Submerged in the darkness.

Reaching farther into madness.

The reckless light.

A blazing soul that will never die.

Chapter 5

My boots clanged on the cargo ramp as I walked out of the ship. The sol was moving steadily overhead, nearing the far horizon more with every pass. There was a slight breeze in the ravine, sand swirling around on the air currents. In front of me was the trekker. Just as dusty and muddy as we left it in the cavern. 

Zeb sat on the trekker. He had the controls torn apart and was rewiring something. Tinkering as always. He was muttering something that I could not make out. It sounded almost like Jaa. A wire snapped and Zeb cursed loudly. 

“I’m guessing that was important?” Aubrey asked. She stood beside the trekker watching Zeb tinkered. Her eyes had been darting between the tools that Zeb was using and the different components that made up the trekker’s control system. A little spark of electricity coming from the wires told me that it was probably important. 

“Eh,” Zeb said, shrugging. “Only a minor direction control system.”

Aubrey’s eyebrows furrowed. Deep lines formed around her eyes. “Minor direction control? That’s the power steering system.” The Dyaa curse that she was very fond of slipped from her lips. “ Not all of us can wrestle a machine around while speeding away.”

Zeb didn’t reply, which was probably the safest response. I had the feeling that Aubrey could bring him to his knees if she wanted. Aubrey groaned, another curse slipping out. She pointed at something inside the trekker controls. I didn’t understand a single thing she said to Zeb, but he raised an eyebrow at her and nodded in agreement. 

I looked up at the rim of the ravine. The jagged rock formations were beginning to cast craggy shadows down on us. A sense of unease was slowly creeping into me. Dread seeping in, turning my blood cold. I couldn’t explain these feelings. Saeris always made me nervous, but this was different. I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

Shuffling behind me caught my attention. I looked over my shoulder to see Addi. She came to stand next to me. She held a gauntlet in her hands. Little symbols glowed on the screen. It was much smaller and thinner than other gauntlets I had seen. She held it out to me. 

“I did a little reprogramming,” she said. “It was in Dyaa, so I had to do a lot of tweaking.” I reached my hand out, and she set the gauntlet into my hand. The metal was cool against my fingers. “It’s mostly voice-activated. This model was designed for gunners in the Oberonian navy. They linked beautifully with RK8 protocol droids.” I slipped the gauntlet onto my wrist. It was rather loose. Addi reached out and taped the oval symbol on the bottom right corner of the screen. The wrist off cinched itself snugly around my wrist. 

“To loosen it, just twist the whole component,” Addi said. She gripped the gauntlet and twisted it slightly. The cuff loosened enough to where I could slip it back off. I tapped the oval symbol again. It cinched back snuggly. Addi taped the diamond symbol in the center of the screen. Several other symbols flashed on the display; a circle, a bell, a square, and a star. 

Addi taped the bell. A shaded circle appeared. “This is the comms button. Tap this circle and say the name of who you want to call. It has all of us, and all you have to do to pair another device is tap that button and then bump the gauntlet against the device you want to pair it to.” She taped the shaded circle. The gauntlet gave off a slight vibration. “Aubrey,” she said. Across from us at the trekker, Aubrey’s gauntlet beeped. She glanced at it, then over at us, and declined the call. 

“Rude,” Addi huffed. “When you have messages, a number will flash next to the call button.” She wiped at the screen, and it went back to the home screen. “The circle is a map. It hones in on your current location. Tap the circle in the bottom corner to say a location. The square is connected devices like glide carts and droids. Basically, anything that you can control remotely. The star is....nothing right now. It’s just an empty slot. If there’s something you want to add to that slot, I can put it there. I have mine set for certain keywords in news headlines across the various worlds. Aubrey has an entire music library on hers.”

“Thank you,” I said. 

“You’re welcome,” Addi said, smiling at me. “There’s also some clothes and armor in the lockers if you want to look through them. We have quite the collection for our travels. There are some short-range weapons, too, if that’s your thing. Jev likes throwing knives, so there’s a nice collection of those.”

I nodded. She gave me another smile before walking the rest of the way down the ramp and to the others. Zeb had pulled a bundle of wires out, and Aubrey was working on detangling them. The shadows growing closer with each tick. Closer to running headfirst into a Saeris stronghold. 

