Dead and Buryd: A Dystopian Action Adventure Novel (Out of Orbit Book 1) (11 page)

Things in the Way were quiet. Jacob, the escaped drysta, had been given a book by Lacie, and while he barely spoke when Lacie wasn’t around, he was surprisingly comforting company on a long shift.

Georgianna had been dozing when Keinah showed up. Apparently her baby had been kicking so ferociously that sleep was not an option. Georgianna had squeaked in excitement when Keinah let her feel the spot where tiny feet pressed through the skin, and had finally agreed to leave Keinah on the Way.

The shack was quiet and dark when Georgianna got there, pulling the tarpaulin aside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but seeing that Keiran was alone, she stepped further in, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning over him.

Placing a gentle kiss against his bare shoulder, Georgianna smiled as Keiran rolled onto his back, cracking one eye open to look up at her.

“Hey,” he murmured, reaching up and rubbing the heel of his hand into his eyes.

“Hi,” Georgianna whispered. “Mind if I stay with you?”

Keiran smiled sleepily and shook his head, groping out until he found the edge of the blanket, flinging it back. Georgianna undressed quickly, clambering over him and settling down on the mattress.

“Good day?” he asked.

“Kind of. I saw Taye.”

Tugging the blanket over her, Georgianna wriggled her body into Keiran’s warm skin. He slid his arm underneath her body, tugging her in against him.

“Did you make a decision?”

Georgianna nodded against his shoulder, her fingers skating absently across his stomach.

“I’m going to take the delivery to Nyah.”

A burst of low laughter rumbled through him, tensing Keiran’s stomach beneath her fingers before he rolled towards her, wrapping his other arm around her waist.

“Of course you are,” he answered. “I’m just surprised it took you this long.”

Georgianna frowned at his mockery, but it was nice that he’d known which decision she would make. Yes, he teased her for being so predictable, but half the time, she didn’t think he was actually listening to her, seeming more interested in getting her clothes off. To know that he did sometimes pay attention and care about what she was saying felt reassuring.

She would have said something about it, but before she had even opened her mouth, he let out deep snore. Too late.

 
***

 
A hand thumped on the side of the metal shack, rousing Georgianna from sleep. With a moan of protest, she stretched her body out, toes just peeking from underneath the blankets draped across her legs, flung away from her body in the stuffy heat. Even through her shifting dreams, she didn’t feel like she’d been asleep long.

Sleep claimed her once again as she relaxed back into the mattress, nuzzling her cheek against Keiran’s neck and the warmth of his skin. She was just slipping back off when two more blows sounded.

“Hey, come on, get up. Keiran, I know you’re in there!”

Georgianna answered the man outside with an unintelligible grumble and a smack of her hand against Keiran’s stomach. It was his shack.

Opening one eye as Keiran let out a pained breath at her attack and swore quietly, Georgianna glanced through the shadows, trying to gauge the time. It was impossible. This far away from the main encampment, they didn’t always have the lights lit, plunging them into a perpetual gloom.

“What is it?” Keiran grumbled, not even lifting his head from the pillow.

There was a static rustle of the tarpaulin being pulled back and Wrench stepped in. It wasn’t unusual at this time of year for blankets and sheets to be abandoned in the middle of the night, kicked and flung away from the skin as sleeping inhabitants tried desperately to find a little relief from the overbearing heat. As Georgianna’s gaze met Wrench’s, she shifted to shield the most intimate parts of her body from view while she reached out, groping around her hips for a handful of blanket, tugging it further up her body.

Wrench glanced down to the blanket before he had the decency to turn his head and stare at the wall. His manners, however, did not stretch far enough to conceal the grin that told Georgianna exactly how much he had seen. A blush burned through her cheeks though she couldn’t hide an embarrassed smile as she buried her face into Keiran’s neck.

“Good night?” Wrench asked.

“Wrench, stop standing there like a horny virgin,” Keiran grumbled.

Unlike Georgianna, he made no effort to cover himself up. Wrench and Keiran had known each other for long enough to have seen it all before.

“What do you want?”

Wrench glanced towards them before averting his gaze again, nodding his head sideways in Georgianna’s direction.

“Came to get you, Med,” Wrench said.

“Me?”

“Got a situation down the Way.”

