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“I was going to try to wake him.” Calla’s voice is perfectly calm. She reaches into the med kit and pulls out a small vial. “Mind?”

“Nah, go ahead. Might be easier to get him out under his own steam.”

Calla stares at Kam for a moment. “Right.” She kneels and waves the vial under Dace’s nose.

His eyelashes flutter and his good hand reaches up to swat at the vial. “Wah-h-h … ” He sputters and coughs, then attempts to lift himself.

He groans and flops back, but not before Calla throws her arm around him to keep his head from hitting the stones.

“Careful,” she says, easing him into a sitting position. “You’ve had a nasty head injury and banged up one arm. Don’t try to move too fast.”

Kam sweeps the pistol from side to side, taking in all of us. “Get him on his feet.”

Calla stands in one graceful motion. “He was knocked out. He’s just come to, and you want to march him out of here?” That artificial face, perfectly composed, and yet—there’s a look in her eyes that raises the hair on my arms. Without a word, she leans over and gently lifts Dace to his feet.

“Lean on me,” she tells him.

“See—he’s standing. Good. We can’t waste all day in here.” Kam gazes about the chamber. “That mineral—it’s everywhere. Right here, ready for the diggers … ”

The lake erupts in a flurry of splashes. Kam’s entire body jerks as he spins to stare at the water. The gun flies from his fingers and clatters to the rocky ground.

“On my signal,” whispers Raid, taking my hand.

I reach for Emie’s fingers. “Ready.”

Like a dark army materializing from the mist, the Selk rise from the lake. Kam shrieks—a strange, strangled sound that is instantly matched by the voices of the Selk.

Friends. No harm.

The thoughts wash over me. My grip tightens on both Raid’s and Emie’s hands. Fingers entwined, we lean back against the support of the stone wall. I realize there’s no need for us to take any action now.

No harm. Protect.

Kam has fallen to his knees, his pistol kicked to the side, forgotten. He covers his ears with his hands and rocks back and forth, screaming.

Friends. Above. Protect.

Thank you.
I repeat the thought over and over, hoping the Selk will understand.
Thank you. Friends.

Unaffected by the water creature’s thoughts, Calla and Dace stand side by side, Calla’s arms wrapped around Dace to keep him on his feet. They stare at the Selk, Dace with a faint smile and Calla with her mouth opening and closing like a trap.

“Oh my God.” Calla’s voice catches like a broken gear. “It’s them.”

The Selk’s voices fade away at Calla’s words. Kam, released from the mental battering produced by the water creatures’ communication, looks around frantically for a second and lunges for his discarded pistol.

Leaping forward at the same time, Raid’s foot makes contact with the weapon just as Kam’s fingers touch the barrel, kicking the gun away with enough force to send it skittering over the rocky ground and into the lake.

“Son of a bitch!” Kam makes a grab for Raid’s ankle but Raid’s swinging foot knocks him aside.

Calla shoots me a swift glance, and I run to her side to support Dace.

“Lean on me,” I tell him.

He looks at me, his pupils still dilated. “Hanging on as tight as I can.”

Emie dashes forward to help me keep Dace on his feet as Calla strides over to Kam and Raid.

“Get up, dirt-treader.” She pokes Kam with her boot. “Don’t expect you’re quite so dangerous without a weapon. Now me,” that strange smile splits her face, “I’ve been trained to use my fists quite expertly.”

Kam stands slowly, his eyes fixed on Calla. “I’m not going to be anyone’s prisoner. Definitely not some shitty cyber’s.”

“Start swimming then, because you aren’t getting out of here the other way—unless you follow my instructions.” Calla motions for Raid to join her. “In my pocket is some ’lastic. Grab it and help me tie up this asshole’s hands, would you?”

Raid grins and gives Calla a swift salute. “Happy to comply, commander.”

I adjust my grip around Dace’s back, allowing him to slouch into my supporting arm. My fingers brush Emie’s hand as she mirrors my action. We share an encouraging smile behind Dace’s back.

“You’ll be sorry,” Kam mutters.

