Бесплатный фрагмент - Mercenary

Part II. Mercenary

Chapter 1. Stranded

Serena forced her hover bike forward, accelerated to an extreme. She feared if she were to push it harder, the engines could burst. But she desperately needed the speed to get away.

The beginning sand storm was making it harder to fly through the canyon, trying to escape her pursuers, but she hoped that her twists and turns, which made her a harder target, would allow her to eventually shake the men off.

Her hopes were futile. An explosion sounded, and a burst of rocks sprayed her, forcing her to swerve aside. Only a moment passed and another missile hit the rock next to her, missing her by a split second. This time a piece of the rubble knocked her on the side, forcing her to swerve again.

Growling from pain, the woman continued her way, searching for any signs of her allies around. But the thick fog of bloody red sands that filled the air made it almost impossible to see any further than a few dozens of meters in front.

Time was running out. A little more and the sands will become even thicker.

Serena heard another missile flying, and darted away, but a little too late — the explosion hit the ground right under her, throwing the hover bike up and to the side. The hit was so strong, that Serena felt herself losing the grip of her flying device, flung into the air, and then she went tumbling — first on the sandy ground, and then off a cliff into the thick bloody sandstorm that rumbled below.

Her pursuers slowed down and stopped to examine the hover bike, then took a look around, glancing over the edge, but found no sign of the woman being there. Gesturing to each other, they quickly loaded the half-destroyed hover bike onto their small craft and disappeared into the sands.

Way below the cliff, in the rumble and tumble of the storm, the body of a woman hung caught in the dark, thick roots of the plants that grew from the rocky heights. Perhaps, it was for the best that she was knocked out during the fall, when the roots caught her, wrapping her legs in their thorny embrace.

Hanging upside down, Serena didn’t see the lonesome figure approaching. She didn’t see the tall, muscular man climbing up to her. She didn’t feel him ripping the thorns and vines off her body and feet.

The man, who was hiding his face from the storm by a thick scarf and goggles, threw her over his shoulder, like she weighed nothing, and climbed back down to the things he left there before ascending the rocky wall to get her. Picking up his stuff, he continued his way with a new trophy.

The man walked calmly, knowingly, turning in the twisted maze of the canyon, until he reached a small opening of a cave. Stepping inside, he followed the passage deeper into the dark, until he reached a split and took the left one.

Something growled from the other passage, but the man ignored the sound, seemingly used to hearing it. Walking through the corridor, he began to dust himself off and took off his scarf and goggles that protected his eyes from the sands. His eyes glowed in the dark — faint golden and lavender sparks appearing in his irises, allowing him to see the path without any sort of light.

He took another few turns in the maze of this underground labyrinth until he reached a wide cavern. Throwing the woman from his shoulder aside, he glanced out, taking a few moments to listen to the sounds of caves surrounding him, ignoring the trickle of water that flowed by one of the walls of the cavern, forming a small basin, and grabbed the boulder next to the entrance, moving it into place to close up the archway.

Finally, he grabbed one of the legs of his trophy and dragged her deeper into the cavern, leaving her at the far end. The man lit up some sconces and torches, illuminating the cavern, and kneeled next to the unconscious woman. A few seconds he studied her beautiful, though dirty, face, and then began patting her down to see what useful things she could have. He smirked at her utility belt, where he found a couple of weapons, then took off her bag and ruffled through the few possessions she had in it, and, finally, opened her jacket to see if there was anything else of worth. He froze, noticing the black rounded triangle of her nano armour on her chest and slowly straightened, gritting his teeth.

His — now black — eyes became hard and almost raging.

He looked aside and seemed to consider his options before rudely grabbing the woman by her clothes and dragging her to one of the big boulders in the corner, which had old blood stains and a couple of chains affixed to it. Working quickly and confidently, he clasped the cuffs onto the woman’s hands and feet, placing her sitting on the floor with her back to the boulder, her hands stretched out and her feet lying on the stone floor, too far apart to try and kick him when she wakes up.

After checking the woman’s bindings, the man walked over to what looked like a kitchen area and began to prepare his dinner, thinking of the woman no more.

Chapter 2. Renegade

Serena slowly felt her senses coming back to her. She first felt her head spinning, and then opened her eyes, trying to figure out how hard of a fall she experienced. Everything ached and she tried moving her head first, feeling dizzy. The smallest movement caused her pain, and she decided to give herself a bit more time before moving again. Closing her eyes, she submerged into the darkness, incapable to fight it.

When she woke up the next time, she found herself in the dark and her body still ached terribly. The strange dizziness didn’t pass, and she couldn’t stop herself from passing out again.

Finally, she managed to push through the thick darkness that surrounded her consciousness, and swam out of it, as if fighting out of a swamp. Her eyes, still blinded by the fog, started to slowly clear, and she suddenly saw herself sitting on a bloodied stone floor. The dim light, provided by a number of torches, helped her understand that the dark, unmoving snakes she was seeing were, in fact, heavy chains. It took her a few long moments to realise that those chains ran to her ankles, immobilising her feet.

Serena forced her head up and felt the hard stone at her back, which made it a little easier to look around by leaning on it. She saw her wrists hanging from another set of chains, and closed her eyes, coming to the realisation that her escape was futile — the band of renegade mercenaries she and her team were hired to get rid of, caught her instead.

“Fuck.” she exhaled, feeling worse than before.

She heard someone walking over and turned her head to see who it was, when she noticed a very tall, extremely muscular man approaching. He was shirtless, showing his chiselled muscles and intricate tattoos on his shoulders, and his face could be described as strict, handsome, but intimidating. Black eyes looked at Serena with a very dark promise in them, which made her think of a very dangerous animal she encountered once — the Sercludian bear, which could easily destroy a regiment of soldiers, like they were toys.

Serena watched the man walk up to her, his fists tight, his bald — or closely shaved — head glistening in the shimmering light of the torches.

“You’re not one of them…” Serena tried stretching her aching back, but the way she was strung up made it impossible.

The man tilted his head to the side with a deep frown, but said nothing.

“The fuck…” Serena gave up trying to change position. “The fuck you want with me?”

The man kneeled in front of her, grabbing her face and looking into her eyes very angrily:

“Where’s your ship? Your team?”

“I have no idea… they weren’t at the rendezvous point.” Serena felt his fingers tightening on her face, causing pain.

“Who sent you?”

“We’re mercenaries, you dick!” the woman tried to free herself from his grip, but he held her too strong.

“Bullshit!” the man let her go and stood, walking over to a few boxes that stood next to his kitchen corner. He picked up one of the boxes and threw it to Serena.

The box crashed, spilling dozens — if not hundreds — of very familiar rounded triangles of Veluthian nano armour. Serena felt shock taking over her, seeing the amount of these pins, which were impossible to remove, unless the wearer was dead. The only other time the pins were removed was when they were stored within special boxes that could open only to the person who wore the armour. This was achieved by imbuing the nanites of the armour with a DNA code of the only person allowed to wear it.

