Phoenix Arise: YA Sci-fi Thriller (From the Ashes Book 1) Page 24

  Reaching the bottom, we wound past boulders, climbing over the smaller ones when we couldn’t find a quick way through. We raced out onto a carpet of low flowers in varying shades of purple. Golden pollen spurted into the air, coating our legs, making me sneeze.

  In front of me, Felicia tripped and fell. She groaned. Tiff grabbed her arm and yanked. “Get up. Get up.”

  “Can’t,” Felicia shouted. “My knee.”

  Mandy leaped over Felicia’s legs, Drac in her arms. She surged toward the colony, her dark hair streaming behind her like a flag, her treds smacking the grass.

  Felicia scrambled to her feet. Leaning on Tiff, she half-ran, half-hobbled toward the dome. Trey took her other side, urging her on.

  “Run. Kai-yai-yai-yai-yai!” A banshee cry sounded behind us.

  My blood froze. I didn’t look back, but they sounded close. We were halfway there. We’d get to the colony before they caught us. We had to.

  Flowers gave way to a field of tall, swaying grass topped with dark seed pods that smacked my thighs hard enough to raise bruises as I surged through them. Slender trees with large scarlet fruit grew along the edge of the valley, near the dense forest. Evergreens had sprouted in the open field ahead, some almost as tall as me. We darted around them, urging each other on.

  Go. Keep running. Don’t give up. My legs pumped, and my heart rose into my throat as I fled behind the others toward sanctuary.

  Movement ahead made me jump, and I lifted my crossbow in defense. A herd of deer-like creatures stood near the tree line at the end of the valley, to the right of the dome. Their huge, gray antlers arched over their heads, and tight, greenish-gray fur blended down their sides. Whirling, they bolted in a rolling wave, their lighter green tails challenging us as they disappeared into the woods. If only I could run so fast.

  I glanced over my shoulder, and what I saw brought me to an abrupt halt. Shit. Turning so I could move slowly backward, I gaped at the cliffs. Six people stood on the top. Because they wore colorful masks, I couldn’t tell much about them, other than they had two arms and two legs. They looked like us. Were they human? One danced in a circle, arms in the air, hips swaying in a demented wave. High-pitched laughter tumbled down the hillside, reaching for us like sharp claws.

  All but one held spears, their lethal points shining in the sunlight. They stabbed them toward the sky and one cried, “Run. Run.”

  “Run,” another shouted. “We will find you. Soon.” Their shrill laughter spiked every hair on my body.

  Two turned and started down the other side, heading back toward the desert. Perhaps they’d given up. We couldn’t have gotten away that easy. Two others moved behind their friends. They were turning back, leaving us for now.

  It made no sense that they didn’t continue the chase. They must see Felicia limping, how small Mandy was, Joe riding Malik’s back. We were easy pickings.

  Who were these people who hunted us? Renegades from the colony? A primitive, indigenous people to Eris? Hell, maybe they were ReGreen, reaching from Earth with traitorous claws. If the colonists were involved, we might have reached safety only to have to watch our backs forever.

  Their masks made it impossible to identify them. Maybe that was the point.

  Except for one. He staggered, and his blond hair hid his features. A hunter grabbed his arm and shoved him toward the animal path. When he lifted his head, desperation blazed on Riley’s face.

  Tension coiled inside me, crashing together with what should have been a sense of satisfaction. I hated him, but I wouldn’t wish Will’s death on anyone.

  “They’re leaving,” I shouted.

  My friends stopped and turned. Malik walked back to stand beside me, panting. “For now, anyway.” He eased Joe to the ground.

  My brother groaned and slumped onto his side. His eyes slid closed.

  I dropped to my knees to check his leg. Thin red lines streaked toward his thigh like scarlet veins. I moaned. We had to get him to the dome where the doctors could help him. A hovercraft load of antibiotics, and he’d be himself again, running around with Drac. Please. Easing my hands under his legs and back, I lifted him.

  Malik stretched his arms out. “Let me take him.” Sweat ran down his red face.

