ATROPOS

VII

Imogen

I spat out a small mouthful of blood onto the dry, cracked ground of Atropos. My ribs - which had earlier been feeling a little bit better - were now on fire again, poking into my internal organs. Taz's retreating form was a welcome sight. I needed a break from that little brat's incessant complaining.

I watched as he approached the figure on the ground. It was hard to make out from this distance, but something didn't seem quite right. Anyone sensible would be on the move, especially under this scorching sunlight. I craned my neck, wincing as I shifted my weight. Taz's red hair stood out across the crumbling plain, bobbing as he jumped over a particularly large crevice in the rocks. He was almost there.

He stopped abruptly. I furrowed my brow, trying to tell what was going on. Even from this distance, I could sense Taz's distress immediately. He backed away from the figure quickly, tripping over one of the many rocks that covered Atropos' surface. He got up again seconds later, though, and started running around in wavy circles with his hands on his head. I could hear a faint sound - it seemed that he was screaming.

He bent over and I squinted hard. Yes, he just vomited. I shook my head. Poor kid. He'd have to learn to toughen up if he wanted to survive out here. Oh, and there he went again. How did he even have anything in his stomach to throw up?

But speaking of surviving.....the realization hit me. He had found a corpse, and that's what had upset him so. The sudden gloom of the situation weighed down on me, compressing me. My broken ribs twinged, as if commiserating with the fallen man. I had very nearly ended up like him - crumpled, head bashed in, lifeless on this alien planet, to be found later by one of those who hadn't also met such a fate.

I lifted my chin up. I hadn't ended up like him; I had survived, and I wasn't going to let my darned ribs be the end of me. I vowed to myself that from now on, I would make it my purpose to save any other survivors I found on this god-forsaken rock. We would band together and we would endure, until we found the city of Atropolis. I promised myself, then and there, that I would lead us all to the Eastern Hope.