“I’ve killed more than enough of you to know when you come for me.” the man said, satisfied with the effect his collection had on Serena.

“I don’t even know who you are, man…” Serena slowly raised her eyes to him. “I was sent to take care of a local renegade mercenary gang, not you.”

The man stepped up to her, landing a hefty blow to her jaw. Serena winced, feeling blood bursting from her mouth.

“Fucking hell…” she groaned, not understanding the reason for this man to be certain she came for him, when she really had no idea who he was at all. “You hit like a Veluthian… Who the fuck are you?”

The man grabbed her hair, forcing her head up to make her look at him.

“I’m the one asking questions!” he said. “Who are you? Which family do you serve?”

“I serve no one.” Serena felt his fingers tightening his grip on her hair.

“Your name, bitch!”

“Serena…” she groaned. “Serena Dal Thara-Lyss…”

The man punched her again, drawing blood:

“Liar!” he hissed, forcing her to look at the pile of armour. “See that? Each and every single one belongs to your friends and comrades from the fucking traitors that massacred the Thara-Lyss!”

The man let her go and walked off.

“I…” Serena made an effort to spit the blood from her mouth. “I survived.”

“No one survived!” the man barked. “I know!”

“I survived…” the woman looked up, trying to concentrate on his face, but he hit her so hard that she soon gave up, hanging her head.

The man’s face contorted in pure hatred and he approached her again, grabbing her chin to look into her eyes, but the woman already lost consciousness. Irritated, the man rudely released her face from his tight grip and walked off.

It took Serena a couple of hours to wake up again — this time she saw the man kneeling in front of her, watching closely with a very dangerous expression on his face.

“Give me your name.” the man said, emphasising each word, his tone harsh and low.

“Serena Dal Thara-Lyss.” the woman breathed out.

She received a number of punches to her face, each one next stronger than the one before, and couldn’t hold her head straight any more, hanging it again.

“You’re not Serena.” the man grabbed her face, causing more pain. “She’s dead.”

“I’m alive…” struggling, Serena pushed out, feeling blood tricking from her mouth.

“Let’s stop this game! Tell me your name!” the man’s fingers shook her head.

“Serena…”

Another slap connected with her cheek, and the man stood.

“Fine then.” he said, pausing for a moment. “Then tell me this… When Serena was a child, her father gifted her a bodyguard. The girl had a pet name for the man. What was it?”

He watched her closely, as Serena stayed silent for a few long moments, then the man flinched his chin in irritation and turned to leave.

“Woo… fy…” he heard behind him and froze. “I called him Woofy.”

The man’s eyes grew wider, and his expression changed from that of anger to confusion. He turned to his prisoner and frowned, seeing the woman still — with her head hanging down, unmoving and silent. Though, she seemed to be breathing — pained, straining against her body.

“What did you say?” the man took a step towards her.

“Woofy.” Serena exhaled quietly. “I was too small to say his name… so I called him… Woofy.”

She fell silent for a bit, but then a faint smile appeared on her bloodied face:

“He taught me to climb and balance… and scolded me every time he had to get me from the tallest tree in the garden.” Serena took a pause, reminiscing on the past. “He called me his little Scorpi. He said I reminded him of a creature he admired… The Golden Veluthian Scorpifly… When I was seven, my father said I was getting too attached to the man… So when Woofy was transferred… I caught him the bug as a parting gift… and he scolded me for taking such a risk, because the bug is extremely poisonous…”

The man forced himself to walk up and slowly kneeled in front of the woman, studying her attentively with his eyes. He took her chin — this time relatively softly — and raised her head to look at her face.

“When he left…” the man’s voice sounded raspy. “He gave you something…”

The woman smiled:

“A bracelet. I wore it every day until…” she suddenly fell silent again.

“Until?”

“It was destroyed.”

The man’s eyes darted about her face, showing his shock and confusion. He couldn’t believe what he heard from this woman’s mouth — she recollected the things he knew no one else could have known.

“How was it destroyed?” the man felt his mind racing. “When?”

“On the day…” Serena couldn’t make herself take her eyes off his, seeing the deep pitch black. “When my family died… by the Bima-Liss traitors… Tekkern shot my left arm off, vaporising the bracelet with it.”

The man felt a wave of panic rising, and jolted back, looking at the woman with wide eyes.

“Scorpi?!” he whispered, fear crawling into his voice.

But the woman didn’t answer, falling prey to the darkness that took her mind away from the pain he had caused.

Chapter 3. Scorpifly

The man unpacked a little bundle, and leaned over the stone, looking at the bug, encased in clear resin. The golden chitin armour of the Veluthian Scorpifly glimmered in the dim fire of the torches around, its see-through wings shimmering with greens and blues, and its venomous tail suspended as if the bug was about to strike. He thought for a moment, then turned to the woman, who was still chained by the rock.

Realising that every bit of information the woman had said to him was impossible to be known by someone other than Serena, the man felt guilt crawling into his heart. He sighed, collecting himself, and walked over to the woman, beginning to unclasp the chains.

When her body, no longer held by the bindings, fell to the stone floor, the man froze for a few moments, reaching out to her face and putting her hair behind her ear to get a better look. Even though her skin was dirty from sands and blood, he saw that the bruises he left on her were already healing — her Veluthian body was recovering.

One fact bothered him, though — the way she was becoming unconscious for these few days meant there was something he never considered happening to her. The man carefully picked her up and carried her over to the sleeping corner, where a flat slab of rock, covered by some thick fur served him as a bed. He laid her down, slowly undoing her jacket and pulling up her shirt. When he saw her sides blackened by bruises, he thought that she must have gotten her ribs broken during her fall.

Gritting his teeth, the man walked off to the boxes he stored near the kitchen and took out a small hand-held scanner and a bag of medical supplies. He returned to the woman, putting the bag aside for a bit and scanning her from head to toe, his eyes becoming even darker with each injury the scanner registered.

After the scanning was complete, the man forced down an urge to throw the scanner into the wall, and quickly opened the bag, unravelling rows of empty compartments where capsules of medicine were usually kept. He grabbed the last two and shoved one into the automatic syringe, then stabbed the woman in her thigh, administering the liquid. When the empty capsule flew out, ejected by the syringe, he shoved the second one in and stabbed the unconscious woman in her neck.

After this was done, he threw the syringe onto the bag and took a few moments, taking in the severity of the whole situation. He knew very well that the woman’s regeneration was already working hard on fixing every bit of damage dealt by both — the fall and his beating — but the thought that he caused some of these injuries hit him hard.

The man gritted his teeth again, looking at the woman, and took a deep breath, before collecting the medical supplies and returning to the kitchen, deciding on distracting himself from what he had done.

