Brevan
She slept against my chest. Exhausted. Trusting.
I held her and listened to the search patterns outside. They were getting smarter. Tightening their grid. We'd have to move soon.
Flinx sat on guard near the cave entrance, his sensors monitoring everything within a kilometer.
I woke Carys gently. “Time to go.”
She came alert immediately. No grogginess. Six years of captivity had trained that out of her.
“How close?”
“Too close.”
I lifted her again. She wrapped her arms around my neck automatically now. We'd found our rhythm.
The terrain was changing. Less rocky. More forested. Better cover but also harder to navigate quickly while carrying someone.
Flinx warned.
“How long?”
An hour until they could track us regardless of how we moved. We needed extraction.
“I have to signal Kallum,” I said.
“They'll detect it.”
“That's the point.” I set her down behind a massive tree. “I'm going to activate an emergency beacon. It'll bring everyone—theirs and ours. But Kallum will get here first.”
“You hope.”
“I know.” I pulled the beacon from my jacket. “He's been shadowing us since we entered atmosphere. Just waiting for my signal.”
I activated it. A burst transmission. Location. Status. Urgency.
Immediately, Flinx reported:
“Now we run,” I said, lifting her again.
But this time I didn't try to hide our trail. I ran straight. Fast. Making distance rather than stealth.
Behind us, I could hear them coming. Ground forces. Aircraft. Everything Tarsus had.
The terrain opened into a plateau. Exposed. Terrible positioning.
I went left. Toward another cliff edge.
“Brevan—”
“Trust me.”
I leaped.
We fell. Carys's arms tightened around my neck. I twisted in midair, controlling our descent. We hit the slope below hard but controlled. I absorbed the impact, protecting her.
But it cost me. My left leg took the worst of it. Not broken but damaged. I could still run but not as fast.
The forces above were shouting. Redirecting. They'd have to go around. We'd bought minutes.
I ran into denser forest. The canopy would interfere with aerial surveillance.
A pulse caught my shoulder from behind. Spun me. I kept Carys protected, taking the hit on my back.
Another hit. Ribs. My Vinduthi skin absorbed most of it, but I felt something crack.
Flinx indicated.
I dove into the cave entrance just as more weapons fire erupted behind us. The cave went deep, twisting into darkness.
I kept going until the sounds of pursuit faded. Finally, I found a chamber. Defensible. Single entrance. Water dripping somewhere deeper.
I set Carys down carefully.
“You're hurt,” she said, seeing the blood.
“I'll heal.” But I was breathing hard now. The injuries were stacking up.
“The beacon,” she said. “Kallum will come?”
“When he can. But not while they're swarming. He'll wait for them to spread out. Few hours maybe.”
She helped me sit against the cave wall. Started checking my injuries with gentle hands.
“That was insane,” she said.
“That was necessary.” I caught her hand. “We're off their grid now. They know our general area but not our specific location. We can rest. Heal. Wait for extraction.”
“And if they find us?”
“Then we go deeper into the caves. This system is extensive.” I pulled her against my good side. “We're safe for now.”
She pressed against me. I could feel her exhaustion. The adrenaline crash hitting.
“Sleep,” I told her. “I'll keep watch.”
“You need rest too. You're injured.”
“I need you safe more than I need rest.”
She lifted her head to look at me. Those brown eyes seeing too much. “We're going to make it, aren't we?”
“Yes,” I said. Certain. “We’re not done yet.”
She settled against my chest. Within minutes, her breathing deepened into sleep.
I held her in the darkness of the cave. Listened for pursuit. Felt my body already beginning to heal.
In a few hours, Kallum would come. We'd run again. Make it to real safety.
But for now, this was enough. She was safe. She was free. She was mine to protect.
I'd carried her this far. I'd carry her the rest of the way.
No matter what it cost.