217. Descent
217
Descent
A ’Dar
I find enough charged rifles and pistols for each of the six of us, as well as a chuntrum I’ll keep for myself. There’s no way to test them. Firing them will give away our location.
Our weapons all looked charged and functional until we tried to use them. The cerium electro-pulse disabled them. I can only hope since the pirates set off the pulse, they ensured their weapons would work after their enemies’ weapons failed. It remains to be seen.
“A’Dar?”
Maya’s voice sounds panicked. My head snaps in her direction.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing’s wrong with me ,” she says, her golden eyes scanning my face. “I think you’re getting sick.”
I didn’t think it was noticeable. I’ve been trying to hide it. It struck like a lightning bolt in the stairwell on our way to the landing bay. At that point, my machta affected the edges of my vision with the slightest pink tinge and I noticed my energy flagging.
After that, I was consumed with the fight against those four Charthians in the docking bay. Because it was dim and my vision had changed, the red tinge wasn’t noticeable. Since we’ve been on board this ship, I’ve been so focused on finding weaponry that I’ve pushed my physical status to the back of my mind.
“You’re… panting.”
She’s right.
“And your pupils are pinpoints. Come. Sit.” She eases onto the bed, which belongs to a big male, larger perhaps than a Xenon, and pats the spot next to her.
I know she’s human, but could she be so na?ve as to ask this of me?
“Stand up!” I hadn’t meant for it to come out as an order, but it does.
“What?” she asks, rising like the bed is on fire.
“The male who lived here, the captain. He may have been gone for two thousand years, but his scent still lingers. I couldn’t bear his smell on you, Maya.” The mere thought of it makes bile climb the back of my throat.
“Wait there,” she orders, “I’m going to find a vacant room, then you’re going to lie down. Don’t worry. These guys were such pigs. If there’s a vacant room, I’ll be able to find it. It will be the one that won’t need a shovel to clean it.”
She leaves, one knife in each hand. I should call her back, or at the very least I should go with her, but I don’t have the energy. Not wanting to sit on that male’s bed, I drop to my knees on the floor and pant as my vision devolves into a stark red haze.
Maya
Only three doors up the side of the hall we hadn’t explored yet, I find a clean room. I’m still holding my knives, although the computer told us we’re safe, when I hurry back to A’Dar.
He’s kneeling, almost folded in two, his face only inches from the floor. His panting is an odd cadence with a silent inhale and an exhausted exhale with every breath. When he glances at me, unable to sit up straight, his eyes have faded from the sickly yellow they were when I left the room. They’re almost white now.
He doesn’t have to tell me it’s machta . I’m feeling it too. If he was doing well, it would be me who gave in to the bone-deep weariness flowing through me. But he needs me, so I push through the pain and exhaustion.
“Get up, Captain!” I order, figuring it won’t hurt to remind him he’s a soldier. He’ll need to get to the other room under his own power. Even with my enhancements, I won’t be able to lug a Xenon warrior without his help.