“Well, you’re already sorry,” says Calla, earning another grin from Raid. She examines Raid’s handiwork as he binds Kam’s hands. “Now then, trussed up like a proper package. Guess you’ll be the one marching to orders this time, dirt-treader.”

“Don’t call me that!” Kam spits the words through gritted teeth. He levels a glare at Emie. “There’s the little traitor. Should’ve known she’d be easily swayed, what with being so free and loose with her body.”

Calla studies him for only a second before she smacks him, hard, across the mouth. He staggers back, falling against Raid’s crossed arms.

“Say anything like that again,” Raid says, leaning in to speak directly into Kam’s ear, “and I will hit you too. And it won’t be a smack, trust me.” He thrusts Kam forward.

Calla closes her gloved fingers over Kam’s bound wrists and spins him around. “Now, stand here until I tell you to move. Better yet, let’s shut that yap of yours.” She marches over to the medical bag and pulls out a roll of gauze. Over Kam’s vehement protests, she gags him with the gauze. As she finishes tying it off, she glances over his shoulder. “What’s that?”

“The Selk.” Dace’s voice is gaining strength. “They’ve brought up the gun.”

I’m mesmerized by the activity in the lake. The Selk are tossing the pistol back and forth like a toy ball. Seemingly tired of their game, one creature sweeps its large tailfin over the water just as the gun hits the surface. The pistol shoots up and sails over the lake, smashing against the closest wall. The sound of metal hitting stone reverberates through the cavern as bits of the gun fly off in all directions, sparking like embers from a fire.

The Selk bob in the water, watching this display with interest. As the broken weapon slides to the bottom of the lake, the creatures turn, one by one, and swim toward the far wall. They dive and disappear.

Calla stares blankly at the empty lake. “There’s another cavern,” I tell her. “You just have to swim under.”

“What you said before—what did you mean?” Dace takes a step toward Calla, forcing Emie and me to move with him.

Kam gnaws at his gag to no avail. Raid grips Kam’s shoulder to hold him in place as we wait for Calla’s reply.

“I’ve seen them before,” Calla says, sweeping her gaze over all of us. “Those creatures. On Shenlong.”

“That’s on the other side of the galaxy.” Dace straightens, pulling away from Emie’s arm. “Must’ve been something similar, not the actual Selk. I mean, they’re pretty smart, but I can’t see them constructing and flying spacecraft.”

“Looked just like them.” Calla’s expression is implacable. “Sounded just like them, too. Although they weren’t living underground on Shenlong. Found them in surface rivers, actually. Strange thing is … ” Calla glances back at the water. “We were doing a survey, you see, during one of my military tours. Documenting and cataloging stuff. Found creatures just like your Selk. They seemed well-adapted to the environment, but the biologist types said they weren’t native to the planet.”

Dace blinks rapidly, his eyelashes fluttering like moths’ wings. “They were brought there?”

“Dunno,” Calla replies with a shrug. “That was the idea I got, but nobody ever figured it out.” She glances back at the lake. “There was something about them, those creatures, that made you feel good. Calm and happy. Lots of the crew spent more time with them than they needed to. Me included.”

“You really think it’s the same species?” Dace raises his injured arm then groans and slumps against me.

“I’d swear to it.” Calla looks him up and down. “Now—we gotta get you out of here. You need more medical attention.”

“I’m okay.” Dace’s face is blanched the color of bone.

“Sure you are,” I say. “You look like shit, Keeling.”

“At least I’m not half-naked, Solano.” He manages a faint smile.

“You saying I look like shit when I’m half-naked?” I throw out the response without thought. One glance at Raid’s face and I realize I’ve crossed a line. I adjust my hold on Dace.

He grimaces. “No, I … that’s not what I meant … ”

Oh, to hell with the line. I lean in and kiss his pale cheek. “I know.”

Raid moves to Dace’s other side and shoots me one sharp look before turning his attention to Dace. “Here, let me help. It’ll take both of us to get him over those rocks strewn on the path. Probably hurt like hell,” he adds, sliding Dace’s good arm around his shoulders. “Apologizing in advance.”

