Beyond (16 page)

"Are you the only one who does this sort of thing?"

"No, there are several warriors that do recon missions. After all, the entire crew of the Horus is united in one goal."

"To find a cure for the virus."
Aimee speculated.

"To find a cure for the virus so that they can once again go home."

"But," she hesitated, "that is not your home."

This time the silence between them was heavy.

"My home was destroyed," he declared quietly. "I cannot go back there yet. If I cannot rebuild my home, then at least I can help to reconstruct the home of the people who saved me."

So many questions roiled through Aimee's head. She yearned to know more about this intense man. But a funny sweet smell filled the chamber and she sneezed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes." She sneezed again. "I smell...honeysuckle?"

"I'm not sure what honeysuckle is. I don't think we have a sample in the atrium. You didn't happen to bring any with you, did you?"

Aimee thought of the big bushes with tiny yellow flowers that constantly needed to be trimmed along their driveway. "No. I didn't."

"The Bordran gasses have started. Their oxygen supports
mecaws
.
Humans.
But the oxygen has a very sweet smell to it. It's just possible it could make you sick. Look down at your suit. Is everything okay?"

Aimee glanced down at her stomach which remained blissfully wrapped in silver. She ran a cursory check over all the other major organs and there wasn't even a faint shade of pink to be found.

"All clear here." Hah, she sounded like a co-pilot.

"Alright, are you
secure
?"

The eggshell curled around her as she tested the resistance of the walls and found them to be very rigid. If she allowed herself, she might start to panic at the inability to break out of its confines, but she had faith in Zak. She was able to lean forward enough to stare at the nearly blinding green veil. There was no way to discern a planet beneath the vibrant stratum. Distracted, Aimee wondered if Zak wore sunglasses when he passed through here. She was going to ask, but the
terra angel
bucked under her feet and she yelped.

"Is everything okay up there?" she called out.

"Yes. We'll be through it shortly. Hold on."

There wasn't much to hold on to other than the rim of the seat beneath her. The glow outside was so distracting that Aimee tucked herself back inside her shell and squeezed her eyes shut, counting the relentless shudders as if they were thunderclaps.

"Gayat!"

She recognized Zak's curse. Maybe it meant,
dammit
. Whatever it was, it didn't bode well.

Before she could even ask what was wrong, the craft shuddered. It felt like they had been hit by a truck. She could no longer even lean forward. Inertia was plying her back against her seat.

Aimee struggled to right herself, prepared to ask if this was normal when another collision shook the
terra angel
. Were it not for her little cocoon, she would have been flung against the wall.

“Zak! Is this normal?”

Another thunderous impact and now the spacecraft started to rock—a dreadful wobble of instability—
an
sign that the pilot had lost control. Aimee caught a glimpse of her suit. The patch around her stomach glowed yellow.
Yeah, like she needed the suit to tell her that she felt like throwing up.

She tried to call out to Zak, but the cadence of explosions drowned out her voice. Finally she could hear him over the clamor.

"Aimee, brace
yourself
. We're going to crash."

Crash?

There was no chance to respond. The ship vibrated so severely that her jaw jiggled in its sockets. She tucked her knees up inside the egg shell, praying this little alcove would protect her. Somehow she felt safer knowing that she was facing the opposite direction of the nose of the craft, but Zak—

It was her last thought.

Aimee could hear someone calling her. It was a male voice.
Her Dad?
Had she overslept?

"Aimee?"

Normally she could smell him. Her father wore an aftershave that alerted you ten feet in advance that he was coming. She wrinkled her nose but only smelled smoke.
Smoke!

Her eyes flew open and were besieged by orbs of gold. She blinked away the sting of smoke and gulped in air as the trauma kicked in.

"Zak!"

She could see his glance trace down the
length of her body and back up again.

"Are you hurt?" His voice was hoarse.

Her elbow throbbed but she doubted that would register on the suit.

"No. I don't think so." She stared at the man crouched down in front of her. "Are you?" she volleyed.

"No." He rose, using the outside of her shell for support.

Aimee stared at his chest. It was broad and rose and fell on troubled breaths, but the fabric remained a solid onyx shield.

"What happened?" She poked her legs out of the seat's confines.

Zak stepped back to give her some space. His dark hair was mussed and there was a smudge of blood at the top of his right temple.

"Oh my God.
You are hurt!" she cried.

When she would have reached for that wound, he held a hand up, deterring her. "I'm fine," he stated. "It's just a scratch. We were very lucky, but we can't stay here. We have to leave the ship."

"Oh God, are you afraid it's going to blow up?"

"No," Zak stooped to peer out the window, but a veil of smoke obscured the view. "I'm afraid whoever shot us down will finish what they started."

***

Red splotches of panic flooded Aimee's cheeks.

Zak used his shoulder to shove open the outside panel. With all the fancy mechanical bells and whistles this little space ship had—in the end it came down to elbow grease to exit it.

Zak craned his head and looked in each direction and then turned back towards her. "It looks clear. Let's go."

Fear kept her rooted. This stupid little egg made her feel protected. Zak must have read her panic. His expression eased...slightly. He held his hand out.

"Come on, Aimee. It will be okay."

False assurances, she thought, but she reached for that hand. The grip was confident. She linked her fingers with his and felt the impetus as he tugged her from her seat.

