footing.
"Sure, I'm taking you back. But not to the city."
Mira bolted. Her desperation had grown intense enough, and she moved with fresh strength.
"Shit, wait!"
The sand seemed to give way before her, trembling in the quake, moving across the ground like water. She could not hear Farrow following, with the noise clogging her ears. He may chase me down and tie me up, but while I can move I will run.
The sand parted in front of her. It sunk into the ground like the inside of an hourglass, falling into an unseen crevasse. She stopped as the hole spread, suddenly giving way, forming into a circle ten feet wide, then twenty, then fifty. It moved toward her, an expanding blackness. She stepped back from it, too afraid to run. Did one of the sand monsters wait inside, ready to appear?
It is a better death than by the hands of the Melisao.
The hole stopped expanding. Sand along the rim drifted and fell inside in tiny streams like waterfalls. Farrow called to her but she couldn't hear the words. If I jump will it all be over?
A new roar grew, deep within the ground. Mira stared at the hole longingly. I'm sorry Kaela, Ami. I did my best. I did the only thing I could. She waited for the monster to emerge and swallow her whole.
But instead of flesh, grey metal appeared. Steel and glass, bolts and panels, stamped with letters and symbols.
The aircraft rose out of the hole with a roar of engines and fire.
It hovered into the air above her, spraying sand at her face and body like a million tiny pinpricks. It pulsed for a moment before launching across the desert to her left. It flew ten feet above the ground, the engines kicking up plumes of sand as it disappeared over the dunes.
Mira stared, mouth open and confused.
The movement of the ship made her feel dizzy with vertigo, standing so close to the edge of the hole. Her foot slipped and lost purchase, until Farrow grabbed Mira and pulled her back into darkness.
Chapter 3
"Can you hear me?"
A man's voice, distance but familiar.
"Mira? Shit. Are you awake?" Concerned and insistent.
With the breaking of crusted sand, Mira opened her eyes. A distant part of her mind knew it was night, though some sort of yellowish light shone nearby. Farrow's face filled her vision, frowning down as he examined her.
"You fainted. The heat, and dehydration."
"The spaceship..." she said. Had it been real? She wasn't sure if she'd imagined it, like the line of people in the sand.
"We'll talk about that later," Farrow said. "Can you sit up?"
Groaning, Mira pushed to her elbows. We're not outside anymore. She lay on a small cot, only a few inches above the ground, in the corner of a room barely big enough for the two of them. The air held a dank, fetid smell. It reminded her of the room she shared with her daughters back in the city.
The memory of her girls brought fresh pain.
"Here, drink this," he said, lifting a cup to her lips. It tasted like water with something sweet added. She drank slowly at first, then increasingly fast, until rivulets ran down the side of her mouth and she nearly choked. Farrow filled the cup from a larger container and she downed that one too, slower.
"Something solid, if your stomach can stand it," he said, brandishing a plate of bread. It had long since gone stale, but she took a piece.
"Where are we?"
He chuckled. "You really don't know, do you? Just a shitting accident..." he shook his head, face growing serious. "After you're done eating, you'll be questioned. Tell the truth. Everything you told me. If you're convincing, we'll let you go."
Mira dipped the bread in her cup of sweetened water to soften it. "The truth is that I'm guilty. I stole the credits from the factory foreman to save my daughters. If I tell you the truth you'll execute me for crimes against the Empire." She pictured the bodies hanging dead in the city square, traitors who stole or rebelled against the occupying Melisao.
Farrow bristled. "We are not
"Sure, I'm taking you back. But not to the city."
Mira bolted. Her desperation had grown intense enough, and she moved with fresh strength.
"Shit, wait!"
The sand seemed to give way before her, trembling in the quake, moving across the ground like water. She could not hear Farrow following, with the noise clogging her ears. He may chase me down and tie me up, but while I can move I will run.
The sand parted in front of her. It sunk into the ground like the inside of an hourglass, falling into an unseen crevasse. She stopped as the hole spread, suddenly giving way, forming into a circle ten feet wide, then twenty, then fifty. It moved toward her, an expanding blackness. She stepped back from it, too afraid to run. Did one of the sand monsters wait inside, ready to appear?
It is a better death than by the hands of the Melisao.
The hole stopped expanding. Sand along the rim drifted and fell inside in tiny streams like waterfalls. Farrow called to her but she couldn't hear the words. If I jump will it all be over?
A new roar grew, deep within the ground. Mira stared at the hole longingly. I'm sorry Kaela, Ami. I did my best. I did the only thing I could. She waited for the monster to emerge and swallow her whole.
But instead of flesh, grey metal appeared. Steel and glass, bolts and panels, stamped with letters and symbols.
The aircraft rose out of the hole with a roar of engines and fire.
It hovered into the air above her, spraying sand at her face and body like a million tiny pinpricks. It pulsed for a moment before launching across the desert to her left. It flew ten feet above the ground, the engines kicking up plumes of sand as it disappeared over the dunes.
Mira stared, mouth open and confused.
The movement of the ship made her feel dizzy with vertigo, standing so close to the edge of the hole. Her foot slipped and lost purchase, until Farrow grabbed Mira and pulled her back into darkness.
Chapter 3
"Can you hear me?"
A man's voice, distance but familiar.
"Mira? Shit. Are you awake?" Concerned and insistent.
With the breaking of crusted sand, Mira opened her eyes. A distant part of her mind knew it was night, though some sort of yellowish light shone nearby. Farrow's face filled her vision, frowning down as he examined her.
"You fainted. The heat, and dehydration."
"The spaceship..." she said. Had it been real? She wasn't sure if she'd imagined it, like the line of people in the sand.
"We'll talk about that later," Farrow said. "Can you sit up?"
Groaning, Mira pushed to her elbows. We're not outside anymore. She lay on a small cot, only a few inches above the ground, in the corner of a room barely big enough for the two of them. The air held a dank, fetid smell. It reminded her of the room she shared with her daughters back in the city.
The memory of her girls brought fresh pain.
"Here, drink this," he said, lifting a cup to her lips. It tasted like water with something sweet added. She drank slowly at first, then increasingly fast, until rivulets ran down the side of her mouth and she nearly choked. Farrow filled the cup from a larger container and she downed that one too, slower.
"Something solid, if your stomach can stand it," he said, brandishing a plate of bread. It had long since gone stale, but she took a piece.
"Where are we?"
He chuckled. "You really don't know, do you? Just a shitting accident..." he shook his head, face growing serious. "After you're done eating, you'll be questioned. Tell the truth. Everything you told me. If you're convincing, we'll let you go."
Mira dipped the bread in her cup of sweetened water to soften it. "The truth is that I'm guilty. I stole the credits from the factory foreman to save my daughters. If I tell you the truth you'll execute me for crimes against the Empire." She pictured the bodies hanging dead in the city square, traitors who stole or rebelled against the occupying Melisao.
Farrow bristled. "We are not
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