Mortarekker!
Each corridor looks the same. If I choose the wrong one, I’ll waste precious time. Think. I close my eyes and inhale, hoping to catch a whiff of her scent through my mask. Nothing. I know she came this way. I can practically feel the energy my bright star has left in her wake.
“Which way did they go?” Julie asks upon reaching me.
I start pacing. “I don’t rekking know. We can split up…” My words trail off when I see something glinting in the dim light. Walking over to it, I bend and pick up a zuta-metal knob I’ve seen on Willow’s clothes.
“This way,” I hiss.
As we take off, I can’t help but wonder if she left this for me, knowing I would find it. When we come across another one, I know she did. My brave, intelligent mate. I’m proud she’s mine. I just need to get her back.
Eventually, we come to a large room with many vehicles inside. One seems to be missing in the formation, which means they left. I hit the panel to open the large door as Julie rushes over to one of the vehicles.
“We can take this,” she tells me. “I’ve driven these on Earth II.”
As she and Edith climb in, I step outside to see if I can pinpoint where they’ve gone. Something loud overhead rumbles as it lowers to the clearing in front of me.
The Mayvina.
I’m so rekking relieved that I don’t even cringe to see Hadrian in my seat with Lyric in the co-pilot’s chair. If I can get in the air, I can find her. I’ll locate their trail from where I’m familiar. Up above.
The side door opens, and I charge toward it just as Julie and Edith zoom out of the bay with their vehicle.
“You be our eyes down here,” I bark out to Julie. “I’m going up.”
She gives me both her thumbs in some sort of gesture of agreement before sending gravel flying as she takes off. I climb onto my metal female and slam the button to close the door.
“Hold on tight,” Hadrian barks.
I grab a bar as he pulls back on the throttle, shooting us straight up into the air. The ship rocks violently from side to side and I growl.
“Out of my seat, mortling!”
By the time I’ve made it to my chair, he’s moved behind Lyric and is holding on to her seat. I sit down and then start cruising, my eyes scanning the terrain below looking for clues. A cloud of red dust flies up as Julie and Edith drive toward the direction I want to go. It’s windy out today due to an incoming geostorm, so the tracks have been dusted over. I’m flying on instinct.
I fly low and fast between a long crevasse in the mountain, looking for any hidden passageways or vehicles. We’ve long passed Julie and Edith. When I get to the end of the crevasse and don’t find them, I pull back and dart us up above the mountains again.
A large mountain captures my attention. It reminds me of the one Exilium or The Facility are in. Big enough to hold something important, and strong enough to fortify it. I veer over to it. I’m just rounding one side of the monstrosity when I see black smoke.
“Blingo!” Hadrian calls out, pointing.
He and Lyric argue about his improper use of the word while I whip us around the mountain. A vehicle has crashed and it’s smoking. I drop us down beside it before pointing at Lyric.
“Watch my ship,” I bark out, and then to Hadrian, I say, “Let’s go!”
He’s already stalking with me toward the exit, both of us geared up and holding our zonnoblasters. Each breath feels like an eternity, but we eventually make our way out. The wind blows hard, nearly knocking me over.
“Inside,” I tell him through my mask comms. “There’s a door.”
I hastily make my way through the door, on a mission to find my mate. This Kevin will regret ever even looking at her, much less taking her. I will shred his skin from his body and personally feed him to armworms.
“It’s dark and quiet,” Hadrian murmurs. “Where do you think they went?”
A stack of unfamiliar items has been knocked over into the floor. They must have come this way. Willow is still trying to lead me to her. Smart mate.
I gesture with my nog for Hadrian to follow me and hold up a finger to indicate he should be quiet. We creep through another door and up a flight of stairs. Inside a new room, we discover more turned over items.
This is all alien to me.
Earth II built this place or at least commandeered it.
The thought of a room full of Kevins carrying in supplies and weapons makes my sub-bones pop. I’ll send every last one of them to The Eternals. Hadrian will help me, too.