Chapter 14 Thorne
Chapter Fourteen
THORNE
As much as I want to leave him to the slow death he assuredly deserves, we treat everyone with decency here. When I hear the sound of his cry, I know he is alive, so I must get him help.
I return to the group, reporting to Hunter, “I will go rescue him, but I don’t want to delay the departure.”
“I can stay back with you,” Hunter offers.
Hunter waits with me, along with Raven, who arrived with the hovercraft. In addition to his duties for the royal security team, he is a healer.
“Perfect. If this guy has any injuries, you can help,” I say.
The others leave, the hovercraft departing with the prisoners first, followed by the rest of our security group leaving on their mounts. Hunter, Raven, and I make our way back to the ledge where the man fell.
We peer over the edge of the cliff. Our mounts are waiting impatiently. Part of me wants to fly down, but it’s too rocky and there’s nowhere to land.
“We’re gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way,” Raven says with a rakish grin.
I’ve always liked Raven. Bright and quick-witted, he thinks on his feet and never hesitates to simply act. In short order, we agree I will repel down to the man because my climbing skills are the strongest. Hunter will fly down on his mount and hover in the air nearby in case something goes awry.
A while later, once I reach the man, it’s clear he will survive, but he’s groaning in pain. He eyes me skeptically.
“I don’t want to go back to Earth,” he says.
“So you jumped off a cliff to stop that?” I counter.
“Yes. I’ll give you all the information you want. I’m a spy on Earth. You can confirm it with the authorities there. The other men I traveled here with have been communicating with the protesters on your planet. That’s why we planned this trip. The leadership on Earth is changing.”
The man winces when he tries to move. “We’ll talk more once you’re safe,” I say.
I quickly prep him to be carried up on the climbing ropes. A few minutes later, I’m making my way back up the cliff with Raven guiding us by rope and Hunter keeping an eye out along the way. Once we’re safe, Raven sets to work, taking care of the man’s injuries. His name is Jack.
All of this takes long enough that we figure it’s best for us to wait for another hovercraft to come back the following day. We communicate that to Kayden and the prince, who assure us a small hovercraft will arrive at daybreak tomorrow.
This time, we make ourselves comfortable in the outpost and gather more information from Jack. Earth has been in the throes of an oppressive and frankly stupid regime for centuries. The desperate decisions they’ve chosen have been made worse by the lack of resources.
“There are good people on Earth,” Jack says.
“They would like to give women their rights back. They would like to cooperate with other planets in the galaxy so that we can repair our planet and use the new technology available to survive better. These men heard about the rumors up here and decided, I guess”—he rolls his eyes at this—“to come here, a place that’s amazing, and make it shitty like Earth.
” He shakes his head. “Even the men are miserable there because the women hate them. It’s just…
” He circles his hand in the air. “Quite literally, a stupid and vicious circle.”
The building we’re in rattles from a gust of wind. I open one of the windows to see a massive storm rolling in over the mountains.
I take a breath. “Looks like we might be here for more than a day.”
Jack glances between us. “What do you mean?”
“On this side of the planet, storms usually last at least a full day, and they’re fierce,” Hunter explains.
“Don’t worry, we’re safe,” I add. “This outpost is built into a mountain. If the wind gets too bad, we have shelter deeper in the mountain. We’ll just wait it out. We have enough food and supplies for our planet’s full army to live here for an entire year.”
“For the three of us, we’re good to go,” Hunter chimes in.
Jack looks between us, letting out a wondering laugh. “And the fighters on Earth are made to fight for nothing. God, we’re so stupid.”
Hunter chuckles. “Disaster makes people desperate, and desperate people don’t always make smart and strategic choices. It’s a scramble for control.”
We wake the following morning with the storm still raging. We’re not even able to communicate. Our remote cameras do work, though, because those lines are impervious to the poor weather. The team tells us via video feed that they will return once the storm ends.
I miss Romi, and it’s obvious Hunter misses Melody. Once again, I feel the tug in my heart. I silently tell her I love her and will be safe. I feel worry reverberating through the line.