"Femi," Heated lips whispered my name as hot arms enclosed around me. "Burn with me."
It was a command I couldn't disobey. Not like I had a choice, but I did burn. Gods, I burned with him.
The fire took us; skin and bone but it was different now. W...
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The adrenaline overpowers the shock and I'm panting heavily and stumbling to keep up with Paul's strides as he drags me along. I didn't think he cared about what happened to me at that moment, only that I was behind him.
We came to an abrupt stop at a fork in the tunnel, Kynes on the left path and us on the right.
"Follow the light," She hands Jessica the bag in her grasp then drops two others off her shoulder, handing them to Paul who passes one to me. "You'll find a thopter ready to fly. That storm out there is your best shot, above 5,000 meters, it's mostly dust." There are other bags lined against the wall, I guessed put in place to aid escapes like these. Kynes collects two Fremkits from the ground and hands them over to Paul. "Climb into it. Stay on top. Head south. Find the Fremen."
"Are you not coming with us?" Jessica asks.
Kynes shakes her head, "I have to go to the next station and report this attack to the Landsraad."
"How will you get there?" I ask, glancing up at her.
"I'm Fremen," she nods. "The desert's my home."
With understanding, I nod, "Good luck."
"Good luck," she whispers back and takes off down the path.
We waste no time going down the other, me leading this time. My lungs are burning by the time we reach the end of the path. It leads into a cavernous circular hangar, the thopter in the middle.
Reaching it first, I hit the button to open the doors just as Jessica and Paul reach, both jumping in. Paul tosses his bag in the seat behind me just as Jessica takes her seat behind him, strapping herself in.
I climb into the craft just as Paul pulls up the control levers and flicks the ceiling switches; tossing my bag at the back, I start to strap in. The door closes as the wings of the craft extend out.
"Femi," I hum to show that I was listening as I continued with the buckles. "You do know the basics of flying these things, right?"
I give myself away by making a face that I did not in fact.
Paul's sigh is one of disbelief, "what? Why? Didn't you have lessons on them?"
"Admittedly, I found them to be cumbersome," I shrug, glancing at him. "Why should I ever know how to fly an aircraft if the men were going to backseat fly?"
Paul shakes his head, "unbelievable."
True but I was very much content with being a passenger.
The engine sputters and rumbles before it starts, the wings shuttering and going so fast you could barely see them. We rise slowly and turn away from the station before going forward, chasing the storm.
I glance into the side view mirror just as we fly through rocky outcrops and look at Paul as he flicks more switches over his head.
