An Opened Door

I watched the stage fire burning in the corner as the embers licked the air. I waited for my chest to stop aching, for each breath to stop feeling like a stab between the ribs.

It felt like I could almost fall asleep if it weren't for the pain. I wasn't sure if my ribs were broken or just bruised, but each inhale and exhale made me wish I was unconscious.

A thick pair of legs blocked my line of sight and I was suddenly pulled up by a hand around my bicep. I grunted and winced, but managed to move my legs under me and stand.

Staggered but upright, I pressed my arm against my abdomen, at the bottom of my ribs to try and support them. Standing actually felt a little bit better, without the added pressure of being prone on my side.

Still, I was taking shallow, quick breaths. I glanced up at Wolf and found him watching me with his head tilted.

Trying not to look like a big wuss, I straightened my back out a little more and motioned toward the Queen's decapitated body.

"Good—kill," I said around one quick cough that almost had me doubling over out of agony.

He took one last look at the dead Queen, then turned to me and set his hand on my shoulder, shaking it with some vigor. My brain knocked around in my head a bit.

When I pulled through the chest pains, I glowered and stood on my toes to shove him back. For some reason, he seemed satisfied with that and motioned toward Checker's corpse near a wall.

"Good kill," he repeated, though it took me a moment to realize that was what he'd said.

In his own voice.

It was rough and gravely like the words were hard on his throat, and the mask muffled the sound, but I was certain I wasn't mistaken.

Taken by surprise, I stared at him unabashed, my mouth agape. "You can . . . can you speak English?" I asked, dumbfounded.

However, he shook his head in answer.

Ah. He was parroting me. He could understand, but it was evident he wasn't accustomed to speaking it. All he was doing was making an effort to connect with me; much like when he'd given me that awful token with the chestburster skull.

Stupid thing was still around my neck, unperturbed by all the fighting.

"Oh, right. Well, thanks," I muttered.

My once-green jacket was now a muddled black-brown-red, and I had to keep adjusting the shoulder to keep the fabric on.

Nodding, he turned to his wrist com and punched in a few notes. A display popped up that I couldn't hope to understand.

Looking around, I asked, "Where's Brutus?"

He switched his gaze away from his computer to me and clicked at me, his head tilted.

"Um," I grimaced and tried to explain, "the other guy, the other you."

Wolf rotated his arm to block the blazing scout ship and scanned the area. A loud creaking sound startled me, but there was no danger. I figured it was the ship settling.

Although, it was followed by some foreboding rumbling in the distance.

Soon after, Wolf pointed and I followed the gesture to see the wide form of Brutus across the room, crouched and shaking his head.

/Oh good. He's alive. I guess./

Well, Wolf was probably glad his friend was alive, and that was good enough for me. He didn't seem concerned about him, though.

As soon as I acknowledged that Brutus was there, Wolf started walking toward Checkers.

"What's the plan now?" I asked, limping along after him, barely in one piece. "We killed her, so it's done, yeah?"

Before I could even finish speaking, the ship groaned and then vibrated beneath our feet. I came to an abrupt halt and looked around frantically; the phenomenon had even brought Wolf to pause and he inclined his head toward the ceiling.

Though it had only lasted a second or two, I still held my free hand out for balance for a while longer. It hadn't been particularly violent, but the ship moving had still startled me.

When I trusted my voice again, I asked, "What the hell was that?"

Rattling in thought, Wolf waited for the ship to do something again. After a moment of nothing, he turned to address Brutus, who had finally deigned to join us.

They started to discuss something between themselves, which seemed to have something to do with me and the dead Checkers if I was following their subtle glances.

However much it disgruntled that I was being spoken about as if I wasn't there, I had no hope of following their language. I stood there with a stupid expression on my face. Waiting.

"Wolf!" I whined when the ship shook once more.

Brutus snorted and shot me a withering look before complaining to my escort. If Wolf said anything back, though, I didn't hear it. Instead, he pointed at Checkers and then strode swiftly to the Queen's head and retrieved his wrist blades, popping them back into the gauntlet.

I had thought they'd been broken off, but maybe they'd been pulled out, instead.

Whatever he'd asked Brutus to do with Checkers' body, though, the big guy didn't seem interested and stood there, shoulders squared in defiance.

Wolf berated him and I was just getting tired of being ignored, especially since the ship was continuing to shake.

"Someone please tell me what the fuck is going on," I demanded, holding my arms out at my sides to keep my balance as the ship lurched, nearly throwing me down.

Stumbling, I gasped and scrambled back up. The two aliens had been taken by surprise, as well, and had to recover from the sudden slide. Even still the ship was creaking and groaning, filling my ears and making my headache even worse.

"Is the ship moving?" I asked just as it lurched yet again.

It had seemed so big when I'd managed to find my way outside earlier; even though it had crashed on the side of a mountain, I didn't think it was possible for such a big, broken thing to move.

All Wolf did was glance at me, then brought up a hologram on his wrist computer. Brutus was doing the same thing, and it was he who found something first.

