Bound – Chapter 6

“Wait,” she called out suddenly, not sure why that thought upset her so much. “I’m sorry, I just … “ she curled her nails into her palms, closing her eyes as she counted to ten, working on leveling out her temper. Cursing anyways, she hurried after him until she was nearly shoulder to shoulder with him, “You’re right. Forgive me, it’s just… I didn’t expect any of this. I trained for years, I’ve filled my head with so much, and none of this has a place now,” she said in aggravation.

When he didn’t respond, she simply continued on, “Obviously there is a lot more going on here. You were glowing blue up there, who does that? Then all those things buried in my body that I had no clue about,” it made her feel violated. How long had they even been there?

“And those bodies…The lack of communication. It just doesn’t make sense!” she said in frustration, “I have no body else to ask. I have no other communication link, and then you are trying to be all frustratingly mysterious, rather than give me a damn straight answer!”

You have me. It was a small message across her eyepiece that she had completely forgot she was wearing. She wore it so much, that it had come a part of her all these years. How could she have forgotten?

E.L.O.S.? She responded back, running her eyes across the screen in silent communication.

Where are you? Flashed in response, and she stared at it in puzzlement.

“Tell me how you really feel,” Leander said beside her, stealing her attention away.

“Is that really all you have to say? Seriously?” she said in disbelief.

Where are you? Blinked again across her lens, and she frowned at it.

You know better than I do! E.L.O.S. What the hell is going on here? Can you hone in on me and find me something out? She shot back.

“No. I suppose I haven’t disconnected enough from what is happening yet to see it your way. We were taught to follow orders, not to question them,” he grinned down at her, the dim lights of their suits casting dark shadows over his face, “At least not so verbally.

Negative. Uploading credentials. Please hold… Kersten stared at her screen in confusion as her rank started to scroll across the screen, including her last known location. A headshot she had taken when she first enrolled into the training program appeared, the words DECEASED in red across it made her feel a little cold inside.

Please confirm. The system asked her, making her shake her head.

“Kersten. We’re not like a lot of the others in TechnoRuins. We’re not like a lot of the others in the planet systems, either,” Leander said beside her, taking her right hand and holding it up with palm facing her. “Here,” he traced a line in her palm, down into her wrist. It was almost intimate the way he touched her, and she gave him an odd, questioning look.

“Are you preaching to me?” she asked in amusement, “Are you going to recite ancient texts, and explain connections with cosmos?” she laughed, pulling her hand away, “Be serious, Draven.”

Please confirm.

“You shouldn’t be so quick to mock others beliefs. Many are rooted in truths, many rooted in combined truths,” he said in disappointment, “You of all people, especially,” he chided, making her blush in embarrassment, “But no. You asked why I was glowing. We are different.”

“I don’t glow in the dark, obviously,” she pointed out, rolling her eyes a little. She knew she was doing a horrible job at taking him seriously, and could see that he was already shutting down. She had to fix this quick.

“Look, Leander. What you are saying just makes no sense to me,” she frowned, taking his palm to trace the same line had had on hers. He watched her closely as she felt the for line of veins, feeling them hard under her fingertip. His fingers were callused, but palms smooth, and as she stroked her finger there, she watched as a soft blue glow returned. Like a line of working ants, it followed her finger. She traced markings across his palm, fascinated as it was drawn out, only to slowly dim again.

“What…” she started, interrupted with another Please confirm, “Well for the love of everything,” she said in aggravation, responding back with a quick You know I’m not!

“Hm?” Leander asked curiously, but she shook her head dismissively.

“Nothing, just E.L.O.S.,” she said a little frustrated, “I think you broke him. How does this work? Is it a Life Wire upgrade?”

“It isn’t a Life Wire, Kersten. It’s our evolution,” he said, before catching her hand, “What do you mean E.L.O.S.?” Leander asked, sounding a little worried.

“He’s not working. I just told you. He’s asking weird questions, and won’t answer any of mine. Sound familiar?” she grinned at him.

But he wasn’t grinning back. He looked worried as he brushed a hand over his forehead and into his hair, starting back down the tunnel, “What message did you see, Kersten?”

“What? What’s wrong?” she jogged to catch up to him, keeping hurried steps beside him, “He keeps bringing up my profile, and asking me stupid questions he knows,” Kersten said in confusion, looking behind her when she started to hear the clicking and clacking of something, “What the heck is that?”

“Kersten! What were you asked?” Leander asked more desperately.

Warning. You are in violation of International Planetary Code RA1-91. Warning. Termination required. Warning.

“Wait, what! Termination? Planetary Code RA1-91? I haven’t even heard of those! E.L.O.S., what are you talking about?” Kersten asked, the sound of clicking over stone multiplying.

“That’s not E.L.O.S. Kersten, shit!” he said, ripping her eyepiece off her eye and smashing it into the wall next to him. It shattered and scattered into irreparable pieces, and she nearly dropped to her knees in heartbreak.

“What did you do that!” she screamed, “And of course it was E.L… wait, what do you mean?” she hesitated, staring down at her shattered eyepiece. Now she really did feel disconnected and empty.

“It’s not E.L.O.S.! And now they know you’re not dead, come on, hurry,” he started into a run, their boots loud now, but the sound of unmistakable clicking an eerie echo beside them.

