Bounty Hunter

Chapter 23

I gaze at him heavily wishing I could freeze this moment in a photograph. Maybe if I could, then this feeling would never slip away from me. "This doesn't change anything," I say. "Between you and I," I add. "I'm still focused on capturing Blue and then never seeing you again," I clarify. The first part of my statement rings true. However, the second part is soiled by a lie. Kai's expression solidifies into one of indifference, leading me to believe our intimate moment has left no impression on him.

"You don't need to worry. I've got that covered," he says. Without waiting to see if I'll follow he rises from his seat. I follow him upstairs feeling more than slightly wounded. When we arrive upstairs Kahari is no longer sitting in the copilot seat.

"Where's Kahari?" I ask confused. Kai reaches over his head to scratch his back.

"He just went outside to fix the engine," Kai states nonchalantly.

"What's wrong with the engine?" I ask suspiciously.

"Nothing it just uh...won't start," he says nervously.

"This is because we went through the black hole isn't it," I say.

"Possibly," Kai says meekly.

"I thought you said that your ship was equipped with special technology," I hiss.

"It is but I've only tested it once before. I guess I need to work on it some more," he says sheepishly.

"You could've gotten us killed," I say angrily.

"I knew the engine would last long enough for us to escape alive," Kai says with an eye roll.

"This is why you showed me the sea horses," I realize. "You wanted to distract me," I say.

Kai rolls his neck to the side. "The engine was supposed to be fixed by now," he admits.

I shake my head knowingly. "You planned on hiding this from me. Well that plan has obviously failed. So we need to fix the engine and then find Blue, so that we can send his blueberry ass to the government where he belongs," I state.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Kai says in a relieved breathe. Kai opens the door for us to leave. As soon as I step foot outside, a strong wind buffets itself against my face. A thick gaseous mist swirls throughout the atmosphere. The fog makes it hard to see anything clearly. It's dark blue color floats in a smoggy haze around me. Kai leads me around to the back of the ship where Kahari is bent over.

"Some of the engine parts were damaged by the black hole. Nothing was ripped out, but the carburetor is fried," Kahari relays. My hand automatically flies towards my mouth, and I have to suppress the urge to bite my nails. Noticing my anxiety Kai rubs my shoulder comfortingly. "We're going to steal the carburetor and get you out of here. As soon as Blue is anywhere near us we'll know. Gizmo's tracking devices are on the lookout."

I look downwards to examine my boots. "Have I let you down so far?" Kai asks.

"Well I guess you haven't gotten me killed yet. So that's something," I offer. Kai smiles as if he's won something.

"Let's go get ourselves a carburetor," he whoops. After eating a quick breakfast, we crowd around the dashboard to plan our escapade. Kai manages to locate a nearby factory within walking distance. He hands each of us a flashlight. The device is specially engineered to penetrate through Attero's gaseous stratosphere. Its light will enable us to navigate the planet's mysterious fog. "Stay close behind me," Kai commands. "It's very easy to get lost in Attero," he says stating the obvious. I shine my light ahead, making sure not to lose sight of Kai. Kahari follows closely behind me. Gizmo accompanies us with his own beam of light. We walk together in a weaving path to forge ahead into this strange world. If any of us are separated Gizmo will be able to track us down. But in the instance that we are torn apart we've resolved to stay in one spot. It'd be easy to accidentally wander into one of the Alliance's bases.

As we march on ahead my flashlight waves through the air. Sometimes it reveals a flock of birds squawking through the air. Multiple times it unveils tall buildings and looming factories. We seem to be traversing through a more deserted area, and we don't come across any other aliens. Finally, we come to a stop in front of a tall building. Simultaneously, we focus our flashlights to unveil a grey factory with bouts of steam puffing out above it. Kai taps a finger to his lips before taking out a thin instrument. He uses it with the deft expertise of a skilled thief. "Are we breaking in?" I ask dubiously.

"What else would we be doing?" Kai asks as if I'm the foolish one.

"I don't know...maybe paying for it!" I exclaim.

"We can't buy anything from here. This is a factory not a store," he says with an eye roll.

"You do not have to worry May. We always leave the Pekuniam in the register," he assures me.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Kai instructs for me to stay close behind him. He shoots the security camera and I jump at the sudden boom. Clutching my heart, I traverse into the dark, abandoned factory. The shelves are stacked with different engine components and various motor vehicle items. Inside of the factory it's cold, but the large clouds of gas seem to be absent. The only sign of them are the tiny trails that wisp through the air. A small shiver wracks my body at the cold draft. I peer up at the tall and looming shelves with no clue as to their specific names. I wave my flashlight around in search of my companions. My heart rate accelerates and my stomach plummets. Franticly, I whip my head around in search of my accomplices. But they are nowhere to be seen. As I whirl around in a circle I realize that I've lost them. I'm all alone in this complicated maze of endless aisles. This is even worse than the time I was separated from my parents in the airport. I wrack my brain debating on whether or not to search for them. I edge myself away towards the aisles begging for them to find me. I decide to stay put and wait for them to realize I'm amiss.

A/N: peep the gif up top! let me know what you kimchies think about this chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked this chapter. And feel free to check me out on social media.

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