Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

*Rachel Ma*

“All of them. Gone. Escaped.” Christy’s voice fills the room, her anger almost tangible. The tension in the air could’ve been snapped like a pair of chopsticks.

We’re standing in a ring around Ruiran’s body, a body devoid of mind and soul. A dead body. That’s all she is, now. What Christy made of her.

“A traitor.” Christy points to Ruiran with a finger shaking from fury. “She deserved what she got.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, clenching my fists behind my back. I want to scream at Christy, tear up her skin and rip out her guts.

Ruiran was a hero. You should be the dead one.

Christy turns to me and Sid. “Were you aware of this? Either of you?”

Neither one of us says anything.

She sighs. “Rachel, go bury it. Somewhere far, far away.”

“Not an it. Her,” I say quietly, fighting back the tears. Christy doesn’t hear me.

I take a step forward and grab Ruiran’s wrist. So cold. Ruiran shouldn’t be this cold. She should be alive, and Christy should be dead.

I plunge into the shadows before the tears can make their way past my eyelashes.

I emerge in the middle of the forest. I hadn’t really been concentrating hard on where I’d wanted to end up; I’d been thinking about Ruiran. So, of course, I find myself in the clearing where Ruiran and I first met, where our friendship began. The flashback sweeps over me, and I’m too tired to resist it. I submerge in my memories of the month before Christy recruited me, when Ruiran and I became friends.

I’d just escaped from the Cosmo Prison, and after several hours of running from men with semi-automatic rifles, I’d collapsed in a dark forest, too exhausted to take another step. I had no food, no water, and no energy whatsoever. Forget joining forces with Christy and Sid, forget using my shadow and ice abilities. I was going to die.

Just as I was about to entirely relinquish my impuissant hold on life, the leaves of the trees across from me rustled, and another figure stepped out. A girl, caked with dirt and soaking wet. She slumped against a tree trunk, her eyes closed.

I knew it was probably a hopeless cause, but I managed to croak, “Help. Please.”

She let out a gasp of surprise, looking wildly around for the source of the sound. I moved my arms weakly. She saw, and crawled over to me. Without questioning, without saying a word, she unhooked a water bottle from her backpack and lifted it to my lips.

Within minutes, the few sips of water had allowed me to regain my strength. Perks of being superhuman, I suppose.

“Thank you,” I said.

She nodded. “You’re welcome.”

We both paused, as if we still were unsure of whether the other was actually real, or just a dream. Finally, she said, “Who are you?”

I hesitated, then said, “Rachel Ma.”

She smiled. “I’m Ruiran Xun. Nice to meet you, Rachel.”

We worked side by side in the forest, depending on each other to survive. It was a treacherous place, with dangers at every turn. After a while, I stopped keeping track of the times we each saved the other’s life. The hours turned into days, and the days turned into weeks.