Page 44 of The Stolen Tribute
The other capsules and drawers were mostly empty, but I gathered what I scrounged up and pushed it into a bag that I’d found in one of the sleeping capsules. I kept one blaster in my hand and stuck the second through my belt.
“Ok, time to get in on the action,” I said. I took a deep breath.
For a moment, I could have almost tricked myself into thinking this was a video game, but the cold metal blaster in my hand kept me grounded to reality.
I faced the two corridors, both leading towards the back of the ship. Now, which way did I go?
A crashing sound from the left answered my silent question. Shouts and bangs were echoing up from the rear of the ship.
Holding my laser gun tightly, I began to edge closer to the noise.
The alarm suddenly cut out so abruptly that I had forgotten about the blaring sound until it was gone. Lights flickered and dimmed before coming back on full-force. Whatever was going on, it seemed to be affecting the ship’s power grid.
“Dal!” A voice shouted.
My heart leaped up into my throat. That was Jaxir’s voice, which meant he was alive.
If I had the chance, I might have broken down and cried, but now was not the time. I quickened my pace, holding the laser blaster ready.
The corridor opened up into a large chamber with industrial-looking finishes. I caught a glimpse of a label above the doorway, written in English and Zexian,CENTRAL POWER CORE – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
I peeked around the corner of the doorway, trying to get a better look.
The room was giant, with a metal catwalk around the wall that went up in a spiral. The room took up 3 stories, leading down to the lower decks. At the center was a giant cylinder of glass that enclosed what I could only guess was the ship’s power core. It looked like something right out of a sci-fi movie.
The lights flickered again, and more shouts rose up from the bottom of the room.
I crept to the edge of the catwalk, looking all way down.
From my position, I could see Dal and Jaxir.
They were fighting like wild animals, throwing punches and shouting at each other in their own language. They were evenly matched, striking blow for blow without hesitation. Black blood dripped from their wounds.
I gasped, inching back from the edge.
“Ok, Kylie,” I said to myself. “This is it, I have to help Jaxir before it’s too late.”
The problem was that I didn’t have a clue about how I could help. The blaster in my hand wasn’t powerful enough to get a kill shot from where I was, and I didn’t have enough faith in my aim not to accidentally hurt Jaxir.
With my back to the wall, I slowly began to move down the stairs. The steps were built into the wall, leading down to the bottom in a spiral. There was energy in the air, I could feel it in my body, and my hair rose up with static.
I kept to the shadows, moving down slowly and watching them fight. There would be no clear winner; at this rate, the aliens would fight until they collapsed.
I was close enough now. I raised the laser blaster and looked down the sight, doing my best to keep my hand steady. I could hit Dal right in the back and save Jaxir from any more pain.
With my finger on the trigger, I let out a long breath and clenched my jaw. “Please let this work,” I whispered to myself.