Hours passed, as Serena lay on his bed, recovering, until she slowly came to her senses again. She felt different, and at first didn’t understand what happened while she was knocked out, but then felt the soft fur that emanated a thick, heavy scent, and the warmth of a thin blanket thrown over her. She gave herself a bit of time before moving, but as soon as she tried to push herself up, she felt her body protesting with a sharp pain that hit her in the gut. A quiet groan escaped her mouth, as she gave in and lay back down, understanding that even if she does get up, she won’t be able to go anywhere in her current state.

Instead, she turned her head, still feeling the faint aching at the base of her skull, and looked around.

The cavern she was in was dimly lit by torches, which flickered and danced in the obvious airflow, which occurred inside due to the imperceptible cracks in the walls. The smoke must have been filtering out the same way — through the same cracks up in the ceiling, making it impossible to suffocate when inside. Serena heard the trickle of water somewhere near, but couldn’t see where it was, because it seemed to be hidden from her sight by a set of stones.

The woman tried hard to see any way of exiting the cavern, but didn’t see a single arch or pathway that could have been leading out. Closing her eyes and feeling herself helpless, she forced through the pain in her arm to reach up and feel her ear for the communication earpiece, but found it missing.

Through her scrambled thoughts she remembered the stranger who kept her chained up and understood that he must have taken the device from her when he captured her.

Serena tried to take a deeper breath, and felt her ribs aching, denying her of air. Closing her eyes, the woman thought if she could even do anything when her tormentor will return. She tried to feel around for any sort of weapon she could use, but the only thing she found caused her to frown. The woman couldn’t sit up to see what lay beside her, but she could feel the object being formed like a small brick — smooth sides and rounded edges, big enough for her to grab it. She couldn’t know if it was fragile or not, but decided that it was enough to at least withstand one hit she could land to her captor’s face. She felt a little better, knowing that she had a chance to at least try and fight back.

She must have drifted into sleep, because she came to her senses only when she felt someone sitting next to her on the bed and touching her neck, checking the pulse. The woman gripped the brick in her fingers, hoping she will have enough strength to make the blow hard enough to knock her captor out.

Serena slowly opened her eyes, seeing the man leaning in, and noticed his eyes widen in surprise. Without a single moment to waste she jerked her hand up, landing a perfect hit onto his temple, crashing the object in her hand exactly onto the point she wanted. The man flew off the bed, and Serena fell with him, hitting him again and feeling her strength already failing her. As she hit him for the third time, she heard him whisper:

“I yield…”

She didn’t hear what he said next, falling on top of him and her consciousness slipping away once more.

The man lay there for a few seconds, before gently embracing the woman with one arm.

“You’ve grown up strong, my little Scorpi.” he sighed, feeling proud and happy that the woman he found was, in fact, his ward in the distant past.

He waited for any sort of reply, but the woman remained silent, and he carefully raised her face, noting that she had passed out again.

“I’m so proud of you, Serena.” the man sighed and rolled her over to the side to get her back to bed.

When he was picking her up, he heard something fall and looked at what the woman had used to knock him down, surprised to see the resin-encased Scorpifly on the floor. Smirking at the fact Serena used this trinket to defend herself, he laid the woman down and sat next to her, picking up the preserved bug and looking at the thing with a smile on his lips.

“You really are a Scorpi, Serena…” the man chuckled, touching the woman’s shoulder. “You sting like hell.”

He stayed with her, until she finally opened her eyes again. Seeing the man there, she closed her eyes for a few moments, forcing down the painful feeling of defeat.

“Hi, Scorpi.” the man said quietly, watching her face. “Please don’t sting me again.”

Serena looked up at him and saw the deep gash on his temple — the one she left when landing her blow to his head. The man raised the bug for her to see and Serena frowned, recognizing the critter.

“The Golden Veluthian Scorpifly…” the man smiled. “Your present, Serena.”

The woman saw the blood stain on the resin encasing and looked at the man, trying hard to recognise him.

“I thought you were dead, Scorpi…” the man put the bug down next to her head. “I thought, you were killed during the Bima-Liss attack.”

“I survived.” Serena felt her voice being coarse and raspy.

The man reached out and touched her face, smiling:

“I’m so happy you did.”

Serena finally caught on to the dark eyes and the soft gaze, realizing that the man before her was the same man who taught her about balance, climbing and fighting when she was a child.

“Woofy?” she caught herself on calling him by the name she gave him a very long time ago, but correcting herself almost instantly. “Wolfin?”

She forced through her weakness and pain, pushing herself up. The man watched her struggling, but didn’t move to help, still weary of her being able to pull another trick.

“You remember me.” he said, seeing her lean over the rock behind her, wincing.

Serena lowered her gaze and studied the man attentively:

“I remember you being more scrawny.” she noted, looking up at his face again.

Wolfin cackled, admitting that he really did look differently all those years ago.

“It’s been a long time, Serena. A lot has changed.” he said. “You grew up strong, and you still sting like hell, my little Scorpi.”

Serena glanced at the preserved bug which was still stained by Wolfin’s blood.

“Though, now your sting is way more hefty.” the man chuckled, standing up and heading towards the kitchen area. “You need sustenance. Do you think you’ll be able to eat something and keep it down?”

The woman glanced around, thinking about her bag and wandering what the man did with her stuff while he kept her chained up.

“My bag…” she felt something cracking into place and bared her teeth, trying hard not to groan from the sharp shot of pain that run through her body.

A few long moments passed, when the pain subsided, and she opened her eyes to see Wolfin watching her with a hint of concern on his face. He saw her muscles relaxing and handed her the bag he found on her. The woman took it, still feeling her body weak and strained, and looked inside, not hoping to see anything there, but finding the flask and the few sustenance bars she had with her when she went to scout out the renegade mercenary crew before she was noticed and chased down into the canyons. Taking the flask, Serena froze for a moment and glanced at Wolfin, as if thinking about something, before taking out something else — something he didn’t see when he searched her bag.

She noticed his brows twitch in surprise, as she got the emergency syringe ready and gave herself a shot into the neck, feeling the painkillers immediately helping her with the pain.

“Any more surprises in there?” Wolfin tilted his head.

Serena took a big sip from her flask, feeling the sting of alcohol reaching her throat, and took a moment to answer:

“Just a stash of capsules with painkillers and some anti-venom for emergencies.” the woman gritted her teeth, forcing herself to sit up and hang the feet down onto the floor.

“Too soon for you to be standing, Scorpi.” the man said, sounding very unhappy to see her moving at all.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Serena slowly rose, feeling every bit of her body objecting to such abuse, but ignoring it.

She felt sweat immediately forming on her forehead, and knees trembling under her weight, but tried to make a step nonetheless, grasping at the rocky wall next to her. The tightness in her chest grew into a suffocating sensation and the woman bared her teeth, making another step.

