CHAPTER 5

ARTEMIS

T hunder cracked above the canopy, vibrating all the way through the ground. The leaves shook with the sound, dropping a steady stream of rain onto our heads. Smaller animals scurried up trees and burrowed in the ground while birds we could hear but were too well camouflaged to see chirped and squawked from within their nests as they hid from the storm.

We were drenched despite being under the thick canopy of the trees, which meant the weather was most likely way worse out there than in here. I hoped the women who chose to leave were okay.

The sky had opened up not long after we’d entered the forest, and we’d been trudging through the slippery mud and tangled undergrowth for what felt like hours. Unfortunately, we needed to keep moving to get as far away from the toppled facility as we could before hunkering down in a shelter we were probably going to have to build ourselves.

None of us knew what planet we were on, let alone our exact geographical location in order to direct ourselves towards the nearest civilisation, nor did we have the ability to contact anyone for help. Not that we could even if we had the means. We had no one to call and anyone we managed to talk to would only ask questions we couldn’t safely answer.

We were well and truly on our own.

The two solars I had spent on my own were coming in useful right about now. None of these women had any survival experience, and they were extra vulnerable with their pregnancies. I had to keep reminding them to push onward or else risk getting caught again. By now, The Program had likely figured out that something wasn’t right with our facility and had more than likely already sent out a team to investigate.

The further we pushed forward the more laboured their breaths became and the more breaks were demanded. I tried to keep those pauses to a minimum, deciding it was better to move at a slower pace so the more heavily pregnant women were able to keep up and we would still be moving consistently away from them.

‘Stop. I can’t… go any… further,’ the female with the largest belly huffed and puffed.

A quick glance to the brand on my arm, visible through the torn fabric of my Program-issued jumpsuit, showed it was a pale brown, denoting my stirring need for food. It wasn't a darker shade, so I dismissed the need for later. We were going to have to stop soon, but I wanted to get a little further away first.

‘We can take a quick break, but we need to keep going just a bit longer,’ I told her while her equally pregnant partner helped her to sit on the sodden ground. Their hair was plastered to their faces and necks, their wet jumpsuits no doubt chafing much like mine was. But what was a little discomfort compared to the promise of safety?

They weren’t used to this I reminded myself for the umpteenth time. I needed to remember that they were used to small, enclosed spaces and short, timed, closely monitored exercise. This was probably the longest they had ever had to move in one go, not to mention the added weight of their unborn babies.

I didn’t envy them, but I was getting frustrated. If I were by myself I would have made it at least twice the distance by now. I detested being held back by dead weight, but I also couldn’t bring myself to leave them to their own devices. They wouldn’t last a day out here without help, and I was the only one with any experience to actually provide that help.

I might have been annoyed at their sloth-like pace, but I wasn’t a monster. At least not completely. After everything I’d done the jury was still out on my morality. If their children weren’t involved, I probably would have taken Libby and run as far away from them as possible. Anyone related to The Program was a liability and could not be trusted. There was no saying what kind of brainwashing they’d been subjected to.

Which was why I hadn’t mentioned the people I’d left behind on Nova Station when I’d been captured. I didn’t want anyone to know about them. Stars, I’d even censored myself around Libby, though I did talk about them a little. I’d caused them enough hassle and didn’t want to add to it by drawing attention to them with the wrong people.

‘We need to rest,’ the other woman on the ground begged. ‘We can’t move any further.’

I glanced down at their protruding bellies. If I were to guess from a mere glance I would have said they were only a few weeks out from their due dates. From their slumped positions and heaving chests – not to mention the bags under their eyes and the way they huddled together for warmth as they shivered uncontrollably – I couldn’t deny their exhaustion any longer. This was where we were going to make camp tonight, whether I liked it or not.

I scrutinised our surroundings and determined that this was as good a spot as any to set up a makeshift shelter. I would have preferred to put more distance between us and the facility, but at least the rain was forceful enough to wash away our tracks. It would have masked our scent as well in case they brought out their beasts to sniff us out.