A shiver ran down my spine. I fought back the urge to shake and reached up and placed my hand on the nape of my neck. A figure flashed in my peripheral vision. I held back a gasp and slid away, nearly falling the rest of the way down the ramp. 

“Fuck,” I hissed at Gabriel. They stood there watching me with an eyebrow raised. “Don’t sneak up on me.” 

They stared at me and furrowed their brow. They shook their head slightly and rolled their eyes at me. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. 

“How are you feeling?” I asked, taking a few steps closer to them. 

“Better,” was all they said. 

The clanging of rocks against metal made me turn back towards the others. Aubrey was striding up towards us, Addi on her heels. Zeb remained at the trekker attempted to put the bundle of wires back into the control console. There was a small flow of electricity through the wires. 

“Ready to break some shit?” Aubrey said, coming to stand next to me. Addi rolled her eyes at her sister and grabbed her arm. She pulled her up the ramp towards the ship. I glanced over at Gabriel. A faint smile played on their lips. They took a few steps up the ramp and looked back at me. I glanced back at Zeb before following them. 

Footsteps echoed through the cargo hold. Samirah was perched on top of one of the crates, a tablet balanced on her knee. In the corner, Jev lounged in a hammock that was strung from the hull framing. His leg hung out of the side of the hammock, and he hummed along quietly to some music. Kannan appeared in the corridor. He walked over and sat down next to Samirah. Addi walked to the center of the hold and set a large disk on the floor. She tapped it with her foot. It began glowing, and a hologram appeared in the air. A globe. 

Aubrey jumped up on another one of the crates and held out her hand. The globe flashed to the Saeris military compound, the admin and server buildings flashing. My brother appeared from the corridor and came to stand next to the crate where Samirah sat. Zeb stomped up the cargo ramp and stood off to the side against the hull. 

“This base is the farthest north and most remote Saeris base,” Aubrey began. Jev rolled out of his hammock and walked over. “If they call for any backup, it will take the fastest Saeris ship ten ticks to get here.”

“So you will have ten ticks to get out if you all are spotted,” said Addi. 

“I’d rather not get caught,” Jev said, sitting down next to the holodisk. He pointed off to the side of the admin building. “Barracks and commissary. Most of the soldiers will be here. A handful of techs will be in the admin building. I am hoping that Ryver still follows the same protocols as the capital. Techs will do periodic checks on the server status throughout the day. Techs will be present when the server is in use, such as a download or an upload. But, it is evening. I do not anticipate the server being active this late in the day.”

“And if it is?” Gabriel asked. They stood off to my side, their arms crossed over their chest. 

Jev shrugged. “Then the Saeris are more productive than I give them credit for. I will check the data flows before we go. There was a major download two days ago. Usually, after that, the server is idle for weeks.”

Gabriel nodded. “What exactly do you need me to do?”

Jev bit at his bottom lip. “Get us into the server building, and once we are done, bring us back here.”

“Define us.”

Jev glanced over at me. “I think this is the most they’ve talked since we met.” He grinned. “You, obviously. Nash and I.”

“Okay,” said Gabriel. “How are we going to do this?”

“Glad you asked,” Jev continued. “Aubrey flies us in proximity to Ryver.” 

“Within fifty klicks,” Aubrey added. “Just out of range of their ground scanners. We’ll fly low to avoid the aerial scanners.”

Jev nodded before continuing. “From there, Gabriel will teleport us four into Ryver. Preferably directly into the server complex, but I don’t know how the whole teleporting thing works. Nash and you will be on the lookout while I hack into the server. Once I hack in, I will insert a data spike and begin copying whatever the Ryver server has to offer. We do not leave without that spike. Once the spike has copied the data, I upload the virus, and we get out.”

“Sounds pretty straight forward,” Gabriel said. “And if everything goes wrong?”

“We wing it,” Jev said. “The best case scenario is I grab the spike with whatever data it has on it, and then you grab us and teleport us away. The main objectives are to copy the data and then destroy the source. Worst case, we fight our way out, destroying as much as possible.”

Gabriel closed their eyes and sighed softly. “Not the worst plan I’ve been a part of.”