It was hard to tell what he was looking at, but I inched a little closer and decided that what the hologram was showing was the semi-familiar bridge. Wolf and I had passed through it a while ago, and it was still littered with the dead staff.

At one of the control panels, an injured alien was propping themselves up, as if they didn't have use of anything below the waist.

Every time they punched in a command, the ship shuddered and slipped a little further downhill, compromising my balance. I was caught somewhere between being surprised about another survivor and irritation that they were seemingly trying to make the ship take off.

All he was doing, however, was making the damn thing fall off the mountainside, taking us with it along the way.

Brutus and Wolf huffed in annoyance, but I thought they'd be more thrilled to see someone else who had survived the crash and, apparently, the rampage of the Echo.

The ship shuddered and heaved, and then started sliding again. This time, though, it didn't stop. Debris and corpses were sent careening toward the sloped side, and I had to grab a hold of Wolf to keep from joining them.

Brutus cut off the display and headed for the exit of the loading bay.

Taking me by the waist, Wolf heaved me along after him as he followed his comrade. The floor shaking beneath us made our hasty retreat difficult. The rumbling was almost deafening.

However, we did make it out. Then came the arduous task of navigating the darkened hallway.

Wolf didn't let go of me. We were fighting an uphill battle on the falling ship, and I was glad I didn't have to do it on my own.

We only made a couple turns before Brutus opened up a big door and slipped inside. Wolf followed him, dragging me with him.

Once we were inside, he let go of me and I managed to stand on my own.

"What are we going to do?" I asked. My legs felt like Jello and it was taking every ounce of strength left in my body to keep me upright.

Both of them ignored me and Wolf was tasked with prying open a panel on the wall. The cover came off with a pop and he tossed it aside. After punching in a few commands, a large door slid open and I was blinded by a harsh, white light.

Fresh, cold air hit me and chased away the muggy heat of the ship, almost instantly freezing the sweat that had beaded on my skin.

After the door opened all the way, Wolf stepped aside and Brutus leaped right the fuck. I was left gobsmacked, wondering just what the hell these people were.

With some trepidation, I joined Wolf by the opening and peered over the side, clinging to the wall to keep the shuddering vessel from throwing me out.

We were maybe two stories up, but dirt and debris were still being kicked up to the just below the door as the ship skated down the mountain, jumping with each sudden change in the terrain.

The ground was rushing past, but I had no way to gauge just how fast we were going. To me, though, it seemed like we were careening at breakneck speeds.

Brutus was no where to be found.

Though I didn't want to be aboard when the ship sailed off a cliff or crashed into the valley below, the thought of leaping off the ledge made my head spin.

Looking to Wolf, I took another unsteady step backward, bracing myself against anything in the room that I could get my hands on.

I said, "You can't be serious."

He turned his head to me and chittered something, maybe trying to sound encouraging. I shook my head, mute and almost more afraid than I had been all night. There was no way I could survive that leap.

/Tuck and roll my lily-white ass!/

Reaching a scaled hand out to me, he motioned for me to come. I bit my lip and grabbed the front of my jacket in a fist, catching the pile of dog tags and the talisman Wolf had given me.

"I can't, I can't," I muttered, shaking my head.

Growling—not in any threatening way—he took a quick step toward me and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward him.

I dug my heels in to stop, but he was stronger and managed to haul me over to the edge. I reached out with my arms and grabbed the sides of the doorway, trying to keep him from just pushing me out.

However, he made no move to do so. Instead, he spoke rapidly in alien gibberish and it almost sounded like he was irritated.

Brutus had been so quick to just leap off, and every second I stalled out from fear was another second closer to a disastrous crash at the bottom of the mountain.

Where was all that bravado I had before?

I supposed it was down in the snow, waiting for me to jump to my death.

Until I did, Wolf was stuck here waiting with me. At some point he'd probably give up and go without me, but I didn't want it to get that far.

Swallowing hard, I finally nodded and bent my knees to make the jump. Brutus had done it. The snow might cushion the fall a bit, and I could just roll with the impact and . . . maybe be ok. At least not die.

After everything I had gone through already, I could surely make a simple jump.

The slope was alarming, though. The way the mountainside was rushing by also caused me a fair bit of distress.

But I had to do it. I would most certainly die if I didn't jump off the ship. I wasn't going to come out unscathed, but I had a higher chance of surviving.

Maybe.

I took a deep, irritated breath, instantly regretted it, and cleared my head.

"Okay, alright. Will you jump with me?" I requested, unable to look him in the face while I did.

He nodded and stepped up next to me. I felt like a big baby asking him to, but it was also an enormous relief that he had agreed. He didn't have to be so accommodating, but I was glad he was.

Without another moment's hesitation, he rattled a command and leaped off the edge of the opening. I was a second and a half slow to react, but I launched myself forward as well with a big step and push off the wall.

I was hoping that maybe if I propelled myself forward, I would clear the debris and the ship and make it on to fresh powder.

