Page 7 of Sohut's Protection

Just one more jol—.

She’d been waiting for it, but it was still unexpected.

—The sudden feeling of being off-kilter.

—The cage tilting past its center of gravity.

A yelp lodged in her throat as the cage tumbled from the cart and crashed into the ground below.

The pain was immediate as she landed on her shoulder, and she grit her teeth to stop from screaming.

Luck must have been on her side because the cage was rolling. Where she’d fallen off the cart was sloped ground and the metal contraption tumbled into the bushes.

She was vaguely aware of being thrown all around and not knowing which side was up or down. Her head banged against the bars and the sharp piece of metal she was holding dug into her palm.

Dizziness overtook her before the cage crashed into the side of a tree.

There was a searing pain in her head and her knee, and Cleo groaned as she tried to get her bearings.

The world felt upside down, as if gravity was not the right way around, and she soon realized why when the smell of soil drifted into her nose. Her head was against the bars now pressing into the soil and her hair was over her face, obstructing her view.

The soil had a strange metallic smell, not like the dirt on Earth, and it helped make her focus.

Still, it took her a few moments to realize her plan had worked.

Fuck, it’d worked!

A shout somewhere in the distance, no doubt from one of the green aliens, had her jerking into action.

The bars.

She had to force the bars free.

With the piece of metal in her hand, Cleo spun onto her back, her gaze moving over the bars at the top to spot one of the slackened bolts she’d seen earlier.

All she had to do was lodge the sharp metal she’d found between the bolt and the metal bar and hope to God phase two of her plan worked.

She could hear the aliens somewhere in the jungle arguing stupidly with each other, in no haste to chase after her.

Their mistake.

She’d be gone before they found her.

She only had to break free now.

As soon as she managed to lodge the metal between the bolt, she braced her legs against the bars at the top of the cage.

Straining, she pushed as hard as she could, willing the cage to budge even a little.

Her leg muscles protested with the effort, but the bars didn’t even shift.

Goddamnit.

She couldn’t fail now. Not this close to freedom.

Pushing harder, she willed all her strength into her legs as she applied more force to the bars. Her back was pressing into the bars below her, her spine against one of the bars themselves, and it felt as if she was going to cripple herself.

But she couldn’t give up.

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