Jev smirked. “Let’s get moving.”

* * * * *

The ship shuttered around us. Electricity whirling as the ship cloaked itself and sliced through the clouds. I could feel the static electricity prickle across my skin. Was I that nervous that I was drawing the electricity from around me? I tried to shake off that feeling. 

I stood next to Jev in the cargo hold. He was digging around in one of the lockers. A fairly good-sized pile of thin knives was accumulating on the floor between us. Jev made a sound almost like a scoff. He turned towards me and held out a pair of leather gloves to me. I took them from him as he returned to digging around in the locker. I slipped on the gloves and took a deep breath. The armor that I wore dug into my collar bone and my shoulders. It fit well other than being made for a person with a much shorter torso. I adjusted the bracers on my arms. I dropped my hands to my sides, my right hand brushing against the dagger sheathed on my thigh. 

Gabriel came and stood next to me. I glanced over at them. They had refused most of the armor that Addi and Aubrey had offered us. They had only accepted a newer set of arm bracers and a dagger which they slipped into the side of their left boot. Samirah tried to convince them to wear at least a chest plate like Jev and I but was unsuccessful. 

Aubrey’s voice echoed down the corridor. “Ten minutes out! Descending to the drop point!”

I glanced over at Gabriel again. They were already looking at me. I felt heat rush to my face. I was saved by Jev turning to face us, though I did see a slight grin on Gabriel’s lips. Jev was smiling. He held out a thin metal spike-shaped object to me and another one to Gabriel.

“Data spikes,” he said. “We each have one just in case.” He flicked his wrist and looked at his gauntlet. He tapped a button, and both Gabriel’s and my gauntlet beeped softly. “Okay, we are linked in. Ready?”

I slipped the data spike into the pocket on my left thigh. I gave Jev a slight nod to answer his question. The ship shuttered as we broke through the clouds. I glanced over at the cargo window. There was a massive crater below us. I found my feet pulling me towards the window. I had only ever heard stories of this crater. I was never sure that it truly existed until now. 

“The Myriad,” Jev said. I looked over at him. He was staring down at the earth below us. “The great crater left behind from an event that changed the end times of this planet.” His eyes focused on nothing.

“The place where time ceased,” said Gabriel from behind us.

“The day the planet's heart was ripped open,” Jev began. “A girl fell from the heavens as our world was ripped apart by time itself. The Nightmare Weaver. Everything here in that moment ceased to exist yet still existed. Time briefly forgot about Aten...or Earth as it was known then. The people that walked away from this crater on that day were not the same people that saw the heavens rip apart. The Nightmare Weaver wove the fabric of time into a living nightmare. Death and destruction all around, yet at the same time, the world unchanging. From that day on, we were not the same."

“The Clairvoyant of the Myriad,” Gabriel said quietly. “They called him Qrow. He was the one who faced the Nightmare Weaver. ‘But because a moment is fleeting, everything continues to exist. Time has forgotten my people, and because you are time, you too have forgotten my people.’”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The Nightmare Weaver was a tale of tragedy and despair. It had risen from a time filled with the same. It was a tale that I had been told as a child. All the feelings of curiosity and wonder that I had felt then came rushing back. The stories of old are based on truths and fabrications. But which are the roots? My mind was ready to run wild but now was not the time. 

I took a deep breath as the ship settled roughly on the rim of the Myriad crater. Jev and I looked at each other. I could see the nervousness in his eyes. The ship’s intercom beeped, and Aubrey’s voice rang out. 

“I hope you all are ready,” she said. “We are just outside of the ground radar’s range. Long-range radar begins at about cloud level out here. We will remain out here unless you signal us. I can cloak the ship right up to the base but cannot within the energy field around the base. I’m not going to give you a time frame because we have no option for recovery. Try not to get into trouble.”

Gabriel held their hands out to Jev and me. I slipped my hand in theirs, my fingers gripping the rough leather of their gloves. I took a deep breath as they squeezed my hand. Power licked across my skin. It surrounded me and pressed against me. Pain slicing through me in an instant and disappearing the next. 

