Way of No Return (Champions of the Crystal Book 8)

Chapter 20: Life and Death

With the girls gone, Sabrina let herself cry out during the contractions, which were unbelievably strong and painful. She suspected she'd had all the painkiller she could safely take, since Merith didn't offer her any more, and now she must just endure this process until it was over. It felt like she had been at this for most of the day already, and she wished for Ford's presence more intensely than she could have believed possible. "What time is it?" she asked, sounding delirious even to her own ears.

"Mid-afternoon," Ranja said, checking her datapad. "You're doing great."

As Sabrina tried to catch her breath and relax a little, she realized the tunnel outside the infirmary was no longer silent. She could hear faint noises. "Are they working on the barrier?" she panted.

Ranja said, "I can go check," but before she reached the door, Seuréa and Pinsi appeared, looking frightened.

"They found us," Seuréa reported. "They're trying to break through the emergency barrier. Isiri said we should hide."

"Oh, God," Sabrina moaned. "You should go further up, sweetie. You'll be safer in the tunnels."

"No," Seuréa insisted. "I have to be here when Lily's born. I promised Ford."

"He will understand," Sabrina assured her.

"No," Seuréa repeated, reminding Sabrina of the mulish attitude Mara had often displayed as a girl. "I have to stay with you. Pinsi and I will hide in the supply cupboard. The radiation suits should mess up their sensors if they get this far."

"Get in the suits. They might provide some protection," Merith advised.

The girls went to the cabinet on the far side of the room and began helping each other into the suits meant for exposure to certain types of ore. Ranja glanced over at them, then looked down at Sabrina and said quietly, "Do you want to send some of us up the tunnels to lay a false trail?"

Sabrina considered, looking at her companions. She had to admit she'd much rather not send away the two doctors and midwife, nor Ranja, whom she'd relied on for so long. Was she making a selfish decision? It was hard to think with her nerve endings jangling. "No. Kendara makes the defense calls. She'll let us know if she wants to reassign any of you."

An explosion echoed through the tunnel, and Merith said, "I do believe the time has come to staff the barricade, however, so we will have warning if we need to close and reinforce the infirmary door."

"I'll go," Ranja volunteered.

"Be careful," Sabrina called after her.

Two contractions later, there was another explosion, followed by a barrage of gunfire. Sabrina hoped the girls, safely tucked into the supply cabinet, couldn't hear. Ford? she thought. They're here. They're coming. If you don't get here soon, there won't be any point.

We're close, he thought back. There's a ship right over the mine; they definitely think Seuréa's there.

How are they tracking her in the ore? Sabrina wondered.

It might just be a good guess, since you're fighting back instead of running, he replied.

A much closer explosion rocked the infirmary; Sabrina could hear small rocks dropping onto the infirmary's ceiling, which fortunately was reinforced and airtight. Dust billowed in through the door, and a moment later, Ranja appeared.

"That was us," she said. "Kendara collapsed the tunnel on purpose. It'll buy us some time while they burn through."

Do you have anything you can fight with? I don't want you making a suicide run, Sabrina thought.