Kelly Gay - The Hour of Dust and Ashes

“But …”

“He’s weak, Charlie. After opening the portal and getting me to … kill.” She shook her head and her voice went sharper. “Just do it!”

“Hurry!” Rex yelled, running away from us and toward the battle.

I closed my eyes and gathered again, from my core like I was used to, but also from the energy wrapping around me, linking me to another. I gathered, pulled like a thin, starving creature, sucking it all, taking it all. I had no idea how I was doing it. Instinct? Necessity? Desperation?

Bryn screamed, her shudders filtering into me, and I no longer knew where her screams ended and mine began. When I couldn’t hold any more, my eyes opened, I threw out my palms, and gave it all to the mass in front of me.

A high-pitched screech. Sand falling like rain. Panting.

“You got it!” Rex called.

Bryn and I fell back. I had no idea what got it meant, but as long as the thing was down I didn’t care.

“Where’s Brim? Is he okay?” I shimmied from Bryn’s hold and pushed my palms deep into the sand to rise.

Before Rex could answer, a loud screech filled the air above us. The nithyn. My vision cleared enough for me to see the dark shadows circling above us. My legs wobbled as I stood. I pulled my Nitro-gun as the ground began to rise up beneath me.

Another sand lizard emerged from the ground, lifting me off my feet and onto its back, coming between me and my sister. I lost my balance and rolled off the creature, landing on my side with a jarring thud. I struggled to rise; my only thought was my sister. “BRYN!”

“No, Rex! Get Bryn to the portal!”

He slid to a stop, glanced behind me, and hesitated. “Go east!” he shouted. “Follow the ridge! We’ll aim for the cell block at the station!” Then he turned and ran after Bryn.

A shadow fell. Oh shit. I turned slowly to see the lizard’s large head poised over me.

And then I was tackled by Hank as the creature dove for me. We rolled, his hand grabbed mine, and we were up and running. Away from Bryn, toward another ridge of rocks.

Brim shot past us, running hard. The sand vibrated, and I knew the lizard had gone under again.

A nithyn dove for us. We dropped to our stomachs. It missed, angled its body, and flew back up to circle again. Another was hot on Brim’s heels, flying low to the ground behind him, gaining. I fired my gun as Hank turned and fired into the sky. My shot missed the body but hit the wing. The nithyn screamed, turned, and slammed into the sand. As soon as it did, the others descended upon it, attacking. Christ. They were cannibals. As soon as one of theirs was injured, it was anything goes. From pack to prey in an instant.

We made it to the rocks in a simultaneous leap. My calves and thighs burned. My lungs were on fire. The sand lizard rose up and hissed. We sailed over the smaller rocks, leapt up a bigger one, and then hit unexpected air.

Oh God. My arms pinwheeled. Blackness enveloped us as we fell screaming into a black hole.

Seconds of dark, weightless panic passed.

I slammed into rock. The force caused my legs to buckle. My knee slammed into my face. Every bone hit and bruised and broke on rock as I tumbled. Wave after wave of blinding pain stole my breath. Amid it all, I heard grunts, bone breaking, thuds, and gasps. Brim’s claws scraping … a cry.

My skull cracked on a rock. The force of the blow sent my body swinging around, airborne, and then I hit one last time on my side and slid into a hard barrier in a heap of broken bones.

A sob broke past my busted lips.

The only thing that reached me through the haze of excruciating pain was the sound of my gasping breaths, loud and echoing, in the darkness, and Hank’s muttered “Fucking hell” before I sank into oblivion.

The dripping of water was the first thing my waking mind processed. Slowly my other senses kicked in. The air was cooler and damper here.

My head ached. My torso was on fire from what had to be several broken ribs. The left side of my body had taken the brunt—left arm and leg possibly fractured. Three fingers on my right hand were bent at an odd angle.

Hot tears leaked from my swollen eyes. My exposed skin was raw and scratched, clothing ripped in places. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but I did recognize the healing process had aeady begun.

A series of coughs gripped my sore throat, every push of muscle causing extraordinary pain.

After several minutes, I pushed up enough to lean my back against the wall I’d slammed into. I grabbed my fingers with my left hand and prepared to reset the dislocated ones.

I set them right one after the other, crying out each time I did. Nausea gripped me hard by the time I got to the last one, and I had to force down the urge to puke before shoving that final knuckle back into place.

I must’ve fallen back into a state of healing because the next thing I knew, Hank was kneeling beside me, speaking Elysian in a near whisper. His flashlight lay beside me, creating a soft glow in the pitch darkness. I ached. Everything was stiff, but the intense pain of earlier had receded.

Heat engulfed me. My nose was stuffy from crying.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, kiddo, I’ll live. Looks like we fell into some kind of cave or ravine. There’s water nearby. Can you walk?”

“I don’t know. Where’s Brim?”

“He’s by the water.”

“Is he … dead?”

“No. He’s not dead, Charlie.”

My eyelids fell in relief. Thank you, God. I grabbed for his arm. “We have to get to that portal.”

With Hank’s help, I pushed to my feet inch by punishing inch. My vision wavered as angry pain screamed through my hip. The scent of blood reached my nose. My wounds were a nasty concoction of congealing blood and sand.

Hank’s arm slid under mine. “This way.” His touch set off my mark, and his deep voice bouncing around the cavern walls gave a little extra jolt to my system; though I felt it on the inside, it did little to help the scratch of sand through my wounds as I walked. It filled my boots, my clothes. It was everywhere.

I smelled the water before the flashlight beamed over the surface of the shallow pool. Beyond the pool the water trailed into a ravine, and moonlight filtered in at gaps in the rocks above. It looked as though, once upon a time, an underground river had cut out the caves beneath the ridge above, leaving deep grooves in the rocks.

Brim lay by the edge of the pool, panting. He lifted his head when we approached, saw us, and then returned to his position.

The water was a godsend. My mouth watered for a taste as Hank led me to the edge of the pool and I noticed that his feet were bare and his hair was wet.

“The water is drinkable over there where it’s coming in from the rock,” he said. “I’ve already washed up in the pool and got most of the sand from my clothes. I healed you some while you were unconscious, but I’m wiped out and need to regenerate before I can do more. You need help?”

“No. I’m fine.” I went to bend down, but pain shot through my torso so fast I swayed. Shit. My eyes burned and my dry throat grew thick. I wanted so badly to get to the water, but it hurtoo much.

I blinked rapidly, not realizing until he spoke that Hank was kneeling in front of me. “Put your hand on my shoulder so you don’t fall.”

I frowned, but did as he asked. And then it became clear as he gently placed one hand on my calf while the other pulled off my boot. Sand rained onto the ground. It took all my willpower to stay on my feet as each movement threatened to buckle my legs.

After my feet were bare, he stood. “We’re going to need to move soon, but you’ve got sand everywhere and you’ll heal faster without it rubbing your wounds raw. You can’t get in there with your clothes on. They’ll never dry and will be hell to get back on.”