”

  “We are,” Joe growled, his hands clenched to fists. “Don’t even try to stop us.”

  Scarlet flushed Riley’s cheeks, combining with the purple bruises to make him a caricature of himself. His good arm flapped toward the desert. “There’s nowhere to go. Put your stuff down. Both of you. Now.”

  “The colony’s in the mountains,” Malik said. “I guess we’ll start there.”

  “That’s crazy, dude,” Colin said from beside Riley.

&
nbsp; “You can’t leave.” Panic blazed in Riley’s voice. He turned pleading eyes to me. “Lesha, don’t. You’ll starve. Without you here, I’ll—” His spine stiffened. “Stay with the ship. It’s the rules.”

  I shoved the damp hair off my face with trembling fingers. “Do you really think rules have anything to do with this? You say we’ll starve out there. Well, I’ve got news for you. We’re starving here. At least by leaving, we’re doing something.” Trumping up some hidden resolve, the only thing keeping me from screaming, I turned away.

  “What about Piper?” Felicia asked Malik. “Did you find her?”

  “Hold on,” he said. His chin lifted, and he glared at Riley. “Maybe you should reconsider your decision to stay with the ship.”

  “What do you know?” Riley scowled. “This is why you’re not in charge.”

  “Maybe I can change your mind.” Malik glanced at Joe. “Hey, Joe, can you, Mandy, and Felicia go sit on the stairs for a minute? Stay within shouting distance but… I need to talk with the others.” He waited while they left the shade of the ship, then pulled something from his pack and tossed it on the ground. “I didn’t find much of Piper but tracks, but I believe someone or something else did.”

  The scream. The laugh. The person in the desert?

  Riley’s eyes widened.

  I glanced down and couldn’t drag my eyes from the object. Was it a broken stick? Bending forward, I nudged it with my foot.

  Not a stick, but what was it? One end had a primitive bone knife strapped to it as if someone had created their own weapon. The point was dark red and dried in places.

  Blood.

  “This, too,” Malik pulled out her sketch pad, equally spattered.

  Riley backed away, his injured arm clutched to his chest. “Where did you find them?”

  “In the desert,” Malik said. “I followed her trail.” He gestured north. “About a kilometer from here, I found her drawing pad and blood. Way too much blood.” The pain in his eyes made my throat hurt. “Whatever this is,” he gulped, “I don’t think she’s…Something or someone dragged her away.”

  “Dragged?” I gulped. Just yesterday, I’d sat on the stairs with her, looking through her sketches, and now, she was gone. “You mean, like the wolves?”

  “I don’t think so. It was rocky where I found her things and there weren’t many tracks, but none looked like paw prints.” His eyes scanned the group gathered around. “The thing is, it’s not safe here.” His spine tightened. “If the colonists won’t come for us, I say we go to them. Who’s with Lesha and me?”

  Nikolai glared at Riley. “I will not remain here with him.”

  Tiff wiped her eyes with her fingertips. “Are we going after Piper again? What if she’s lying hurt in the desert?”

  “She’s gone.” Malik sighed. “I’m sorry. The best thing to do is get to the colony.” He glanced at Riley. “If you’re wise, you’ll come with us.”

  Riley rubbed the back of his arm. “I don’t think—”

  Malik nodded at me. “You ready to go?”

  “More than ready.”

  Taking Malik’s hand and urging Mandy, Joe, and Felicia to go ahead of us, we walked the gauntlet past Riley, Colin, and Kalani.

  Eight of us left the sanctuary we’d found under the ship.

  Keeping pace, I turned and walked backward. My eyes met Riley’s. Each step took me further from him, making my limbs tingle with happiness. A smile grew on my face to match.

  Free. Finally.

  Riley and Kalani argued. Colin joined in, waving his arms in the air. Spinning on his heel, Riley limped to the remaining scraps of survival blanket. My smile faded as he secured a piece around his neck and stuffed it with supplies. The other two copied him and in moments, they trailed behind us.

  Damn. Was it too much to hope he’d go down with the ship, like a stinking rat?

  Disgust filled my groan. Shoving aside my unease, I caught up to Mandy, Malik and Joe. We strode up a hill and crested the peak. The mountains beckoned in the distance, promising questionable safety. Was Dad waiting there with the other colonists? I had to believe I’d find him.

  Heading down the other side of the hill, I left the ship, my biggest connection to Earth, in the sand behind me. No turning back, no lingering glances. I was a part of Eris now, and Eris was a part of me.

  Joe skipped ahead of us, humming the theme song to Space Cadet. It was good to have a purpose, a goal.

  Malik grinned and put his arm around my shoulders, giving me a hug. In my brother and Malik’s eyes, I found promise. Hope. A future.

  We’d only walked an hour before Tiff stumbled.

  Trey reached out and righted her, concern on his face. “What’s wrong, baby?”

