The Light, the Dark and the Ugly (2 page)

She grabbed a handful of sand and tossed it up into the air. "I finally have a chance to save your life, really just to make up for all the times you saved mine, and now we're in the middle of the Sahara freakin' Desert."

Ted's throat was dry, though he couldn't tell if it was from the climate or the battle. He swallowed hard. "I – I don't…"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "He speaks. Captain Last-Second Save." She put her face right up to Ted's, bringing her freckles into focus. "Why don't you share your words of wisdom with all the pyramids?"

Ted felt his world begin to flicker away again. "I don't think we're on Earth, Nat."

As the final word left his mouth, Ted passed out, his cheek sinking into the burning sand below.

Chapter 3

Natalie Dormer let herself relax into the sand for a moment. The last hour had been a whirlwind. She'd fought off a snarling Lychos with her bare hands, only to be cornered by the rest of the pack. She hated to admit it, but Travis was her knight in shining hubcaps as he slammed his vehicle into her assailants. He'd also helped her dive into the portal to try to rescue Ted. All the memories that seemed to escape as she plummeted to the dry desert surface came flooding back in.

Travis. Damn.

Natalie tried to blink some sand out of her eyes as she looked to her left. Ted had passed out 10 minutes ago. As much as she wanted to punch him for the free-fall, she opted to check his vitals instead. The wound on his side seemed to have closed up. His breathing appeared unrestricted, and his pulse was strong for someone who'd gotten the crap kicked out of them. He was just too weak to stay conscious, which seemed awfully convenient. If her napping ex-boyfriend was right, then she and Travis were separated by more than miles. Space or time or whatever the heck served as borders between Earth and this wasteland were keeping them apart.

"He said he loved me." Natalie sat up. The sand formed a thin layer on her sweaty skin. "And what did I do? I dove through a portal to bring back Sir Faints-a-Lot." She got to her knees and pushed herself to standing. "And I failed."

The breeze, much gentler than it'd been a few hundred feet above the sand, brought a cool touch to the rays of the sinking sun. She let her eyes linger on the light source a second too long, and it left a glowing impression on the back of her eyelids.

Natalie sighed. "I should've said it back. Even if…."

She didn't know what love was. Travis was an idiot, and without her around he'd probably get himself killed. Then again, Ted certainly had his moments of idiocy, and she'd once been convinced that he was the one. 

Natalie growled and shook it off. She took in their surroundings. They'd landed in a deep valley of endless sand. The tall dunes to either side made it impossible to see anything but sand or sun. If something nasty lived behind those hills, Natalie and Ted would never see it coming.

She put her hands on her hips. "We're sitting ducks out here. We better move." Natalie looked at Ted's chest, which rose and fell like he was testing out a luxury mattress.

Her legs ached at the thought of carrying him. "I hate you."

Natalie tried to distract herself as she dragged Ted up one of the sand hills. With each heave, she thought of another member of their group. Dhiraj and Jennifer were on surveillance when she'd tumbled through the gateway. Maybe they'd caught Senator Kable's actions on camera. Erica had been battling with the evil living soul when Natalie had last glanced at her. She smiled when she pictured the protector slamming a guardrail into the Presidential candidate's skull.

"Yeah, she's okay." Natalie grunted as she hoisted Ted up to the top of the hill. "She's gotta be."

Natalie gave her ex one final tug until he was secure on top of the dune. She let herself collapse by his side. Natalie's legs burned from the effort and she rubbed at her quadriceps.

"You're dead weight, Finley." She smirked. "Kind of like you were at the end of our relationship."

When he didn't even stir, she gave him a light kick. She would've struck him harder if she didn't think it might re-open the clotted stab wound on his side. It's not like he didn't deserve it.

With a deep breath, Natalie stood up to take in the new vantage point. About 99 percent of what she saw was sand and dunes. The air was so dry it seemed to suck the breath out of her. The brightness of the sun caused her to squint as she looked toward the horizon. Her lips curled into a smile. Off in the distance, about three miles off if her calculations were correct, was something else. It looked man-made. Or at least made by whatever lived on this planet. The sun began to dip in the sky.

