Betrothed Episode One (24 page)

The
vessel shot the ground 10 meters to our left, the Earth shaking
like it had been hit by an earthquake.

Mark was thrown off balance, and I fell to my
knees.

My ship
shot the ground again, this time closer to Mark.

Though
my ears rang and my teeth shook in my head, I managed to push
myself to my feet.

Then I
staggered towards the building.

Towards
safety.

I heard
Mark roar from behind me. He pounced to his feet.

“
Annie,” he screamed.

It was
the most horrible sound I’d ever heard.

I didn’t
waste time looking over my shoulder; I knew he was right behind
me.

The ship
darted low. So low, it was barely half a meter from the
ground.

Then it
did something incredible.

It
rammed Mark.

Straight
on.

I
screamed until it felt my throat would crack.

Oh my
God, Mark had just died.

Just as
that thought flashed through my mind, I saw the ship tilt, and Mark
fell off the front, body limp as it struck the ground.

I
hesitated.

Then the
unimaginable happened: Mark got up.

He
brought his gun around, and shot the ship front on.

It
obliterated the vessel’s shields in a scatter of sparks and sliced
off a chunk of the hull.

Mark had
just been run over by a prototype spaceship and he was
fine.

“
Run,” the computer blared at me.

I
turned.

I
ran.

Anna
Carter

I
reached the building.

I threw
myself at the wall, slamming my hand over the smooth surface,
willing a maintenance panel to appear.

I
screamed at it, cried, tears staining my cheeks.

Then
there was a beep, and the door opened several meters to my
left.

I flung
herself towards it. In the distance, I caught sight of
Mark.

He was
limping, as if his leg was broken, but he was in better shape than
the ship.

It had
crash landed a good 200 meters away.

Oh
god.

Mark
moved towards me, dragging his leg, his expression locked with
hatred.

I threw
myself through the door and into the building.

I ran,
as fast as my limbs could carry me.

In the
distance, I heard Mark enter the building behind me, one foot
dragging.

My breath came in strangled
gasps
as I twisted over my shoulder
to see him, the underside of his face lit up by the glowing
barrel.

I let
out a scream as I twisted my head around.

Oh
god.

“
Annie, get back here,” Mark growled.

I
slammed a hand over my mouth and whimpered.

I threw myself through the corridors of the building. The
further I went, the narrower the hall became, until I was running
over cables chunked and strewn along the floor like intertwined
roots.

I had to
be careful – so careful – not to trip.

I was
faster than Mark, but just by a few steps. I could still hear him
dragging his foot down the corridor behind me. Despite the fact
metal-covered bones were protruding from his leg, he was still fast
enough to keep up.

What was
he?

And why
was he after me?

I had no
idea where I was going.

... Or
did I?

I seemed
to know which corners to take.

....

It was
returning.

The pain
behind my left eye – slowly, slowly it was returning.

I
started to see shadows dance over my vision. They were diffuse, but
they still had the power to influence me.

It may
not be enough to see me hack into a sophisticated computer, but it
was enough to direct me.

After I
took a sharp corner, I reached an enormous door.

Far down
the corridor I heard Mark chuckle. “You’re trapped now, kid; give
up.”

I
pressed my back against the door, eyes drawing wide.

I saw
him round the corner.

He
smiled. It wasn’t warm, it wasn’t charming, and it wasn’t
technically a smile.

It was
cold and triumphant.

Before I
knew what I was doing, my hand darted up and typed something into
the panel by the door.

The door
opened and I staggered back.

Mark
spluttered in surprise. “What the hell?”

I fell
through the door, falling onto the ground.

I
scuttled backwards, turning on my hands and pushing to my
feet.

I was
outside, the wind whistling past like a howling wolf.

I stared
up to see the base of an enormous satellite dish.

I’d made
my way into the internal compound.

“
Annie!” Mark snapped. “How the hell did you get through this
door?” His head suddenly ticked to the side. “I guess you need more
medication,” he said, his lips curling with recognition.

I
staggered away from him, the wind blasting against my legs and
back, sending the flaps of my tunic slapping around my
arms.

Medication?

Mark
twisted his arm around his back and grabbed something.

It was a vial of thick red liquid lodged into some kind of
device.

He
pressed a button along the top, and with a hiss, the liquid
disappeared.

I lost
my balance. I stumbled to the side, tripping, but pushing off the
ground with my hand and staggering back into a desperate
run.

