Starsnatcher - Trapped In An Alien World [COMPLETE]

Chapter 6.5

The ground under our feet crumbled. It didn't explode, it broke into pieces and cracked under our weight like an ice shore.

Ay let go of my hand. With his pressure gone, the pain left my burst veins like a held-back scream.

I toppled over. For a split second, I saw Ay before me and then the falling debris below. Suspended in the air, I flapped my arms like a baby bird thrown out of its nest.

I landed on a grey bridge, chest first. My legs dangled from its railing-less edge while my healthy arm searched for anything to hold onto.

Ay stood before me, having landed on his feet.

For a moment, I wondered if, with their enhanced physicality, Kira and the others could have used the falling debris as stepping stones upwards like in the movies. Problem was, they were as caught off-guard as I was.

Kira was nowhere on this bridge. She was surely falling to her death right at this moment and I couldn't do anything against it.

My hand slid across the bridge's surface as the high gravity tugged my feet deeper.

Ay looked down at me. He stood too far away for me to grab a leg and pull him down with me.

The bridge had a low ridge at its side, serving as a railing-replacement. I pressed my elbows against it to stop the downward-pull.

Ay knelt and did something I'd have never expected from him. He reached out a hand.

"Get lost!" I said.

"You might be a nuisance and an ignoramus, but not even you deserve to meet the monster below. You have a choice. Lift one hand off that edge and I'll grab it and pull you up. Then, you can fight me if it satsfies your ego."

"I said, get lost! Maybe I could pull myself up on my own had you not squished my hand!"

I wished my breath was enough for more. Holding onto that bridge, I didn't have the energy for a rambling Ay-monologue.

He stood up again. "You have the black-and-white worldview of a child. It's the worldview of someone who never grows up, who never adjusts, regardless of the circumstances. Do you think that what I could do to you is worse than what the monster could?"

My arms went numb. I made the mistake of moving them and slid down the edge instantly.

"You know so much about the monster," I said. "Don't tell me the monster it's your trading partner! Did Layla know?"

"I confess I did not reveal the full details until recently," Ay said. "It's not something I enjoyed doing, but it was necessary. My stone helped in keeping her in line. As I said, the monster will not kill anyone, so the suffering will only be temporary. However, you should avoid it if you have the chance."

I slid down.

I was in free fall again. About to meet that monster he and the Primogenitors talked about. At least I didn't have to listen to that goddamned lunatic anymore.

I fell into a tunnel. Judging from the brief glimpse I caught, the ground was filled with them. I slid down its sloped interior.

The tunnel measured ten feet across at least and was as slick and slimy as a sewer. Nothing existed that I could grab to stop my fall.

The slope became flatter and flatter. My descent slowed, but not enough to stand up and walk. At least I had time to think. What if the monster was really as bad as Ay claimed? If I killed his trading partner, maybe I could prevent him from laying his fingers on that Cipher, whatever it is.