32. Hope
32
Hope
M arcus walked to the doorway that opened to the rest of the cellholt, where all the courtrades were standing in line.
He walked between both lines, his firm steps not faltering, as he said, “We are less than forty hours from reaching the tunnel underneath Corentre. The tunnel that will take us to the city above the net of vessels, where the Thyrian courtrades will be ready to assist us.”
“But it looks like the roixers have somehow detected that this is a rogue cellholt, and are pushing vessels around to intercept us.” His voice was as sharp as the blades Hope and Aridian had been throwing minutes before. “I do not plan on dying in the middle of a Llunal-damned vessel, nor letting any of you die at their hands, either.”
Hope saw a few courtrades nodding in silence. Marcus continued, “I want everyone of you armed to the teeth with every single weapon you have. I want everyone to put two food rations in your pockets, packs or wherever you deem comfortable. I am going to set up multiple automatized vessel jumps in the living map to mislead them and make them waste as many of these forty hours as possible chasing us. Not us . Chasing an empty cellholt. While we run on foot through the vessels until we reach our destination. And we start running in fifteen minutes.”
Marcus went back to the cabin and started making carefully thought movements on the living map, including multiple calculations that had probably taken months to figure out.
“The only way to make them believe they are chasing us is to base the future pushes of the vessels on the usual panom forces across the net,” Marcus explained as Aridian and Jessica donned on every single weapon they owned. Nina and Aurora were outside the cabin, getting whatever they needed. Marcus looked at Hope and said, “I know you have all your blades and weapons on you every single time you are awake, but you need to grab your two rations of food.”
“I can look after myself,” Hope said.
Aridian rolled his eyes, “We know you are a super powerful woman that does not need any help ever, but take these two rations and shut up, will you?” He threw two portions at Hope’s chest and she grabbed them before they hit her, pocketing them quickly.
“How much blood do you need for all these jumps you are scheduling?” Hope asked.
Marcus looked at her, then at the crystal orb that stored the source of energy that her panom blood had now become. “Twice the usual amount, to be safe,” Marcus said. “In usual circumstances it would fuel the cellholt for six days, but if I can instruct the pushes to be more intense, the cellholt might get farther, traveling faster.”
So by the time the roixers intercepted it and saw there was no one inside, they would be too far to catch them within the vessels before they made their way out. Without further explanations, Hope cut her hand and let the blood flow inside the crystal.
It was all about time. Reaching the tunnel before the roixers caught them and tried to kill them all was like going against a time-ticking panom bomb. And about time it was indeed, as Marcus soon walked outside the cabin and said, “Time’s up. We jump from the cellholt while it’s moving, because if they are monitoring the living map and they see a decrease in speed, they will know when we have abandoned it and track us from here.”
“Isn’t it going faster than ever?” Nina asked Hope.
Hope held Nina’s hand, unable to ignore what the cold sweat on her pale skin meant. She looked at Nina, who was staring at Marcus with wide eyes and a deep frown, presumably considering if he had lost his mind.
“It is going faster so it can go farther and buy us some time,” Hope explained, but Nina didn’t take her eyes off Marcus. So Hope stepped in front of her and said, “We are jumping together, Nina. As we will climb the tunnel to Corentre. Together.”
Nina swallowed, her eyes less wide, but her frown still persistent. Hope continued, “Your brother might be right above us right now, and he needs you. But we need to get out of this net of vessels first. That is all we have to do. All we will do. And we will do it together.”
Hope squeezed Nina’s hand, and she returned the squeeze. Before Nina could reconsider, Hope pulled her hand until they were behind Aurora in the long line of beings. The line of courtrades was facing the back of the cellholt, where crates were now piled forming some steps that lead to the roofless top of the vehicle. As Marcus gave the signal, they started jumping out one after the other. Without hesitation. Without fear.
Far from fear, some courtrades seemed extremely excited to have some action after dull weeks sitting inside the same four glass walls of the cellholt. Never minding the fact that this action involved lethal military-trained roixers chasing them in an underwater net of Cardinally created vessels.
Aurora’s turn to jump shortly approached, and she winked at Hope and Nina before jumping out. Hope and Nina were next, only leaving Lidia, Aridian and Marcus behind them.
They climbed the crates to the top, unable to fully stand above them as their heads would hit the blueish and fast-moving top of the vessel. Hope held Nina’s hand tight. She was perfectly aware of how much sweaty and much colder her hand had become in the space of a couple of minutes.
“I’ve got you, Nina,” Hope said. “Let’s make this trip worth it. For your brother.” She counted to three, and their feet shot into the air.