‘Okay, you guys rest. I’ll make a quick shelter and see if I can find us something to eat,’ I reluctantly informed them.

‘How?’ the redhead from earlier asked.

I gave her a grim smile. ‘I’ve got some experience. I know what to do.’

‘Can I help?’ she asked, and it pleased me that she was eager to be useful, though right now she would just get in the way.

‘Not really. Just sit tight. I can give you some pointers at a better time.’

She looked as if she might argue, but she seemed to accept my answer and conceded without a fight. She settled at the base of a tree away from the two already on the ground, and the woman I guessed was her partner joined her. The other pairs followed suit, some sneering at the messy ground before realising there wasn’t much else for it and finally settled in.

My first order of business was to gather some sturdy sticks and some leaves to create a shelter. I set to it, leaving Libby with the others while I scavenged for supplies. I stuck close to the group because I didn’t completely trust them with my best friend, even if I didn’t think they would try anything right this moment. They were exhausted, but from personal experience, exhaustion was nothing in the face of fight or flight. If any of them so chose they could ruin everything before we’d even gotten the chance to settle in and become friends.

Well, ‘friends’ was a stretch, but the point was the same.

After gathering the supplies I needed, I used practiced hands to stake the sticks into the ground and weave the leaves around them. I tore some up to use as twine and secured the makeshift shelter. I stood back to admire my handiwork. It wasn’t much but it would do in a pinch.

‘It’s cold. Can we start a fire?’ the redhead asked. I really needed to learn her name so I could stop referring to her by the colour of her hair.

‘No fire,’ I said with finality, gazing through the rain and into the forest to gauge what edible plants could be scavenged.

‘Why not?’

I sighed, my frustration getting the better of me. ‘A few reasons, but two main ones. The wood would be too wet to burn and the smoke would give away our location. If you want to get warm, share body heat. I’m going to look for food.’

I’m coming with you,’ said Libby, standing back up and stepping towards me.

I scowled at her, then where I imagined her baby was curled up inside her. ‘No, you’re staying here where it’s drier.’

The way she tilted her chin up and set her teeth told me all I needed to know about how this argument would go. I could win if I wanted to, but it would cause more issues in the long run.

‘Fine,’ I bit out. ‘But you follow my lead and do as I say.’

I didn’t give her time to argue, stomping off into the woods with the knowledge that she would follow. I wasn’t usually so bossy with her, but she seemed to sense my need for control.

‘What are we looking for?’ she asked when she caught up to me.

‘Anything edible.’

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know yet, that’s why I’m looking.’

She pointed to a bush brimming with bright yellow berries. ‘What about these?’

I pursed my lips. ‘Sure. If you want to die.’

Her hand snapped back to her body as if merely pointing at the offending fruit would cause harm. Then she hummed thoughtfully as she looked around. ‘What about these?’

She pointed high into the trees where bunches of an unfamiliar fruit hung from the branches, heavy with their meat. They were a dark green with yellow spots. Spots that glowed brilliantly in the shadows…

I shook my head. ‘I don’t know what they are, and I make it a habit not to eat anything that glows. It’s safer to avoid them.’

‘No glow. Got it. What about these?’

I didn’t even have to look to know she was pointed at the small brown nuts protruding from a bush. Strange thing about nuts, they were always the same earthy colours regardless of the planet they grew on. The stranger thing about these nuts particularly was that they were a different kind of nut entirely.

‘Those are Kribit testicles, Libs.’

A sound of disgust and alarm wrenched from her the back of her throat. ‘Oh, fuck no.’

I giggled at the mental image of her trying to pick them and the little squeak they would make in response.

‘Bitch, it’s not funny.’

I laughed harder.

‘Shut up!’ she snapped, but it was filled with amusement. ‘I bet you only know that because you made the same mistake and learned the hard way.’

My laughter dried up quickly. She wasn’t wrong…

‘Okay, okay. What are we actually looking for?’ she asked, bringing us back around to the task at hand. We really did need to bring back some sustenance for the women at the camp. They would need all the strength they could get.

