Page 70 of The Souls Harvest
The elastic snaps, and I fear my heart will rip my chest open and break free.
“Oh, this is going to be fun!” Tabitha roars over the terrifying noise of cracks appearing all over the pod.
The pressure in my ears is like war drums, but not loud enough to cover the snarling water snapping at the ship.
I’m floating, as is Galen, and there is nothing I can do to stop the water’s rage from throwing us against the wall like balls of flesh and bone. Meanwhile, Tabitha remains rooted to the metal shell.
“Are you alright there? Sorry, in normal circumstances, I’m aformidable driver.” I hope her irony comes from a place of experience and not because she’s losing her mind.
I’m still holding onto Galen, looping an arm around his shoulders to make sure he doesn’t get hurt if we slam against the wall or Tabitha. But the drums in my ears have stopped, and the turmoil of water has reduced to a gentle wave that laps at Galen and me while our captain releases her hands from the panel.
“We made it.” There are some dark stains on the control buttons and levers. Tabitha hasn’t been reckless or without worry all this time. She was only fighting her fears off her face and voice, but they gathered elsewhere.
“Tabitha, your hands…” I gasp, letting go of Galen, now safely floating in the hug of calm waters. “You’re bleeding.”
Despite her best try, the inside of the pod is not big enough for Tabitha to move away from me and avoid my touch as I gingerly take her right hand in mine to examine the damage. The skin of her palm is dotted with old scars and rough to the touch. New scratches glisten red where she’s pushed harder to keep the cocoon steady, to bring us safe to the other side of the Grace Wards.
“If it hurts, it means I’m still alive.” Tabitha slides her hand off mine, wincing when her fist closes to hide the fresh wounds. “Besides, I’m not the one in bad shape,” she says, dipping both hands in what’s left of the water that almost drowned us to wash away the blood and temporarily soothe her skin. Despite her majestic frame, she looks like a child splashing water for fun.
We must have reached the shore, or been near it, because thewater is receding, and I can see the bottom of the pod, covered in cracks but still in one piece.
I realise I’ve been staring when Tabitha looks at me over her shoulder and points at something behind me, eyebrows so high they form two perfect arches. “What? It’s not like I’m stripping naked to take a bath in front of you. There’s someone else who needs your attention more than me.”
Maybe the adrenaline rush caused by the recent events is still pumping in my veins. Perhaps I don’t want to let go of it yet because then I will need to admit that we’re far away from the island, from questions I haven’t received the answers to, and maybe never will. If tonight’s attack was just the beginning, other people may have lost their lives after we left. So many of them have died, not even knowing why.
But then, I hear it. Galen’s breath is unsteady but louder with every intake of clammy air he forces inside his nose.
“Sof…?”
Tabitha’s eyes slide to him. I can’t ignore it anymore. As soon as I turn to face him, the people I thought we were back on the island will vanish.
“Hi, Sof—”
His smile is like a flash in the night. It blinds me, it hurts…
Or maybe that’s just the loud swarm of sparks trying to barge inside the pod through its cracks.
“Get down!” Tabitha shouts, stretching the tips of her fingers towards my arm. But I’m already lunging to shield Galen with mybody.
Both her cry and Galen’s begging me to back away fade, sucked in by the rage of a chainsaw making its way through the body of the pod, melting the door seal and filling the claustrophobic space with an acrid, eye-tearing smell.
A male voice glides in - “Is anybody hurt?” - followed by a large hand that easily dislodges and tears down the heavy metal door.
“What do you think? You silly bear. Couldn’t you just wait for me to unlock the port?” Tabitha yaps as if she knows who’s waiting for us outside.
“Give me a hand, Jyn, and turn off that stupid light. If that wasyouridea of saving us without getting caught…You’re lucky I don’t have time to deal with you right now.”
My head hurts, my skin hurts, my eyes burn, and I worry my legs won’t carry me far once I stand up—but we’re alive. Besides, I can’t ignore the heated exchange of words between Tabitha and the man she called Jyn.
Something heavy pats the top of the pod twice from the outside. “…but you told me to be ready to get you out. I even destroyed littleChella.” Jyn has the voice of an adult but sounds annoyed, like a teenager.
“I meant, be ready to get us out safe if anything comes after us. Also, I don’t thinkNavichellawill ever supply vegetables and meat to Libera after tonight. Honestly, man, how you made it to fifty in one piece is a fucking mystery to me.”
“How I make it every day without going crazy withyouaround isthe real mystery!”
Even though I’m still inside the pod, one arm around Galen’s shoulder as his senses slowly return, I manage to study the two silhouettes outside.
Tabitha, sturdy as an oak, hands on her hips, and Jyn, almost as tall as Tabitha, pointing a finger at her. They stand still until something starts shaking inside Tabitha, and her entire body bursts into laughter.