  I gritted my teeth and nodded to the crossbow I’d set in the grass. “I can do it. I want to do it.” My voice squeaked. “Can you get my bow?” Shakes threatened to turn me to a pile of mush. “We’ve got to hurry.”

  From the high color on his face and his loss of consciousness, it was clear his wound had gotten worse.

  Joe was septic.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  As we drew close to the dome, my steps slowed. There was something odd about the colony. For one thing, there was nobody around.

  “Dad?” I called. No answer.

  The colonists had built a wooden structure. The sun blazing behind it stung my eyes, bringing out tears and making it hard to see. But I could see a barricade. Had they raised it to keep out the hunters? If so, it needed repair.

  Scared and not wanting to see what my mind told me could be true, I slowed my steps to a walk. I moved through the entrance of the broken-down structure, twisting my head around to take it all in.

  They’d constructed a large fence, each post a complete tree. The wall stood almost five meters tall and looked like it encircled the dome. The gate lay on the ground. Dry leaves skittered across the wooden surface like fingernails scraping across a grave.

  This didn’t look good. If the colonists had needed a fort for protection, where were the guards? Why let everything fall into disrepair?

  “Hello?” I called. “Dad?” I moved through the deep grass just inside the fence, my treds crunching on what must be last year’s dead vegetation. Lagging behind the others, I studied my brother’s face. “Joe, you okay? Speak to me, kiddo.”

  His mouth hung ajar. I lifted him close, and his rapid breathing both reassured and worried me. Was the infection spreading? Please, please, let there be someone here who could help him. I’d lost Mom. I couldn’t lose my brother, too.

  Ahead of me, Malik cupped his mouth. “Anyone here?”

  A piece of cloth flapped against the dome.

  Smack. Smack. Smack. The wind picked up, making it flail faster. Like my heartbeat.

  Scattered belongings lay strewn about. Something fluttered in the deeper grass ahead of me. I frowned and stepped forward. It couldn’t be. A spear impaled a skeleton. The horror of it made my legs shake.

  “Dad, no,” I whispered. Please, please, no.

  Where were the colonists? They had to be here. We’d come all this way. They were our sanctuary. We needed them.

  The door to the dome swung open in the breeze then slammed shut again. Darkness filled the interior. No generator humming behind the structure. No voices calling out. No squeals of children rang out in play.

  Beside me, Tiff and Trey held onto each other. Mandy gripped the back of Tiff’s durasuit, tears flowing down her face.

  Malik’s gaze met mine. “Wait here while I check things out.” He waved at the outer structure. Hefting my crossbow, he ran his finger along the bolt shaft as if to ensure it was in place, ready to fly.

  I scooted to the inner wall, and the others followed. Lowering Joe to the grass, I slumped beside him and stroked the damp hair off his face. Purple shadows encircled his eyes and his cheekbones had sunken in like death reached for him already.

  Malik nudged his chin toward Trey. “See if you can find a weapon and secure the gate.”

  Trey glanced around and grimaced. “If nothing else, we have spears.” He rushed to where the gate used to stand and peered through the opening, a spear in his hand.

  Malik moved to the dome wall and hugged the nylatec panels, sliding close to the door. Pausing outside, he lifted the crossbow to his shoulder before ducking inside.

  I fidgeted with my zipper, watching the dome. Malik didn’t return. Had he found anything inside? Would he come striding out with a few s
urviving colonists? A doctor would be wonderful.

  If the deserted dome was any indication, everyone could be dead already. A shudder ripped through me, breaking through the numbness that threatened to engulf me.

  Malik waved from the door. “Come on. There’s no one here.”

  Dully, I stood and carried Joe inside. The others followed, leaving Trey standing guard. Felicia slumped to the tile floor inside the main room. Lifting her pants, she looked at her knee.

  I carried Joe to the outside wall and laid him on a bench, one of the few items still intact in the room. Someone had broken and scattered the furnishings. Computers lay on their sides, screens gone. Tables had been cleaved as if a giant had descended with the intent of destroying everything in sight.

  “Dad?” I called. I stumbled across the room, tripping over a broken chair. “Dad!”

