Sea of Stars(85)
“That question shouldn’t make me as happy as it does,” he replies.
“Shouldn’t it?” I tease him.
“Stop distracting me,” he admonishes with a sensual smile and a quick kiss. “I have to help unload the supplies from the hovercycles. Stay here and try not to get into any trouble.”
“Leave the venish.” I smile, bouncing a little bit as I suck in my bottom lip so that I won’t grin like a total fool. He hands me the small pack with yet another kiss. I watch him move away.
I shouldn’t be happy; I know that. The entire world is one big series of scary events, but right now, at this moment, I’m having a hard time focusing on all that. I just want to live in this moment—in these seconds—with Trey. I know it’s wrong. I know when it ends there will be no soft landing.
In no time at all, all the gear is unloaded from the hovercycles. Dusk is quickly turning to darkness when Trey joins me. “Wayra and I are going to gather the transport. It shouldn’t take long.”
I lose any hint of a smile I had. “What? You’re leaving?”
“I’ll be back in less than a part.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
He leads me to the mouth of the smaller tunnel once more. “You see the roof of that building over there?” he asks.
I nod, fear turning my stomach. “Yeah. It looks like a barn of some kind.”
“Wayra, Fenton, and I are going there to gather spixes. I know the owner. I’ve worked with him for many floans—he’s a family friend. We’ll bring the spixes back here, load up the gear, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Ohh . . . no. No, no.” I shake my head. “That’s not a good plan.” I clutch his forearm. “We need a trift—or a skiff. Spixes are unpredictable. You can’t just put fuel in them to make them go.”
Trey smiles like I made a joke, but I’m completely serious. “Kricket, no technology means the Alameeda can’t find us easily. That’s why we were so successful at avoiding them in the Forest of O. We didn’t use anything they could track. It will be nearly impossible to hide from them as it is. They can employ aircraft and satellites at will here.”
Everything he is saying is true. “Okay,” I agree, “that makes sense. I’ll help—I’ll go with you.”
“Wayra, give me a fleat,” Trey says to the waiting Cavars. Leading me away from the opening, he takes me to a quiet place by the hovercycles. Raising his eyebrow in a questioning look, he asks, “I need you to stay here while I do this. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because we always stay together.”
“There are going to be instances where it will be better to have you remain in a safe place while I scout ahead. Are we going to have an argument every time something like this comes up?”
I point my finger at him. “Don’t make me sound like a crazy, clingy girlfriend,” I retort. “This isn’t the same thing.”
“Kricket, just listen to me. Stay here. I’ll be fine. I’ll be back in less than a part.”
He turns and walks toward where Wayra and Fenton are waiting for him. I panic. Don’t go! I think, wringing my hands. “I wish I knew if it was safe,” I whisper.
My breath turns to ice as my body turns to fire. I try hard, but I can’t stay on my feet. It’s almost like the floor raises to hit me in the cheek; blood spits out of my mouth and from above my body. I watch Trey run back to me and pick me up in his arms.
When I return to my body, I’m dead cold. Gasping for air, my head aches and my cheek throbs. Tasting blood in my mouth, I’m fairly certain that I’ll never be warm again.
“Kricket.” Trey shakes me lightly, trying to get my attention.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie. I feel like I almost died. “It’s okay to go get the spixes now. You were right, it was safe—it is safe—whatever.” I hold my head, because even a hangover would be better than this.
“Do you mean to tell me that you just forced yourself into the future to make sure that it was safe to go to that barn just over there?”
“Yeah—and I know you’re mad now, but—”
“I’m not mad. I’m furious. Why would you hurt yourself like that when I already knew that this task was a minimal risk?”
“Well, now we know to a greater degree of certainty that it’s safe.”