“I’m sorry,” I bark out. “Find somewhere to hide.”
“Wait! Hadrian, no!”
With gritted teeth, I saw through our rope that connects us with my magknife and she freefalls just as Big Bird snaps its jaws in the air she was just hanging. It has to fly hard to the right to avoid colliding with the rocks. While it circles, I smash and kick a few more armworms before peeking down to look for Lyric.
She’s sprawled out on the flatest rock below, unmoving.
Rekk!
It didn’t seem that far of a drop and the rock I wanted her to land on seemed the safest, but perhaps I misjudged it. Big Bird swoops again and I have a choice to stand my ground or roll around with hungry armworms. I’ll take my chances with the thing.
As it nears, I raise my magknife, shoving it into its underbelly. It screeches and its clawed foot grabs onto my pack on my back. I’m too heavy for Big Bird to carry, but that doesn’t stop it from dragging me to the edge.
“No!”
The giant thing flaps its wings hard the moment my feet hit air. It can’t handle my weight, especially being injured. We fall fast down toward Lyric, the hard flapping of the wings the only thing keeping us from crashing into her. It’s not a long fall, but if we land on her, we could seriously hurt her. Swinging my arm up, I stab the side of the creature, burying my magknife to the hilt, and then jerk on it. We flip, just as we hit the rocks a mere arm’s length away from her. A sickening crunch can be heard as the creature’s bones snap from the impact combined with my weight.
“Lyric,” I grunt, rolling away from Big Bird and shuffling over to her.
Her eyes are closed.
“Lyric, please talk to me,” I beg, cradling her helmet in my hands to look at her closely. It’s then I see the crack in the glass.
Panic seizes me. She absolutely cannot be exposed to the air. I haven’t tested the R-levels and if anything happens to her…
That train of thought is a dark one. One I cannot go down. Not when her life is in peril. Quickly, I pull out a roll of sealtape and rip off a giant strip. I smack it down over the crack, sealing it off. I crane my neck and look around for some sort of shelter.
It’ll take some work, but if I can climb up a little there seems to be an unnatural ledge. A shadow darkens the area above that. I won’t know for sure until I get up there. Lyric is still quiet and unmoving. She’s light, so I easily pull her onto my back, holding on to her arms around my neck. With my pack on my back, the bulk of her weight rests on that.
Now.
To climb.
I survey the side of the rock wall and note any places I could use to be a foothold. Once I figure out my path, I move quickly. I’m focused and my veins are buzzing with the desire to protect what’s mine.
Mine?
She’s family.
Anyone Aria cares about makes them important to me.
“We’re almost there,” I rumble. “Stay with me. I’m going to take care of you.”
I’m not sure if she’s able to hear me, but I say it anyway. To comfort us both. I need for her to be okay. As soon as I crawl onto the ledge and see a door, I let out a whistle.
“As Molly would say”—I grunt, rising to my feet—“blingo.”
“Bingo, monster man.”
My heart races in my chest at hearing her voice. “Close enough.”
Her chuckle is soft. “What is this place? You think it’s connected to the prison? I haven’t seen it on the maps.”
“It’s our home for now.”
I jam my magknife into the side near the door handle and use my strength to break through the lock. It pops open without any more trouble. I swing open the door and then step inside. We’re in a decontamination bay.
“Are you okay to stand?” I ask as I start mashing buttons, bringing the panels to life.
“I think so. I’m dizzy, though.”
Carefully, I set her to her feet and turn her so I can look at her. With my arms around her, I hold on to her as the machine begins cleansing us. For several long moments, I can’t look away from her. The black sealtape makes it so I can only see one of her eyes. Droopy. Unfocused. Watery.
“Hey,” I rumble, resting my mask against hers. “I have you. Big Bird is dead.”
Her lips twitch with a smile. “What was that thing?”
“I have never seen one.”
“Back home, Big Bird is a big yellow bird that talks.”
I frown. “Do you have anything back home that’s yellow, scaly, and has a mouth full of teeth? What do you call those?”