Black Hole Heartbeat

Ana - 87

As Elizabeth and Forr raced over to a shuttle, Ana opened the hangar shutters. The shuttle flew

past and the jetstream threw her against the wall.

Rusalka closed the door and offered her a hand.

"You need to be careful with her," Rusalka said.

Ana stood straight and closed the shuttles.

"I can look after myself," she said seriously. "I just don't want her taking adv –" "I said I can look after myself, didn't I?"

Rusalka smirked.

"So what happened underground?" Ana didn't feel like telling her, so she didn't. She shrugged her shoulders and told Rusalka not

to worry about it. Surprisingly, this was enough. With a gentle leap into the shadows, Rusalka

was gone.

The only sound was Roka at the far end of the hangar. Rattling metal, dripping oil, whirring

tools. The mechanical symphony relaxed her. With the blackness outside, she felt strangely

calm. Like maybe things we're getting better. Maybe, finally, things were good. Once this was all

over, she and Elizabeth could tour the stars, without a worry or quest.

A sudden clatter. Roka dropped his tools. Ana turned and saw him staring, slack jawed. She

followed his wide open eyes to the sound of scraping footsteps. Brack was walking towards her.

Walking was the wrong word. It was too... civilised. Naked and bleeding. His right leg gave a little

hop, left leg trailing behind. A sick and rotten sludge in its wake. His arms swayed like reeds in a

storm. Eyes shuttered slowly, slowly, slowly closed. They popped open, bright and aware, then

started to close again. Slowly, slowly, slowly.

Blood dripped down his face. An aimless arm pawed at the wound. It only smeared blood

further across his lips.

"Brack? Is everything okay?"

He looked at her, recognising his name the way a dog would. Ana approached cautiously. She

felt for her weapon but did not draw. He stopped. Sniffed the air. Eyes no longer sagging slowly

closed. They burned through Ana. He clobbered her aside and she fell backwards. The gun

tipped out of her holster and skidded across the floor.

He reached one of the heavy shuttles and struggled with the door. It was like he had never seen

one before.

"What are you doing, Brack?"

He climbed into the shuttle at stared at her dead on. Eyes slowly closing again.

"She told me to."

He slammed the door. The engine screamed into life. Ana banged on the windows, fists rattling

the glass.

Behind her, she heard Roka running.