Chapter 43
Holly
It wasn’t the exact same starship that had taken them from Earth, but it was clearly similar. Like two cars that were the same model, but one was a year or two newer. This one was also cleaner, untouched, like it had just been bought and not broken in yet.
The landing ship docked in place and Sizuka, alone, grabbed the rope still wrapped around their bubble and began yanking it out. It wasn’t as easy now that she was by herself and they weren’t buoyed by the water, but Sizuka was determined.
The docking bay was a decently sized room, but there was only one spot for the small lander that they had arrived in. Its exit remained open, tempting them to run in if they could, as Sizuka dragged them into the hall of the ship.
Holly and Hattie exchanged a look. Neither of them saying anything, but both agreeing without speaking that those open doors would be their way out if they could get there.
The halls of the ship were small. Almost too small for the glowy orb.
But Sizuka was determined, and she continued yanking against it, jerking it along a few inches at a time.
Holly had only explored the ship that kidnapped them for a short time, but she knew immediately that Sizuka was going to be taking them to storage.
The very same room she and the others had been imprisoned in before.
The ship was built like a circle with the various rooms coming off the central hall with the engine in the center.
It was made to hold a crew of about ten and came with a kitchen and rec area.
This one had clearly not been furnished or prepared for those ten people. It was still shiny and echoingly empty.
The wide door of the storage room at the far back of the ship came into view and Sizuka sneered her pleasure.
“That barrier won’t last forever,” she promised them, her voice slightly distorted from the light. “And when it falls, your lives are mine.”
As though the barrier heard her threat and wanted to help her along, its light began to dim. Sizuka’s smile widened, anticipating her victory.
Holly leaned back, as though she might escape, disguising the fact that she was grabbing a fistful of the mud layered beneath her and Hattie.
The barrier dimmed further, starting to make a high-pitched whining sound as it struggled to maintain its integrity.
Hattie tensed, ready to run.
Sizuka dropped the ropes and lifted her claws to strike.
The barrier began to shrink, distort, it’s glow weak and pale.
Holly tensed.
The three of them waited. A standoff to see who had the fastest reaction time.
The combot’s light died. The barrier winked out of existence. Holly and Hattie fell, their legs hitting the metal ground just as Sizuka leapt forward. Holly threw her fistful of mud.
Smack!
It struck her right on the face, getting directly into one of her unprotected eyes. But it couldn’t stop her forward motion. Hattie tried to fall back, but she wasn’t fast enough. She screamed as Sizuka’s claws slashed down her shoulder. At least it wasn’t her neck, as she had been aiming for.
Holly was already grabbing another fistful of mud. Sizuka was rubbing at her face, trying to clear her eye with both a nictitating membrane and her hand. Holly slammed the mud into the front of her snout, smacking her back at the same time she smeared it into her nostrils.
Hattie was already up despite the blood gushing down the front of her pale orange dress. She had grabbed Holly’s arm and was yanking her along as well, pulling her down the hall.
The muck and mud made her slip and slide even as Hattie kept her moving.
She eventually got her feet back under her and the two of them took off down the thin hall, only occasionally sliding.
Behind them, Sizuka hissed and cursed in her native tongue, a sound that was as close to demonic as Holly had ever heard.
“Where are we going?!” She yelled, not daring to look behind, knowing she would see a dinosaur on their tail.
“Cockpit!” Hattie yelled back.
It was as good an idea as any. The cockpit was on the opposite side of the ship. If they could get in there, they could signal for help or something. They definitely couldn’t get away. They had been taking hover lessons, not starship lessons.
Holly really should have looked back.
If she had, she might have realized that Sizuka wasn’t giving chase at all. A fact they didn’t realize until they came around a curve and she was there, having gone around the other way. One eye was irritated and red, and her face was still splattered with mud, and she looked pissed.
