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Using my gun wasn’t an option; I didn’t want to hit Julia by accident. I ran at them, holstering the gun and grabbing my knife instead. He couldn’t hear or see me coming. I swiveled and kicked him hard in the face. Blood squirted from his nose, and he fell backwards. He recovered quickly and jumped to his feet, pressing a hand to his face. He eyed my knife, but it didn’t make him pause for more than a second before he lunged at me.
He was a better fighter than I had estimated. He deftly dodged my knife and tackled me to the ground. My hand bashed against the ground, the knife flew from my fingers, and we rolled across the sand. He pummeled me in the chest and stomach with his fists, knocking the wind out of me. Pain blossomed across my torso while he continued to pummel me.
Julia suddenly appeared over his shoulder. Her hand snaked around his neck below his jaw and jerked backward. She succeeded in pulling him away from me a foot or so and then she slashed her knife across his neck. I blinked and turned my face as blood splattered, staining the sand. She released his body almost as fast and dropped to her knees beside me.
Brown eyes full of concern and pain peered at me through her goggles. “Are you okay?” Her voice was muffled by the cloth around her face.
Somehow, I nodded. My eyes strayed to the dead man’s body. I swallowed and took a steadying breath. “I’m okay. Are you?”
“Yeah.” She stood up and offered her hand. “We should go.”
I used her hand to pull myself to my feet. We weren’t out of danger yet. I spun in a circle, checking all around us. I caught sight of three more men heading for us a couple hundred feet away. Unfortunately, they stood between us and the ship.
Julia spotted them at the same time I did. “Snails!” She scooped up the sensors on the ground while I grabbed the one still stuck in the ground and yanked. I threw all of my weight behind it, and this time it came free. Julia handed me one of her three sensors, and we took off.
Running on this kind of terrain was nearly impossible, but we did our best. Thankfully, our pursuers were having just as much trouble as we were. I kept one eye on Julia and one eye on the ground. We were running up and down hills now, so there was enough cover between us and them that they couldn’t outright shoot us.
Electricity buzzed against my skin just as lightning streaked from the sky to a hill a hundred feet to the right. Julia and I both jumped and skittered to the side. Deafening thunder clapped, and we covered our ears. We were low enough that I doubted we were in any danger, not unless we had to run up another hill.
With no time to worry about it, I steered towards a path between two massive dunes. I glanced over my shoulder but couldn’t see our pursuers. I took that as a good sign and tried to run faster.
A large pool of water stretched across most of the path. I braked hard and moved to the side, trying to skirt around the edges of it. Julia followed right on my heels. Once we were safely around the water, I stuck close to the hill on our left until the path branched out in front of us in three forks. I closed my eyes, letting my instincts choose a path. I reached out with my left hand and swept it from left to right. Somewhere in the middle, my hand tingled. I opened my eyes and ran for the middle path.
The sandy dunes morphed into rocky hills, and vegetation grew along the paths and up the sides of the hills, though most of it was dry, decaying, and brown. It looked like the rain hadn’t done much damage to the area. The hills grew into cliffs, and we descended into a valley. I kept running down the path. Julia tripped behind me and righted herself without needing help.
The path forked again, getting smaller as more vegetation and rock seemed to fill the valley. I slowed, and Julia nearly plowed into my back. She came to a full stop and readjusted her hold on the sensors, taking harsh breaths. I couldn’t see any signs of pursuit. This was the time to get off the path and find a place to hide, if possible, before they caught up.
Looking at the wall of rock and knotted vines on the right, I walked down the path a few feet in that direction. Something caught my eye, and I maneuvered around a curtain of thick branches, vines, and roots that were growing up the rocks, being careful not to break any. “Julia,” I whispered.
She appeared at my side almost instantly. “They’re coming!”
I slid carefully around the branches and pressed my hand into the darkness. “There’s a hole here.” I tucked my body into the small opening, cautiously guiding the sensors inside as I went. The opening couldn’t have been much bigger than the size of a window, but the inside was much more spacious. Julia said nothing while she climbed in beside me, propping the sensors on the inside wall by the opening.
Gingerly, I felt around with my hands until I found the back of the cave. It was only four feet deep or so. It was wide enough that I could comfortably lie down. The floor was dry, and I didn’t feel any feces, so I presumed it was uninhabited. There were only a handful of animal species that could survive on the planet anyway, so that wasn’t surprising. Most of the local animals were poisonous reptiles, and if we had invaded the home of one of those, we would have a worse problem on our hands.
Julia stumbled around in the dark hole, and I took her gently by the shoulders and sat her down against the wall next to me. Some light came in through the entrance, but it wasn’t bright outside and there were plenty of overgrown trees encircling the opening. The extra foliage made it dark, but it also made it much harder for someone to spot the opening.
Thunder continued to boom overhead, but it wasn’t as deafening in the little cave. I took a slow breath, sending up a quick prayer of thanks to the universe for the shelter. I was hoping they wouldn’t find us.
Footsteps and voices reached my ears, though they were faint. Julia suddenly had her gun in hand and was pointing it at the opening. Seeing the logic in that, I withdrew mine as well. Julia crouched silently, her whole body tense and ready for action. I supposed, as an IPF agent, she was at least familiar with these kinds of situations. I scooted forward a little, being as silent as possible, and peered through the hole, though I couldn’t see much from my vantage point.
As the voices approached, Julia stilled completely. I caught a brief glimpse of a body moving past. Julia’s gun was aimed right at them, and her attention never wavered. I held my gun in hesitant hands. I didn’t know if attacking would be the smartest move, but whatever play she made, I would back her up. I waited for her to fire, to hear the gunshot that would echo viciously in the small space.
The noise never came.
Our pursuers passed by, muttering to themselves, and then they were out of earshot again. Julia relaxed and settled against the wall. I put my gun down and scooted back as well. We sat in silence for several minutes, just resting.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked, pulling my bandana away from my face.
Julia swallowed loudly enough that I heard it, but she nodded and removed her bandana as well. “Yeah. I’m a little winded, but I’m okay. You?”
I mentally took stock of my body. “A few bruises, but nothing major.”
“Thank you. For helping me.”
I smiled faintly into the dark. “You did the same for me. Thank you. We don’t make a bad team.”
She chuckled and shifted beside me, though she didn’t move away. We weren’t touching, but we were close enough I could feel her body heat. “I suppose not.” Her voice wasn’t completely steady, and she cleared her throat. “That could have gone far worse.”
