The dust was thick and suffocating. It tickled her throat and burned her eyes as they eased through the dark hallway. Reaching a set of spiral stairs, Ursus lowered Pavel onto the lowest steps. His body shuddered before he coughed up more blood. His chest was barely moving.
"He needs the chamber."
"The chamber?" Ursus pulled up a hologram of a cool dark tube. "It helps the body recover by keeping the person in stasis. It's only used for our most seriously injured since the machine is expensive and the minerals needed are few and far between."
"Alright, so you go take him to the chamber."
Ursus frowned. "And you?"
Me? She frowned. What can I do? She was a human. She didn't have their strengths. She looked down at her hands. I don't have their survival skills.
"Hey," she met his gaze. "The caves of Lumanora, that Plesiosaur cave in, those were you, love." Ursus' smile softened. "All you." Grabbing her hand, he placed the blaster in it. "Let's get this registered to your thumbprint, shall we?"
Eileen's hands tightened around the blaster before she pecked his cheek. "You always know what to say." At his widening smile, she pressed her thumb against the blaster pad. Looks like a certain hybrid better watch out.
With Pavel's watch and the blasters, Eileen followed the map through the servant hallways toward the throne room. Alright, if this map is correct then I should be coming to the exit right about....now.
Her hands brushed against the loose brick. Kneeling down, she carefully removed the stones to reveal the hidden vent. Eileen closed her eyes. Please don't let all my walking through the park be in vain. With a deep gut suck, she squeezed through.
"This isn't what I paid you for." Eileen frowned. That voice. She peeked through the vents. One of the council members stood in front of the woman. "I paid you to kill the hybrid, not start another war!"
A chuckle ripped from the hybrid's lips. "Oh, Jarek. You should have known better than to trust a hybrid." Shadows moved in front of the vent. Eileen gasped as two large cat size creatures stalled toward Jarek. Their jaws, paws, even their heads remind Eileen of a grizzly bear.
"Ocria, don't do this." Jarek stepped back. "Don't-" One of the creatures lunged. Eileen snapped her gaze away as his cries turned into gurgles and then silence. Eileen's hands clenched. How am I going to stop her now?
"Your highness." A guard rushed forward. "Someone activated the healing chamber in the clinic room."
Ursus! Ocria's smile widened. "Well, looks like they finally came after all." She slid off the throne. Her movements were agile and sharp, like a predator that finally found their prey. "Thank you, my loyal guard." She grabbed the hybrid's chin. "Once I finally get this thorn out my side, I'll finally be free to cover this place in council blood."
Eileen's jaw clenched as she waited for the two to leave. She pressed against the vent. Come on....come on! She turned her body. Open! Her foot slammed against the vent, sending it flying out. As she eased back, she collapsed onto her bum. Umph.
Snarls ripped through the silence. Her gaze snapped to the two cat bear creatures. Blood dripped from their jaws, creating splatters on the ground. "Oh right." Eileen sat up. "I forgot about you guys." She pushed herself to her knees. "Nice kitty-bear things. Nice-"
With a snarl, they lunged. Eileen threw herself to the ground. Her hand snatched her blaster. "I said nice kitties!" She pressed the button. A beam shot out, knocking her back. She sat up. A hole right between the eyes dripped blood before the creature dropped. I did it!
STAI LEGGENDO
To The Ends of The Universe (ONC 2024 ✔)
Fantascienza"When just being alive makes you a target, you learn to keep your head low." Being a nurse in an ER clinic, Eileen never had much time for romance. Especially, when job and education often came before everything else she's ever known. That is until...