"We need shelter."

Natalie knelt down beside Ted. She pinched his cheek. "Come on, Ted. I'm not carrying you again." 

She looked out toward the potential safe haven. Natalie shook him gently at first, then progressively harder.

His breathing seemed fine, but his eyes remained closed.

Natalie rubbed at her sore right leg. "If you don't get up, I'm gonna let something eat you."

No response.

Her nostrils flared. "I'm not kidding!"

Natalie yanked at the rope that she'd re-cinched around her waist. The other end was tied underneath Ted's arms. The first half-mile wasn't so bad, as the purported hero slid along the top layer of sand. As she got closer to her destination, however, the ground started to clump together, possibly indicating a water source close by. The chance of water was good for their survival, but it caused Natalie's feet to sink deeper into the ground. With her increased exertion came the anger.

"I can't wait till you wake up." She ignored the stinging pain in her hip. "Because that's when I'm gonna kill you."

As Natalie continued to make progress, she could see the landmark coming into focus. A fifth of a smile graced her lips when she realized the building was a house. The rotting wood on the exterior of the one-room hut told Natalie it had been abandoned long ago. While it wasn't a Kit Kable mansion or anything, the shelter would be better than sitting out in the open.

"Well, one of us is sitting." She grunted and forced Ted's momentum back in the right direction. "I know you're injured, but you could at least hover over the damn ground."

The last half-mile was the hardest. It was now apparent that the water source was beside the shelter. Her aching calves told her to abandon Ted and quench her thirst. She ignored her selfish impulses and pressed on.

"You know, there's a lot of people I could blame for this." Natalie jerked her cargo forward. "I could say it's Erica's fault for making you 'heroic.'" Another tug and another few feet forward. "Maybe the senator for setting up his whole evil scheme." She was on the home stretch now, down to the last 50 steps for sure. "But no, I'm gonna take it in a different direction." Natalie took another painful stride forward. "I'm gonna blame you, Ted. You heavy. Unconscious. Load of crap."

With a final pull, Natalie reached the front door of the cabin. She loosened the rope and knocked on the wood. It opened inward with a creak. Her stomach tensed up.

"Hello?" She stepped past the threshold. "I've got an injured waste of space here. Got any vacancies?"

She didn't get a response from the empty one-room hut. The inside looked just as unimpressive as the outside, but at least they could rest on solid ground for a spell. Natalie had gotten her fill of sand for the decade.

After she pulled Ted inside, Natalie let herself take a few sips from the tiny pond outside. She knew from several camping trips that the water could be polluted, but she'd lost just enough sweat from her sled dog impression to make it worth the risk. When an hour went by with nothing but the normal stomach rumblings, she declared the water safe and poured some into Ted's mouth using her hand.

By now, the sun was a few minutes away from ducking behind the highest visible sand dune. With the lack of light came a chillier wind that made Natalie glad she'd lugged Ted inside.

"Maybe we'll actually survive a few hours in this place."

When the sun dipped out of view, the first non-wind noise she'd heard all afternoon came in through the window. It sounded like slithering, but it seemed way too loud for that. Natalie gripped the ground beneath her. After a minute of silence she let out the breath she'd been holding. Ted's only reaction was the rising and falling of his chest with each unconscious breath.

Natalie looked over at him and grumbled. "Don't worry, I'll check it out."

The second she reached the window, the sound penetrated the thin walls once again. This time, she had a terrifying picture to go along with it. It was slithering, all right. A worm as big as a bus leapt above ground before dipping back beneath the sand. Natalie froze before the window. A moment later, the worm performed the same sand leap as before, but this time it and the sound were a few hundred feet closer. It was moving too fast. It almost wasn't fair.

Natalie dove to the ground, gripped Ted's shirt and shook him hard.

"Alright, sleeping beauty, time to go!" She glanced back at the window and then at his face. She whipped her arm back and slapped him right in the cheek. There was no response. "Great. We're gonna be worm chow."

