Chapter 12
ALLY
“No!” Ally screamed, aiming a kick at the man in front of her.
He shifted, but not before she caught a piece of him. Still, he shoved the electro-stick into Lyk’s side before she could stop him.
Evie let out an ear-piercing shriek as Lyk convulsed in front of them. Ally lurched forward again, attempting to knock the stick from the man’s hand, but he caught her and shoved her back, waving the weapon between them.
“This is all your fault,” the man shrieked, his face a rictus of impending violence.
Ally grabbed Evie’s hand and did the only thing she could. She ran. Pulling her sister behind her, she dodged others as she weaved through the market, trying to find a place to hide.
He’s dead, Ally thought, fighting back panic. She’d seen Rigellus’s crewman turn up the weapon to maximum. There’s no way he survived that. No one could.
“There!” Evie yelled, pointing to a small pathway between two tables that seemed to lead to a more open area beyond.
They skittered down the path, Ally turning back to check for the crewman in red. He was shoving his way through the crowd, his eyes still trained on them.
“Hurry,” she cried, picking up the pace as they lurched out from between the tables into the clearing. There were archways that seemed to lead to different areas of the outpost. Ally scanned the space, then shot off toward a set of stairs she saw on the left.
“Ally, where are we going?” Evie’s voice was filled with fear.
“Away from the bastard that’s chasing us with an electro-stick,” she grunted, taking the stairs two at a time. Two levels down, another archway stood, the area beyond filled with flashing lights. “Come on!” She led her sister through the archway. “Find a place to hide!”
They’d come out into a wide area that was filled with a series of smaller archways, each advertising themselves.
“Crave that personal touch? Our ladies will provide.”
“Win enough credits to buy this outpost!”
“Cool drinks. Hot women. Live music!”
The air was filled with a cacophony of sounds spilling from each of the establishments. They could hide in any of them. But which one?
“There!” Evie pointed at an archway with a velvet rope strung across it. Hanging from the rope was a sign stating, “Closed for remodeling.”
Ally slid under the rope, Evie following her lead, and soon, they were ensconced in dimness. Shadowy shapes were covered in heavy canvas, while piles of flooring and cans of paint dotted the landscape.
Ally ducked behind one of the canvas-covered shapes, pulling Evie with her, and they crouched there, watching the entrance.
It was mere moments before they spotted the crewman in red, stalled in front of the archways as they had been.
He looked from one to the other, his head turning to take in the closed sign.
Craning her neck, Ally examined the area around them. Whispering as quietly as possible, she told her sister to follow her, then crawled on hands and knees to an area behind them that was cloaked in full darkness.
She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face as she got deeper into the gloom, but Ally figured that was an advantage. She paused, then felt Evie grab her foot. Ally turned, taking her sister’s hand and pulling her next to her. “Shh, listen.”
Footsteps were approaching. They paused at the edge of the dark. Ally could barely make out the flashing end of the electro-stick. Would he come forward, or would he go back?
Does he see us? He can’t. It’s too dark, right?
The footsteps came forward, and both she and her sister scuttled slowly backward. Ally held her breath, not wanting to make a noise that might alert him to their presence, no matter how small.
A few more footsteps closer, a few more silent moves backward to avoid his approach. At last, he stopped again. “Fuck this,” he muttered, then turned around and walked away, his footsteps growing softer until they disappeared entirely.
Ally let out a long breath. She leaned backward, her hand slipping against something sharp that split the skin. Letting out a small cry of pain, she pulled her hand up to her face, but it was too dark to see anything.
“What happened?” Evie whispered.
“I cut myself on something.”
“Is it bad?”
“I… I don’t think so.” She could feel the blood pouring out of the palm of her hand and winced as she flexed the muscle there. “Maybe. I can’t tell.”
“Do you think he’s gone?”
“I’m not sure. I think so.” Ally couldn’t hear any footsteps. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be lying in wait for them, though.
“Screw this.”
Ally heard Evie fumbling with something, then suddenly, she was blinking as the area around them filled with light. Evie was holding the necklace chain in her hand, the dangling charm casting off bright light. “Let me see.”
Ally held out her hand, frowning to see how much blood was already dripping down her arm.
Evie passed her the necklace. “Hold this.” Then she pulled up her blouse and ripped off a piece of fabric from the bottom of it. She pressed the fabric against the jagged cut on Ally’s palm.
Holding the fabric tight against the wound, Evie let out a shaky breath. “We’re lucky this is the worst we got. Poor Captain Lyk.”
“Poor us. He hadn’t given us the credits he’d promised yet.” Even as she said the words, she felt like an ass. But if she stopped to think about the handsome pirate’s demise, she feared being overwhelmed by emotion.