While it wasn’t the first time someone had burst in on them early in the morning, it was certainly the first time the person coming in had not been looking for Keiran. Generally, people didn’t know that she stayed there, so anyone coming to the shack was looking for the Belsa sergeant. Yet Wrench was aware of her fondness for the man lying next to her, so he would have known where to look. The other medics knew about her home in the camps with her family, but that was a two-hour walk—too far to travel in an emergency. It was much easier to find Jaid or Keinah who lived with their partners in the nearby tunnels.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

She sat up, holding the blankets against her chest as she carefully manoeuvred herself over Keiran, who groaned as her elbow hit his stomach.

“Found Si,” Wrench explained, giving her a hard look.

Georgianna pursed her lips into a frown.

“And?” she urged, glancing up at Wrench.

“Not entirely sure, he’s rambling something bad,” Wrench explained. “But from what Jaid says, he’s been gone more than three days, and from the looks o’ the burns, he’s been out in the sun for most of it.”

“Shit,” Keiran groaned, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

Georgianna echoed Keiran’s moan as she waved her hand towards Wrench. He was shifting his weight anxiously back and forth, but quickly turned his back as Georgianna began reaching for her clothes.

Someone who had been out in the sun more than a few hours without proper protection would most likely be suffering in some way or another, but three days was sure to have caused lasting damage.

“Who’s down there?” she asked.

“Just Jaid at the moment. I was on guard down the black line and she was bringing him past, asked me to get you and meet her there.”

“I thought Keinah was…”

“Jaid sent her off,” Wrench interrupted. “Didn’t want her close if he gets upset.”

“If Si’s been out there that long, we might need to restrain him,” she agreed.

Behind her, Keiran was moving about, wrestling his way into his trousers. Georgianna threw his shirt over her shoulder.

“What was he doing out there for three days?” he asked.

“Don’t really know,” Wrench answered. “Most of the stuff coming out of him as she took him down there was nonsense. Jaid said he’d gone over the Adveni quarters on a regular job, but never came back. Figuring something happened over that way.”

“Why would he be in the Adveni quarters? What kind of job takes a Belsa over there?” Georgianna asked. “Seems a bit of a dangerous place to send one of you guys.”

“You’d have to ask whoever gave him the job,” Keiran said quickly, getting to his feet and stepping past her, reaching for the tyllenich rifle. “Lots of jobs go down without the rest of us knowing, best way to stay safe if someone’s caught.”

Georgianna nodded. That made a good deal of sense. She got to her feet and grabbed up her bag, slinging the strap over her shoulder.

“Come on then, let’s go,” Keiran nodded.

Wrench pushed back the tarpaulin, waiting somewhat impatiently until Georgianna had slipped out of the shack. The two Belsa followed in her wake.

 
10
Taking them Down

 
They hadn’t even made the turning onto the Way when the first scream came echoing down the tunnel. Glancing at Keiran and Wrench, Georgianna broke into a run, holding her bag tight against her hip. Behind her,Wrench and Keiran’s boots pounded into the tunnel floor. Another female cry was followed by an angry shout.

Skidding to a stop outside the first car, Georgianna launched herself inside, falling forward in her haste. But the sight that met her stopped her in her tracks.

Jaid sat on one of the makeshift beds, her back braced against the wall as her husband Si leaned over her. Her arms were stretched out, hands pressed against her husband Si’s chest, but this wasn’t enough to stop the knife that was being pressed against her throat. She was shaking her head, words streaming so fast from her lips that they were almost unintelligible. Si, however, obviously understood what she had been trying to say as he shook his head, his long, ratted hair slapping against his reddened, raw skin.

“You’re lying!” Si growled.

“I’m not, I’m not!” Jaid cried, tears streaming down her face. “You’re my husband, Si. I love you. I would never sell you out to them!”

Wrench pushed past to grab Si. Turning his head, Si’s eyes widened in fury as he pointed the knife at Wrench for a moment before returning it to his wife’s throat.

“Stay back!” he screamed. “I’ll do it, I will!”

Georgianna grabbed Wrench’s muscled arm with both hands, yanking him backwards with all her might. Wrench stumbled back into Keiran who braced him, both hands on his shoulders.

“George,” he murmured, glancing between Georgianna and Si.