Dizziness slammed into me as my knees pressed into the hot sand. I gasped for air as the dizziness subsided. The chest plate I was wearing suddenly felt too tight around my chest.  Next to me, Jev was leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed as he took deep breaths. Next to us, kneeling at the edge of the building, was Gabriel. 

“Catch your breaths,” Gabriel said quietly. “We might have a problem.”

I took another deep breath and looked around. We were crouched alongside an exterior wall of a building. The sol was beating down on us. Jev raised his hand up to block the light from his face. I could hear voices in the distance. There was a hum in the air. I looked up and saw the faint shimmers of the energy field. Electricity was bleeding out from everywhere. 

“This is the server complex,” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, the outside,” Jev scoffed. 

“Obviously,” Gabriel said, drying. “I did not feel like crashing the meeting the Saeris were having inside.” They slowly peered around the corner of the building. They pulled back and looked at us. “They are leaving but taking their time doing it.” They met my gaze. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Just a little disoriented.”

“I’m a lot disoriented,” Jev added. I watched Gabriel roll their eyes. 

“I’m going to check the inside,” Gabriel said. “Stay here. I will be back in a few ticks.” Before I could say anything, they disappeared. 

“This is abandonment,” Jev whispered to me. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I carefully pulled myself to my feet. I stretched my legs, trying to loosen up my muscles. My joints ached slightly from teleporting. I held my hand out to Jev. He groaned slightly but took my hand. I pulled him up. He was a little wobbly on his feet. He leaned over, bracing his hands on his thighs, and took deep breaths. 

“Does teleporting with them get any easier?” he whispered. 

“A little,” I whispered back. “More like you get used to how it makes you feel.”

“I sure hope so.” He straightened back up. His face was a little pale. There was a slight sweat forming on his forehead. The sol continued to beat down on us. I could feel moisture beginning to gather under the chest plate I wore. Jev leaned back against the wall and raised his hand to his brow. 

“Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the heat?” he muttered. 

“You’d think we’d be used to it living on a deserted planet and all.”

Jev opened his mouth to say something, but a shout just around the corner caused him to snap his mouth shut. I pressed against the wall next to him. The voice raised as the shouts continued. I couldn’t understand the language. Jev’s hand gripped my wrist. 

“Something about not filing a report,” Jev whispered to me. “And a complaint about the food here.” The voice faded away, and Jev dropped his hand. I felt a slight touch on my mind. Gabriel was coming back to us. 

“Don’t scream,” I whispered to Jev.

“What do you m-” To be fair, he didn’t scream. He squeaked as Gabriel appeared in front of us. Gabriel eyed him for a click before locking eyes with me. 

“Phase us through this wall,” they said. “Just on the other side is a storage room. There are a few sensors, but I did not see any cameras.”

I nodded and grabbed their upper arm. I looked over at Jev and grabbed his shoulder. “Hold your breath.” Jev was learning and didn’t question me. I inhaled deeply and felt the coldness of the stone behind me. I took a step backward. The cold stone sent chills through me. I continued to step back, pulling Jev and Gabriel through the wall. I exhaled. 

“Control room?” Jev asked, breathing deeply. 

Gabriel stepped past me and gestured for us to follow them. Jev and I fell into step behind Gabriel as we crept through the storage room. Shelves of tech pieces and parts sprawled out around us. Only security lighting illuminating the room. Jev hung close to me in the low light. We made our way to the main door. Gabriel raised their hand towards the door; their fingers twitched as they concentrated. I heard the faint click of the locking mechanism in the door. It hissed as it slid open. We quickly ran through. 

We stumbled into the main server room. The temperature dropped, and all around us was an eerie glow of yellow and green lights. Stacks upon stacks of server bays surrounded us. The light-colored walls reflecting the glow of the stacks. Jev rushed past me towards the nearest console. Gabriel grabbed my arm and pulled me along. Gabriel raised their hand and pointed along the perimeter of the large room. 

“Keep an eye out for any of those doors opening,” they said. “Everyone seemed to be heading to the commissary for a meal, but that doesn’t mean everyone is there.”

Jev tapped away on the console screen. I watched as he typed line after line of code. Screen after screen loaded. Jev was muttering to himself as he typed. The electrical currents in this room were stable; no wavering in the energy levels.

