Jack Strong and the Red Giant

Chapter 31: Earthquake

Vyleria brushed off a wave of nausea and looked at her bloodied leg one more time. Why hadn't she mentioned it to Jack? Perhaps it was the fear that it wouldn't be able to grow back properly, that she would be like this for the rest of her life: no more racing, no more climbing, no more skydiving, no more anything. Perhaps that was why she hadn't told him: she didn't want to admit that she was weak, that she wasn't the girl he so obviously thought she was.

Suddenly a loud, ear-splitting growl reverberated around her spaceship.

"Jack!" she shouted. "Jack!"

Then she heard more growls. More shouting. Heart rate racing now.

Another growl. This one longer, louder, hungrier.

She listened helplessly as the creatures chased and cornered him like a pack of Tiger Wolves. She had seen many images like this on holo-documentaries back home. The predator always got its prey. She waited for them to pounce. Jack was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't listen any longer. Turning off the ship's audio, she slammed her fists against the control panel and thrust her head in her hands.

She was so lost in her own grief that she didn't feel the first few tremors as the ground beneath her spaceship started to shake. Stones cracked and thumped against her spaceship, ripping her from her stupor. She thought it would be like the last earthquake. She was wrong: it was worse, much worse.

Her piñata of a spaceship bounced and bobbled over the desert, as a tide of boulders careered over her, burying her alive. Then there was an almighty crack and the ground ripped open beneath her. She plummeted for what felt like forever before she finally hit solid ground, a torrent of rocks tumbling after her.

What was she going to do now? She couldn't climb out because of her leg, and even if she did have the use of both legs it would be an impossible climb up miles and miles of sheer-faced rock with little or no handholds, plus the absence of a safety line or even mag-boots.

She flicked the audio back on and was about to call Jack, but thought better of it. He was gone. It was just her now. Her and this accursed planet.

Vyleria sat there in the darkness for hours, getting weaker with every minute. Her forehead burned, her throat too. She tried to eat something, but brought it back up immediately. She looked at her mangled leg again. It smelt faintly of Sulphur. Blood poisoning...

"Hey, can anybody hear me – Jack? Vyleria?"

With Jack's death and the earthquake, she had completely forgotten about Kat and the plan.

"Kat, did it all go as planned?" asked Vyleria, trying to sound as strong and as confident as possible. "Where are you now?"

"No, I daren't do it. There are soldiers everywhere. I'll get caught."

"How many of them are there?" asked Vyleria, brushing off another wave of nausea. "Can you hear what they're saying?"

"I... I'm not sure. But there's a lot of them. I think they're looking for me."

"You don't know that. They may just be on a patrol. Are they outside the door or just walking down the corridor? Go have a look."

Kat was quiet for a moment. "They're outside the door," she whispered. She sounded like she was hyperventilating. "There's at least twenty, maybe more. One of them has some kind of scanning device."

"A scanner? Are you certain?"

"Oh no, I think they've seen me," said Kat, her voice louder now. "I've got to get out of here!"

"Kat, you have to stick to the plan," said Vyleria, sweat dribbling down her face. "Stay calm."

"No, I can't. They'll take me back to..."

"They're coming for you anyway," said Vyleria, furiously wiping her brow. "But your only hope right now – our only hope – is to regain control of the spaceship. If we have that then we have a chance. You have it in you to do this, I know you do. Remember what Jack said to you earlier."

"But..."

"But nothing. We're out of time. You've got to think of the control room right now."

"And you're sure this will work?" asked Kat, sounding more scared than ever.

"Yes," she said, not feeling entirely sure herself. This better work Jack...

The line went dead for a few seconds, then she heard Kat's voice again, only louder and more excited. "It worked - Vyleria – it worked – the control room appeared all around me - what do I do now? Where do I..."

Then Vyleria heard the electronic fizz of laser fire, some shouting and what sounded like Xenti soldiers stomping across the floor.

"Kat, are you still there? Kat?"

There was no answer. All she heard was the distant jabber of Xenti soldiers and the faint thud thud of Kat's rapidly slowing heartbeat.