Page 3 of Star-Crossed Captive
Nia blinked. In only a few seconds, three defenders lay on the deck, dead, and the Tellusian hadn’t let go of her. The acrid scent of weapons fire swirled around them. She couldn’t look away from the blood coming out a defender’s slit throat as it soaked his silver uniform.It should have been me.
Her captor tucked the scalpel away and reached for the defender’s guns, accessing the controls on their uniforms. She tried to yank free, but the Tellusian pulled her to him again, arm encircling her ribs.
“It’ll be okay.” He hugged her against his chest. “I just need to get out of here.”
His words sank into the calm, rational part of her mind, the place where she could analyze events with detached interest. She reached for that part, wanting to hold it close, needing it to counterbalance the other part of her brain trapped in a continual scream. He would let her go. She needed to believe that. He wanted off the station. He’d leave her here and she’d survive.
A distant blast rumbled, then echoed through the corridor. The shiny, light gray deck beneath them trembled. They paused together, holding their breath.
The bulkheads shuddered with an eerie groan. Dread gripped her chest. That was weapons fire from the outside of the medical station.
The Tellusian’s arm around her tightened. Her feet left the ground as he propelled them down the corridor. She gripped his arm with her fingernails, trying to keep calm.
Bootsteps ahead made him hesitate. Her heart leaped when a row of defenders turned the corner ahead of them, blocking their path. Relief shook her body. There was nowhere for the Tellusian to go.
Boom.
The deafening sound split her head in two. An outside blast ripped through the corridor, the force of it propelling her backward. She and the Tellusian stumbled, a tangle of feet, crashing to the deck.Oomph.She landed on top of him.
Ears ringing, she lifted her head. Where the defenders once stood, a void remained. Only the SNAP shielding kept precious oxygen inside the station. Stars blinked at her where a bulkhead was supposed to be. Her mouth went dry, her heart trying to escape her chest.
A flash of light against the dark of space made her flinch. The Tellusian turned his body, blocking her view as another blast came almost on top of the first. The SNAP shielding sizzled, adjusting to keep as much atmosphere in the station as it could.
He pushed her to her feet, hands on her bottom, propelling her forward as he yelled, “Run! Run! Run!”
She didn’t think, just acted. Her feet scrambled beneath her.Boom. Another blast shuddered though the deck, the bulkheads seeming to swell around her. She pitched to the side. A strong hand grabbed her upper arm, keeping her upright.
The sound of the next blast felt like it disintegrated every organ inside her. Heat seared her body, her feet lifting. For a second, she had wings.
Then she was turning, spinning, two hands holding her as the deck raced to meet her face.
Chapter two
Snicksnicksnick.The sound scratched against her brain, an irritation she swatted away. Her body throbbed.
Nia brushed her cheek and her fingers came away dotted with blood. Pain pulsed through her wrist. She tried to move, then realized heavy arms held her close.
The bulkheads rattled with another blast. She flinched.Snick snick snick.More debris fell to the deck from somewhere nearby.
Adrenaline spiked through her. The station was under attack, and she needed to find a safe zone. Breaths left her lips in panicked bursts. She pushed against the arms binding her, wriggling free.
His eyes closed, the Tellusian’s body went lax. Crawling backwards, she turned, scrambling through the debris and broken glass on her hands and knees. Pain shot up her arm.
A hand grasped her ankle. She screamed. The sound cut short as he yanked her toward him. Bits of metal and glass scraped her hands, poking through her uniform into her stomach.
She twisted on her back, kicking, then went cold at the expression of rage on the Tellusian’s face. She punched.
He batted her hands away and her stomach jumped at the skin-to-skin contact.
“Stop,” he growled. “We’ve got to get out of here,izar.”
His hands spanned her waist. The world spun again when he tossed her over his shoulder. Her breath left her in a whoosh.
“Let me go!” She kicked and slapped, trying to grab anything she could. “You prick-faced, waste-humping bastard!”
The arm wrapped around her thighs didn’t loosen no matter how much she wiggled and squirmed. They passed more debris, more sections of bulkhead only held together by SNAP shielding. His footsteps faltered, his body turning…
Laser fire popped through the corridor, the acrid scent wafting a moment later. Then he was moving, quicker this time, his shoulder digging into her stomach. She twisted to see. He stepped over dead defenders like they were space junk.
