The Tides That Bind Us [AfroFuturism]

In Time

What a beautiful sunset, Zaharah thought. Through half-hooded eyes she watched the clouds billow and twist in the orange light. Wait... outside? When did I get outside? A crackle filled the air, like someone walking over dry twigs and leaves.

She sucked in a breath, expecting the salty rank of the ocean, but what she smelled was burning. It stung her nostrils, clawed down her throat and seared her lungs. Not outside. Fire. And smoke. She coughed and tried to turn over, but her body refused.

"Zaharah!" A voice reached her through the smoke and cackle of flames, static-like, with an annoying posh accent. "Zaharah where are you? Oh god, oh god, oh god!"

Zaharah tried to speak but only a soft hiss escaped her mouth.

"No, no, no... Help! Someone help!"

"Skorpi? Zaharah?" Another voice, so sharp it pierced Zaharah's ear and lodged itself straight into her brain. This time when she groaned, a sound came out; something like a dying dog. Her vision cleared up enough to make out vague shapes and blobs of colour.

Skorpi blocked most of it with his flashes of silver and green. Waves of orange framed him, ebbing and flowing, flaring and dimming.

"Oh, shit! Z!" Quelle knelt beside her. "Jade, pass me the oxygen, quick." Zaharah opened her mouth to speak, but her sister pressed something over her nose and mouth. "Easy, just breathe. We'll get you out of here. Jade, grab Skorpi and get out of this smoke. I'll take care of Z."

Zaharah hissed in a breath as Quelle peeled her from the ground. Pain shot through her back, from shoulders to hip and she couldn't hold her head up.

"Damn, Z, when did you get so heavy?" Her sister hoisted her up and suddenly they were moving.

She hitched in shallow breaths, because that was all her body could manage. Her head bobbed and lulled against Quelle's shoulder. From her vantage point she could only see the side of her sister's face, backdropped by a cloud of smoke. Flickering firelight teased the sharp edges of Quelle's jaw and wavered in her eyes.

"Jade, get dad on the communicator," she said, and a moment later, their father's voice joined the cacophony.

"Quelle? Did you find Jade and Zaharah?"

"Yeah, they're with me. Jade's fine, but Zaharah's a little beat up. I think she got caught in the worst of it. I'll check her as soon as we get away from this fire."

"What?! Where's the nearest port, we need to get her to a doctor and—"

"Easy, dad, take a breath. She's fine. Smoke inhalation is the biggest worry, and she may have a concussion from the blast, but she's awake and conscious. We need to focus on getting everyone off the boat."

He exhaled a long breath. "You're right. You're right. Have you seen Nyah and Malaika?"

"No, but Ny said she was gonna head up to the deck to grab Mala from the pool. They can look out for themselves." She banked a corner, her boots thumping against the floor. "Any luck getting into the kitchen?"

"No, and the sprinklers haven't kicked in. I'm trying to access the emergency systems to redirect the water from the pool manually. Get down to the pods. I'll meet you there once I figure this out."

"Will do."

As they continued down the hall, the smoke thinned, and the air cooled. Quelle slowed to a stop and set Zaharah down against a wall. "Okay, Z, look at me."

She did, or tried to. Her sister's face blurred in and out of focus. Her breaths came easier now, but a stinging lingered in her throat and chest.

Jade stood off to the side, with Skorpi riding on her head and a backpack hanging from one shoulder. She looked up and down the hall, fixed her gaze on Zaharah for a second, then looked up and down the hall again.