Page 68 of Cozy Prisons
“Where are you going?” Palathum shouted as her figure blurred past Nataly’s vision. Damn, Daxus was moving fast!
“Hale!” Nataly yelled. She wanted to explain more, but didn’t have the breath. Daxus’s hold was tight, and the angle he was holding her was severely uncomfortable on her belly. It was a relief when Daxus stopped running and set her down. She bit back the bile gurgling up in her throat from being jostled around.
While she regained control of herself, Daxus went into the multi-room domicile Hale was assigned. If more humans arrived, some of them probably would’ve needed to share the home, but until then, Hale had it all to themselves.
“They’re not here,” Daxus said, joining her outside. “I tried to ping their location but got nothing but indications that they were still inside the domicile.”
“If Hale didn’t take a collar or information square with them, we won’t be able to locate them,” Nataly said, fear growing inside her.
The ground shook again, this time violently enough to shift the furniture inside Hale’s home.
“We are leaving,” Daxus said, moving to pick her up. “Hale’s probably already joined everyone else.”
“They haven’t,” Nataly said, stepping away from Daxus and trying to interpret the impulses coming at her. Part of her wanted to run, but the other part was pushing her to….
“They’re hurt!” Nataly declared, knowing where to go now. She ran, Daxus right on her heels.
“Where?” Daxus asked.
Nataly didn’t answer, partially because she had to focus on breathing and also because she wasn't sure. She was following her instincts. If she felt the pull, she continued. If the pull weakened, she changed direction.
Soon, they rounded the last domicile on the west side of the village. Nataly stopped, panting, and looking around. This was where she was supposed to be, but where was Hale?
“There!” Daxus said and grabbed her hand to lead her into the darkness. Talins had much better night vision than humans, so she didn’t see the crumpled form until they were almost on top of them.
Hale lay unconscious with blood on the side of their head. The ground around them was uneven and wrinkled, and there was even some fresh water seeping out of the ground. Hale’s head was next to a large rock, and Nataly guessed one of the earthquakes had tripped them to the ground and knocked them out.
“Wha…?” Hale came around as Daxus lifted them. They went from confused to punching in only a second. “Get off me!”
“Something bad is happening,” Nataly snapped. She didn’t have time for Hale’s attitude, even if it wasn’t their fault for getting knocked out.
Hale focused their attention on her, holding one hand to their bleeding head. “I think I fell.”
Nataly bit back a retort. “You did. Can you walk, or do you need Daxus to carry you? We need to leave in a hurry, so speak up!”
Suddenly, Utharium was there. “No time to discuss!" the warrior said, not even breaking stride as he grabbed Hale. “The center of the village is sinking!”
Another earthquake made him falter for a single stride, but then he was back to running full out. Daxus acted withoutanother word. He grabbed her and followed Utharium. The shortest route to the area she’d deemed safe was right through the center of the village.
Unlike Hale, who was bouncing on Utharium’s shoulder, Daxus was carrying her cradled against his chest so she could see what was ahead. Illuminated by the buildings around it, she could clearly see a widening crack almost perfectly bisecting the village.
No sooner had Utharium jumped over it than the earth shrieked around them and shook badly enough to knock both warriors off their feet.
Nataly watched with horror as the crack turned into a dark void that kept getting wider and closer! A giant earth-moving bot fell into it as the edges moved further apart.
“I can’t jump that,” Daxus said, getting back on his feet with her still held securely in his arms. He’d used his own body to shield her from hitting the hard ground.
“Go that way!” Nataly said, pointing in another direction. He didn’t argue but turned and sprinted away. The earth groaned, then screamed, and shook again, but this time Daxus kept his balance and barely changed his stride.
Looking over his shoulder, she saw Utharium disappearing down the road leading to the landing pad and the safety of the pond behind. She felt better knowing everyone made it out. Now she could focus on getting herself and Daxus safe.
The sound of the earth shaking and shifting made it impossible to be heard, so she kept pointing. Daxus didn’t question her directions, and in an amazingly short period, they hit the grass valley they’d been hiking toward when they saw the little, fuzzy baby dorungs.
She could feel the worst was about to happen, and they were in a good place. She shifted in his grip to look up at him.
“Stop here!” she screamed, unsure if he could hear her. When he didn’t slow, she realized she needed to do something more. She grabbed his head and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Stop!”
He stopped abruptly and dropped to his knees.
