Jago: The Millennium Galaxy Race

Chapter 24: Unwavering

My gut wrenched as I fell. At some point, I lost Lux's hand so I tried my best to cover myself as I smashed into hard ice chunks on the way down. Each block of ice was like being slammed against solid rock. A sharp pain shattered my bones on each impact. I was being so utterly destroyed that the thought of death suddenly appeared to be a mercy. I wasn't sure how much more I could take, until my head finally caught on one of them and I lost consciousness.

#

When I finally came to my senses, the first thing I noticed was how good it smelled. Like I was walking back through the flower field on Crux when we went to meet the King. My first thought was that I had died and gone to a peaceful place.

That was until something soft brushed against my skin. I slowly opened my eyes, wondering where I was. It looked familiar: it was my own tent, and I was inside my own sleeping bag.

I tried to recall the last thing that happened.

"Oh, you're awake" came Lux's soft voice from nearby—very nearby.

"Ahh!" I looked down and saw she was lying on top of me and we were both half-naked, in only our underwear. "What're you doing in here? And where are our clothes?" I asked, my voice unusually high as I did my best to wriggle away from her, which, given that she was on top of me, was futile. Our faces were so close. I looked to the side but could still feel her breath on my cheek.

"We fell off the cliff, and when I found you, you were near death buried under the snow. I lost my pack so we had to share your tent. Your battery is practically dead so I resorted to using my own body heat, so here I am."

She sounded kind of tired, and when she was done explaining she rested her head back on my chest. My heart was beating, but I couldn't breathe. Not because she was heavy, but because there was a girl lying on top of me. I didn't know how to feel about how close we were, but she had saved my life ... again. I had to accept the fact, and repay her act of kindness, so I stayed motionless as she lay on top of me.

I don't know how much time passed, but I found myself getting hotter and hotter in the sleeping bag. Lux still hadn't moved since she last spoke, and I began to get antsy.

Buzzbuzzbuzz. My wrist was vibrating, and I saw it was the device that Tammy had given me earlier. I tapped it, and a small hologram of Tammy appeared.

"Tammy!" I whispered with a smile.

"Sarth, I'm glad you're safe. I've been monitoring your vitals and have been trying to contact you for some time now."

"Yeah, I'm okay now."

"I see that," she said, looking down in Lux's direction.

"No! It's not like that!" I retorted.

"Actually, I'm more concerned about Lux. She spent a lot of her energy healing you, and it exhausted her before she could heal herself."

"She did?" I remembered how tired she sounded, how easily she had fallen asleep. I noticed then just how hot she was, and I touched her forehead. "She's burning up!"

She was typing on some panels in front of her. "There might be a way you can help her heal herself. The stone you managed to obtain is the Elemental Stone. It contains the galaxy's basic elemental forces. The fact that you are human, a primitive species, is probably the reason why you were the only one capable of activating it. Considering Lux's species, you might be able to use the stone's power to heal her."

"What do I need to do?" I asked, determined to help her any way I could.

"Get the stone and press it to your lips," Tammy instructed.