Page 35 of Cheating Fate

As one, my companions began pulling with all their might. I was literally flying up the wall, my feet barely having a chance to touch the burning surface. But my elation at my impending freedom was short-lived. The upper half of the ‘rope’ made of chain links was quickly turning red. But the lower part made of cables and wires was melting at an alarming rate.

And then it snapped.

As if in slow motion, I saw my friends falling backwards at the sudden loss of my weight at the end of the rope. For a split second, gravity appeared to have left the building as I found myself in suspension barely ten meters away from the top. And then, I plummeted back down.

Vahleryon shouting my name in horror buried my own terrified scream. I crashed brutally into the pile of debris. Stunned, and the wind knocked out of me, I remained still, fighting the darkness that threatened to swallow me whole. If I allowed myself to black out, I didn’t know if I would open my eyes again before it was too late.

Above me, I could hear my brothers and friends calling my name with something verging on despair. I wanted to speak up and reassure them, but I was in too bad a state. Curling into a fetal position, I tried to assess my current condition. The healing nanites of my suit had abandoned their previous chores to focus on my new, more critical injuries. I coughed, and the taste of blood filled my mouth. There was no question I had broken a rib. The way my suit readjusted around my body indicated that it was trying to form casts to support the damaged bones. At least, I wasn’t wheezing. The last thing I needed was perforated lungs. But the pounding in my head and behind my eyes hinted at a likely concussion.

When the pain became bearable again, I pushed myself up into a seating position and opened my visor to look at my brother. His dark purple eyes, identical to our Dad’s, locked with mine. Guilt, sorrow, and an almost angry determination shone within them. Despite the psionic disruptors that blocked our powers, the special link between us wasn’t severed. My twin didn’t need to speak for me to know exactly what thoughts were crossing his mind.

He was apologizing for what he deemed his failure. And I was letting him know he had nothing to apologize for. Even with the intense heat, I also believed that the thick wires of the cables would have lasted long enough for them to hoist me to the summit. The chain link part had worked. They just needed to find more of them to complete the distance. Sadly, the fact that they hadn’t done so from the start told me they hadn’t found more of it.

From memory, they had about twelve meters of it. This meant we needed at least eleven more meters. I glanced at the pile of debris I was sitting on. Even if they threw down more rocks, they would never manage to string enough of them to get me up the necessary height.

Shock settled over his features before switching to anger and outrage. Once again, the silent communication from our bond told him the sad realization that was settling in my heart.

I wasn’t getting out of here alive.

He jumped to his feet, his hands fisted as he shouted angrily. “No, Zhara! We will—”

My brother abruptly stopped talking as a loud banging resonated behind me. His eyes widened, and I jerked my head around, bracing for the fallout of yet another explosion. Instead, my jaw dropped at the sight of a giant punching his way out of an almost too narrow opening through the rubble that had blocked our way out of the base.

He ran to the edge of the path before opening his visor and looking down into the pit at me.

“Zhara!” the giant shouted.

“Gavin?!” I breathed out in a disbelieving whisper as I pushed myself up to stand on shaky legs. “GAVIN!”

The hope that had died in my heart just moments prior surged back with the strength of an erupting volcano. My mind couldn’t make sense of his presence here. Was I hallucinating?

No. The pain I still feel is too real.

Gavin tapped on his bracer while facing me only to stiffen and cast a confused look at his back. He glanced back at his bracer and tapped on it a few more times before narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Meanwhile, seven other Braxians emerged from the tiny opening. As soon as they came out, they turned their attention to my mate, awaiting his instructions.

Gavin spoke to his companions. I couldn’t hear what he said, but they all tapped their bracers before also looking in confusion at their backs. In that instant, I realized he had tried to use his jet pack to fly down and come get me. But his—and apparently theirs as well—had also stopped working.

But how?

I assumed Betty and Sherryl touching us had transferred some form of virus that had affected our equipment. Could it be something airborne? Because I couldn’t think of any non-physical disruptor that could specifically target the functioning of a jet pack.

Gavin jerking his head this way and that as he took in the devastation of the base and our current situation reclaimed my attention. Without missing a beat, he pointed at the path towards what we believed to be the ship hangar. More debris blocked the way in that direction. As one, his companions went to work, blasting a path through the pile.

My mate turned the other way towards the destroyed balcony and entrance to the detention area from whence we had ‘rescued’ Betty. I stared in confusion as he broke into a run. A large section of the path—at least three to four meters long—had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole. A gasp escaped me when Gavin barreled down towards it before leaping effortlessly to the other side.

Considering his size and mass, I never would have expected such fluid, graceful, and swift movements. It even put Ghan’s to shame.

Gavin navigated the remains of the crumbled balcony with the dexterity and speed of an expert rock climber. At first, I believed he would join my brother on the other side. But halfway through, he stopped and hoisted himself onto a broken-down section of the railing. He paused and examined the ceiling where a few cables dangled from segments left exposed by the explosion. What did he want with them? They were much too far for him to reach. And even if he miraculously did, what good would they serve?

Having apparently come to a decision, Gavin hopped down the railing of the wrecked platform of the balcony, pulled out what looked like a blaster, then dashed forward.

“No!” I whispered, horrified.

He ran back up to the railing, using his momentum to propel himself farther ahead before firing at the ceiling. A grappling hook shot out of the muzzle and embedded itself in the rock with the popping sound of a sharp projectile. I stared in frightened awe as he swung forward, releasing the grappling hook, and catching the dangling cable in extremis.

A sharp cry escaped me when the cable appeared to snap under his weight. But it only dropped a couple of meters, bringing him a bit closer to the ground. Then he let himself slide the length of the cable almost to its tip, further increasing the impression of him falling. He waited until the very last second to let go. He shot forward towards me before making a rolling landing to dampen the impact. Then, he immediately straightened back onto his feet.

Thankfully, he didn’t linger on the searing, plasma-soaked ground, and ran up the short pile of rock on which I had taken refuge.