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With no choice, I switched on the illuminator, and, dragging a heavy pack containing water and nutria-bars, I crawled away. Like a rat in a maze, I wandered through the duct, sometimes hitting a dead end and having to backtrack.
By happenstance, I ended up over the bridge. My heart had thumped with fear, but Seeher wasn’t there. Peering through the vent, I watched on the monitors as Lomax left my cabin. The screens displayed various areas of the ship. From here, Seeher could keep tabs on the entire vessel. The cabin was compromised. The vent was the only place to hide. Although it was tempting to linger to try to learn more, I’d promised to stay away from the bridge, and, despite my bravado, I did not wish to run into Seeher, so I’d left.
Having found the bridge—located forward—had allowed me to orient myself. I’d been on a few LOP ships in the past, all with a similar deck plan. Crawling through the conduit, I took a little tour of the ship. The galley was vacant, but I didn’t hang around. Other than the bridge, the galley would be the most likely place Seeher would go.
From the galley, I’d ventured to the observation lounge. By then, my knees had gotten sore from crawling. Seeher had no reason to venture into the lounge since she could see outer space from the bridge, so I’d settled in overhead, eaten a horrible-tasting nutria-bar, and drunk some water.
Lomax had included an empty wide-mouth water bag for me to urinate in. For the other bodily function, I’d have to pick a remote area away from any grates and hope the air system didn’t blow the smell into the ship. Do you smell something? I imagined Seeher asking.
Thirst quenched and belly full enough, I switched off the light and stretched out, pillowing my head on the pack.
I awakened missing Lomax and feeling sad and depressed, wondering how my friends would handle the situation. I doubted they would huddle lonely and scared in an air duct, leaving the man they loved to face the enemy alone. Millie would march up to Seeher and give her a black eye—four black eyes. Jessie would go on reconnaissance to collect intel to use against the enemy, and Holly would try to find a way to escape.
As satisfying as Millie’s option sounded, Jessie’s and Holly’s approaches would be the wiser course of action. I’d decided to explore further in hopes of learning something useful. I’d left the heavy pack behind to move faster and quieter but had taken the illuminator, gripping it in my armpit. When I neared a ceiling vent, I’d switched the light off.
I was midship, heading toward the stern to check out the evac shuttle bay, when I spotted Lomax in the cabin he’d claimed as his own.
Hunkering down overhead, I watched through the vent, unable to bring myself to leave. I’d agreed to go where he couldn’t find me, but, as long as he didn’t realize I was here, technically I hadn’t broken my promise.
Seeing his despair, I ached for him. I love you so much. I’ll stand by you no matter what.
My breath caught in my throat as his head shot up. Did he sense me? I had no mental powers like Seeher, but didn’t we all broadcast our mental energies, send our intentions out into the universe? Maybe a spark of psi existed in all of us.
Then he sighed, and his head drooped. Moments later, he pushed himself to his feet and shuffled into the cleansing unit.
The ship began to shake and vibrate, tossing me side to side. The illuminator rattled against the duct floor, and I grabbed it to stop the noise. All of a sudden, I seemed to gain seventy-five pounds. We’re landing. That’s planetary gravity I’m experiencing. As the ship continued to shake and rock, a grim-faced Lomax emerged from the cleansing unit.
With a hard bump, the ship set down, and the rocking and shaking stopped. His chest swelled as he took a deep breath. “Please be okay, Kat. Stay out of sight. Call for help,” he whispered. “You must live for both of us.” His fatalism tore at my heart.
Don’t say a thing. I had to follow his instructions. He believed I was safest in the duct. I couldn’t add to his worries. I bit my lip and dug my fingernails into my palms.
His cabin door slid open. In a flash, he wiped the worry and fear from his face and pasted on a blank expression.
Seeher entered, armed for battle, a stun stick on one hip, a blaster on the other. “Peace through chaos,” she said in Ara-Cope. I recognized the words.
In a blink of an eye, his demeanor changed. His face hardened, his muscles bulked up, and his posture stiffened. He oozed menace. “Peace through chaos,” he intoned.
“We’ve landed,” she announced, switching to Terran Universal. She moved farther into the cabin, halting underneath the vent. I could count the sparse, prickly hairs on her bald head. Her antennae-eyes focused on Lomax. “We’ll take the female with us.”
“What female?”
“The one hiding overhead.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. Crawling as fast as I could, I scrambled through the pitch-dark conduit. Hurry. Hurry. Faster, faster. My heart raced with terror. I didn’t dare use the light, fearing it could be seen through a grate.
Left, left, there’s a passage coming up to the left. Or had I missed it? I flailed through the darkness, no set destination, just escape. My only thought was to get as far away from Lomax’s cabin as I could. How had she known I was there? I should have listened and stayed away from him.
I crawled over a grate and screamed as the grille was yanked away and I pitched into the passage below. Lomax caught me. I stared into the cold, hard eyes of a GJW killer.
“Let me go!” I thrashed. Terror clawed at my throat.
“Bring her. I have plans for her,” Seeher said.
Ghadt! Ghadt! I tried to shoot a telepathic code, hoping he would somehow sense it, but he was immune. I knew better than to utter the words aloud. Seeher would transform him again—and she would know I knew how to undo the programming. I had to wait until he and I were alone.
Seeher led the way, and he carried me off the ship.
Chapter Eighteen
