Shurak, book 2

Chapter 8

The vents are so small that the Zohra can't climb after me. I'm not staying here to see if they find a way either.

I'm getting the fuck out.

I crawl through, trying to think where I could slip out from. It's night, so I can use it for camouflage when I get out.

I just hope they're not surrounding the ship.

I look through a vent and see two Zohra staring at the command table. They're trying to de-encrypt my message.

A Zohra stomps into the room, looking around furiously.

"The prisoner has escaped!"

Oh shit.

I need to get out quickly before they can find out what I wrote and block my route.

I slide through the tight space and find one vent that goes outside, but it's a massive drop down. So I find nooks and crannies I can go down from and manage to get to a vent in the cargo hold.

There's always a hatch in a cargo hold for the small, heavy cargo, so I pop the vent open and jump out.

I sneak around as quickly as humanly possible and line straight to the place the hatch usually is.

Mmm, bingo!

I open the latch that keeps it locked and peer outside. Not seeing anyone, I squish out and fall on the sand with a spicy thud.

I stay still, recovering from the fall, and listen for movement, but all I hear is coming from inside the ship.

I take the position of the city to the trees and crawl under the ship towards the west.

It sucks to just leave like this. I would've liked to say goodbye to Aladdin, but I'm not staying around to find out what their definition of a judge is.

At the end of the ship, I scan the surroundings and tie my dress up, so I won't trip on it if I have to run.

I throw up a lot of sand on my back and start crawling away.

With some mysterious kind of luck, I get really far away with just crawling. The city is just a small dot on the horizon by the time I get up.

I shake my cramping arms and keep moving with the treeline I got to. The girls are smart and will land somewhere relatively hidden.

I jog leisurely at first, but my luck ends.

I check behind me and see black dots coming towards me.

I squeal a little and move into the forest. Going through the trees will be much, much safer.

I start running full speed and pray my ship is actually there.

I have no way of confirming they came to me and fuck, I don't want to be captured by the Zohra again.

I shriek loudly as I see them much closer. Run like the fucking wind!

I sprint through the shit terrain and almost miss the shine of metal in the forest.

I kick a rock to change directions and dart into the woods.

A man yells, almost roaring, and just then I see my ship perched in a clearing.

I start waving my arms like a madman as I get closer to the ship. They notice me, and the boarding ramp starts opening.

Loud cracking and stomping comes from behind me and I whine like a little girl. I am so fucked if I get caught by whatever that is.

A hand latches on to my dress at the same time my foot touches the metal of the boarding ramp.

Why are they so fucking fast! They're huge for fuck's sake, by all fucking sense of the world; they should be slow!