The pain
was gone. Oh god, my left eye felt completely normal.

It
wasn’t a blessing, I suddenly realized.

The
visions were protecting me, but now they’d stopped.

Whatever
that red liquid was, it had stripped me of the
hallucinations.

I didn’t
stop running though.

I
sprinted around the base of the enormous satellite.

It took
several minutes of heart-pounding running.

I was
flagging. Mark wasn’t. He hadn’t reached me yet, and he was still
dragging his leg, but he hadn’t dropped behind either.

Tears
streaked down my cheeks. Without the visions to protect me and with
the ship gone, I was alone.

I
started to sob as I ran.

“
Be a good girl and give up, Annie. No more tears, I
promise.”

I
whimpered at his words.

I wasn’t
used to running this much, and I’d already been tired from my
ordeal on Cluster.

A
painful stitch dug into my ribs, like a knife thrust through the
flesh. I now wheezed with every step.

I heard
Mark chuckle from behind me.

As I
rounded the base of the satellite, I saw a thin tall
tower.

I threw
myself towards it.

When I
neared, I saw a lift at the base.

With
nothing else to head to, I threw myself at it.

I had no
idea how to operate the controls, but as I flung myself at it and
tumbled into the base of the open lift, a shield formed behind me.
Without a word or a command, the lift started to move
up.

Before
it did, I heard Mark utter, “Christ you’re stupid. Now you’re
trapped, little Annie.”

A second later, the lift blasted up. I saw the world outside
flit past in a few seconds.

With a
jolt, I reached the top of the tower.

The
shield over the door flickered out.

I
considered sitting there with my back pressed into the wall behind
me, but I realized that was suicide.

Mark
would find some way of calling the lift down to him, then he’d
pluck me right out.

I threw
myself forward, shoes scrabbling against the smooth metal of the
floor.

I reached a long thin exposed platform. There was a thin
railing on both sides, but apart from that, no
protection.

The wind
beat me like thousands of hands.

I
staggered back, lurching to the side and grabbing hold of the
closest railing. My cold fingers latched around it.

There was a beep from behind me, and the lift shot down the
tower.

Oh
god.

Mark was
coming.

I turned
and hurled myself forward, fighting the wind with every
step.

I had no
idea what this tower did, but there was one thing I could figure
out: it led to nowhere. The thin metal gangway I now flung myself
along would end in 20 meters or less.

There
was another beep from behind me.

Mark had
arrived.

“
Annie,” he called out with a blasting voice that reminded me
of the powerful shots from his gun. “There’s nowhere to run,
Annie.”

I didn’t
stop running, not until I reached the end.

Then, I
had to stop.

There
was no railing over the end. Just a drop. A long one.

I
shunted my feet into the metal grating, lurching to the side and
grabbing onto the railing. As the wind thrashed me, it caught my
hair and sent it whipping against my face.

“
Oh Annie.” Mark slowed.

I locked
a hand onto the railing as my terror-filled gaze locked on him.
“Why are you doing this?” I could barely speak as the wind roared
around us.

He kept
walking confidently towards me. Not running now. What was the
point?

Unlike
me, he wasn’t affected by the wind. He didn’t have to latch a hand
onto the railing to steady himself; he simply walked forward with
poise and ease. He was still dragging his leg, but he wouldn’t have
to run to reach me now.

There
was a cold hardened edge to his gaze that told me nothing could
affect him right now.

I
shuddered back from that look in his eyes.

“
Be a good girl, Annie,” he warned, “and don’t get too close
to the edge there.” The wind rustled his short hair, pulling and
tugging at his open jacket, the fabric slapping against his tense
arms.

I
convulsed with fear, momentarily losing my grip on the railing and
teetering close to the drop behind me.

He
paused. “Don’t go and do anything stupid, honey.”

“
D-don’t call me that. A-and what are you doing?”

He
smiled, the move callous. He’d lost the sparkle in his eye and that
warmth to his expression.

He
looked as cold and dead as the depths of space.

“
I’m going to take you some place safe.”

I shook
my head, my hair like wire as it sliced against my face, the wind
whipping it into my shoulders and chest. “Mark, just ... just don’t
do this. Whatever you’re planning, please, just let me
go.”

“
Let you go, Annie Carter? Why would I do that? You hold the
fate of the universe in your hands. And someone wants to wrest it
from your grip.”

The
end of Episode One. Betrothed Episode Two is currently
available.

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Chapter 1