Page 7 of 3 Secrets to Love
The racer pointed at my uniform. “Looks like you got shot, too.”
“I did but that doesn’t matter. I’m fine.” With the cramp mostly gone, I limped faster to catch up with Phalon, but the racer grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going to catch up to them now.”
Phalon came up behind me and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Nate.”
The racer nodded. “Phalon. Seems you’ve got a situation on your hands. I can lend you our SDF-16 to go after them.”
Phalon scoffed, a reaction I understood since I could feel the tension between them. “You trust me to fly it?”
“I trust your determination to find those kids.” He slapped Phalon’s arm. “Now, get in here and suit up. I’ll get it ready for you.”
In a matter of moments, Phalon added a harness and other safety gear to his flight suit and tossed a similar outfit at me.
“Um, I don’t know how to fly.” I would be a hindrance to him with absolutely no experience in the sky except when someone else piloted the spacecraft and I was a passenger.
“You don’t need to fly, but I want you with me.” He held out the suit then the harnesses for me to step into. “You know these kids better than me.”
My stomach fluttered at the idea of him wanting me with him. I barely knew the kids, but they were my responsibility as far as I knew without any of their real guards around. Yet, I had a feeling that wasn’t what he’d meant by the words.
“It’s ready and I found the ship on the radar. I’ll let the authorities know where they’ve headed after you’ve left.” Nate handed Phalon a fob. “Treat it well or you owe us a new one.”
“Thanks.” Phalon slapped Nate’s back before helping me climb into the large jet. He buckled me in, making sure the straps were super tight before pushing the snug-fitting helmet over my head. It was all so constricting, almost too much, especially around my legs, and not an outfit I’d ever had to wear on any previous flights.
I didn’t have time to think about it too much, Phalon already steering the jet out of the hangar and taxiing on the same course as the ship we needed to pursue. We gained speed quickly then took off into the sky. I’d never traveled so fast in my life. If I hadn’t been so tightly strapped in—the harness restricting circulation to my lower extremities to keep my blood in my head—I would have been sucked back into the seat. Orpassed out. We climbed and climbed until we broke through the atmosphere, my ears popping several times with the change.
As we transitioned into outer space, speed occurred differently. The shift happened with every space flight but seemed more drastic in this jet. Probably because we traveled faster than I ever had on any commercial flight. Plus, I could see in many more directions.
Space was so dark around us. Faraway stars twinkled in the distance, and some closer planets danced in the light from their suns. But we headed away from Loso One, Eurebly’s sun. According to the navigation screen, we headed into Quadrant Two, where I’d originally met the children.
I doubted the kidnappers would head back to Jenegath, but I had no idea where they would flee to. With so much secrecy around the assignment, I didn’t even have a clue as to why anyone would abduct them.
“Rennir,” I heard Phalon say over the two-way comm built into our helmets. “They’re heading to Rennir. It’s the closest planet.”
My stomach clenched, thinking about the fake guards taking children to a tourist planet where beings from across the quadrants went to hook up. “Hurry, please.”
Phalon adjusted the controls, racing the jet so fast, I had even more pressure pushing me back into my seat. My chest ached and I struggled to breathe, though it did not seem we traveled any faster.
When we landed in Temek, the capital city of Rennir, I couldn’t leave the jet right away. It felt like I had worms in my veins as I waited for blood circulation to return to my legs. Eventually, we did find the ship the abductors had used, but they left nothing behind, no indication of where on the planet they’d headed.
I checked my P-comm, finding an abundance of messages. Most of them told me to stay on Eurebly. Too late for that. I sent a private message to my supervisor, telling them to alert the authorities on Rennir. There was also a missed call from my sister, but I didn’t want to call her back until the children were found. She would make me panic about the situation more than I already was.
“Quick!” After we ditched all our equipment but our flight suits, Phalon grabbed my hand and tugged. “The next hoverbus is about to leave. Let’s hop on and search for them in the city.”
I followed behind him yet chastised myself during the bus ride for not remaining at the spaceport. I had no idea how we could save those kids. We had no weapons to protect ourselves from their captors, and without any defensive training, my size wouldn’t help me stand up against them.
“Let’s get off here.” Phalon stepped out of the bus before I realized he had moved. “I have a feeling about the club up ahead.”
A feeling?That was all he was going on? I doubted his instincts but still rushed to keep up so I didn’t get left behind or caught in the crossfire if he did find them. “The authorities have been notified. Shouldn’t we leave this up to them to get the kids back?”
Phalon shoved open the door into the club. “By the time anyone gets here, they could be gone already. We need to get inside, figure out where they are, and stop them from leaving again.”
“And how do we do that?” I raised my arms. “No weapons. I can’t stop them.”
“You focus on the kids and leave everyone else to me.”
I loved his confidence but wished I shared even a small measure of it.