“This is going to take significantly longer than I thought,” Jev said quietly. “There is a power monitor on this base. If I were to activate the entire server, it would set off alarms. I am going to have to activate each section one at a time, copy the data, shut it off and then move to the next one.”

“How long?” Gabriel asked him. 

“I expected ten clicks total, but now looking at around twenty,” Jev said as he contented to type. “Good news is they have downgraded their security measures. I do not see any biometrics features at all anymore.” Jev bit at his bottom lip. His fingers slowed down as he typed a small string of keys. “I’m in the network.” His left hand dropped to his pocket, and he withdrew the data spike. “Here we go,” he said as he drove the spike into the input terminal. He pointed towards the farthest server stacks. “This one is online first, and I will move down the stacks.” The lights on the stack began flashing as the data started transferring. 

The energy levels only jumped a tiny fraction. I almost didn’t feel it. I focused on the currents that were surging. All seemed to be coming from outside this room. I could feel high levels of electricity being channeled somewhere nearby. It was being held and consumed by something. I could also feel a large bubble of currents-people gathered together. But there was something...more. It was slowly encompassing us. 

“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked as they came to stand by me. 

I nodded. “There are so many electrical currents.” I felt Gabriel’s hand on my back. Something became apparent. That feeling of more. There was energy radiating up from the earth. “There’s something under us,” I said quickly. I crouched down and splayed by hand to the concrete floor. 

Tendrils of electricity were everywhere. Large veins of electricity ran up from the depths of the earth, up into this base. I could feel the electricity branching out to the various parts of the base, including this complex. Trunks of electricity. Just like in Halen. 

“Jev?” I asked. He glanced over at me as he continued to type. “How does this base get its power?”

“Most bases use an organic converter,” he said. “Put in waste materials and get a large amount of electricity back. It’s become a popular power source in residential areas. Some use solar power. I think this base uses solar for the barracks and other living sections, but the upkeep and unreliability in sand storms make it not so great for running servers. I believe this and the admin complex run off of organic converters.”

“Would that be in the ground?”

He looked back at me. Slight confusion on his face. “What do you feel?”

“It’s like under the ground there is a network of electrical currents. This entire base has trunks running up to it. I can’t tell where it’s coming from, though. Just deep into the earth. I felt something similar in Halen.”

Jev bit his lip and turned back to the console. “I don’t know what that would be.” He tapped away. “I found the crew logs and supply inventories. I am uploading those to the Star Rift now so Aubrey can get to analyzing them. I will run a search on power units.” He raised his hands to his gauntlet. “I have some contacts in the Tunnels that might have some info. I will send them a message.” He turned back to the console. “Twenty-five percent of the way through the server.”

Gabriel suddenly jerked to face the far end of the room. They grabbed me and pushed me towards Jev at the console. They pushed us both down to the floor, hidden behind the console. They held a finger up to their lips. The faint sound of heavy footsteps, running, was just barely audible. 

People passing the doorway, Gabriel’s voice echoed through my mind. Jev shivered next to me, telling me that he also heard. Gabriel stepped away from us and the console, moving silently. They slowly made their way towards the doorway. Jev moved back to the console, kneeling instead of standing. I stood up and remained close to Jev. I could still see Gabriel as they moved between the server stacks. Their hair reflecting the yellow and green lights. 

“Halfway,” Jev breathed almost soundlessly. I continued to watch Gabriel. They stopped between two stacks near the doorway. Heavy footsteps came from outside again. Gabriel dove behind the nearest stack as the door swung open. I slid back behind the console, dragging Jev with me. The heavy footsteps echoed through the room, the door clanging shut. 

“Central core documents,” a voice came. I leaned out and peeked around the edge of the console. A tall figure dressed in a blue and black uniform marched up the aisle. Their eyes glowed a pale blue. “Central core documents,” they repeated. “Corral needs the night report.” I could still see Gabriel hiding behind the adjacent stack. The person stopped at the end of the stack. Gabriel disappeared. The person tapped on the terminal at the end of the server stack. I pulled back as they looked back over their shoulder. I looked over at Jev. The console was casting a glow. 

