Page 56 of Salvation
Chapter Eighteen
“There it is.”
Nick looked up at Dante’s shout, just loud enough to be heard over the rising wind. His gaze tracked the direction Dante’s finger pointed. The outline of a small cube shelter was barely visible through the whirls of snow. How in the hell had they not walked right past it?
Priority one, get inside and out of the storm. If they were really lucky, the place would still be stocked with blankets and alutep—a Matiran solar-charged light and heating unit.
“It appears the ID reader has been disabled,” Dante said.
“How do we get in?”
Dante raised his brows and gave him a look that said “are you kidding me?” in at least twelve-thousand galactic languages, then he pushed on the door with one hand. It swung open.
“They’re left accessible to anyone who might be stranded,” Dante said with a dry tone.
Huh. “Hope we don’t find a drug cartel inside.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind.”
Nick stepped into the hut behind Dante and closed the door. In the dim greyness, he could hear Dante shuffling, then a click and soft hiss like a sigh.
“Over here, Nick. There should be alutepsomewhere in the supply cabinet.”
“Sure.” He yanked the glove he wore off and reached into the cabinet. After a few moments, his hand connected with something hard, long, and narrow. “I think I’ve got one…yup. Hold on, I’ll get started.” Unless it was dead. These things ran on solar power, but God knew how long it’d been since this one had seen the sun.
He sat back on his heels, his fingers fumbling across the surface of the unit until they encountered a slight impression. He gave it a push and the device emitted a low hum as warmth seeped into his fingertips. A soft, natural glow pulsed until it became a steady light.
“Jackpot.”
“Good thing they don’t lose their charge in storage,” Dante said, peering back into the cabinet. “Sadly, that appears to be the only one. Set it to the lowest power. We can use the blankets in here to keep warm. Once we’re set up, we can turn it off to conserve the charge.”
“Don’t these things last three days?”
“They do, but we have no idea how long we will be stranded here.”
Good point. He set thelutepon the floor, then ran his fingers over the grainy, dark surface. “Dirt floors, Dante?”
“This was built to meet basic survival needs for military operations, not be a luxurious holiday getaway for the family.”
Something soft hit Nick square in the face and he jerked to catch the blanket before it hit the ground. “Mmph. Thanks, old pal.”
Dante chuckled and reached back into the cabinet. “We can layer them und….” The healer’s body went rigid. With a distressed cry, he grasped his head between his hands and sank to his knees.
“Oh, shit, not now.” Nick scrambled to catch Dante before he could pitch forward and hit his face against the cabinet.
The sound of suffering filled the small space as Nick lowered his friend’s arching body to the ground. Not good, not good, so not good. “It’ll get better, Dante. The pain won’t go away completely, but it won’t be so bad in a little while. Just stay with me, man.”
Then it would come back again and again, in agonizing waves, each one a little stronger and more insidious than the one before. Damn and fuck. Could he heal Dante alone, without Saku? Probably not. Even as strong as his Gift was, the amount of power required to neutralize this thing was way beyond his sole capabilities. But, he needed to do something. His gaze landed on the blanket. First order of business, keep Dante as warm and comfortable as possible.
He reached into the cabinet, sank his fingers into the pile of thick blankets, and hauled out as many as he could. Six total. Three layers should be enough under them. That’d leave three to cover them, and he could put thelutepunder with them to keep it warm.
Dante moaned again, then rolled into a fetal position.
“I’m working as fast as I can,ades.” For all it was worth. Minimum incubation time for the illness was four and half days, but Dante had only been infected two hours ago. Was it his smaller body stature that made the contaminant active so much sooner? And—oh, shit—what ifhewas infected too? That would be the worst case scenario. He had to get them set up and comfortable quickly, just in case.
Five minutes later, Nick had all the blankets arranged, three to sit on, two to cover them, and one to wrap over his shoulders. Thelutep, a crate of water packets, and field ration bars positioned within easy reach. There was nothing more he could do. Moving Dante would be a challenge, especially since he seemed to be unconscious now. At six foot four, Dante was nowhere near as tall as an Anferthian, at least none Nick had ever met, but the master healer was still a solid three inches taller than him.