Feeling something jump into her hair, Kersten cried out, batting at whatever it might be. Hearing her scream, Leander turned and snatched it out without hesitation. Pinched between his fingers looked like a crystal spider the size of her palm. It looked fragile, even beautiful, but by the look on Leander’s face, it wasn’t something good.

“They’ve activated security,” he looked more annoyed than frightened, and she felt foolish for crying out, “Smash them. They are highly explosive, but only when they turn red. You don’t want to pick up red ones,” frowned, crushing it in his hand. It crumbled like dust, but he never stopped moving.

The weight of their bags seemed to double, and she felt trapped in this tunnel. As things flew in her hair and across her shoulder, she tried to snatch them up and smash them against the wall. There wasn’t as much strength in her hand to crush it like Leander had, though she tried.

“Leander, look out!” Kersten cried out when a few feet ahead she saw them. Like tiny Christmas bulbs, the ceilings was littered with red lights. She heard Leander curse out as he took her by the arm and turned her back the way they had come. Crystal spiders smashed under their feet, and Kersten tried not to panic as she heard the slight hum behind them.

“Down!” he screamed at her, grabbing her suit and pulling them both on the ground. Laying his body over hers, the entire tunnel shook as one explosion after the other started going off. Alone, they were tame, but together, destructive. One after the other, she heard them pop off. The ground under her shook, and she could feel a multitude of legs crawling over her. She half expected them to attach to her body and detonate, destroying them both, but they seemed to continue toward the others exploding.

She heard Leander grunt, tensing against her backside, felt debris falling in chunks against her exposed parts, and the heat of fire and explosion against bare skin. Kersten could feel the flesh on her face blistering, and it made her gasp out. It felt like the entire structure was going to fall on their heads. If they didn’t burn alive first. When they finally stopped, her ears were ringing. Leander’s weight on top of her felt suffocating, and she wondered how much rock had fallen on top of him. Kersten laid there for a few moments, too stunned to move. Everything hurt, and the darkness was nearly unbearable.

Trying to move was a struggle. Kersten groaned, her throat dry, her nostrils burning. “Leander,” she choked, trying to move him off her, “Leander!” she said again, coughing as she drug herself on her elbows, trying to pull herself out from under him.

Bits of crystal from shattered spiders and chipped rock threatened to shred the suit she wore. She was glad it held up as well as it had, but that didn’t save her bare hands of exposed face. Blood flowed freely over blistered flesh, and she grimaced as she managed to pull her legs under her. Luckily, shifting around had proved that the illuminate patches on her suite still worked. They had simply been covered with such a thick layer of gunk, that it had thrown them in complete darkness.

“Leander..” she croaked again, starting to get worried when he didn’t respond. Scooting back his way, she shook his shoulder softly. Large pieces of rock had landed across his back and his legs, and parts of his suit were melted to him. It was gruesome, flesh and synthetic fabric, blood and muscle, and for a moment she felt sick.

The bags they had been carrying had been discarded beside them, supplies scattered in the pile of debris. Most of them destroyed from the explosion. She could just make out the small cube Leander had put together glimmering off to her right side, but little it would do her right now.

Gingerly, she touched two fingers against Leander’s throat, hands shaking slightly. She feared the worse, but let out a hard breath of relief to feel the vein jump against her touch in a slow throb.

“I’m sorry …” Kersten whispered, her throat tightening, “I’m sorry. This is all my fault, I’m so sorry,” she found herself apologizing as she picked at the fabric of his suit, wincing for him as she peeled off the burnt layers as carefully as she could. She actually felt relieved when she heard him groan in response, but he seemed to lose consciousness just as quickly.

“Kersten,” Leander said roughly, surprising her.

“I’m sorry! Leander, I’m an idiot. I didn’t think…”

“Will you please shut… up…” he hissed, his eyes fluttering open slightly, though he didn’t move, “Listen. Keep going down this hallway. Not much further… is another room.”

“What? No. There is no way you can move like this, and I’m not leaving you,” she said stubbornly, brushing some of his hair out of his face, trying to determine the depth of the wound that split his forehead open. She was trained in minor medical situations. But nothing like this.

“It’s an order, Powell. You’d rather sit here and we both die?” he said, somehow finding the energy to chuckle.

Her blood went cold a little at that. Death was something she was trying to push out of her mind. “Fine,” she agreed, frowning slightly. She contemplated taking him by the ankles and dragging him the distance, but judging by his injuries, though she was infuriated with him over everything that had happened so far, she wouldn’t of had the heart to cause him any more physical pain.

“Go. Be careful. Next room. Find the console on the wall,” he coughed, wincing visibly in the dim light, “Trust me. And Kersten?”

“Trust you. You’re an idiot, Leander Draven,” she gritted her teeth, “What?”

“You need me,” he gave a weak laugh, “So try not to let me die?”

“Oh, so much faith in me. I should just let you die so I can prove you wrong,” she said a bit morbidly, though the thought made her nearly hyperventilate.

“But then I won’t be .. alive.. to know,” he grinned, his bruised cheek dimpling, before unconsciousness took him again.

Checking one more time to make sure he was still alive, she hesitantly picked herself back up. Her legs were like jello beneath her, but she regained her strength rather quickly. She was more shaken than anything, and the thought of leaving him in this tunnel in his current state went against all her instinct, but he was right. She was truly going into this blind, and needed him. That she was sure of. And after what had just happened, what she had just caused, she owed him at least this.

If she could keep herself alive to do it, that is.