Natalie's adrenaline surged as she scooped up Ted and hoisted him onto her shoulder. She took one last glance out the window. The creature had stopped moving about 50 feet out. With glassy, vacant eyes, it stared directly at Natalie. After what seemed like minutes, the worm continued its underground path toward them. The slithering noise grew louder with each passing second. The deafening sound seemed to surround them before it stopped. Natalie looked straight down.

"It's beneath us."

She gritted her teeth and ran at full force for the entrance, hauling Ted with her. As she leapt from the edge of the threshold, the beast smashed through the floor of the hut and into the roof. Shards of wood flew through the air with one particularly sharp bit whizzing by Natalie's face. The worm shook off the pieces of house that remained on its glistening, pink exterior. Once the shelter had been completely destroyed, the creature looked back at Natalie and Ted.

Note to self: Abandoned huts are usually abandoned for a reason.

She lowered Ted to the ground and reached for the splintered wooden stake that'd nearly shaved off her cheek. It wasn't quite large enough to be a staff, but Natalie supposed she'd have to manage. The worm zipped across the top of the sand and headed straight for them.

"Eat dirt!"

Natalie drew back her hand and tossed the stick like a javelin. It lodged itself in the worm's face and caused the creature to stop in its slimy tracks.

Natalie hoped she'd somehow busted the worm's pea-sized brain, but there was no such luck. The beast seemed to absorb the stick into its skin, leaving Natalie weaponless.

"Fan-freakin'-tastic."

The worm continued its path ahead, this time at twice the speed. Natalie resolved to be one hell of a pain on its digestive tract. She braced for impact.

A sound resembling a video game laser blaster filled Natalie's ears. The worm tumbled sideways away from its prey. Natalie saw a black burn mark on its side. Another energy pulse zipped through the air and hit the creature again. This time, the worm slithered away from the former hut and ducked back under the ground.

Natalie turned toward the source of the blast. A woman stood there who seemed to be a decade her senior. She held a gun unlike anything Natalie had ever seen.

Chapter 4

Razellia watched as the terralite scattered away and dove back through the sand. She couldn't remember the last time she'd used an energy weapon; there was no question her hands were shakier this time around. She concentrated on slowing her breathing and looked at the young boy and girl before her.

They're alive. But how?

Razellia tried to look over at the survivors, but the darkness of evening hardly provided enough light. She pulled out one of the hovering lamps she'd brought and fiddled with the settings to make it float overhead. Razellia let it fly above them and soon enough, it was bright as day directly below the light.

The girl stood still. She was taller and older than Razellia had anticipated. She looked powerful, as if she'd been training most of her life. There were rumors circulating about a gatekeeper who'd been won over to their side. Could that be her?

"Hi." There was a hint of wariness in the girl's eyes. "That's one heck of a gun."

Hundreds of years ago, a light soul emissary cast an enchantment on the entire planet to close the gaps between all language speakers. Razellia could tell that the girl spoke a different tongue from her, but she was able to understand it all the same.

Razellia's lips curled up. "It is. Are you all right?"

The girl nodded and glanced down at her partner. The boy's face was obscured, though his chest seemed to rise and fall as needed. "My – friend has been passed out here since we arrived."

Razellia couldn't tell if the girl was jumpy from the terralite attack or because of the weapon. She withdrew it and placed it in her holster.

The girl continued. "He was wounded in – where we came from."

Something had drawn Razellia from her home and her daughter's side to these two. She would need more information than the girl seemed willing to provide to understand why. Razellia approached with caution and knelt down beside the boy. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

The girl held her breath for a moment, but eventually she nodded her assent.

Razellia turned the boy over and brushed the sand off his face. Her heart skipped a beat. The sight of him caused her to dive backward. She pushed herself back with her hands until she felt like she was at a safe distance.

Alarm painted the girl's face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Razellia had never seen him up close. She'd seen him on screens and propaganda posters, of course. It was as if he'd been pulled from the page and placed before her in the desert. It was the General himself.