Sand Red

51

Aida burst into the bright little room in which I slept apart. 'It's time,' she said. 'Every camp has arrived. The Baxters came yesterday.'

I sat up quickly. 'So soon?'

'Come on, Kun.'

I didn't need telling twice. I followed her through the maze of concrete, my bag of pills rattling in my hand.

The people were stuffing into the ship, climbing up a swinging rope ladder. There was something like electricity to the air, and excited chatter filled the hall. I sat aside, the twins some distance from me, waiting my turn, watching the smiles on people's faces, and the utter joy that coursed through the room.

'Preparing for take-off!' Lars yelled down to us. The ship suddenly came to life, firing up, machine blades whirring, Humming and buzzing, the steel vibrating so hard I half feared it would fall apart.

To my utter amazement, the dome opened up at the top like a flower, groaning as the lotus separated itself, opened up, bloomed to the sky beyond.

'Get onboard!' Lars shrieked at me. I looked around for Aida. My heart thudded in my chest as the ship lit up. She was nowhere to be seen.

'She'll get here! Just get in!' Lars yelled above the noise of the ship.

Cerulone. Heeding his advice, I grabbed at the ladder and nimbly climbed up. Yul crouched waiting for me at the landing and he grasped me by the arm and pulled me up as I came. I was decontaminated, I had my pills, I was ready as can be.

'Aida?'

I shook my head.

'I'm here! I'm here!'

His head whipped around. There limped Aida, holding a satchel in her arms and my eyes travelled behind her and there was En.

Aida reached the ladder. With his two legs, En caught up easily with her and I watched with growing horror as he grabbed at her and wrenched her down. The ladder danced behind and from behind me came the clicking sounds of Lars flipping the host of switches on the board.

'Is she in?' he yelled above the dust and hubbub.

'Wait!' I called back and aimed my dagger at En, his arm now around Aida's throat and Yul vanished from beside me.

'No!' I screamed after him as he tumbled down the ladder in his haste and fell with a bone breaking crack onto the floor.

'I'm coming with you!' En shouted. 'Take me or she dies!' He tightened his grip around Aida and I saw her gag.

I threw my blade and it sailed through the air like a rocket and knocked hard into En's head, clattering to the floor and Aida wrenched herself from his grasp. She limped up to the ladder and I began unbuckled myself with shaking fingers, fast as I could, but the stupid buckles, I didn't know how.

'How does this come off!' I yelled desperately and Aida's head appeared at the top.

He staggered. Yul took his chance. Limping in plain agony, his fist connected with En's jaw hard. He drew his blade, moving to stab En, but his ankle wouldn't hold him and he swung weakly at En and seemed to double up in pain. En kicked at his face- thank the sky he didn't have a weapon- and Yul stumbled back. Swinging wildly in a sudden motion, he slashed at En's advancing fist.

The buckle unlatched. I threw it off and half ran, half slid to the hatch and swung down onto the ladder.

'Close the hatch, I can't keep it grounded any longer! We won't have the fuel to reach Cerulone!' Lars shouted back. The ship lurched powerfully and I nearly fell off the side.

'No stop! The ladder, Yul!' I yelled, anxiety mounting in the back of my throat.

Yul grabbed for the ladder and we lifted off, hanging on for dear life, hanging on- but he couldn't. His fingers slipped and he fell back onto the ground and a scream built in my throat and a pair of hands dragged me up onboard and I struggled to be free of them. I threw myself against the hatch as Lars snapped it shut with a button on the board, pressing my face to the glass to see Yul.

And we shot up through the atmosphere and I cried for Yul as we went and then with a shocking suddenness, the world went black outside and I fell back in shock.

And we were all alone in the floating black nothingness of space.

END OF BOOK ONE