I heard the person groan. “Herrick,” they muttered. “Never properly shutting down consoles.” I heard them inhale deeply. “Not my problem.”

I reached out and grabbed Jev’s wrist. Will they see that the server is active? Jev nodded back at me with wide eyes. I let go of him and crawled back to the corner of the console. I peered around the corner. I could see Gabriel glancing around the far end of the stack the person was working on. I let the electricity build at my fingertips. I pulled what energy was bleeding from the servers. Static flooded the floors. My fingertips tingled. 

There was a loud bang from farther down the stacks. The person jumped and yelped. They looked down the aisle towards where the sound came from. I caught another glimpse of those glowing pale blue eyes. My heart began to beat faster. 

“Seventy-five,” Jev whispered as the person began walking towards where the bang came from. “Seven ticks.” With the person’s back to them, Gabriel ran silently towards us. They dove behind a desk as the person began to look around. 

Gabriel’s eyes widened, and they jumped up. The person froze. Slowly they turned to face Gabriel. Gabriel’s hands were raised out in front of them, fingers curled. Blood control. The person’s expression was slightly distorted. They were reaching for their gauntlet, their fingers twitching, trying to break free. ,

“Shit,” Gabriel hissed. “They hit their comm but it didn’t connect. We need to leave now.”

Jev jumped up and tapped on the console. “I need just a few more clicks. Ninety-seven percent downloaded.” Jev began typing away again.

The person made a choking sound. “H-how?” They managed to say.

Gabriel hissed. “They are fighting me. I won’t be able to hold them.”

“Ninety-nine!” Jev said. “Queuing up our gift.”

I could hear the person straining against Gabriel’s power. I looked back at them. There was sweat forming on their brow. I heard Jev inhale sharply. He grabbed the data spike and yanked it from the terminal. The screen flashed, and he suddenly froze. 

I opened my mouth to say his name as the door swung open for the second time. 

“Jull, what is taking you so-” Another Saeris stood just inside the doorway. Their glowing grey eyes locked on us. 

Gabriel’s head whipped towards us. “RUN!” they yelled. 

I grabbed Jev’s upper arm. He shook his head and slapped his hand to the console. The screen went black. I pulled him from the console as an alarm began blaring. I started running, pulling Jev along. 

“Hold your breath!” I yelled back at him. I caught a glimpse of Gabriel darting between the two Saeris. I inhaled as we hit the wall. The cold stone slid through us. We stumbled into what looked like the central courtyard area of the base. Saeris were pouring out of the surrounding buildings, all armed and heading for where we had just appeared from. 

I clamped my hand around Jev’s wrist. We took off running away from the advancing soldiers. There were shouts, and I felt the charging of pulse weapons all around us. I threw Jev around the corner of the closest building. He had seemed to gather himself now. We took off running down the edge of the energy field. The shouts becoming louder. A stun charge from a pulse rifle shot just in front of Jev. He ducked slightly but continued to run. I glanced back over my shoulder. The soldiers were closer than I liked. All of them had their weapons raised. None of them had a clear aim on us. 

Jev slid to a stop, me running into him. Another group of soldiers was advancing from in front of us. The group behind us closing in. I grabbed Jev’s wrist and pulled us down a passageway between two buildings. Shouts and some curses erupted behind us. Our feet pounded along the concrete. Jev looked over his shoulder and let several knives fly. He was rewarded with several cries of pain. 

The passageway opened out into another open space. A training area. The main gate was on the far side. If we could get out of the base, we might be able to hide. If we could get to it. The guards at the gate raised their pulse rifles at us. Jev and I skidded to a stop. The guards would not miss. Jev pressed his back against mine, knives in hand. I flexed my fingers, letting the electricity around us gather. I felt the electricity spark between my fingers. I channeled it from the ground up through my feet. 

“I can take stun hits,” I said to Jev. “It’s just an electric burst.” He didn’t answer. The Saeris that had been chasing us were advancing fast. The guards moved in unison towards us. I felt the surge before a pulse went off. It was from the group behind us. I looked over my shoulder at Jev. I saw the raised weapon. I threw out my hand and let an arch of electricity fly. The weapon exploded. I turned back to the guards in front of me. There were six, and two of them fired their rifles. I threw my hands out in front of me and latched on the energy. I redirected it around us and into the group of Saeris behind us. 

