Kristi Helvig - Burn Out

Alec’s chest puffed up and he took a step toward James.

Markus tugged his sleeve. “Easy there, big guy. She’s fine.” He pulled Alec out the door toward the main hatch.

That left me alone in the med room with James.

While being alone with James might have been my dream come true earlier, now it felt like a death sentence. At least I still had T.O. in my bag, and could probably grab it despite the handcuffs.

James packed some meds in a bag with his back turned toward me. I knew the com system was on but had to know why he was still going along with Kale. “James, I—”

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

I jumped at the sound of the gun, and my stomach dropped. It had come from somewhere inside the ship. James ran out of the room toward the sound. I followed as quickly as possible with my limited arm movement. He shouted at me to stay behind him, like there was a chance I could outrun him.

I had no idea what we were about to find, but my gut twisted inside. Either Kale was dead, which would be very good, or something very, very bad had happened.

JAMES RACED TOWARD THE FRONT OF THE SHIP. I TRIED TO stay right behind him, which lasted all of five seconds before he shot ahead. Beyond the lingering scent of smoke, I smelled something else. It was nauseating but I couldn’t place it, so I focused on my surroundings. A room up ahead had electronic metal panels along the walls on both sides. James leapt over something, not breaking stride. He went through the center of that room and disappeared through the next doorway. The smell grew stronger.

I panted as I ran, my hands useless in front of me. Panels with small holes for laser guns covered the walls of the room. It had to be weapons control. I pushed myself to run faster and catch up to James.

“What the hell is that smell?” I asked nobody in particular.

Then I tripped and fell on top of them.

Charred bodies lay on the floor underneath me. The smell was burned flesh. There were seven or eight bodies around me. I struggled to get up without the use of my hands but slipped on one of them. Skin slid off and stuck to my shoe as I tried to stand. Arms grabbed at me as I vomited onto the pile of corpses.

Alec and Markus stood on either side, helping to steady me. “Where’d you guys come from?” I asked, wiping my chin.

“Heard the gunshots from the ship and hauled ass … thought you were in trouble,” Markus said.

Alec smiled. “You saved me. I thought it only right to return the favor.”

Markus pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Found them on Kale’s ship. Thought they’d be mighty useful to you.” He jingled the keys, and held up the smallest of the bunch. “This one looks about the right size.”

A smile crossed my face. “Hurry.”

“Patience, princess.” Markus slipped the key in the lock and turned it. There was a soft click before the lock released. “Keep them on. Make it look like you’re still locked up until we know what’s going on.”

I nodded and tried to ignore the stench invading my nostrils.

Markus surveyed the floor again. “Damn. That’s nasty.” He patted my back as I gagged again. “Pull yourself together, woman. What’s ahead may not be much better.”

I let them help me along until we’d gotten past the bodies. They’d died while attempting to kill us, but that didn’t make me feel any better about it.

I gasped for breath as I jogged with my hands in front of me, and turned to Markus. “Can we please take Kale down now?”

“I think it’s definitely time for a little mutiny,” Markus agreed. “We outnumber him and can take his weapon. Easy.”

I wasn’t so sure about the easy part, but wanted to give it a try. Alec and Markus had their weapons in hand and I picked up the pace as we ran through the next doorway.

“You don’t love guns much, do you, Markus?” I asked.

“Not really. Why?” he asked.

“Just a little funny for a gunrunner not to love guns, don’t ya think?”

“Not really. How many people have worked jobs they didn’t love because the money was good?” He stopped short as we reached the last room on the ship.

The control room.

Kale stood near the front of the room, facing the control panel. James bent over next to him, crouching over something on the floor. More dead bodies littered the room and the stench seeped out into the hallway. Bile roiled in my stomach but I forced it down. We stepped through the door. The bodies in here weren’t as burned as the other ones. They must have succumbed to smoke inhalation.

“What’s going on? Everyone okay?” Markus asked. He glanced at the bodies on the floor. “Where’s Britta?”

No one answered. Behind Kale, I glimpsed Britta’s skinny legs sprawled on the floor. James bent over her, holding her limp hand in his. He took it and rested it on her stomach, then stood to face us. His eyes flitted briefly to Alec, assessing him, before turning to Markus.

“She’s gone. There’s nothing I could do.” James’ face looked carved from stone. Expressionless.

“No!” Markus ran to Britta, and pushed James out of the way. Bright red blood seeped from the center of her chest. The shot had gone straight through her heart. The gun fell from Markus’ hand as he sank to his knees in front of her body. “Dammit Britta, how could you die on me?”

Markus leaned down and touched his lips to hers. Though I’d thought about killing her myself little more than a day ago, something inside me broke. She’d been a scrapper, a survivor—like me. Markus had seemed happy when they were together. Now she was nothing. Gone.

Sadness and anger fought for control. Britta would tell me tears were for apocawusses. Sadness wouldn’t help me now. Anger might.

“What happened?” I asked, staring hard at Kale. I knew what he thought about his enemies, and I wouldn’t put much past him. Had he killed her?

“Bastard shot her,” said Kale, pointing at one of the bodies wearing a mask on the floor. “We thought they were all dead, but he got her when she came in the door. I took care of him, but not in time.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and shook his head as he looked down at her body. “It’s my fault. I should have gone first.”

Yeah, you should have . Maybe he thought some were alive and that Britta would make a good, disposable decoy. It was hard to know what to believe. The masked body on the floor did indeed have a gun in his hand and a chest full of fresh blast holes. Alec looked horrified and confused by the scene in front of him. James walked over to the Consulate soldier’s body, stooping to take the gun.

“Can’t hurt to have another gun,” James said, then rose and brought the gun over to Kale. Great—now he had two guns.

Kale accepted the offering and turned to Markus. “I’m sorry. I know you had feelings for her.”

James wore an odd expression on his face. “Nice work, captain,” James said. “There don’t seem to be any other survivors.” I noticed him looking Alec up and down. Maybe he was a little jealous.

This was it. My heart raced and my palms started sweating. Stay calm, Tora. I’d have to take him out now, or we’d all be toast. Markus still crouched on the ground by Britta, seemingly confused and overwhelmed with grief. I didn’t think he would be super-helpful in his current condition, so I flashed a look at Alec, hoping he’d catch on and jump in.

“Markus, I’m so sorry,” I said. I walked over to him, my hands in front of me as if the cuffs were still locked. In one quick motion, I pulled off the cuffs and scooped up Markus’ gun that lay on the floor by his side.

I jerked it toward Kale. “Raise either of those guns and I’ll shoot,” I said, trying to control the shaking in my arm.