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Malik. If the Sovann’ash had taken him prisoner, I was sure they’d gotten more than they bargained for. It was the only explanation that made sense, and I was clinging to it like a lifeline.
“He’s in there,” I said breathlessly. “Let’s go.”
Torgus didn’t argue with my command. He simply turned the yoke and steered our ship slowly along the underside of the Sovann’ash ship until we found the outline of the bay door.
“How do we get in?”
“You didn’t think I came unprepared, did you?” He asked with a laugh, showing me a little device that I did not recognize.
“What’s it do?”
“Scrambles their entry point security system. Worth every penny I spent on it.”
I watched as he plugged the device into the control panel in front of him and turned it on. Slowly, it began lighting up with numbers and letters, beeping erratically and working its way through some unknown sequence. As it worked, it picked up speed until I could no longer make sense of the numbers and letters that flashed past on the screen.
At last, it pinged, and the screen froze. I waited, but nothing seemed to happen. Until I peered up through the roof of our ship and saw the bay doors splitting wide overhead.
“Bingo.”
Torgus brought our small ship up against the bay and secured our docking arms. As the last air lock sealed itself, my heart beat unsteadily, eager to be on with this. I did not know what to expect going in. On the one hand, I wanted to believe that Malik was safe and unharmed. But my mind would not let me think so optimistically. More than anything, I just hoped he was still alive enough to hear me when I finally told him what I’d come for, when I finally admitted that he’d won my heart, despite everything that brought us to this point.
But it wasn’t until Torgus cleared his throat forcefully that I realized I was still sitting in my seat, clasping my restraints as I tried to breathe through the panic swelling inside me. What if he was dead? What if he rejected me? Somehow, I imagined both would be the end of me in their own way.
“You coming?”
“Yeah,” I said on an exhale, letting the air puff out of my lungs as I unlatch my restraints and climb up out of the hatch.
The hiss of the airlock is like a cool shower, cleansing my thoughts for a moment, re-centering my focus on what’s ahead. When the door opens, Torgus grabs my wrist and presses a gun into it without a word.
“Whatever happens to me, you make sure you get to Malik, got it? You save him, even if I can’t.”
I swallow, nodding my understanding although I’m choking on my words. For a moment, I realize that Torgus is still weak. He’s not ready for a fight. But he came here all the same. For Malik. For the brother he still had. For the family he always tried to protect. And I knew I could not fail.
“Stay with the ship,” I said. “I’ll be right back. If I don’t come back, go without me.”
“But you’ll-”
“If I die, it’ll be because Malik has already gone before me, and I have chosen to be with him in eternity among the stars. Do not wait for me.”
Our eyes met, and for the first time, I thought we understood one another. And then I was off, running from the air lock toward the first door I could see. I held the gun ahead of me, finger hovering over the trigger, but there was not a single movement down the too-bright halls. Not until I turned a corner and came upon an open door.
Inside, there was a limp form, and the walls are sprayed with blood. Already I could smell the stench of death collecting in the tight space, but I smiled anyway. I know Malik has been here. I can feel it, and the knowledge drives me onward.
Down the hall, I nearly leaped over two more corpses, not even stopping to examine their manner of death. I continued retracing his steps, following the bloody footprints he left for me as he fought his way out. And with every step closer, I felt myself on the brink of madness, wondering whether the next room would reveal his victory or ultimate defeat. The two possibilities loomed so large that when I reached the next door, I stopped, catching my breath, praying quietly to whatever deities may be listening. And then I placed my hand on the door and pushed.
“Don’t move.”
The words were so sharp; I halted reflexively, before the door had even moved far enough for me to see what was on the other side. Slowly, though, recognition dawned on me.
“Malik? Is that you?”
“Cosma? What the hell are you doing here?”
In an instant, the door slammed sideways, and I was face to face with Malik. His eyes burned with fury and blood streaked his face, his arms… arm. Taking it all in at once, I gasped at the sight of his mangled arm, the mechanical addition completely gone. My mouth dropped open, and I struggled to find the words.
“I- uh… Torgus…”
I would have said more, but a second later, I was lifted from my feet as Malik’s good arm scooped me up and he pressed me back against the wall, his lips covering mine. I opened to him, melting under his touch as his tongue swept through my mouth. He was gripping me hard, his fingers pressing into the side of my rib cage, as if I might slip through his hands if he wasn’t careful. But I wasn’t going anywhere.
