Kristi Helvig: Burn Out

“Just tell me where you are, Tora,” James’ voice pleaded through my helmet.

I stood and leaned against the alcove in the hill. I didn’t want to sound as weak and tired as I felt. “You’ll never find me,” I said with false confidence.

Guess I spoke too soon, because the planet shifted again and all of the hills disappeared at once. James stood several hundred feet away. There was nothing between us. His voice was calm. “I have to do this.”

I heard Kale’s voice through James’ com system. “I have a visual on you, James. Good work. Finish her and get back to the ship.”

A roar in the sky made me look up. The Consulate had found us. One ship was about to touch down, and two other small dots in the distance had to be the other ships.

I flicked the switch on The Obliterator and raised an eyebrow at James. “Does this change anything?” My finger hovered over the trigger panel.

He shook his head, and trained both guns on me. A shot tore into me and pain flooded my senses. Everything around me turned blurry and seemed to happen in slow motion.

The roar of the Consulate ship grew louder as it landed. What seemed like fifty soldiers poured out of the ship, weapons drawn. Behind James, I saw Kale’s ship lift in the air and gun for the horizon. I opened my mouth to speak but the pain was too great, so I pointed instead—maybe Kale deserting him would change his mind about shooting again.

James gazed skyward as Kale’s ship departed. He lowered his gun and ran toward me, “Tora! Don’t move. I’m coming—”

That’s when the soldiers took aim en masse at James. A shot ripped into his leg and another went through his arm. My heart lurched despite the fact that he’d just shot me. I couldn’t watch him die. Plus, if they didn’t realize who I was, they’d turn on me next. I gripped T.O. with my last remaining strength.

God help us all. I pushed the button.

LAUGHTER FILTERED THROUGH THE MIST AROUND ME. GIRLISH laughter. I flew through the air, attempting to locate the source of the sound. The wind caressed my hair, blowing it in tangles around my face. I wore no sunsuit, and the sun warmed my skin, yet didn’t cook it. I broke through the foggy substance and followed the childlike giggles. The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with a thick substance I knew were clouds, even though there had been no clouds for centuries. The sun was warm yellow in color, bearing no resemblance to the red inferno of Earth. I inhaled the scent of fresh clean air—and flowers. Wildflowers. Somehow I knew what everything was without being told.

“Callie!” I called. Her name felt like sugar in my mouth. I tried to fly faster. Leaves and flowers floated down on me as I soared through the sky.

“Come and find me,” Callie called back, her giggles echoing in front of me, behind me, everywhere.

“It’s not funny, Callie. Come out. I want to see you.”

The scent of wildflowers grew stronger and a single calla lily floated into my hand. I grasped the flower and inhaled deeply. It was how I’d imagined it would smell. Soft and sweet like my sister, which was why I nicknamed her after a flower. I’m going to find you, Calla lily , I’d call after her. She loved it when I called her by that name.

“I picked it for you. Do you like it?” she asked. Callie floated before me, dressed in her favorite floral shirt. She still didn’t look a day over seven years old. This time when I reached out for her, my fingers didn’t touch just air. The material of her shirt felt strange in my hand. Not quite solid, but still tangible.

“It’s really you?” I asked. She nodded and I flung my arms around her to hug her. Her body felt more like a rippling energy wave than human. She blinked in and out of physical form. “Callie, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have locked the door that day. It’s all my fault.” Tears cascaded down my face and dripped onto her blond ponytail. I tried to smooth her hair with my hand, but couldn’t seem to touch her actual hair.

She looked up at me with shimmery eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. All you ever did was try to keep me safe. I shouldn’t have gone out there—you warned me.”

How could she forgive me so easily? “Callie, where’s Mom?”

Callie smiled. “She’s around. She’s much happier now. She loves you so much and is sorry for causing you pain.”

This caused a fresh wave of tears. My throat felt like a lump of dirt had wedged itself inside. I’d never let my sister out of my sight again. “I’m so glad we’re together. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Callie cocked her head to one side, as if she was listening to something that I couldn’t hear. She turned around to look behind her. All I saw was the vast expanse of blue sky. Callie frowned when she turned back around. Her voice sounded farther away, even though she remained right in front of me. “You can’t stay, Tora. You’re still needed down there.”

“No way. I finally found you. I’m not going to leave you.” But Callie began to fade away.

She flew to me and kissed my cheek, a buzz of warm energy against my skin. Then she danced out of reach, skimming over a cloud as she moved farther away from me. “Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again before you know it.”

“Don’t go!” I screamed. I fought as my body propelled itself down toward the planet below. Air currents ripped through me as I descended.

“No!” I yelled. Nobody listened.

I heard Callie’s faint voice despite the distance. “I love you, Tora,” she called as I went back through the clouds. My view was obscured by the fine, white vapor.

“I love you too, Callie,” I called back. Her small, tinkling laugh answered me, spreading warmth through my chest. Though my body felt more solid and heavier with each second, a great weight lifted from my shoulders.

“Ms. Reynolds.” It wasn’t Callie’s voice. No clouds, no flowers, no leaves surrounded me. No nothing, except blackness.

“Ms. Reynolds.” The voice grew more insistent.

My eyes opened a crack, allowing a sliver of light to penetrate. I squinted and squeezed them shut again. My throat burned. God, I craved water.

A hand touched my arm and shook it. A firm shake, definitely not gentle. “We need you to wake up now.”

“And I need water,” I croaked, keeping my eyes shut tight. When a bottle was pressed into my hands, I forced myself to open them. Damn, the light was bright in here. Maybe I was dead; maybe I’d died on that strange planet. Other hands propped me up into a sitting position.

Everything was blurry, yet I managed to bring the bottle to my lips with a little assistance from the various other hands in the room. I sipped the water. It was cold. My eyes opened wider. The water was cold. This was what cold was. Where the hell was I if not dead, because who had cold water?

A man in wire-rimmed glasses and a shiny silver coat approached me. “Ms. Reynolds, it appears you’ve been shot.”

“No shit. Tell me something I don’t know.”

A murmur ran through the room. How many people were in here anyway? Trying to look around made me dizzy and my vision blurred further. “Sshhh, take it easy. You’ve been through a lot.” More hands leaned me back against the pillow. I took the bottle with me, not caring that I was sloshing water down the front of my gown every time I took a sip. If I was in a gown, this had to be some sort of medical facility.

I gulped the rest of the water, then waited for my vision to clear. The room was stark white, which only made the light seem brighter. I waved my empty bottle in the air, and someone brought me a refill.

“How’d I get here?” I asked, looking around. There were eight or nine figures in the room, and they all wore long coats. Only the man in wire-rimmed glasses had a shiny silver coat though. He must have been the one in charge, because he addressed my question.