Zak stepped down onto the surface, but for her it was a leap. She hit the ground and felt the suction of the terrain as she sunk into mud. She could not see much because the smoke still stung her eyes. Careless of whether it was awkward or not, she clung to Zak's hand for all she was worth. She was not going to lose this man.

"There is a patch of trees only a few
centrams
—I mean,
yards
away," he whispered.

Aimee squinted, but could distinguish nothing in the pervasive fog.

"If you say so."

She felt the tug of his hand and followed his heels as she trained her gaze on the strange turf.

Jogging a short distance, they entered a thicket of trees that resembled cactuses with pale yellow spikes. On such a fertile planet, how ironic to find a species associated with drought. There was no relationship between these gigantic trunks and the spiny cacti from home. When she tipped her head back, these trees
were as tall as her eyes could see. Smoke still seeped in between the lofty limbs and somewhere atop that vaporous umbrella was a dark sky. It wasn’t the blanket of night. More like the rich mauve shade of pre-dawn.
A dawn with no visible stars.

It was warm too.
Humid.
It felt like a jungle.
A jungle with cactus trees.

What was she expecting from her first foreign planet?

Zak let go of her hand. She panicked again and sought him out in the shadows.

"Was there an explosion? I didn't see any fire when we jumped out of the ship, but there's so much smoke...."

Zak scanned their environment. His gaze was keen, his demeanor alert. She just now noticed the weapon in his other hand.

"It's not smoke. These are the indigenous gasses of Bordran. It is why we had to land here instead of using the ray."

"Who shot us down?" Her voice wobbled.

Zak executed a slow rotation with his weapon extended. It might resemble a gun, but she had no doubt that it fired something other than bullets.

"I'm not sure," he kept his voice low. "They told me that the last time we visited Bordran it was primarily uninhabited. It's always dark, and not the most hospitable environment for
mecaws
, but I'm sure some nomadic culture decided to make it their home."

Aimee shivered despite the heat. She pictured a giant purple Cyclops with fangs, and the talons of a hawk.

"What about Zari? Are we stranded here? How will we get back?"

Zak stepped deeper into the thicket. She could hear the suction of the wet ground tugging at his feet. She fell in close behind him.

"I can fix Zari," he tossed over his shoulder, "but whoever shot us down probably knows where the ship crashed so they will be here soon. Chances are they are just scavengers. We don't have to worry about it being the Korons at least."

Right.
The Korons hated water. And this place was one giant, murky swamp.

"So what is the plan?" she asked.

"We find a secure refuge and wait them out."

"What if they scavenge the ship?"

"Then—" Zak turned around. His expression was as menacing as this perpetual twilight. "I'll have to kill them."

"Oh." Aimee gulped.

"Or disable them," he hedged.
"Whatever it takes to get us back in that TA and on our way."
He turned away, leaving her to contemplate the man she was stranded with. Was he dangerous? Of course he was dangerous. He was a warrior. This was his job. But was she in danger with him?

"This looks good." His husky tone invaded her thoughts.

As they tramped deeper into the jungle of tall cactuses, a new crop of fauna appeared.
Thick ivy vines wrapped around the trunks of the trees in an attempt to scale their way to the tops.
The ivy was so pervasive that what Zak was calling her attentions towards was an alcove formed beneath a mesh of the writhing creepers.

"You first."
He tried for a smile.

Aimee looked into the ominous shadows and then tipped her head back to peer up at the trees. For a moment she was reminded of the woods on the other side of the pond. Her fear of that forest had come to fruition.

Aimee stared into that thicket of shadows again and cast one last look over her shoulder. Her eyes locked with Zak’s. Not far away they could hear the sound of someone, or
something
plodding through the mud. Zak nudged her and she dove
into the cave. He followed, and his tall frame eclipsed her view of the outside. With his arms, he urged her deeper into the shelter. It smelled of mud and seaweed and her hands fell flat onto the mucky surface as she
crept
deeper inside.

Zak pressed back against her, using his body as a shield, his black suit diffusing the glare of her silver one. With the touch of his hand on her thigh he indicated for her to remain still. She didn't need the warning. Except for the quivers of fear, she remained motionless.
Attentive.
Listening.

The footfalls approached. Whatever it was, there was more than one of it. Or maybe it was a sumpum and had six feet.

Aimee noticed Zak's arm shift and saw the flash of his gun in what limited light infiltrated their shelter.

Then I'll kill them.

The emotionless way he had uttered that. What type of life did this man have?

Zak swiveled on his heels and leaned in close. She could feel his breath against her cheek and then the slight touch of his lips against her ear. A blanket of goosebumps showered over her body.

"I am going out there," he whispered up tight against her ear so that no one else could hear.

"No!" she had to choke on the word so that she didn't shout. Instead she shook her head vehemently. Again his lips brushed her ear.

"It sounds like there are only two of them. I like my chances, but you cannot move. Do you hear me? Don't try anything crazy, Aimee. Please stay here."

Don't try anything crazy, like climb into his ship and pretend that you're going to fly it back to Earth.

She nodded, and her fingers clawed into the mud.

Zak shifted, and then with one surge his black form melted into the shadows.

Never before had she felt so alone. Fear took on a whole new meaning. What did she have to fear back home?
College?
Worrying how she would fit in, or whether she would get good grades? Wondering how she was going to help her parents pay for tuition.
Fearing that Ziggy was getting old and would die soon.