Paradise 21 Read Free Page A

arm, she could throw it in, and they’d have to assume her body had gone with it. They’d stop looking for her once their retrieval machine pulled it out.
    Aries shoved the energy cell in her pocket and grabbed the backpack she’d spent months filling with all the right supplies. She hit the pod’s manual eject button, and the lid of the craft popped open, smoking and wheezing.
    The heat hit her in a tidal wave. She gasped for breath, thinking of poor Tria. The air scorched Aries’ lungs, and she waited for her skin to crinkle or her body to burst. She squeezed her eyes shut to brace for the worst, but she remained conscious. Each intake of breath burned like fire, but then again, she’d only ever breathed regulated air. She had to trust the historical reports. The atmosphere on Sahara 354, although parched, must be adequate.
    As the hatch lifted, blinding sun poured in like a thousand laser rays, blazing into her pale skin. She’d read about the sun on Earth and had felt the flames of a lighter on her fingertips, but she’d never experienced such a rush of raw elements. The radiating light infused her with awe, as if a higher power touched her directly.
    Shielding her eyes, she peered at the sky, a canvas of cerulean and gold. She’d always wondered what it would be like to stand in an atmosphere. It provided a sense of protection in a blanket spreading above her head, shielding her from the harsh elements of deep space. At the same time, the world felt open and endless compared to the claustrophobic corridors of the New Dawn .
    Aries stepped out of her broken pod, and orange sand stained her pristine space boots. Her white uniform ruffled in the breeze. Thank the Guide, she had long sleeves covering her arms from the burning sun. The light microfiber repelled heat. As her eyes adjusted to the bright glare, she could make out the plateau of rock from the image on the viewing screen. The pod had landed exactly where she’d told it to. Now all she had to do was get as far away as possible, find a place to ditch her locator, and hide.
    After one last look at the steaming wreckage, she secured the clasps on her pack and took the first steps forward. Her boots sank into the ground as if lead lined the soles. Trudging through the sand was cumbersome compared to bouncing along the metal walkways of the New Dawn in light gravity. She felt like a toddler again, flailing her arms as she learned how to balance and stand. Although the increase in gravity and uneven terrain made her body work harder, the stretching of her muscles felt good and oddly natural, as if she’d missed a certain pleasure all her life.
    Drunk on freedom, she trekked on. A brutal wind hit her face, sending sand particles in her eyes and mouth. Aries coughed and spit on the ground. Her tongue stuck in her mouth like sandpaper.
    As a little girl, she’d stood in front of the ventilator, feeling her hair fan out as the air had rushed past the back of her neck. The natural wind on Sahara 354 blew much stronger, a violent force beyond man’s control. Being exposed made her feel weak and vulnerable, but also excited.
    She dug in her backpack, found her water bottle, and took a swig of mineral water, trying to get her bearings and adjust to the new levels of gravity and temperature. Her eyes stung and her skin burned, but she was free. Bracing herself against the gale, she ripped off a piece of her uniform and tied it around her nose and mouth. Thank goodness she’d cut her hair to shoulder length. Barliss had fought against the new style, until she’d fooled him into thinking she wanted to make the change so the upper command would take her more seriously, to move up the ranks with him. Only then had he allowed her to chop it off.
    The wind swirled mini tornadoes in the sand, erasing her tracks. The pod glinted as a silver spot on the horizon. She’d walked far, but the monotonous terrain provided nowhere to hide. Miles and miles of craggy ridges