Page 37 of Dark's Savior

Braxin frowned, rubbing at his chin. "Really?"

"Really," Aly said. "I got lost in the dark. I hid from the eyeless creatures, then I continued on until I found the elevator. That's it."

Braxin still didn't seem totally convinced, but he let it go. "Return to your unit for the day. Consider yourself very lucky this time, Smith." He pointed a finger at her. "You won't be reprimanded or tried unless they find evidence that your story doesn't add up, so I would be very careful if I were you. Because if they do find that you are lying, you will be punished severely."

Aly rose from her seat. "Well, then it’s a good thing I have nothing to worry about." She turned from him and made for the door, her heart pounding wildly as she could feel his eyes burning into her back. She left his work unit without saying goodbye and slowly let out the breath she had been holding as she walked past the open room full of crates and out into the passageway.

"There you are, Aly!"

Aly turned just in time to see Mark rushing down the opposite end. Behind him were Kate and Julian, followed by Cilia and Jamie. Mark hugged her unexpectedly. Surprised, Aly returned it. As he released her, Julian gripped her shoulder firmly with his large hand.

"You all right?" he asked, forcing her to look straight at him.

Aly smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened?" Kate asked from beside Julian. Before Aly could answer, Kate also hugged her unexpectedly. "My god, all we heard was that you went missing. And then they told us not even a couple hours ago that you were dead. It was horrible."

"We were just planning a memorial for you and everything," Mark commented.

Ethan and Davis caught up just then and gave Aly a casual wave, which she returned.

"My techband fell off and I got lost," Aly replied to Kate. She gave them a quick rundown of everything she had just told the enforcers, leaving out minor details.

"Little miss sunshine got lost in the dark." Ethan shook his head. "And still came out unscathed. Maybe I need to stick near you more often, with all that luck you’re hoarding."

Aly smiled. If only they knew.

"You are one brave, girl," Cilia said, patting her not so softly on the back. "Even I don't think I could have kept it together down there."

"It was pretty terrifying at first," Aly said honestly.

"What was it like?" Davis asked.

"Let's not force her to relive it," Julian replied.

"It was just...really dark," Aly said.

"So, you didn't, like, find anything interesting down there or anything?" Davis asked.

For once, Aly had to steady herself before answering. "No...nothing, really." She shifted her eyes away from theirs. "Just some strange rocks."

"So, no sign of Hades or his three-headed dog?" Ethan joked.

Aly smirked. "No."

"What about that nillium? The one they keep warning us about? That was his turf, right?"

Aly shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she let out a little laugh in hopes it would hide her wavering voice. "No. No sign of him. Just a bunch of rocks."

A few looked a little disappointed.

"Jeeze, they all hype up that place for nothing. What a joke," Ethan said. "They probably just don't want anyone wandering around for no good reason. Maybe the nillium isn't even real, just some made up boogey-man."

'Oh, he's real all right,' Aly thought to herself. 'And he is one stubborn jerk.'

Julian wrapped an arm across Aly's shoulders and brought her close. "Let's get out of here, eh? How about come back to mine and Kate's unit, and we will make some dinner to celebrate? It'll be a tight fit, but we will manage."

The others agreed and so did Aly, feeling suddenly happy to be back with her team. Even though she was still disappointed by Ryziel's rejection (and starting to feel the creep of guilt at having to keep the ship a secret from them), she was thankful to have her team no longer worried for her. To see them actually glad to have her back.

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