“You were always so stubborn.” Wolfin sighed, watching her make a few steps and slipping down.

He stepped to her, catching her before she could fall, and helped her back to the bed.

“I’m fine…” gasping, Serena breathed out, trying to push him away.

“You’re not fine, Serena. You’re injured, soldier! Stay in bed!” the man ordered. “Or I’ll chain you up again until your body heals, got it?”

Chapter 4. SS Lyssandra

“Scanning inconclusive.” the AI reported for the hundredth time. “I’m sorry, I cannot find Captain Serena.”

Ever since the sandstorm started, they were unable to find any signs of Serena anywhere within the vicinity. Hunter felt helpless and enraged to be stuck on a ship without any knowledge about what happened to the woman.

The man forced down the urge to kick something and jumped to his feet, grasping his hair.

“Damn it!” he growled.

“You are sleep deprived, Hunter. You should get some rest.” Lyssa said. “I’ll continue searching.”

“How can I sleep, when I don’t even know if Serena is alive or not?!”

“You should trust her more. She’s a strong and capable woman.”

“I know that! And I also know that something must have happened! Otherwise she would have checked in already.”

“You should get some rest, Hunter. The stress you are experiencing is affecting your ability to reason.”

“I’ll go have something to eat, if that will make you shut up about it.” Hunter headed out of the bridge.

“Sleep would be preferable, but you hadn’t eaten in two days, so that is also a valid form of recuperation.” the AI replied.

“Any news from the Growler?”

“Negative.”

“Let me know when they check in.”

“Of course.”

Hunter sighed heavily, understanding that the situation they were in was a harsh one. The sandstorm prevented them from finding Serena in the first few days when she disappeared, and the lack of communication ever since made it even more unbearable.

As soon as the sandstorm began dying down, Cipher offered to get to one of their informants to see if Serena contacted them. The SS Growler left the very same day, heading to the town, leaving Hunter on the location they’ve set up as a rendezvous point before Serena left for her reconnaissance mission to search for any traces of the Red Lanyards — the renegade mercenary gang that terrorised the area.

Hunter cursed himself for letting her go on her own and staying on the ship to scan and monitor for any mentions of the gang mentioned through the local net of audio frequencies. Over the days he had found nothing of the sort, scanning through radio communications — when it was possible — between cities and the few trading caravans that carried goods between them. But as soon as the storm hit, all communications seized.

The man walked into the dining area and stopped in front of the processor, wondering if he was hungry or not. Lyssa offered him a tray with some thick soup, a couple of pieces of freshly baked bread and a cup of herbal tea.

“Thank you, Lyssa.” Hunter took the tray and sat down at the table in the empty and lonely room.

“Always ready to help, Hunter.” the AI said.

The man ate without appetite, lost in his troubling thoughts about Serena. He didn’t know what else to do — other than the constant scanning and hailing, there was nothing he could really do. If he were to leave the rendezvous point, Serena might come back with no one to greet her.

He kept trying to calm himself that the reason they have lost communication was due to the heavy sandstorms that continued to whirl around. Perhaps, Serena was staying somewhere to wait out the storms?

“Hunter.” Lyssa’s voice sounded, making the man jump to his feet.

“Serena?”

“No. SS Growler is approaching. Hailing failed due to the interferences in the atmosphere.”

Hunter gritted his teeth, forcing down his anger at the whole situation.

“How close are they?” he ruffled his hair, trying to calm down again.

“Landing in fifteen seconds.”

“Why didn’t you notify me earlier?”

“I couldn’t detect a clear signal through the storm.”

“Great. Just great!” Hunter headed towards the cargo bay, where, as he thought, his friends would want to enter Lyssa to debrief.

He saw Cipher and Pher approaching the bay door just as he stepped up, opening it. The wind roared — though, not as hard as the previous days — and threw red sand inside the cargo bay. Cipher and Pher hurried up into the ship, patting themselves from the sand.

“Any news?” Cipher coughed, spitting to the floor from all the sand that he caught while running from his ship to Serena’s.

“None.” Hunter grimaced. “You?”

“Our informant hadn’t heard anything yet. But he promised to keep his eyes peeled.”

Hunter couldn’t contain his anger anymore and kicked a box with provisions:

“Fuck!”

“Look, we’ve done what we can for the moment. Right now the best thing is to sit out the storm. Perhaps, as soon as it calms, Serena would be able to send word.” Pher slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Let’s have a drink and rest a while?”

“A drink…” Hunter growled. “A fucking drink…”

He turned and walked off, heading towards the dining area and thinking how much alcohol would be able to knock him out — just for him to stop thinking about Serena’s disappearance.

Chapter 5. Truth

Serena felt herself better with each passing day, though the worry she felt for her friends was greater than her sense of self-preservation. She found out that Wolfin smashed the earpiece she had when he found her, so there was no way to contact her ship or her friends, unless they will find the remnants of her hover bike. She did understand that her hover bike could have been buried by the sandstorm. Or grabbed by wandering scrappers for spare parts, as she didn’t dare hope that it was intact after the terrible crash she experienced.

Finally, the aching in her body began to feel bearable and Serena got out of bed, still irritated at Wolfin for having her stay for so long.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the man saw her heading to the exit.

“I need to contact my friends.” Serena approached the boulder Wolfin used to close the passage and grasped at the edges, straining to try and move it away.

Though, recovered from most of her injuries, she was nowhere as strong as the man, so she failed to even make the rock budge. She froze, breathing heavily and feeling herself trapped, and heard Wolfin approaching.

“It’s still night out there. Too dangerous for you to be stumbling in search of your friends.” he said. “Let’s eat. If you’re so keen on finding them, I’ll help you first thing in the morning. But you have to do something for me.”

Serena pressed her forehead to the rock and sighed:

“What?”

“Take a bath, alright? You stink like a weefer.” he gestured to the water basin.

“What the fuck is a weefer?” Serena growled, straightening.

“It’s a creature that hunts every night. They’re stinky. And dangerous.”

Serena glanced at the basin and thought for a moment, before agreeing that she really could use a bath, since she spent so many days recovering from her wounds.

“Fine.” the woman headed to the basin, still feeling the aching in her ribs and knee that were injured worse than everything else.

Wolfin followed her with his eyes and shook his head, returning to the kitchen to finish up preparing some meat. When he heard her throwing off her clothes, he didn’t even look, but as soon as she submerged herself in the water and a faint groan escaped her throat, he glanced her way, seeing her massaging her shoulder.

“Serena?” Wolfin turned to face her, noticing how lean and beautiful her body was.

“What?” the woman opened her eyes and met the man’s gaze.

“You still hadn’t told me who you were looking for around here. And how you got to where I found you.”

Serena looked at the water, gathering her thoughts, and noticed the faint streaks of dirt and blood that was washing off her skin being carried by a slow current, which meant there was an underground creek, leaving the cavern.