The problem was, I wouldn’t know if something was edible until I saw it. ‘You’ll know when I know…’

She pursed her lips at me. ‘Well, that’s useful.’

I rounded on her, hands on my hips. ‘Hey! I know I’m smart and all, but I’m not all-knowing. I have no idea what planet we’re on so I have no clue what most of these plants are or if they’re even safe to eat. I’m doing my best, okay?’

Her expression immediately softened when she noted my distress. ‘Okay. You’re right. Let’s just keep looking.’

???

We made it back to the camp with our arms laden with a bland array of nuts (not testicles) and roots wrapped in leaves. I made sure we only picked the items I knew for a fact were safe, leaving behind the ones I was unsure about. Our nanites may give us a boost when it comes to healing illnesses as well as injuries, but I didn’t know how they’d been reprogrammed to allow for the pregnancies. It wasn’t worth the risk.

It wasn’t exactly a feast, but it would be enough to keep every afloat until we could find a safer place to settle down. Then I could hunt actual meat and roast it on a fire.

I carefully placed my leaves on the ground before the women so that the contents didn’t spill into the mud and gestured for them to eat up. Libby followed suit, and we each took one leaf full of the small meal and gobbled them up. I made sure to take less than the others since I’d snuck a few into my mouth while picking them.

‘Is that it?’ the two heavily pregnant women asked simultaneously and derisively.

‘It’s all we could find on short notice,’ Libby snapped back.

‘I’ll take it if you don’t want it,’ the redhead suggested, reaching out as if to grab the leaves from them.

They pulled them close, glaring at us while they shoved handfuls into their mouths.

‘We can hunt for meat when we find some place to settle. For now, it’s this or nothing,’ I told them. They didn’t seem to grasp the fact that we were no longer being fed on a regular basis by other people. We needed to scrounge up our own meals now, and right now this was it.

When everyone finished eating (which didn’t take long, since there wasn’t much to begin with) I watched as they snuggled into their pairs and tried to settle down to sleep on the uncomfortable forest floor. Sure, there were leaves and such that would have normally created enough cushioning on a regular night, but with the way everything was saturated from the rain it didn’t make for a comfortable resting place. There wasn’t much else to do but try to use each other’s bodies as pillows and our body heat as blankets.

With the makeshift shelter protecting us from the worst of the dribbling rain and the thickly compacted trees working to prevent any severe gusts, I tucked Libby’s smaller frame tightly into my side. She shivered against me so I wrapped myself more securely around her and rubbed her arms, attempting to create more heat with the friction.

‘I’ll stay up tonight,’ I told her. ‘You get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.’

‘But you need rest, too,’ she argued.

‘I’m fine, Libs. Eating helped.'

I felt her brows dip against my collar bone. ‘Did it really? There wasn’t much…’

‘Yes, Libby. I swear I’m fine. I have enough energy to survive the night without sleep,' I gestured to the brand with its steady green shade.

She mulled over my words and studied the tattoo before answering. She knew I wouldn’t lie to her, especially not when it came to our survival. I would never risk her like that, and the ink on my skin provided the extra assurance she needed.

‘Okay…’ the end of the word was mangled by her yawn, and I increased the motion of my hands on her arms to try to speed up the warming process. She hated sleeping in the cold.

It didn’t take long for her to drift off in our embrace. A few of the others were quick to follow, though some stayed up like me. I was the only one who stayed up throughout the whole night, though. The others took turns sleeping and keeping watch.

At one point I felt my legs go numb from sitting still for so long, but I didn’t dare move. The rain stopped, the light dimmed into darkness, and I kept my senses open for any signs of danger. I listened to every rustle of every leaf, every snuffle and squeak of every animal. A few times the padding of larger paws crept closer before turning away again, and I knew we were going to have issues with the predators stalking us if we didn’t find somewhere to settle soon.

One thing was clear as I studied the sleepy women around me, new life growing in their wombs. Whatever planet we were on, this was going to be our home, and we were going to have to learn to live harmoniously and build our own community in order to survive what was to come. We needed safety in numbers because The Program was never going to let us go without a fight.