All of the guards aimed their weapons at me. I held my hands up in the air. I pulled at the electricity bleeding from the energy field. I tore it away. The energy field sputtered and broke apart. Electricity surged everywhere. I channeled it through my body, my heart thundering at the power within my veins. I made sure that I was touching Jev. His hand grabbing at my hip as the electricity surged through him, unharming him. 

I pushed the electricity out. Two guards' pulse weapons exploded. Two of them dropped to the ground. Blue blood poured from numerous wounds on their bodies. The majority of the group behind us had fallen to the ground. Those that were still standing, Jev hit them with knives. They turned and ran away. Four guards were remaining. I could hold them while Jev ran for the gate. 

I grabbed Jev’s wrist and pulled him forward. He hung close to my left side as we ran at the guards. I flung my hand out in front of us. One guard dove to the side. The rest cried out as electricity jumped up from the ground and sparked through their bodies. They crumpled to the ground. 

My blood turned cold. 

I felt a pulse weapon charge. Not a stun shot, but a plasma burst. A potentially lethal shot. I turned my head towards the charging weapon. A green-eyed Saeris with a red armband on their uniform had their weapon trained on Jev. They steadily tracked us as we ran. I felt the weapon surge. I grabbed Jev’s arm and threw him forward. 

So reckless. 

 Searing pain buried itself into my side. Fire licked at my skin and through my abdomen. I crumpled forward to the sand as my legs refused to carry me. My heart was screaming. Fire raged through my body. Jev collapsed into the sand next to me. He was screaming at me, but I could not hear a thing. There was only pain. 

Jev leaned over me, rolling me onto my back. The pain only intensified. Screams ripping from my throat. Jev was shaking me; his hands were painted dark red. My extremities went cold and numb. 

A heart-wrenching scream of terror finally reached my ears. I stared up at the sky. Jev, blurry, in my gaze. The sol shining down on us. 

I blinked, and the sol disappeared. In its place shining down on me were blue-tinted lights. I just barely felt arms wrapped around me. I was being cradled, pressed tight against someone’s body. Screams, just echoes in my ears, surrounded me. I felt so weak. My heart still thumped loudly in my chest. 

“Natalia!” 

“Nash!”

“Nat!”

“Natalia, look at me.”

I turned my head towards the source of the last voice. Those stormy grey eyes of theirs stared back at me. I felt my hand raise up. My fingers reaching for their face. Their hand wrapped around mine. Their eyes broke the gaze.

“She’s healed as much as she can with the amount of blood loss,” they told someone. 

“The pulse was well-aimed, but it didn’t hit any vital organs.”

I felt cold hands on my abdomen. Heat radiated from my stomach out through my body. The heavy cloudiness lifted from my mind. I began to feel my body again. Rough leather brushed against my cheek. I looked up at Gabriel. They were leaning over me. They were covered in red. My blood. 

“Hey,” they said. 

“Hi,” I choked out. 

They smiled at me. “Jev is fine. I can’t say the same about any of those Saeris.”

“Good.”

A sigh came from my side. I glanced over to see Samirah. She was kneeling next to me. I turned my head to look around. I was lying on the floor in the cargo hold of the Star Rift. Samirah and Gabriel were kneeling next to me. Just over Samirah’s shoulder, I could see Kannan holding my brother back. Samirah reached out and took my hands. She gently pulled. Gabriel’s arm slipped around my shoulders, and they helped me sit up. 

Jaymes was instantly at my side. I let him wrap his arms around me. He was crying. I snaked my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. He was warm against my cold skin. He held me tight. 

“What is that?” a soft voice came from across the cargo hold. I pulled away from Jaymes just enough to see what was happening. 

The holodisk was projecting in the center of the hold. Lines of text appeared. A symbol appeared. An intricate series of circles and lines.

“Scarecrow,” Jev said. Fear dripped from every sound he made. “Scarecrow is coming to Aten.”

“You just took on a literal army of Saeris, and it’s a bird strikes fear into our reckless Human?" Addi said as she came to stand next to her sister at the holo. 

“Not a bird. Something not of this universe.”