  Malik stood in the doorway, scanning the compound outside, my crossbow raised. He turned toward me. “There’s no one here, Lesha. I’m sorry.”

  “No.” I dropped to my knees and cupped my face but could no longer cry. My tears had dried up and swept away by the trek through the desert.

  Deep inside, I’d known. He was gone, just like Mom.

  Joe moaned, bringing me back to the present. I had to do what I could to save him. Rising, I staggered toward the back of the room.

  From what I remembered from orientation, they’d segmented the interior of the dome. The back portion would have chambers with bunks, utilities, the infirmary, and administrative offices. Since I was in the central living area, the kitchen would be through the doorway to my right. The ceiling arched above me, at least thirty meters high in the center.

  Clang.

  I jumped. What was that? Something had moved inside the dome.

  “Dad?” I yelled it, not caring who else it might be. If he was here, why didn’t he come out?

  Malik waved Trey forward to take the door then raced down the hallway leading to the back of the building.

  “Stay here.” I gestured for Tiff to sit with Joe. Slinking into the hall, I pulled my knife as I turned the corner at the end. I poked my head inside rooms along the way. No Malik. No one else, either. In the back, the colonists had built multiple bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling bunks, enough to sleep hundreds. I crept past the empty rooms, darting my head into each subsequent doorway. Offices. An equipment room. No sign of my father.

  “Malik,” I whispered.

  “Here,” he called from the last room.

  Inside, Colin slumped in a chair, staring at the floor. A metal pipe lay by his feet, the likely source of the noise I’d heard.

  “Hey.” Malik grabbed the back of another chair and dragged it over beside Colin. Straddling it, Malik gripped Colin’s shoulder.

  “We’re all dead, dead, dead.” Colin lowered his face to his palms, and sobs shook his frame. He rubbed his leg, where he had a large gash that oozed blood. I’d have to wrap it. “They took Kalani. Riley. Don’t know why they didn’t get me.”

  “What happened?” Malik asked.

  “We weren’t going to take Kalani with us but she woke up and insisted on coming.” He scratched his head. “Stuck on Riley from the second she turned eighteen.”

  My assumption confirmed.

  Colin stared up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “I saw it right away. She was paired with him.” He snorted. “But Riley was paired with you. Kinda ironic, don’t you think? Like a vid back on Earth.”

  Malik’s eyes met mine, and he gestured with his head toward a door in the back of the room. He was right. I didn’t have time for this. Malik could handle Colin. I needed to find medicine for Joe.

  Tightening my grip on the knife, I slunk closer and peered into the infirmary.

  For the first time in my life, I wished Riley was here. I yanked open the drawers and pawed through the cupboards. They’d stocked the place better than most hospitals, with endless bottles of pills. I located IV fluids, kits for drawing blood, and lab solutions. But I didn’t know how to use them. Sure, I could figure out how to pop an IV patch on Joe, but what drug would kill his infection?

  I had no clue which bags held antibiotics.

  Randomly giving him something could hurt more than help. What if I gave him heart medicine by mistake? I could kill him.

  Frustrated tears streamed down my face, and I swiped them away with my palms.

  “Find anything?” Malik asked from the doorway.

  I slammed my fists on the metal countertop. “I don’t know how to use any of this crap.” And Dad. Jeez, I couldn’t stop thinking about the horror he must have gone through. He had to be dead.

  Malik came over and put his arm around my shoulders. “We need Riley.”

  I slumped against the counter. “Yeah. He’d know what would work.”

  “I was going for him, anyway.”

  Turning, I gazed up at him. “Why?”

  Stark creases surrounded his eyes. He linked his fingers through mine and squeezed. “We need everyone. Not just to guard, but because,” he swallowed, “because we’re human beings, and we should look out for each other.”

  I grunted. “I’m not so sure about the people who’re hunting us. Or Riley, for that matter.” I took a deep breath. “Do you think the colonists are the hunters?”

  Not my father, though. He’d never be a part of this.

  Malik leaned his back against the countertop. “Probably. Although, I can’t imagine why. What could have happened here to make them do such horrible things to other people?”

  “Did Colin share anything useful?”

