Page 77 of Stars in Halo

She was hit with guilt for putting him in this position, and a desire for redemption coursed through her veins, driving her forward.

At the crest of a jagged hill, Xion faltered, coming down to his knees.

Katya made him sip some water and let him rest, her eyes scanning the desolate landscape for any sign of pursuit. The only sound was the howling wind, carrying with it a chill that seeped into their bones. However, in the far distance, she spotted lights bobbing their way.

‘We need to keep moving,’ she murmured. ‘We can’t stay out in the open like this.’

Xion didn’t reply.

She glanced with concern at him. He’d stumbled a few times during the three hours they had been moving like a broken marionette tripping over his feet until she had to keep her hand banded tight around his waist.

Yet, when he found his wind in short bursts, he moved fast for an injured man.

But now his eyes were dead, his face stricken, hollow, and she realised he couldn’t go on much longer.

However, dawn would soon be breaking over the horizon.

If they didn’t reach the Tachy by sunrise, they’d need to remain undercover to avoid detection if there was any pursuit and wait for the next nightfall to move again.

With a deep breath, she drew in all her strength and rushed them along.

It’d been hours of stumbling in the dark, hiding from the laser guns and drones glowing behind them and closing distance.

Xion fought back the shock and the sensation of his entire body falling apart. The bottom dropped out of his stomach, and his lungs seized, unable to pump air with any efficacy.

He was aware of pain, a great, clawing agony in his muscles. It felt like his body had been flayed within an inch of life.

‘Twas the truth, for he’d been drained of most of his metanoids.

He sensed them regenerating somewhere in the back of his mind, but getting back to full capacity would take hours, if not days.

He shivered as the woman beside him pulled him up the steep volcano.

‘Xion, we need to make it to the next hill. That’s where the Tachy will land once this infernal storm ends.’

If the tempest didn’t abate over the shattered skies, their pursuers would catch up, and they’d be worse off. He was clued on this; she was too.

‘I won’t let anything happen to us,’ she growled with fierceness as if reading his mind. He huffed, his respect for her growing.

Without warning, a silhouette materialised a few metres ahead, ghosting from over the range.

It was a weaponised drone, its lights pulsing and circling, searching for them.

Xion gave Katya a silent tug of her arm.

She ducked them both under the rock and peeked over the outcrop.

The drone hovered like a monstrous metal insect, its sleek body gleaming in the fading light. Armed to the teeth with deadly lasers and missiles, its presence was like a death knell, a harbinger of doom and destruction.

Its cameras whirred, radiating with malevolent energy.

It wasn’t going anywhere fast.

She unclipped her laser pistol from her hip, aimed it at the bogey and fired.

The shot missed, and she cursed.

It whirled around and whizzed towards them, flashing with red strobes from its targeting system.

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