Chapter 33
GILLIAN
If Dalox wanted to keep my mind off the fact we are in stealth mode and we’re being chased by another space ship, origin unknown, he knew exactly what to do.
And it was even better than the first time and his clean-up session.
One he happily repeated even though I protested although not exactly with all of my being.
Dalox was not going to take no for an answer on this occasion, and I was happy to defer to his abilities. I will always defer to his abilities. His tongue is absolutely something else.
When I finally emerge from the bathroom, Dalox is back at the controls of the flyer.
“We’re approaching the landing site,” he calls over his shoulder. “If you want to have a look.”
“Any sign of the other ship?” I ask as I walk to the viewing window and am confronted with a sea of greens and blues along with bright pops of pinks and reds.
The jungle beneath us is intertwined with mist, hanging between the tallest of trees and the canopy below, giving the entire place a mystical and slightly creepy feeling. I’m usually pretty skeptical of the paranormal, but this place gives me a shiver I can’t escape from.
“It’s not in this vicinity,” Dalox says, giving me some reassurance. “We should be coming up on the target in the next thirty nova-seconds. We’ll do a fly by before determining the best landing spot.”
I watch the jungle below us as it zips past until, up ahead, I see a shiny, silvered surface which can only be one thing.
“Here it is,” I call out to Dalox.
He pushes the nose of the flyer up and swings to the left so we can look down on the ship below.
My heart skips in my chest as it appears in its full glory.
The top of the ship, a saucer shape like the ones joined together to form their base, is still silver, but the jungle has encroached on the edges, coloring them green and making it look almost… frilly.
To find this lost ship, I feel like Indian Jones on an adventure, and after all, I’m dressed for the part. I look over at Dalox and my heart booms louder. When he looks up at me, it’s as if he can hear it.
I’ve heard of love at first sight. I didn’t believe it.
But somehow Dalox has slipped under my skin, under my considerable defenses, and is here, knocking on the door of my heart.
I shove at the emotion. It can’t possibly be true. I have to go home. I have a promise to keep, and it doesn’t involve introducing humankind to the Sarkarnii. The only reason we’re here is because I have to make good on what I said to my mum I would do.
I have to be strong. I have to continue, and if it means being without Dalox, then that is what I’ll have to do.
As we make another turn looking for a landing spot, a flock of alien birds rises suddenly out of the canopy below, flapping wildly.
They’re large, at least the size of geese, and they are fast.
“Dalox!” I yell, pointing to the creatures.
He attempts to change course, but then so do the birds. He sways the flyer but it’s no use. The flock scatters, and I hear the thump of bodies against the hull followed by a sickening lurch as we come to an almost midair standstill.
The alarms go wild. The entire bridge is filled with the screeching of them. Dalox is punching every part of his console, but nothing is happening.
“Nev!” he growls. “One of them must be in the engine.”
“What does that mean?” I shout over the noise.
“It means we need to get the nev off this ship.”
Dalox moves like water, fluid, swiftly, before I can even blink. He has me in his arms and we’re at the airlock which opens and the hot jungle air rushes in, so thick and sweet I could almost cut it with a knife.
“Hold onto me,” Dalox orders, and I fling my arms around his neck as he steps out of the flyer, and we’re falling and falling.
I look back over his shoulder to see the flyer lurch away from us, smoke coming from the engine at the rear followed by a flame and a small explosion before my vision is blocked by a huge set of leathery wings.
I grip at Dalox like glue as we turn and turn above the ship below, making me dizzy for a while before finally, we land on the surface, and it rings like a bell.
Dalox puts me gently onto my feet. The surface below them is slightly slippery.
There is a loud echoing crash as the flyer hits the canopy some distance from us, followed by a low, unpleasant crunch noise and then a shuddering explosion which rocks the ship we’re standing on, causing my feet to slip and Dalox to grab me.
“I’m no expert, but I don’t think that was meant to happen,” I say, looking up at Dalox who still has a tight grip on my arm.
His jaw is tight.
“I should have scanned the area for the gremlin-birds,” he says. “They’re probably the reason this ship is here in the first place.”
“Gremlin-birds?” I stare at him, not sure if I’ve heard him right.
“They are indigenous to this continent. Whilst we did not like the climate, we also did not want our ships constantly attacked by the creatures. They are attracted to the electrical pulses in our star-engines among other things. They like to eat them.”
“So, they flew at us deliberately.”
“The flyer was their next meal.” Dalox looks longingly at the rising plume of smoke.
“It belongs to the jungle now.” I sigh. “And we’re marooned.”
“Our situation can be remedied in time.” Dalox pulls in a long breath and then releases a stream of smoke from his mouth and nose. “We may as well see if the mapping system is in this hulk or not.”