“I was… scouting out one of the campsites I’ve found.” she said a few long moments later. “When I saw Ellax, a creature jumped at me, and this made the Red Lanyards uncover my position.”

The woman heard Wolfin drop something.

“You’re after the Red Lanyards…” he gritted his teeth. “Figures.”

“You know them?” she glanced his way and saw him approaching with a bowl, where two steaming steaks lay, sprinkled by some herbs.

“We’ve ran into each other before.” he put the bowl next to Serena. “Mind if I join you?”

“I’m in your…” Serena glanced around. “Home? Do as you wish.”

The man smirked and undressed, walking into the basin as well to clean himself from whatever sand and grime he could have collected through the past few days. He tore a piece of meat off one of the steaks and took a bite, studying Serena with a very strange expression.

“Why are you after them?” the man asked, licking his fingers.

“My team was contacted by one of the mayors and we were offered a reward if we would take care of the gang.”

“And… how big is your team?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does.”

Serena pressed her lips together. She was weary of giving him all the information, since she hadn’t known the man for many years and he pretty much threatened her when she first woke up at his cavern. She glanced at the box he threw before her then — now all the pins collected and the box returned to the stack.

Wolfin noticed this and moved closer to her, meeting her eyes with a slight frown:

“I had my reasons to kill those Veluthians, Serena. They came for me. They came to kill me.”

“Why?” she wasn’t hoping to get an answer, as he didn’t reply to similar questions before.

This time, however, the man took a very deep breath and exhaled, before saying:

“After the massacre…” he gritted his teeth. “When your family died, taking with them all of the Bima-Liss traitors… I was one of those investigating this mess. The evidence I found, and the questions I’ve been asking made some of the allies to the Bima-Liss grow weary of my persistence. And while I was able to capture most of those who sent assassins my way, trying to silence me… others framed me for something I hadn’t done. I escaped Velutha only by chance. For years I was trying to fix the damage those traitors caused to my reputation. But my attempts weren’t as good as the influence of powerful families, who gained a lot from the death of Thara-Lyss and Bima-Liss families.”

“Who framed you? And for what?”

Wolfin looked away:

“I was framed for the murder of my wife and son.”

Serena’s eyes widened. The man stayed silent for a while, as if thinking about the times that passed.

“Wolfin?” Serena called him, seeing him flinch at the sound of his name. “Who framed you?”

“Salaar Dorn Kalun.” the man said, throwing a handful of water into his face. “The pieces of armour I showed you belong to the assassins that came after me time after time. At his orders. The last ones I killed two months ago, right here…”

Wolfin pointed at the bloodied rock with chains.

Serena felt something stirring in her memories, and decided to distract herself by taking a bite to eat. Thinking over something that bothered her, she caught Wolfin looking at her with a strange expression on his face again.

“What?” she tilted her head, noticing his eyes studying not only her face, but her body as well. “Got something to say? Say it.”

The man smirked:

“Who knew a scrawny little kid could grow up so strong and beautiful?” he saw her eyes squinting and cackled. “Relax, Scorpi. You’re my ward, not a woman I’d want in my bed.”

Serena forced down an irritated grimace from appearing on her face:

“Thanks, I guess.”

“I didn’t ask…” Wolfin squinted at her, watching her reaction. “How did you survive? I saw the recoding that was shown all over Velutha, but… no one could find you. I assumed, just like all the others, that you died… either by the hands of the traitors or by the assassins that might have been sent after you.”

“How much do you know?” Serena felt her teeth gritting against her will. “About that day?”

“We found your blood, lots of it, on the site. And the short recording came to the communication web a bit later. That’s it. No trace, no hint that you were alive after that.”

The woman looked at her left arm.

“Tekkern caught me by surprise.” she said. “He shot me, blowing off my left arm, almost up to the shoulder. I managed to grab my gun, but my father ran into the fight, shoving me away and ordering me to run.”

Wolfin saw her eyes becoming angry.

“Then what?” he encouraged her to continue the story.

“I followed the order. I fled.” Serena grasped her left wrist, clenching the limb hard. “I got to my ship and didn’t look back. Tekkern followed me, vaporising my right leg as the ship was taking off. He toyed with me.”

She finally raised her eyes, meeting Wolfin’s gaze with a very dark expression shining in her eyes.

“I shot his head off.” she growled. “And had to crawl to the medical bay. Lyssa found out that we were all poisoned by some complex toxin, which inhibited regeneration. So when I was suspended, the ship’s AI had to crack the toxin to help me regain my regeneration. It took a number of years for her to do that, since she couldn’t use the Veluthian servers to analyse the compound.”

Serena shook off her tension and grabbed the whole steak, taking a big bite.

“And I thought you were dead…” Wolfin sighed.

“About that…” Serena squinted her eyes at the man, her gaze becoming suspicious. “How? Why were you so sure I was dead?”

Wolfin silently raised his left wrist, showing her a familiar design of a bracelet — a thin wavy dark metal with a single small stone on it. Though, her own bracelet had the stone glimmering.

“This wasn’t a simple gift, Scorpi. I left something to keep an eye on you. It was supposed to let me know if you were alive or not.” Wolfin said. “If the stone was lit, it meant you were alright.”

Serena realised that when Tekkern shot her arm off, the bracelet was destroyed with it, showing Wolfin the dire news.

“You kept an eye on me?” the woman asked, trying to grasp at the concept of her past mentor watching out for her without even showing his face.

“I did. Every now and again I would inquire how you were doing in the academy and how well you were progressing in your studies.”

“Then why not face me? Why do all that and… not even know what I look like?”

The man smiled sadly:

“It was enough for me to know you were alright. Everything else didn’t matter. I didn’t want to ruin your life, so…”

“Ruin my life? The fuck you’re talking about?” Serena suddenly bared her teeth in anger.

“What did your father tell you, when I was transferred?” Wolfin remained calm, even though the woman looked like she was about to strike him.

“He said I was getting too attached to you.”

“He was afraid that if I’ll be with you while you’ll be growing up, you’ll end up seeking my company more than just that of a mentor.”

Serena was taken aback by these words, confused at the sheer assumption of her father being so short-sighted.

“The fuck?” was all she could say.

Wolfin smirked:

“Your father feared that eventually we’ll end up in bed. He didn’t want a no name like me ending up with his precious daughter. And he promised me that if he ever sees me again near you, he will do everything in his power to destroy me. He also promised me that he’ll ruin your reputation as well, so that you won’t have a future anywhere, but in outer space, being a mercenary without a home.”

Serena felt waves of shock washing over her, making her body tremble. She now understood the sheer disdain her father looked at her with, and all the times he had shown her how little he thought of her.

“That Old Fart wasn’t happy seeing me being a better father to you than he ever was.” Wolfin said, seeing the woman obviously distressed.

