Chapter 13

It had been a while since Cora had been forced to run. Her lungs ached and her feet slid on the gravel, despite the smelly boots Levi had managed to procure for her. When he had cut her rope, she almost wanted to linger for an extra second just to kick him for all that ear-secretion nonsense.

But she hadn't. She had run like he told her, and now she was fully aware of the fact that she had run alone. Whatever had happened back there, he hadn't gotten away—not yet. She could still hear thrashing, but she didn't dare look back.

Throat burning and eyes dusty, she swiped at the tears and focused on the wavy horizon. Was that her vision or the ground? She couldn't tell.

Far behind her, she heard popping and sizzling noises like meat on a grill, but she ran faster. Through the haze, heat, and dust, she made out a white cylinder a stone's throw to her left. For all she knew, it was some sort of Jorvlen monster, but she changed course and ran to it anyway.

The cylindrical structure looked like it was composed of a thick, hard mud daub. A ladder stretched from the desert floor and hooked to the rim. Not stopping to think over the potential danger of what might be inside, Cora grabbed a rung to begin climbing and immediately regretted it.

"Augh!" she screamed, releasing the rung. She shook her hand and rubbed the palm against her thigh in pain. Pulling up the fabric of her shirt, she wrapped it around her hands to shield them from the hot metal and climbed, hoping no one had heard her cry out.

The cylinder was hollow and deep. Cora couldn't see the bottom. Her heart pounded in her ears and her breath came in gasps. Nothing had better live down there, she whispered to herself, carefully descending into the blackness.

She descended only until she was sure no one was following her, perhaps twenty or thirty feet. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, it occurred to her that the pit must be very deep, because she still couldn't see the bottom and her movements echoed subtly.

When she could breathe steadily again, she chanced climbing the ladder to lift her sights above the rim of the pit. For a moment, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then she realized how disoriented she was. She had been looking the wrong way.

Turning her gaze, she saw the transport shuttle and the facility but couldn't make out much of the scene between them except for a settling cloud of dust. It seemed the struggle was over, and Cora looked wildly about for any sign that Levi made it out of there.

Instead, two hulking, bent forms emerged from the swirl dragging a lifeless form. She couldn't hear any specific words, but she could hear barks of laughter as the guards toted their quarry toward the fence surrounding the facility.

Levi is dead. The thought hit Cora in the chest like a bucket of bricks. She couldn't breathe. As her grip on the ladder loosened, she realized the darkness in the pit was growing thicker and shook her head to keep it from enveloping her.

She had to stay alert and alive, no matter how much it hurt. Levi had sacrificed his life for her, and she owed it to him to stay alive. Her breath returned, and she screamed silently into the void, kicking the cement walls of the pit and bashing her fists into the metal of the ladder until her knuckles bled.

How could he have let this happen? Didn't he know she was nothing, that she would never have asked for this kind of sacrifice? Numbness stole into Cora's heart as she stared into the blackness.

Not so long ago, she had only wanted to enjoy her vacation. Then she had wanted freedom from the Jorvlen filth who arrested her. After that, she'd wanted to escape with Levi, find the Desolation Stone, and bring down Umbrosis.

The last few days had become so full of dreams, plans, and details that she had ignored the fact that it could all end in the blink of an eye. It was all over. She could do nothing without Levi. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to see him and hear his voice one more time.

Stop it. Stop it! Stop it and do something! she reprimanded herself. Now wasn't the time for grief. It was the time for action.

Levi had told her all about his family, their business on Noxxa, and his home planet of Lorr. She would survive. She would make it out of there and then find a way to Noxxa and tell his brothers what happened. Levi's family deserved to know. The least she could do was give them that.

Drying her tears and filled with new resolve, Cora lifted her head above the rim of the pit once more to count the number of guards around the facility. She beheld the lump that must have been Levi, motionless on the ground just inside the fence.

Were they just going to leave him there to rot? That Jorvlen filth treated the dead bodies of their enemies with no honor. Cora wondered how she would manage to bury him before she left. She couldn't just leave him like that.

Sudden movement attracted her gaze. She couldn't be sure, but it appeared that the lump was edging its way slowly toward the chain link. Levi's alive! Her heart thrilled, and relief welled up in her eyes. The wealth of a thousand worlds mattered nothing to her. Her love was living.

Four shapes exited the prison, and she heard a faint pop and sizzle as blue arcs of electricity encompassed Levi's body, now motionless again. A stun gun. Of course. They picked him up and carried him into the facility.

Cora's mind reeled from the mounting list of complications she would have to handle to help Levi now. She had no idea how she would rescue him, but she knew she would do it and that it had to happen fast.

Ducking beneath the rim of the pit again, she tried to think ahead one step at a time. First, she would have to wait for nightfall. She had a good vantage point from which to watch the changing of the guard, information that would serve her well over the next few days.

Checking her surroundings every few minutes, she confirmed that no one seemed to be out looking for her. That was good. It meant she wasn't important enough to track down, and that meant they didn't know about her hacking work on the mothership.

Or they think I'll die before I can do anything with it. The dark thought slimed its way into her brain, but she smashed it before it could stay. If they assumed she wouldn't survive long enough to make them pay for what they did, she would just have to prove them wrong.

Night fell quickly, and with it came the cold. She had been too frightened to notice the change of temperature inside the cylinder, but as time passed and she calmed down, a cool breeze against her legs made her shiver in her sweat.

Climbing out of the pit on stiff muscles, she edged her way closer to the facility, avoiding the pools of brightness released from the security floodlights. This is going to be a challenge, she thought with a smile. Cora loved a challenge.