The Bleed: Book 2: RAPTURE David Moody (the red fox clan txt) 📖

if they came across the giants’ version of canned food, the chances were it would be barely palatable at best and at worst, downright poisonous. “Do you speak giant?”

“Sarcasm?”

“Sadly, no. I’m saying, if we come across food, how are we going to know what it is?”

“My thought was to let you be my taste tester.” At no time did he say he was joking as he began to walk. Maddie shook her head as she followed.

Maddie was having a difficult time getting used to the unnatural quiet. Even in the vacuum of her moon, there had been noise: the crinkle of the spacesuit, her regular breathing, the static of the radio…it was a cacophony by comparison. Besides their footfalls, there was nothing, not even the buzzing of a bloodthirsty black fly. That sound, while not particularly welcome, would, at the minimum, be something, anything, to indicate that even the tiniest bit of life remained.

“Is there anything here?”

“Not so much as a single-celled organism, virus, or bacteria. They have all been wiped out. This planet is effectively sterile.”

Maddie couldn’t help herself as tears fell from her eyes. She hadn’t known any of the inhabitants of this planet, she wasn’t even sure what sort of species they were, but they had to have had hopes and dreams, and even if they weren’t evolved enough for that, they would have wanted to survive and live their lives as they saw fit.

“Do not cry. If we can stop the Bleed, this planet will, at some time in the distant future, contain life again. It is in the nature of things.”

“And if we can’t? Stop it, I mean.”

“Then what will it matter?”

They walked in silence for a while. In the distance were towering mountains, and in front of them, the remnants of sky-scraping structures.

“Food,” the word seemingly grumbled from Kalandar’s stomach.

“Then what? You regain your strength and leave me here?”

“One problem at a time. And yes, it might come to pass that I have to leave you for a while, but only until I can find my way back to the portal from which we were sent.”

“Is it possible that Sam and Thistle will pull us back?”

“Unlikely. They either do not know where they sent us, or they can no longer operate the machinery.”

“Meaning what?”

“Does that need explaining?”

“No.” Maddie was feeling petulant. “If you go back and they’re gone, can you operate the rings on your own?”

“I can.”

“If they are gone, are you going to bring me back?”

Kalandar stopped short as he pondered the question. “If they are indeed dead, the odds of success—which were hardly above dismal—drops much closer to zero. I would have to weigh whether it would still be in my best interests to pursue the rebellion, such as it is.”

“Please don’t leave me here.” Maddie could think of nothing worse than being on a cold, dead rock. “If they are gone, please send me somewhere that has life.”

“These are difficult issues without clear answers, and I do not have enough information. I cannot and will not make a promise I may not be able to keep. I will give you this, though; I will think upon your request, should the need arise.” He’d offered her so little, yet she was grateful for it.

Maddie was bone-weary when Kalandar called for a halt. The spires in the distance hardly felt as if they’d grown any closer. She was hungry; there was no doubt about that, but she was acutely aware of just how thirsty she was. There was the beginning of an ache behind her eyes, her heart was racing a little too fast, and as tired as she was, she was unsure if she’d be able to sleep. Her training for the moon mission had extensively talked about dehydration and its effects. Tomorrow, she knew, if she didn’t get some water, her head was going to be pounding and she’d begin to weaken exponentially. If the city ahead of them was the only source, she didn’t see how she could possibly make it.

After finally falling asleep, Maddie was awakened by a wailing off in the distance. Kalandar rustled and sat straight up. “That’s not right.”

“What is it?” Maddie’s heart was beating so furiously in her chest that it physically hurt as it slammed against her ribs. It had been quiet for so long; this felt like whistling in a haunted house and getting a response. A long black line was on the horizon, blotting out what little sunlight was still present. Maddie’s hair first began to flutter and then whip.

“A storm is coming.”

“That’s a storm?” Thick, straight, cobalt blue streaks pounded down from on high. The concussive force of the strike shook the ground, and it was still many miles off. “Looks more like a weapon,” Maddie added. Though, she admitted to herself, there was no way she could know what a storm on an alien planet looked like.

“Who would deploy the weapon, and against what enemy?”

Maddie was thinking on Earth’s history and all the nations that used to rattle their swords by detonating nuclear weapons. They called it “testing” but that was more of an accepted lie than a truth.

The blackness was encroaching, and as it did, it began to lengthen and heighten. “We cannot outrun it.” Kalandar was swinging his head back and forth.

Maddie hadn’t even contemplated the notion; she didn’t have enough strength within her to do so. “If it is a storm, there could be rain.”

“Rain merely means precipitation from the sky, not necessarily what you’re hoping for falls. For instance, on Venus, the rain consists of sulphuric acid.”

“No shit, Copernicus.” Maddie was angry now. The lack of water was making it difficult to think straight, and Kalandar raining on her parade wasn’t making it any better. She smirked at her internal word-smithery. The wind had begun to pick up dramatically; her clothes were rippling and her hair was flowing to the back. The cobalt columns had grown in number and intensity.

“This does not look good.”

“Hurricane-force winds, giant