The man washed his face once more and got out of the basin, grabbing one of the towels he left there the day before, when he thought about offering Serena a bath. Drying himself, he didn’t look at Serena, who still sat frozen in the water, incapable of saying anything.

Once he dressed up, Wolfin threw the towel aside and glanced at the woman, seeing her frozen in thought.

“Scorpi.” the man called out and she raised her head just as he kneeled next to her.

“What?” she barked, angry at everything she found out about her father.

Wolfin grabbed a block of soap and offered it to her. The woman took it, frowning, and the man chuckled, suddenly pushing her head under the water. When Serena managed to free herself from his hand and take a breath, she saw him walking off with the empty bowl, cackling.

“Wash your hair, Scorpi.” he laughed.

The woman wiped her face, irritated at his stunt, but decided that she really should wash out all the dirt and blood from her hair.

“You asshole.” she growled at the man.

Chapter 6. Dalilah

“Got any spare clothes I can use?” Serena’s voice sounded through the sound of water dripping down onto the rocks.

Wolfin turned to her and saw her pressing out her hair, surprising him with a long mane, pure silver in colour.

“Holy seven hells of Polonnas!” the man breathed out. “Where have you been hiding all that length? And since when are you carrying long hair?”

Serena froze, meeting his gaze and ignoring the fact she stood there completely naked in front of him:

“Since a man I looked up to said to me that only the strongest can grow their hair out.” she said. “I took an oath to cut my hair only when I will be defeated in a duel or on the battlefield.”

Wolfin blinked, surprised to hear this:

“And when was the last time you cut your hair?”

“A week before turning seven.” Serena smirked.

“Any longer, and you’ll have as long of a braid as Artemis Serdana herself!” Wolfin shook his head, walking over to his supplies to look for some fresh clothes. “How many duels have you had?”

“Uh…” Serena fell silent, obviously counting. “Shit… Don’t know. I used to have about seventeen duels…”

Wolfin chuckled, choosing for her a fresh set of pants and a shirt.

“Seventeen a week…” Serena continued, making the man freeze from shock. “For five years in the academy… then about thirteen each week while under commander…”

“Wait!” Wolfin turned to her, frowning. “And you’ve never lost?”

Serena walked up, taking the clothes from him:

“Not once.” she said with a smirk.

“But why do you hide all that hair in such intricate braids then?”

“There’s time to show off one’s strength, and times to conceal it from prying eyes, Wolfin.” Serena began to put on the pants. “You taught me that, remember?”

“You remember…”

“I remember everything you’ve taught me, Woofy.” the woman finally got the new shirt on, which was obviously too big for her. “Especially the tales of Artemis Serdana. And all those cautionary tales of never trusting men…”

“Is that what you think those were?”

“Weren’t they? She was killed by her own husband.” Serena began braiding her wet hair again.

“It not a tale of caution to never trust men, Scorpi. It’s a tale of how vulnerable we can be, putting our trust in the wrong people.”

He watched her collect her hair and make it seem like it’s no longer than her shoulders.

“Look, I know that you were telling me those stories, because you wanted me to know how dangerous it can be finding a man…” she said, tilting her head.

“Why do I get the feeling those stories made you deny all suitors?”

“Not all of them.” Serena’s face turned sour. “I was attacked at my own engagement party, remember?”

“I meant… before that. How many suitors have you denied?”

“Enough to make a very long list of duels that I’ve won.” the woman looked at the boulder, blocking the entrance. “How long is it until the sun is up?”

Wolfin took a moment to think, then sighed:

“Grab your things. Time for you to meet Dalilah.”

Serena frowned in surprise, not knowing that there was someone else around the caverns.

As soon as she was ready to leave, Wolfin set the boulder aside, freeing the dark passage leading out.

“How much do you trust me?” he suddenly asked Serena, who was looking into the dark with a frown.

“That’s a tricky question… Still hadn’t decided on that. Why?” Serena tilted her head, meeting Wolfin’s gaze.

The man chuckled and took a few steps back, entering the thick darkness that surrounded the tunnel. Serena saw his eyes turn from pitch black to very faint shimmering gold and lavender and remembered how she loved seeing those eyes checking in on her every night when she was little.

“Right…” the woman gritted her teeth in a moment’s hesitation. “One of the reasons you were my bodyguard was your unique mutation.”

“So… how much do you trust me?”

“Depends on what you are about to do.”

The man stepped back into the light and showed at the leather straps on his back that were part of an intricate set of belts and straps to hold all his various weapons that he carried.

“You grab onto the strap and follow me. I don’t want to take a torch for many reasons, one of them being Dalilah. She’s got a temper when it comes to fire.” he said.

“And the lights here?” Serena nodded to the torches.

“I’ll put them out, if you are ready to trust me in the dark.”

Serena took a few deep breaths, before nodding silently. Wolfin went over the cavern, putting out the torches and sconces one by one, until there was only one left — next to the exit. As he put it out, he was looking at Serena. The woman couldn’t help but close her eyes for a few seconds, forcing down he irrational fear that crawled into her soul in the pitch darkness that surrounded her.

“Still afraid of the dark, little Scorpi?” she heard Wolfin chuckle.

“No.” she replied, trying to hide her true thoughts. “I was waiting for you to attack me. Easier to hear the opponent, than try and see through the dark.”

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the two glowing eyes of her past mentor right in front of her.

“Don’t sting.” the man chuckled, carefully taking her hand and turning his back to her, placing her palm on his shoulder. “Grab on.”

As he let her hand go, she traced the strap to the middle of his back and clasped her fingers around the leather, realising the extremely vulnerable position she was placing herself in.

“Ready.” she said, hearing her voice crack just a little and hoping Wolfin didn’t notice.

The man silently made a step forward and she followed him, quickly adjusting her steps to his pace. He walked calmly, slowly, without stopping, and she felt him turn from time to time, understanding that either he really was taking her out of the underground maze of the tunnels, or… he could be making her disoriented.

However, she soon felt a whiff of fresh air coming from ahead and this made her relax just a little bit. They walked on, and Serena felt herself becoming uncomfortable with the faint sounds of the caves surrounding them. Each drop from afar, and each quiet screech from some tiny creature under her feet made her tense up every time.

And then, she heard the sudden growling rumble, seemingly coming from right beside her. She darted back and to the side, immediately arming herself — a gun in her right palm and a blade in the other. Pressed with her back to the rocky wall of the tunnel, the woman gritted her teeth, waiting for the growl to repeat to know where to shoot, but instead she suddenly saw the two glowing eyes looking at her through the pitch dark.

“Lower your weapons, Serena.” Wolfin said very quietly. “Ignore the growl.”

Feeling her teeth gritting, she didn’t lower her weapons, still trying very hard to see a single sign of the danger she sensed in the dark. A minute passed, and she heard a heavy sigh and a warm palm lay on her wrist, gently pushing the hands down.