Evie frowned at her. “You’re not heartless, Ally, so stop pretending to be.”
Ally nodded, then held the necklace back out to her sister. “Put this on. We don’t need to lose it now since it’s the last thing of value we have.” When her sister took the necklace, Ally gently extracted her hand, holding the cloth in place over her cut.
“Where do we go from here?” Evie asked, sounding lost.
“I can tell you where you’re going.”
The masculine voice came out of nowhere. Ally started, turning her head to discover a group of three strangers standing right in front of them.
“Where did you come from?” she asked, her voice filled with wonder.
The lone female laughed. She had long blonde hair, gorgeous features, and plump red lips that she was currently using to blow out a big pink bubble. It popped, and she giggled, then continued chewing her gum.
“You two are just full of questions,” said the tall blond man dressed in black. Ally recognized the same voice as the one that spoke before.
“And so far, you haven’t given us any answers.” Ally pushed herself to her feet, feeling extremely wary of the strangers in their midst. She reached down to pull Evie to her feet, then moved so that she was standing between her sister and their new acquaintances.
“Maybe because he can’t get a word in edgewise,” the woman hissed, her eyes narrowing. “This one looks like trouble,” she said to her companions, eyeing Ally.
Ally sized up the strangers in front of her.
The female was beautiful, but she seemed a little unhinged.
The tall male with the white-blond hair, his face impassive, had an air of danger about him.
And the other male was as big as a Moon Bear.
Ally saw his eyes fastened on Evie and she felt her fear grow.
“I don’t know where you came from, but my sister and I were just leaving,” Ally said, taking Evie’s hand in her own and starting forward, hoping to skirt past the group.
The massive male stalked forward, blocking their path.
“Excuse me,” Ally said, staring him down with her most fearsome expression. It had no effect.
“You’re not going anywhere.” His voice was deep, but still, his eyes were on Evie.
“I beg to differ,” Ally said, shoving at his bulk as she tried to shift around him.
He was immovable, like a giant boulder, and Ally couldn’t push past him. He shifted his steely gaze to hers, grimacing.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said into his face.
His lips curled up into a fierce smile. “You should be.”
Suddenly, Evie doubled over, letting out a shriek that echoed through the room. Ally turned, grabbing her sister as she went limp, her eyes rolling back in her head.
“Evie!” Ally shouted, shaking her sister as she gently settled her on the floor. “Evie! Wake up!”
The blonde woman laughed again. “Oh, Dredd, you always put on a good show.”
Ally looked back at the three strangers. “What’s wrong with her? What did you do to her?” Releasing Evie, she launched herself at the large male, pummeling his chest. “What did you do to her?!”
The taller male folded his arms over his chest. “As much fun as this is, we should be getting back to Dazimin. Grab the girls.”
Ally continued to struggle against the wall of muscle as he grabbed her arm, his hand squeezing like a vise.
Then something happened that made no sense.
Ally could see her sister lying lifeless on the ground, but at the same time, the female was standing where her sister’s body was positioned.
It was as if she could see through her sister, see through her body to the blonde woman’s painted toes showcased in open-toed pumps.
How is that even possible?
The blonde woman let out a shriek, grabbing her cheek which had just turned violently red. “The bitch slapped me.” As Ally struggled, she saw the blonde woman stumble backward, landing on her ass in the same space where Evie’s body lay.
What the fuck is going on here?
“Help me out with her,” the blonde snarled as the tall man took her hand and lifted her to her feet.
Ally squirmed around until she lined up her one shot at freedom.
Drawing back her leg as far as she could, she kicked forward with all her might, aiming for the bear man’s crotch.
She connected, her foot bursting into pain, but the man let out a yowl and his grip slipped enough for her to push free.
The big brute doubled over, and suddenly, Ally saw that her sister wasn’t lying lifeless on the floor. She was fighting with the tall man who’d grabbed her.
“Evie!” Ally launched herself at the male, but he swatted her away, and she flew across the room, skidding to a stop with a groan. Her body ached, but she pulled herself to her feet.
“This is nonsense. We only need the one with the necklace.” The female looked angry. “Let’s go. I’m bored already.”
The male nodded. He threw Evie over his shoulder, then reached out a hand to grip the big man’s shoulder. The female blew a kiss in Ally’s direction just as she climbed to her feet and started toward them. “Bye bye!”
Darkness filled the space in an instant, the four of them vanishing suddenly with the light of the charm.
“No!” Ally howled, dropping to her knees in the darkness.
Evie was gone. Stolen by strangers who were somehow able to teleport. Why?
Ally collapsed in a heap, sobbing. The only thing she’d ever tried to do was protect her sister, and now she was gone with no hope of retrieval. The weight of what just happened hit her and she buckled under it.
She’s gone.