Georgianna could guess what Keiran was thinking. It wouldn’t be too difficult for the two of them to restrain the Belsa. The risk was whether they could do it before Si slashed at Jaid’s throat, one Georgianna wasn’t willing to take. Even if Si didn’t do any lasting damage, he would never forgive himself for hurting Jaid in a moment of madness.

Georgianna shook her head. She slowly reached up, lifting her bag over her head and lowering it to the floor. She kept her gaze locked on Si’s panicked, bloodshot eyes.

“Si,” she whispered.

Jaid gasped at the pressure of the knife against her skin. A drop of red blood slipped smoothly down the metal blade and dripped into her lap.

“Si, look at me!” Georgianna said, a little louder this time. “Si, you don’t want to hurt Jaid.”

“Sold me out! Told them I’d be there,” Si rattled, his gaze flicking around the car too fast for Georgianna to spot what he was focussing on.

Lifting her hands and keeping them open towards Si, Georgianna watched him as calmly as she could, trying to keep the panic and fear out of her face. She could feel her blood pulsing through her ears, but she shook her head.

“Why would she do that, Si?” she asked.

Glancing to the side, Georgianna waved Keiran and Wrench back again. The two men had been inching forward. Reassured that they were staying put, Georgianna turned back to Si.

“Why, Si?” she asked again. “Jaid loves you, you know that. She wouldn’t have done anything to harm you.”

“You’re lying! Someone told!” he cried desperately. “It was safe. We were safe and then…”

“And then what, Si? What happened?” Wrench asked, his voice gentler than Georgianna had ever heard it. “Tell us. Maybe we can help.”

Si looked to Wrench, and for a moment the knife came away from Jaid’s throat allowing her to gulp in large breaths until sobs overtook her, choking. He hesitated, the knife hovering an inch away from Jaid’s neck as he watched Wrench suspiciously.

“No help,” he muttered, shaking his head. “No help. No one to know.”

“Si, you’re hurt,” Georgianna urged. “Let me help you. You’ll feel so much better. Please, just… just give me the knife so I can help you.”

Si’s reaction was instant. He leapt back away from them, swiping the knife fruitlessly.

Keiran and Wrench didn’t wait any longer. They surged forward past Georgianna, past Jaid, towards Si and the knife. As soon as they were past Jaid, Georgianna reached forward and tugged Jaid from the bed. Jaid let out a choking sob and buried her face against Georgianna’s shoulder, holding herself tightly against her.

Si let out an angry scream, slashing the knife as Keiran and Wrench closed in. Keiran swore loudly, his hand coming to his arm as blood sprayed across the floor of the car. Georgianna choked back a cry and hugged Jaid all the tighter. Wrench and Keiran wrestled Si to the ground with a heavy thump, the knife clattering away underneath one of the beds.

It took another few minutes for Wrench and Keiran to secure Si, Wrench kneeling across Si’s shins and Keiran pinning his arms above his head. Keiran was still bleeding, blood dribbling down his arm and soaking through his shirt from a slice near his elbow.

Georgianna let go of Jaid, handing her a cloth to wipe off her face as she placed a small dressing against the cut underneath her jaw. Jaid gave a weak smile and held the dressing in place for a moment before pulling it away to check how bad the injury was. From the look of it, it had stopped bleeding already; it would probably just sting for a day or so.

They didn’t use the restraints often as there was rarely a need for them. Georgianna couldn’t remember the last time she’d used them, though she knew exactly which box to open to find the long ropes. Jaid took one of them, helping Wrench to attach the cuffs around Si’s ankles, tears sliding down her cheeks throughout. Keiran held Si’s hands in place as Georgianna attached the cuffs around his wrists. Keiran let out a huff and rubbed the slash in his arm once he’d secured the ropes to the bed.

Grabbing up a larger dressing from one of the crates, Georgianna moved to Keiran, slipping the dressing through his cut shirt onto the wound and holding it in place with a bandage wrapped tightly around his arm. He might need a stitch or two, but she’d be able to look at it more closely once they’d calmed Si down and treated his burns.

“No!” Si screeched, tugging against his bonds. “No, Alec! Got to get Alec!”

Georgianna froze. Her fingers remained tangled in the bandage around Keiran’s arm where she’d been trying to tuck the end underneath. Her gaze shot to meet Jaid’s. Jaid looked back at her, confused. Georgianna looked away.