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29
RHIANNON
I made it to the truck without seeing another soul, and let out a sigh of relief. This was going to be much easier if I didn't have to answer to anyone. I stopped, leaning heavily against the truck's bed and lifting the walker in before scooting along toward the front door. I pulled myself up into the truck and started the ignition, hitting the accelerator as soon as the engine roared to life, and steering my way through the mangled gates.
Once I was out in the city, I hit the brakes, panic swelling up inside me. I could see the hillside overlook where Nikathy and I had spent the afternoon. It was still the best vantage point for the cannon if I had any hope of getting a clear shot, but just the thought of going back there now caused my stomach to roil sickeningly. I couldn't do it. I had to find somewhere else to go, somewhere that I could hide out until Tayla could pick me up.
Naturally, the port made sense, and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it earlier. However, finding the port was a bit more difficult than finding the hilltop, because I couldn't see it from the ground. As I searched for signs, I kept my eyes bouncing up at the sky, tracking every little glint of sunlight and wondering which one was Nikathy's. Sometimes I could see little bursts of explosions, and my heart skipped a beat, wondering if he had been hit. I told myself I didn't care. That it served him right for rushing out there and leaving me and Cosma in some sort of twisted standoff. But the thought of his ship coming under fire made my heart race, and I sped up as I was driving, desperate to find the port.
Everything around me was so confusing, but at last, I spotted the signs I was looking for and followed them out to the long flat runways that stretched in every direction. It wasn't as good as the hilltop from a defensive standpoint, but it served my purposes just fine. If anything was coming this direction, I'd be able to spot it from a long ways off and set up my shot. I just had to be patient.
Another explosion overhead caught my attention, this one closer than any of the others, and I gripped the steering wheel hard until my knuckles were white. It was impossible to tell what was happening up there, but I was certain that the Patrol had succeeded in closing the distance. I was beginning to see the rough outlines of the little blobs that flew back and forth up above. If Nikathy wasn't careful, he was going to be fighting this battle right here on the ground before long.
I was scanning the sky with my eyes squinted, trying to make out the details of the ships, when my eyes landed on something parked at the port, a little ways from where I sat in the truck. It was a smaller ship, but it looked like it had been outfitted for dogfighting at one point. Now, it looked like it had been left to sit for some time, all of its weaponry stripped away, leaving loose brackets and clamps hanging from all the places where guns should have been. An idea started to form in my mind, and I started the truck up again, pulling it around until I was parked under the ship's wing.
I made my way to the ship's door and popped the hatch open, peeking my head inside curiously. The inside smelled of dust and oil, but otherwise seemed in good shape. I spotted a toolbox in a storage cabinet beneath the seat and hauled it out.
I'd never be able to move the cannon by myself. But if I laid across the ship's wing and leaned over the edge, it tipped down just enough to get the first of the clamps around the cannon's base. I used what strength I had to tighten down the first one and then turned around to secure the bracket in the back. When I was done, I slipped off the back of the wing into the bed of the truck and inspected my handiwork.
The little ship sat lopsided with the weight of the cannon on one wing, but I wasn't bothered. The annex Nikathy had taken me to had housed tons of weapons. I just needed to find something close in size. With one last glance overhead to judge the distance of the battling ships, I made my way back to the truck's cab and drove back into the city, intent on finding something that could balance the little fighter before I attempted to take off.
I drove through the streets even more wildly than I had before. Without the weight of the cannon in the back, the truck maneuvered easily and I was able to pick up speed. It didn't take long to locate the annex, although I paused when I realized that the gate was locked and I didn't have Nikathy's keycard to get in this time. One way or another, I had to get in there. I flexed my hands on the steering wheel and then hit the accelerator, sending the truck hurtling at the gates. There was a spray of glass and a clatter as the gates ripped off their hinges and tore at the truck's body panels, but I was on the other side in a heartbeat. Now all I had to do was find a really big gun.
I would have liked to have help for this next part. When I found what I was looking for, I had to fight to get the bulky contraption free of the storage rack and onto the truck with the old lift. By the time I was done, my body was covered in a slick sheen of sweat and I was fighting to catch my breath. I went back to the truck's cab on wobbly knees, unsure if I would even be able to press the accelerator with the exhausted muscles of my legs. I climbed in and rested my head on the steering wheel for a moment, needing the time to collect myself before attempting to drive again.
An enormous explosion overhead rocked the annex, shaking dust from the rafters and sending it snowing down all around me.
I fumbled with the keys, my stomach doing somersaults as I waited for a followup. But there was only silence. Long, empty, painful silence. And for some reason, I felt a lump rising up in my throat, and tears falling down my cheeks like a premonition of what I was going to find out there. I don't know how I knew, but I was so, so sure that it had been Nikathy. All those other explosions could've been anybody. I caught myself believing that those had been Patrol ships shot down, each and every one of them. But this explosion, I just knew it was Nikathy, and I felt like something inside me was tearing open. I needed to get to him. At first, I thought I just wanted to look him in the eye and tell him how angry I was, but when I swallowed those first sickening feelings, I realized that if I ever saw him again, I would throw myself right back into his arms. I would have given anything for him to pick me up and carry me to safety once more.
I made up my mind. Nikathy couldn't have been shot down because we had unfinished business.
I pulled the truck out of the annex and looked around wildly, thinking that the burning remains of the ship would be somewhere close. But wherever they were, I couldn't see them. All I could see was a zigzag line of ships headed straight toward me, and on the other side, the thin collection of ships that were supposed to be protecting us. The Patrol had gotten past them.
I sped up, frantically trying to get back to the little ship I'd commandeered, and get this gun strapped up under the wing. Judging by the approach of the Patrol ships, I only had a few minutes to get off the ground before they started wiping out everything within sight.