There were a few things I realized as soon as I was over open air: twenty feet was a ridiculous amount of space when you were no longer on solid ground; I didn't know how to land—don't lock your knees, that was about the extent of my knowledge; and Wolf was soaring a lot farther than I would have thought physically possible.

Part of me had been hoping he would be able to catch me. Now I just felt like an idiot trying to believe something like that.

Well SHIT.

I flailed my arms in circles, probably attempting to fly, but the ground came up quick. I was going to land all wrong. Though I bent my knees to cushion the impact, everything else was wrong.

How was I supposed to turn my momentum into a roll or—what angle?—shit, lean forward—no, lean back?—bend at the knees—

This wasn't going to work—

Soon as I hit the ground, I knew I'd made a grievous error in calculation. My legs gave out and pain shot all the way up my spine.

I collapsed in a heap, my ears ringing, and tumbled down the mountainside. I kept my arms close to my body and tucked my head in. Snow exploded around me, filling my nose and clothes. I didn't know how long I was going to roll for, but everything hurt.

Cra-ack!

Something stopped my progress down the hill. I couldn't catch my breath, and I could barely move.

My body seized with pain and though my mouth was open, there was no sound coming from it. I'd rolled straight into a rock, but at least I'd stopped moving.

It was only a small solace.

I carefully picked myself up and slumped away from the stone, curling up to clutch at the knee that had bashed right into it.

It was still impossible for me to breathe, but I'd finally upgraded to making a few helpless sounds as I rocked back and forth. I pulled myself away from the fetal position long enough to check the damage.

Blood was soaking through the left leg of my pants, a few inches above my knee. There was a tear in the tented fabric, and the pain was immeasurable. I had to hold that leg out straight for anything resembling comfort, but I kept my right knee bent into my chest.

Static filled my head and my vision blurred. I was hyperventilating, tears rolling down my cheeks. My world was turning to mush even as my stomach churned.

Darkness rimmed the edges of my sight. A dark shadow loomed, blocking the morning light. I fought the tight fuzz threatening to consume me, but it was a losing battle. The pain—the blood—my breathing—the darkness won and for a second or two (or what felt like) I was out.

I squinted against the glare of the sun as my eyes fluttered open again. I no longer felt queasy, but there was a definite pain in my legs that made my whole body throb with each beat of my heart.

At least my endorphins had finally kicked in, even if only some. At least I didn't feel like I was going to blackout again.

If my ribs hadn't already been broken when the Queen hit me, they certainly were now. The pain that came with breathing wasn't on par with that of my legs, but each ragged breath was punctuated with a tight wheeze.

I was no longer on my side. Instead, I was on my back staring at the sky. Part of me was pretty sure I hadn't done that, but I decided not to think about it and sat up slowly.

The pant legs around my knees and left thigh were colored a muddy-red and my breath hitched.

Tentatively, my teeth clenched so tight it hurt, I pulled at the severed fabric and tilted my head to try to look at my leg through the hole. It was impossible, though, because the tear was too small.

But I knew it was broken, as was my knee, and I wouldn't need visual confirmation to believe it. I knew when something was fucked up. It wasn't the first or even second time that I had broken a bone.

My left leg—what bone? The femur, I thought—was broken. My right knee was causing me the most pain because it was impossible to move that leg without somehow using the joint.

That meant, though, that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon unless Wolf or someone came for me.

Where was that bastard, anyway?

"Wolf?" I called warily, afraid he'd just left me alone to be found by someone. Eventually. Maybe. If I was lucky.

At that point, I would have even taken Brutus. Just ANYONE so I wasn't alone.

A distant boom made me duck instinctively and cover my head. Just that small motion sent a sharp jolt of agony through my body and I hissed through my teeth. I twisted at the hips to look around, then finally remembered that the ship had been sliding downhill.

Its trek had left an ugly scar in the land, mounds of dirt almost as tall as I was mere feet away.

Somehow, I'd managed to jump far enough to avoid crashing into the upturned rocks and dirt. If I hadn't, I knew I would have broken a lot more than my legs.

Down the hill, I could see nothing but the billowing smoke and floating embers of a large fire at the bottom of the mountain. The ship, it seemed, had only just managed to crash.

Maybe I should have waited until there were trees to jump to. Further down, the tree line started and likely slowed the ship's descent. Maybe. It was pretty big. It was too late to think about all of that now, though.

Hopefully that crash killed any stray drones running around. It definitely would have finished off the half-dead alien that had tried to make the ship lift off.

I couldn't imagine why they'd done it except maybe they hadn't known what else to do in their situation.

"Wolf?" I called again, a little louder. He should at least still be nearby, right? Unless he went to find Brutus or something. If he didn't come back at all, though, I still had the military to fall back on.

They'd show up eventually. It was well past six in the morning by now.

When there was no answer, the anxiety really set in. I didn't dare move, but I didn't think I could stay where I was, either, because I was too exposed on the empty hill in the cold and snow with barely any clothes left.

The sun's arrival wasn't making the air any warmer, that was for sure. I was already shivering, and I wrapped my arms around myself to try and heat up.

Helpless tears started to fall. Where was he?