Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Twenty-One

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

RAYNE

I stopped in a heavily forested area to catch my breath. It was dark, and hefty trees towered over my head, hiding the moonlight. I had been running for almost four miles. Adrenaline had taken me this far without the need for a break, but I couldn't keep running.

I thought of what it would take to get back home. I considered turning myself in, but what if the government was bluffing? What if they didn't even have Nova on their radar? They wouldn't just punish an innocent person, would they? There was no way to know for sure. All I had to go on was feeling, and right now I felt that Nova was okay, but I didn't know how long that would last. I needed to get home, but then what? Would I really be able to break Zander out of prison, and bring Nova back here?

A branch snapped and leaves rustled. They were coming. It was a signal for me to get out of there. I turned and started running back the way I came until I caught a glimpse of the road. My boots pounded against the gravel path for the next fifty feet. When I finally made it to the road, the lone sound of chirping crickets made me realize no one was around. I waited for what felt like an eternity. Then, I looked up into the night sky and saw a blitzer flying above my head. I waved my hands in the air, the fly hitchhiking equivalent to sticking your thumb out. Unfortunately, the driver didn't see me.

I continued on foot for another mile or so. There was a diner with a vehicle rental center. Inside the gift shop, I bought a pair of clean clothes, in exchange for one of my bracelets. The automated diner was empty, except for a few truckers.

It had been a while since I'd last eaten. I searched around in my pockets until I found some coins. I entered the dessert line and got a fried cherry pie from the robot cashier. It was all I could afford. Then, I made my way to the vehicle center, but one of the truckers stopped me. He was heavy-set with a faded ball cap. His breath reeked of alcohol.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?" he asked with a creepy smile.

I didn't respond. I wanted to, but I didn't. I couldn't afford to draw any unwanted attention to myself. Instead, I pushed myself past him.

The selection at the vehicle center was somewhat worse than what I had expected. There weren't any practical blitzers left, only one truck and several scooters. I couldn't afford to rent a truck blitzer, and a scooter wouldn't take me far. I went to the back and talked the manager into giving me a flying moped from his own personal collection.

I chose to stay on the ground, only taking the back roads. With the Sciusian technology, I was shocked that they hadn't caught me by now. The screen on the flying moped started beeping at me aggressively. "Warning, warning, warning...." I stopped to read the screen. "Approaching planetary boundary. Please choose a different route."

"Please return, or we will have to alert the inter-planetary agency," the screen spoke again. "Please return. Approaching Sciusian border."

I stopped to use one of the pay communicators by the side of the road. I tried calling Nova. Maybe if I could hear her voice, it would reassure me.

The screen went fuzzy for a few moments. I hated it because it made me anxious. I was told that our ancestors used to have to wait for their phones to stop ringing for someone to pick up. I couldn't even imagine having to wait that long. Finally, a face appeared on the communicator. It was Nova's. She was all right. I sighed with a sense of relief. Maybe I had worried for nothing?

"Rayne?" Nova asked softly.

"You're okay. I was so worried." Tears of happiness flowed down my cheeks.