  He shook his head. “Can you believe they didn’t post guards? They ran at night and hid during the day like we did. Kalani was taken almost immediately.”

  I swallowed back my grief. No one deserved the ending she’d met.

  “Colin said she was gone when they woke. Riley was taken the next night.” Malik walked toward the door. “Colin had my crossbow. I’ll take it with me.”

  “Bring him back as fast as you can.” I never thought I’d think, let alone say such a thing. But Malik was right; we needed everyone, even Riley.

  Malik paused in the doorway before striding back to me. His arms slipped around my waist, and he lifted me off my feet.

  We kissed, a rush of heat, fear, and desperation. With my wobbly legs back on the ground, I pressed my cheek against his chest and held him close. It scared me to think of him out there alone, facing whoever hunted us. “Please be safe.” My voice broke. “Don’t let them get you, too.”

  “I’ll be careful.” His mouth jerked up in a half-grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll bring back Riley. I promise.”

  Trey repaired the outer door so we could close and bolt it tight.

  Scouring the kitchen, we found a box of MRBs in the back of the pantry, probably left behind when the colonists abandoned the dome.

  We hadn’t figured out whether everyone had been taken or fled, although we feared the first.

  Through it all, I tried to hold on to the hope that Dad was alive, maybe hiding in the mountains. If he lived, we’d find him. And until then, I’d do what I could to help my brother.

  Before dark, Tiff slunk outside to make sure the solar roof panels, and the batteries were good. I guarded her back with my crossbow. Within minutes, a hum rose in the air. The lights flickered on, bringing relief along with them. We had power, plus water from a pump in the kitchen. Funny how much I’d missed the simple things in life.

  I laid Joe on one of the infirmary tables and covered him with blankets. Then, I washed up in the kitchen, dressed in some jeans and a tee, and braided my dripping hair.

  Mandy sat beside Joe, cradling Drac in her arms. She hadn’t spoken since we found Will other than one word. Stay. If stress had stolen her voice again, she might never find it.

  Joe’s skin burned hotter than a fire. His face flamed and sweat-soaked through his clothing. I didn’t need to touch him to know his temperature soared. His body was doing everything it could
to fight off the infection, but I was terrified the infection was winning.

  Grief was a horrible thing. It rushed through you in rough waves that dragged you under. I couldn’t hold my hands still. My lungs hitched as my heart split in two. I’d lose him for sure this time, just like I’d lost Mom.

  His leg had swollen to almost twice its normal size. The angry cut seeped dark fluid, and what looked like coral snakes wove their way up his thigh. He hadn’t woken, even when I’d lifted him and carried him into the infirmary. The infection would kill him if we didn’t get antibiotics into him soon.

  Dragging a chair close to his bed, I rested my head against his side. Tears leaked from my eyes. I shoved them away, but more took their place. They flowed down my cheeks and plopped on the floor. A river of tears couldn’t take away my pain.

  Joe. Joe. How would I go on without him? “I’ll do anything. Anything to get you better.”

  If only Dad was here.

  “I have an idea,” Tiff whispered from the doorway.

  I lifted my head and stared at her with blurry eyes. “I keep thinking and thinking, hoping I’ll find an answer.” My voice broke. “But I can’t do a freakin’ thing for him. He needs antibiotics.” I slammed my fist on the gurney. “He needs real medical people. I’m nothing but a big fake. I couldn’t do anything for Captain Blackmine or Jay.” All my stupid dreams of becoming a doctor so I could heal people meant nothing if I couldn’t help the person I loved most. “Malik will bring Riley back, and he’ll know which drugs to give Joe.”

  “What if Riley’s too late?”

  I flinched. “Don’t say that. Besides, there’s nothing else I can do.”

  “Eris is nothing like Earth.”

  I snorted through my tears. “You’ve got that right.”

  “Remember, I was burned badly.”

  I nodded, not even looking up at her.

  “But I healed faster than I ever have.” Tugging her shirt to the side, she showed me her shoulder. Only faint pink marks remained. No wound ever healed this fast.

  “And Malik’s ankle,” she said. “I saw it, and it was covered with bruises. But none remain now.”