One Remains

  “What a beautiful name you have, Saoraun,” Coven said to the red-skinned woman — trying to flirt. Again.

  He had tried his luck with four women already. All of them happened to be married. From what I heard from Aureolo, the wife of one woman tried to choke Coven. I would have loved to see it.

  I walked over towards Coven and tapped his shoulder. His masked head snapped towards me, astonished by my presence behind him.

  “Oh hey, Agile. What brings you here?”

  “Walk along.”

  “But I-”

  I turned around, walking away without a second response. I heard his footsteps follow me shortly after, catching up with me.

  “What is it?”

  “You are the leader of Rapid Engagement yet you can’t keep an eye on your team members?”

  “What happened with Coope and Doxie?”

  “I don’t spot them anywhere. They should be in the main deck — not wandering around. Go and find them.”

  “You should come with me. Four eyes are better than two.”

  “No, I need to check in with Ka-Donttano.”

  “Alright.”

  “And be swift.”

  “Right, Mama.”

  I shook my head at his teasing comment, calling me “Mama”. I didn’t bother looking back at him as we parted our ways.

  I headed straight towards the elders of Valconalla. They gathered around a column that reached the ceiling, supporting the form of the spacecraft.

  “Ka-Donttano,”

  I called out; he turned his head towards me. He parted ways from the other two and made his way over towards me.

  “Agile-Eye, is there something you need?”

  “Did the runners you sent out return?”

  “Mostly, yes. But there are a few who are on their way.”

  “Alright. I have been told that the core is relentless. We must leave as soon as possible. We leave as soon as the runners return.”

  “Understood.”

  I leaned against the railing, picking up Coven’s footsteps as he approached. He came to a halt, standing beside me.

  “Did you find Doxie and Coope?”

  “Yes. Coope was in the cafeteria and Doxie was trying to head outside.”

  Toxic Doxie: Troublemaker of our band.

  “You know to keep an eye on them, especially Doxie.”

  He leaned forward against the railing, watching over the space filled with the natives, just as I was doing.

  “And where is your partner? Aureolo?”

  Was he trying to compete with my leadership?

  “He is in the command room, observing the core of this planet.”

  He stared at me for a few seconds, making some sort of face behind his mask. I ignored his staring. I noticed two runners had returned.

  Has everyone returned?

  I pushed off the railing, Coven scrambled behind me.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Going to check in with Ka-Donttano and Ka-Ouubuutt.”

  He continued pacing behind me as I descended the spiral ramp along the wall. I moved gracefully through the crowd toward the elders, spotting Donttano alone and making my way over.

  “Ka-Donttano, did all the runners return?”

  “Yes. All of them are accounted for.”

  “Good. The doors to the ship will be closing in T-10 minutes. But I recommend you check again if everyone has returned.”

  “I assure you, everyone has returned,” he insisted. His gaze did not waver, though something cold lingered beneath the calm.

  He must have kept an eye on them — that was why he sounded so sure.

  “Then I will send a message to Aureolo to prepare the ship.”

  I turned around, walking away from the elders. We were an hour early for our departure. That time could be used to travel to the inhabitant planet Hornet had chosen for them.

  On my way to the command station, I spotted Ouubuutt lingering around the weapons room. What was he doing all the way here?

  He noticed me and quickly made his way toward me.

  “Oh Agile-Eye. Glad I found you, I was a little lost.”

  “Where are you trying to go?”

  “To the water station. That foul Tohthorayn said it would be here.”

  “No, no, the water fountain is on that corner,” I said, pointing. “Around the corner to the left.”

  “Alright.”

  His hands left my arms. My eyes followed him as he headed toward the direction I had pointed out. The voice in the back of my head woke up.

  “Ka-Ouubuutt.”

  I called out. His steps came to a halt, and he turned to look towards me.

  “The runners have returned; so the ramps are closing and we will be taking off shortly,” I informed.

  “All the runners? Even from Zantattte*?”

  He asked.

  Zantattte was one of the three villages on this planet. It was far away, on the opposite side of where our ship was landed. Who could run that fast and return…?

  “Who was sent to Zantattte?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “Not sent, they all volunteered,” he corrected. “There are Jaywat, Kaqint, and Tigeralla.”