“Lower your gun.” the man repeated.

“But…” Serena fell silent, seeing the glowing eyes looking at her calmly.

“Please. Trust me.”

Serena felt conflicted, though slowly allowing him to lower her hands.

“What the fuck is that thing?” she hissed, hiding her sudden anxiousness behind anger.

“You’ll see soon enough. She’s quite friendly.” Wolfin smirked.

“She?!”

“Come on.” Wolfin slightly squeezed her wrist. “Sheath your weapons. We’re almost out.”

Serena knew that he saw the total wreck that she was at the moment — panicked and tense. He must have seen it — after all, his eyes could see in the dark. She forced down her comment and calmed her breathing, sheathing her blade and then, with a few seconds of thought, the gun.

“Good.” Wolfin seemed to be happy she listened to him.

Serena felt his hand on hers again, putting her palm on his shoulder once more. Gritting her teeth, the woman traced the lining of the straps to the one on his back once more. This time her grip was harder.

“I feel you trembling…” Wolfin’s tone seemed teasing. “Are you afraid?”

“Shut up!” Serena hissed at the man as he continued his way.

Soon she saw the darkness parting, giving way to the dim light coming from the outside, and, finally, released the leather strap on Wolfin’s back, feeling more confident. She glanced behind her, but found no indication of anyone being there. Still, she increased her pace, pushing through Wolfin and walking out into the dim rays of the sun that was only rising on the horizon.

She felt the suffocating sensation of the caverns dissipating, and calmed her nerves, finally seeing the outside. Stopping a few steps from the entrance to the tunnels, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Wolfin leaning down to pick up a stone that fit perfectly in his fist. The woman slowly turned to face him, understanding that he could be plotting to knock her out with it, throwing it at her, but the man looked at her, smiled and leaned over the rock wall next to the entrance with his back, knocking three times with the stone on the wall next to him.

Serena tilted her head, not understanding what he was doing, when suddenly a sound of someone — something — moving came from within the dark tunnels. The woman frowned, not understanding the strange mix of shuffling and scratching that came from inside. The sound grew louder with each second, until Serena saw a gigantic creature bursting from the dark.

The smooth, crème-coloured chitin body, consisting of a multitude of sections, dozens of thick legs, moving fast and allowing the creature to grasp at the smallest holds in the coarse rocks around it, this titan of a centipede jolted out and onto Serena in a blink of an eye — which the creature had six.

As the head of the creature darted towards her, Serena managed to catch the spiky mandibles and, as the creature screeched, pulling her up from the ground, pushed at the neck of the thing with her legs, not allowing the monster to shred her body with the sharp ends of its legs.

“Dalilah! Down!” Wolfin shouted.

Serena felt the creature freeze, and saw the back pair of its eyes slowly look behind it, while the other four eyes were fixated on the woman.

A low, rumbling growl emanated from the throat of this immense creature, and the centipede lowered down, her smaller mandibles clicking against each other. Serena shot a quick glance at her holster, and the creature hissed, ramming the woman’s back into the ground.

“Dalilah!” Wolfin’s voice sounded closer and more stern. “Let her go, now!”

Serena felt her legs shaking under the pressure of the gigantic body, but the centipede slowly leaned back, watching the woman closely.

“Serena, let go.” the man approached, running his palm on the side of the centipede.

The woman glanced at him and saw him nod. Returning her eyes to the foul muzzle of the rumbling creature, Serena slowly let go of the mandibles, still holding her hands up to catch them again if the creature attacks her once more.

“Good girl…” Wolfin scratched the centipede on its forehead.

The creature rumbled — this time it was softer — and leaned into the man, allowing him to pet it.

“See?” the man chuckled. “She’s friendly.”

Serena allowed herself to fall back to the ground, relaxing her muscles and catching her breath.

“Friendly… you fucker!” she exhaled.

Chapter 7. SS Axathaal

“Hunter, we are being hailed.” Lyssa’s voice threw the man out of bed in a matter of a split second.

“Put it through!” Hunter saw the screen coming to life and walked over to it, seeing the face of a man he would rather not have seen ever again.

“Hunter!” Lindon Dorn Gray-Linn greeted the man with a nod.

“Lindon.” Hunter returned the polite nod, feeling his teeth gritting.

“Your ship notified me that your captain is… not aboard?”

“We’re on a job, Lindon. She’s out.”

“Perhaps, we can be of help to each other then. I have a job here as well.” Lindon tilted his head to the side. “Let’s meet man to man and have a conversation like civilized people?”

Hunter felt his hand turning to a fist.

“Fine.” he said, not really wanting for Lindon to get involved.

“Your ship or mine?”

“Don’t care.”

“Yours it is then. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Lindon nodded again and the screen turned off.

“Lyssa!” Hunter grabbed his shirt from the seat in front of the office table, where the screen stood.

“I have run the scanners again, Hunter. Still no sign of Serena anywhere in our vicinity.”

“Any thoughts?” the man dressed up, making himself presentable for the Veluthian captain who was about to visit.

“I suspect she might have lost her communication device.” the AI sounded calm. “However, there is a possibility that the sandstorms might have impacted the communication between the ship and her earpiece.”

“Fuck!” Hunter felt anger rising once again and forced it down. “Keep trying!”

“Of course.”

The man walked off, leaving the captain’s quarters, and heading towards the back of the ship to meet Lindon. His earpiece came to life and Cipher’s voice came through:

“Hunter? Is everything alright?”

“No. Serena’s still nowhere to be found and this Veluthian fucker wants to talk.” Hunter felt frustrated. “It’s been six days! Tell me that you have good news for me?”

“I’ve spoken to our informant and he said Serena hadn’t contacted him yet.”

“Shit!”

“You think something might have happened?”

“Cipher!”

“I know, I know. We’ll keep trying… Keep me updated to what the fucker says, alright?”

Hunter switched off without replying, walking up to the airlock door and already seeing Lindon waiting on the other side. As soon as the door slid open, Lindon bowed politely and smiled:

“Hunter. A pleasure to see you, good man.”

“Likewise, Lindon. What brings you to this distant planet?”

“Business. I’ve been sent to investigate a certain number of disappearances of Veluthian men and women around these parts.”

Hunter felt a wave of fear grasping his back with a shockwave:

“What?”

“Imagine my surprise seeing two Veluthian ships right here…” Lindon tilted his head. “You look disturbed. Is everything alright? When will Serena be back? I would like to speak to her.”

Hunter didn’t know how to reply, suddenly feeling anxious about the fact she hadn’t contacted them yet.

“I…” the man exhaled, gathering his thought. “Serena said she’ll be back, but she is absent longer than we anticipated.”

“Where is she?”

“She was out on a scouting mission. She ordered us to gather information with the locals while she scouts the surrounding canyons in search of our targets. She was supposed to check in every evening.”