  Her hand reached up to scratch her neck. And when she stalled, her arm flopped against her thigh. Gaping over her shoulder, the anguish in her eyes stunned me.

  Forgetting my anger with her, I ran to her side and tilted her chin to look at her neck.

  A mark.

  Like Jay’s.

  She’d been bitten.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dread rode my shoulders like four-thousand ghostly riders. I frayed my lower lip with my teeth until it bled. The words spun in my head, over and over. The bite had poisoned her. She’d die, like Jay. And the last thing she’d remember of me would be my anger.

  I couldn’t let this happen. I’d fight death itself to save my friend.

  Grief had punctured the rage I’d felt for her, scattering what was left like fluff on the wind. How could I stay mad at my best friend when she might die?

  When we couldn’t walk in the heat any longer, we stopped to rest in an open area between some steep, rocky hills, hoping to continue when the hottest part of the day had passed. By then, an unhealthy sheen covered Tiff’s face. She staggered with each step, and it was obvious she couldn’t go far.

  I’d thought of falling back to ask Riley for help, but even if he stepped up medically, there wasn’t much he could do. We had no IV fluids, no lab to run tests, no medication to cure whatever made her sick. Our only chance was to reach the colony. Someone there would be able to help.

  Walking in the desert drained our moisture, our energy, and our souls. I helped Malik fasten survival blankets between bushes, and we spread more underneath. Joe and Mandy flopped on one, and I tossed our stuff beside them.

  “How are you doing?” My voice cracked as I studied Tiff’s face. Hair stuck out from her sweaty forehead like broken corkscrews.

  Her teal eyes, red-rimmed with fever, met mine. “I feel like crap, Lesha. Can you find my Mom?” She turned her head, and her stare was fixed and blank. “Where is she? Where’s Dad?”

  Her parents had died a year before she’d come to the Bunker.

  My heart splintered, and what was left of it shattered on the ground.

  She leaned into me, her hands slack by her sides.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “You’re sick, but I’ll get you better.” If it was the last thing I did, I’d find a way.

  She nodded as if she believed my words, but how could she? I didn’t believe them myself.

  Trey’s grave gaze met mine, and I shrugged. He picked her up and carried her to a blanket in the shade.

  I dropped down beside her and tugged down her durasuit zipper enough to check out her burns. My breath hissed from me. Why hadn’t she told me they were infected? Puss had dried in heavy clumps, sticking her clothing to the wounds. Redness streaked down her arm. Shit. I was not only fighting for Tiff’s life; I was fighting to save her arm. And all I had was a few tubes of antibiotic ointment.

  Tears trailed down her temples when I wet her clothing with water to loosen it enough to pull it away from the burns. I’d wash them as best I could, cover them with ointment and clean dressings, and pray. If only I could do something more for her.

  Her teeth chattered. “I wanted to tell you. I’m sorry about Riley. Sorry for pushing you two together.”

&n
bsp; “Don’t worry about that now.”

  Her hand gripped my forearm, and fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “You forgive me? I couldn’t bear it if something happened, and you didn’t forgive me.”

  “You thought you were helping.”

  “I really did.” Her head trembled. “Lesha, I feel like shit.”

  Jay told me he thought he was going to die. Was this the same? I lifted my water pouch to her mouth. “Drink.”

  She took a long sip, her glassy eyes locked onto mine. Rumbles erupted in her belly, and the water came back up, bathing the sand. Groaning, she slumped on her side and closed her eyes. An unhealthy pallor suffused her skin. Only the scarlet circles in her cheeks gave them color.

  Malik stooped beside me, fear waging with grief in his eyes. “What can I do?”

  I shrugged. Not much anyone could do. Damn burning ship. Damn desert. Damn snakes. And damn colonists for not coming for us. Despair and helplessness crashed together inside me. I wanted to run into the desert, not stopping until I wore myself out. I wanted to cry until my eyes ran dry. I wanted my dad.

  Malik sat close by, and my gaze met his. “It’s going to be okay. Somehow, we’ll make it be okay. I promise.” The fear in his voice when he looked at Tiff crashed through me.

  Delirium grabbed hold of Tiff not long after that.

  She screamed as if someone poked her with a sharp object. In between the screams, she repeated, “Snakes.” The anguish in her voice killed me.

  Trey spooned her side, tears trickling through the dust on his cheeks.

  Like with Jay, I couldn’t do a damned thing for her.

  Riley and his battalion of two trailed into camp a short time later. He hobbled over to stand between us and the sun, the only reason I didn’t get up and kick him. The permanent twist he wore on his face deepened as he took in Tiff lying in the shade. “What’s up with her?”

  “She’s sick.” I rubbed her shoulder, and she twitched under my hand. “She was bitten.”

  Riley shook his head. “And you guys thought I was wrong disciplining Nikolai? It’s his fault. He fell asleep and let that snake get to her. Bet we all have bites.” He yanked up his pants leg and muttered while scrutinizing his calves from every angle.