  Tigeralla.

  I have not seen her for the past few hours and I definitely didn’t see her return. My eyes somehow always found her despite the thousand others in the room yet now…

  She was still out there.

  Those two guys who came by must have come back from Zantattte.

  My head snapped towards Coven.

  “Coven, tell Aureolo to not close the ramp.”

  “What? Is someone still out there?”

  “Yes, Tigeralla. She is still out there.”

  “Understood.”

  My left thumb flexed inward, activating the control embedded in the web seam between thumb and forefinger — a feature common on most hero suits. I had fully charged the chamber with juice prior to the recon mission.

  I pressed, teleporting my form to the point I had said my eyes on.

  Again, I teleported all the way to the ramp where Coope and Doxie were.

  “Where are you going, Agile?”

  Coope asked.

  “There is someone left out there. Get in contact with Coven, he will guide you two.”

  Sshh?ip!

  I jumped between the rocks, looking around for that woman. Why did she have to go out here? Shouldn’t she be with her family?

  Sshh-ip!

  She was nowhere in sight. The air was hot, but these people were clearly adapted. Stella would love to study their anatomy.

  Sshh?ip!

  Ash rained down. Lava flowed freely. The air was musty and suffocating for an average Kepian. The suit we wore cooled down and had a built-in air purifier. Standard accommodation from Pelnaevis engineering division.

  Shhp-ip!

  I pulled up the digital aid hologram, checking for living organisms. I scrolled through the map of a thousand white dots, all clustered on the ship. I scanned all the way to the other end of the map, where I spotted a singular dot. That must be her.

  I put away the map and teleported as far as my eyes could see.

  Time was running out and there was still too much ground between us. Even with my teleportation device, I was going to push past the time limit I had set for everyone.

  Hornet would be disappointed. At most, he would raise an eyebrow. That was worse.

  If only I had rejected the idea of no one returning back to their houses to retrieve things.

  If only…

  Hornet would not approve of this mindset. Hornet would not like to see me this way.

  Sshh?ip!

  The plains stretched out yet dark clouds lingered down. Ashy fog blocked the view.

  Sshh?ip!

  No matter how far I moved there was no sign of anything except lava and ash. Living here must be exhausting — especially with no way out.

  Sshh?ip!

  The distance between us had shortened — the tracker confirmed it.

  Sshh?ip!

  My eyes narrowed when I spotted a yellow figure in the distance. Not moving. Fixed in one place. I felt urged to reach it quicker. The juice chamber was already half-drained. I rarely used it that much, reserving it and using it wisely, but this was an emergency.

  I immediately teleported as far as my vision allowed.

  The yellow-skinned, determined yet careless girl. Tigeralla.

  Sshh?ip!

  I was close enough to see her — half-buried in rubble, lying unconscious. I swiped my hand, pulling up my digital inventory. I flicked my wrist and activated the gravitic disperser. The rubble lifted and scattered aside. Once the rubble was cleared, my eyes narrowed down to the fabric wrapped around her leg. Was she injured?

  “Tigeralla.”

  “Tigeralla.”

  “Tigeralla!”

  “Tigeralla!”

  She moved slowly. Her head slowly lifted towards me, looking up at me.

  “Agile-Eye.”

  My eyes snapped back to the piercing wound in her leg.

  “What happened to you?”

  “N-nothing–”

  She answered in a groggy voice.

  “It doesn’t look like ‘nothing’.”

  “It is nothing.”

  She insisted. I let out a sigh. It felt as though I was dealing with Coope, always hiding away emotions to not disturb us.

  “You’re not going to share?”

  I stood still, watching her as she limped. It would take her far too long to run back to the ship, especially in this condition.

  I held out my right hand.

  “Hold my hand.”

  “What?”

  “Hold my hand,” I repeated. My right eye twitched behind my mask.

  She hesitantly reached out, her rough palm pressed against my glove. The sensory lining translated the warmth of her skin through the material.

  Sshh?ip!

  I teleported back to the way I came from, bringing Tigeralla with me.

  I eyed her from the corner of my view. Her head hung low and her body twitched every few seconds.

  She was hurt. Badly.

  What a reckless yet persistent woman.

  ???