Hattie screamed, coming up short. Holly yanked back against the hand that still held hers, just barely pulling Hattie out of the way of the blow that nearly cut her from navel to neck.
Hattie’s muddy feet slid on the smooth floor, sending her falling onto her butt.
Her grip on Holly meant that Hattie also fell to her knees.
The hard blow made her groan as Sizuka hissed at them, angry that they had once again escaped her claws.
They didn’t get lucky again.
Sizuka grabbed Hattie by the front of her dress and yanked her up, holding her close so she wouldn’t get the chance to slip away again.
“No!” Holly leapt up. She slipped, but successfully landed on Sizuka. She grabbed her arm and hung on in an attempt to keep her from cutting down her friend.
Sizuka hissed, angrily trying to shake her off. Holly gritted her teeth and held on tighter knowing if she lost her grip, Hattie would be vulnerable again.
“Let go!” Sizuka snapped in frustration.
Holly dug her nails into her scales. It did nothing but make her fingers ache, so she bit down as well, also succeeding in nothing at all. Sizuka’s scales were too hard to bite through. But her determination to hang on continued.
Pain suddenly burst in her head, along her back, and she nearly lost her grip. It wasn’t until the second blow that she realized Sizuka was slamming her against the wall.
Was that why the ship was shaking?
Alarms began blaring overhead, stilling the reptilian woman. She looked up as a robotic voice hissed something in her native language that Holly didn’t understand. But judging by the fear that washed over her face, Sizuka did not like it.
“Fine! You first!” She growled, dropping Hattie who hit the ground with a cry of pain. She wasn’t down for more than a second before she, too, was scrambling up. She grabbed hold of Sizuka’s legs and held on like a child going for a ride.
Enough to keep her still.
Not enough to save Holly from the newly freed set of claws that lifted over her.
Holly saw her death in their black shine.
Without thinking, she released her grip.
She fell back, hitting her head on the wall again, then crumpled to the ground just as Sizuka’s claws slashed against the metal surface where her face had been.
She let out a roar of pain as Holly heard the distinct cracking of her claws breaking then clattering against the ground along with a few drops of blue blood.
Roaring, Sizuka slammed the back of her hand against Hattie’s face, sending her flying, knocking the back of her head against the ground. She groaned, failing this time to stand back up.
Sizuka gave her no mind as she stomped her heavy dinosaur foot down on Holly’s gut, her slightly dulled toe talons digging into her flesh.
Holly grabbed the limb and tried to move it without success as Sizuka glared at her with burning hatred.
Overhead, the alarm continued to shriek – that same, robotic voice repeating something over and over again.
“You’ve taken everything from me,” Sizuka snarled, despair mixing with her hatred. “I will claim at least your lives in return!”
She slashed down with her intact claws.
Holly flinched, prepared for the cutting pain to rip through her throat.
A thud followed by a grunt proceeded the weight on her gut suddenly being ripped away. Her eyes snapped open and immediately filled with tears.
Towering over her, a beautiful wizard at full power, his skin a mix of the same steel gray as the ship around them and her own blush pink thanks to his flowing pants, Romival stood over her.
She had no idea where his robe vanished to or why he had dried, blackened blood splattered across his face, but she didn’t rightfully care.
He was here. He had caught up to them. He was so beautiful.
She turned her gaze down at the sound of retching. Sizuka had landed beside Hattie who had turned over and was vomiting onto the floor. Blood stained the back of her head.
Before the lizard woman could attack her, Tuvo was there. The massive domini male ran past Romival and slammed his boot into her side, sending her flying away from Hattie. She hit the wall where the hall turned and fell, hissing in anger and pain.
Injured, but undeterred, she immediately tried to stand again.
Romival and Tuvo ignored her completely.
“Holly, are you all right?” The former asked, kneeling down beside her.
Tears burned down her temples and she could barely breathe past the lump in her throat, but she nodded eagerly, briefly forgetting the pain in her joy and relief at seeing him again.