“But she hadn’t?” Lindon’s eyes squinted in anger.

“We lost communication during the sandstorm.” Hunter saw no reason to withhold information.

Lindon looked away, falling into thought, and a few moments stayed silent, before saying:

“When was the last time you’ve received an update from her?”

“Six days ago. Just before the sandstorm hit. She reported she had found the main camp of our targets, but when she was about to send us the coordinates, the communication cut off.” Hunter gritted his teeth.

“Did Lyssa get her position?”

“Negative.” the AI replied. “Scanning was inconclusive due to the beginning sandstorm.”

“How inconclusive?” Lindon’s voice sounded harsh.

“When attempting to scan for her position, the electromagnetic interference in the atmosphere has made it impossible for my systems to locate her precise position. I have managed to calculate the approximate location where she could have been, however, there are hundreds of kilometres of sands all around with vast number of cave systems underground, and due to the remnant electromagnetic fields after the storm, I am unable to get a deep scan of that set of locations to find Serena.”

“What about the emergency beacon on her hover bike?”

“No signals have been sent, commander Lindon.” the AI replied.

The man took a few more seconds to think, then met Hunter’s gaze:

“Alright. Here’s what we’re going to do…” he saw Hunter’s eyes growing dark. “I have fifteen men at my disposal. We can leave Cipher and Pher here to keep an eye for Serena to return; meanwhile you and I will take our ships and scan the surrounding locations in search for her.”

“And what about your business?”

“Here’s the thing, Hunter… If my assumptions are correct, Serena may have been caught by the same person or persons who are killing all the Veluthians around these places.”

Hunter felt his face becoming pale:

“You think she could be dead?”

“I think that Serena is a much more dangerous opponent than those these people have encountered in the past. I do not doubt that even if she got caught in their sight, she may as well be hiding from sight just to get away from the pursuit.” Lindon suddenly stepped up and slapped Hunter on the shoulder. “Have a little faith in Serena. She’s not that easy to take down.”

“And the lack of communication?” Hunter felt anger taking over.

“This may be caused by her cutting the line in order for her not to be found.” Lindon glanced up. “Lyssa!”

“Yes, commander Lindon?” the AI replied.

“Arrange a secure line of communication between out three ships and all the crewmembers. Protocol Dead Silence. If we are to find Serena, we need to stay under the radar.”

“Yes, commander.”

Chapter 8. Sands

It was a strange sensation — sitting on a moving tank of a bug, which was extremely long, agile and quite fast. Serena wondered how Wolfin managed to tame such a beast, but kept silent, deep in her thoughts.

“There…” Wolfin pointed upward. “I found you right there.”

Serena glanced in the direction he was pointing and found the tangled roots, covered in thorns. Now her torn and bloodied clothes made much more sense. The centipede slowed down at the short tap on its chitin armour on her back and stopped right next to the place, where Serena was found hanging unconscious.

The woman jumped off the creature, walking up closer and taking a good look around, thinking how long of a fall she experiences that day. Realising that her hover bike was somewhere on the top of the tall cliffs, Serena grabbed her hair in frustration.

“Fuck!” she hissed, not knowing what to do.

She lowered her arms and thought for a few more moments, before walking up to the rocks, jumping and pulling herself up to the first of many jagged boulders protruding from the cliff wall.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Wolfin asked her.

Serena didn’t stop for a single moment, climbing up:

“I need to find my hover bike.”

“Get back here, you’ve barely recovered!”

“Oh, fuck off!” the woman hissed, already feeling her body beginning to ache, but continuing her way up.

“Serena!”

This time she didn’t answer, forcing through and just reaching up and pulling herself to the next rock. Ignoring the aching and the trembling in her body, she managed to get quite high up before feeling her fingers slowly starting to slip, losing grip.

“Shit!” she growled, looking for a bit of a shelf to climb to and have some rest.

She heard the clattering and rumble somewhere near and closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to the stone wall.

“Scorpi!” Wolfin’s voice sounded right beside her.

She looked to that side and saw the man grasping at the spikes on Dalilah’s spine, while the beast stood on the wall, as if it was used to climbing such steep cliffs.

“Serena, please!” Wolfin reached his hand out to her, offering her to grab hold of it.

The woman looked up — the edge of the cliff almost as far from her, as when she began her ascend — and felt her resolve leaving her.

“I know you can do it!” Wolfin said, his voice ringing. “You’re strong and stubborn! You can climb anything! But right now, I am offering you to spare yourself the trouble and the time of climbing this cliff on your own. Come on, give me your hand and we’ll go and find your bike together.”

Serena took a look down and felt her head spinning — she managed to get quite a ways away from the ground.

“Fuck…” she looked to the hand Wolfin was offering her, and understood that he was right.

Gritting her teeth, the woman took her left palm off the rocks and reached out, but as she shifted her weight, something under her feet cracked and she slipped down. If it weren’t for the quick reaction of Wolfin and his ride, she could have easily fallen from the cliff once again. The moment she started falling, the man caught her wrist and Dalilah clattered with her mandibles, beginning to climb once more, finding the tiniest footholds for the hundreds of legs this beast had.

Wolfin pulled Serena up behind him, not letting go of her hand, even though she caught herself on the back of his centipede. The woman watched the rocks and roots flying by — the creature Wolfin tamed was almost as fast on the vertical surface as it was on horizontal. Very soon Dalilah screeched quietly, twisting over the top of the cliff and finally coming to a stop.

Serena felt Wolfin letting go of her wrist, but curled up, pressing her forehead to the hard and thick chitin hide of the centipede.

“Serena?” Wolfin jumped off and touched the woman’s back.

“I’m fine.” she pushed out of herself, trying her best to sound calm and confident. “Give me a moment.”

She wasn’t fine. In fact, her knee was hurting so badly that she was about to allow herself a groan. And her sides burned as well, depriving her of a deep breath. Serena never asked Wolfin what kind of injuries she suffered. She couldn’t know which ones she still had. All she knew was that she wanted to contact Hunter and tell him she was still alive.

Serena knew that she was very close to losing consciousness — she registered all the signs of it washing onto her. That’s why she needed the time to regain composure before stepping off Dalilah’s back.

A few long moments it seemed like the darkness before her eyes began fading, but as soon as the woman opened her eyes and tried pushing herself up, her body denied her the necessary strength to step off the beast, and Serena slowly slid off, succumbing to the pain and the dark.

Wolfin watched this with a deep sadness in his black eyes. Frustrated by the stubborn woman, but understanding her will to get back to her team, the man kneeled next to her and laid her down, allowing her to breathe without straining or inhaling the sand. He took out the syringe and loaded a new doze of the painkillers Serena had with her, administering the drug to her thigh.

“Dalilah!” the man called the beast and it whipped its head around to look at him. “Take a look around, will you, girl?”