“Abby ...” The words sounded from far away, disturbing me in my darkness.
“Abigail Swish!”
I wanted to respond but I couldn’t feel my lips. How did one speak without lips? Maybe if I lay there a little longer that annoying voice would disappear. And maybe my lips and eyelids would return, because I couldn’t feel my eyelids either. That was weird, right? I used to have them.
As clarity returned, and my strange inner voice quieted, I realized that I was in a reasonable amount of pain. My skin felt as though someone had left me in the oven and now I was crispy and well done. I attempted to moisten my non-existent lips, but my tongue was a swollen hot lump inside my mouth. The air tasted dry, dirty almost, as if a layer of something else was mixed in with the oxygen. It did nothing to soothe my ravaged skin.
I must have made a pained sound, because rustling echoed around me.
“Get her more water. She’s drying out again.”
I didn’t recognize the harsh, guttural tones, but the words were understandable.
“Look.” I heard Talina’s soft voice. “She’s starting to heal.”
“Thank eff for that. Red might be Abby’s color, but all-over third-degree burns was taking it too far,” Lucy joked, but I could hear her worry.
I jolted then as a cascade of water covered me, starting at my hair and working its way along my body. The burning pain receded as the soothing liquid was absorbed into me. My mouth opened, despite the lack of lips, and let the liquid flow into my body. I expected to choke, since I was lying down and unable to move any muscles, but I absorbed the fluid without any problem.
“Someone tell me what the hell just happened.” My words garbled over each other, my tongue still too swollen for articulation.
“Geez, one would think a little sun-baking would lessen your bossy-ass nature.” Lucy sounded closer.
My eyelids were back again. I fluttered them a few times, testing for pain, before slowly opening them. The light was dim enough that there was no disorientation.
“Sun-baking? I think maybe you mean oven-baking.” I was relieved to see my friends’ worried faces as they peered over me.
I noticed everyone had the thick glasses pushed up to rest on top of their heads. I could feel the brief weight of my own on my curls.
“Word.” She nodded.
“You really should be more careful, Abby.” I flicked my eyes across to Lucas. He was slouched against a rock wall. “You saved us, but it could have cost you your life.”
I didn’t answer straight away, as I was struggling to sit up. Lucy’s arms flapped as she attempted to find a non-painful spot to jam her hands and help me. Finally she slipped them under my armpits, which must have avoided the worst of the burns, because there was no pain. Once I was sitting, I breathed in the thick air a few times, letting my body adjust to the new discomforts. After a few moments I glared at Lucas.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Lucas. I’ll risk my life in whatever way I feel fit at the time. You don’t get any say in the matter.” I looked at my white suit, which was tattered, with burn holes scattered along its shiny surface.
I owed my father thanks for this outfit. It seemed to have protected me from an all-over scorching.
Lucas straightened then, his normally jovial features hardening.
“You might not care how I feel, but you have a responsibility to every person on the seven worlds, Abigail. So maybe you do need to think of others before making stupid-ass decisions.”
I gave him one last look before turning my head away, determined to ignore him. Although his damn words kept running through my mind. Sometimes I forgot this massive mantle of responsibility that had been dropped in my lap. But forgetting wouldn’t change the truth.
“Tell me what happened?” I looked from Lucy to Talina. “Where are we?”
“Still on Crais, under the ground where the people live.” Talina shifted uncomfortably.
She looked less pink, more pale than usual, and her emerald hair was dull, hanging in lifeless strands down her back.
“Are you okay, Talli?” I hadn’t seen her looking this frazzled since the day Raror had died.
She nodded, her gesture conveying immense exhaustion. “Yeah, it’s just the lack of moisture in the air here; it won’t kill me, but it’s very uncomfortable.” She looked around. “The man has gone for more of the water. I’ll feel much better after a splash or two.”
“He saved us,” Lucy piped up. “Well, you and he both saved us. You dropped the shield to shoot energy at the dragon thing. But you only dropped it from yourself. Lucky we were in the shade or you’d have been instantly incinerated.”