“I can handle it.” Dace takes a few steps and presses his lips together, but not before a strangled sound escapes.

“Emie,” I call out. “Got any pain meds in that bag?”

“Checking.” She rummages through the med kit and pulls out a small foil packet. “This work?”

Raid spares the packet a quick glance. “That’ll do.”

We pause as Emie extracts the pills and pops them onto Dace’s tongue while Calla marches Kam forward, her fist jabbing the small of his back.

Kam jerks his head from side to side, trying to dislodge the gag. His eyes flash with rage. After one more shove from Calla, he throws a foot back, slamming a kick into her shin. She yelps and stops in place, allowing Kam to veer to the right. He staggers toward the wall that rises below the inclined pathway.

“Hey!” Raid lowers Dace’s full weight onto me, buckling my knees. Emie drops the medical bag and rushes to help me support Dace while Raid strides toward Kam and Calla.

Working to free his hands, Kam stumbles, slamming his shoulder into the wall. Calla is only a step or two behind him. A moment of silence, of dust rising in the air and drifting back down, is followed by a thunderous crack. Calla looks up, lifting her gloved hands amid a shower of black and silver dust.

High above our heads, a piece of the stone ceiling trembles and splinters.

And sheers off.

Calla throws her body at Kam, hitting him with so much force he slides along the wall for a moment before tumbling to the ground.

A chunk of stone hurtles to the base of the cavern like a spent meteor and pins Calla to the floor.

When the dust settles, only the cyber’s head and one hand are visible. The rest of her body is buried under a boulder, the large rock still in one piece even though its surface is crazed with fissures.

I hear the sound of gasping and wheezing long before I realize it’s coming from my own throat.

Emie cries soundlessly, tears spilling down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. Kam lies to one side, just out of range of the massive stone, his green eyes wide with horror.

“Sit me down!” Dace pulls against Emie’s hands and my arm. “Go to her!”

We gently lower Dace to the ground, propping him against the bottom of the inclined path, and race to Calla.

Raid, already there, kneels by her free hand. He looks up at me and shakes his head. He slips off her leather glove, picks up Calla’s hand, and strokes those cold metal fingers. She probably can’t feel it, but I guess it doesn’t matter. I suppose at this point the only thing that matters is that he can.

Emie kneels beside Raid and I crouch down by Calla’s head. Her eyes are open, her lips moving. I wipe the dampness from my face and lean in to hear what she’s saying.

“One more time,” she croaks. “Saving one more dumb-ass.” Those strange eyes roll up to look into mine then over at the lake. “Oh. Hello.”

I follow her gaze. A solitary Selk has returned. Its dark eyes are even moister than usual, almost as if it were weeping.

Surely these creatures don’t cry. I rub the tears from my own eyes. The Selk holds our gazes for a moment, then turns away. It leaps higher than I’ve ever seen one jump, shedding water from its sleek fur in a shower of droplets that reflect the light like tiny prisms. Diving back down, it flips its body one full turn before breaking the surface of the water.

It’s beautiful and somehow solemn, like a salute. I turn back in time to see Raid reaching to close Calla’s eyes.

The silence stretches like a fast-growing vine, broken only by Emie’s snuffling and Kam’s boots kicking against the stone floor.

“We need to get out of here,” Dace’s hoarse voice echoes through the cavern. He points at the ceiling. “The charges have obviously destabilized this section.”

Five pairs of eyes look upward. Above our heads, the rocks that comprise the roof of the cavern creak, shifting ever so slightly. A fine dust sifts down on our bodies.

Raid jumps to his feet, strides over to Kam, and yanks the knot from his gag. “You,” he says, pulling the gauze from Kam’s mouth, “need to help me carry Dace out of here. Will you do it?” Raid’s arms hang loosely at his sides, but his fingers are clenched into fists.

“I will.” Kam raises his bound hands. “But you’ll need to cut me loose.”

The two boys, whom I’ve seen together so often, and thought such close friends, face off like rival warriors.

“If you promise to cause no more trouble.”

“I swear,” says Kam. “Just want to get out of here alive.”