Isolation

Chapter 29

Vera had a glow stick that she snapped and shook. The green light was bright enough to give her a few feet of light. She could barely squeeze between the cables and pipes that lined the shaft. Small people were typically the ones who would go inside. She didn't consider herself small, but she was just enough to push herself through. She fell through to the wider portion and took a minute to catch her breath.

"This is so bullshit," she whispered.

She didn't want to leave anyone behind. Hell, she felt bad for Aiden staying back. She wanted to help him stop the delinquents, but she would just get in the way. She couldn't fight. She was too weak. The lack of water was making her head spin.

She crawled, turning a few corners, until she made it to storage. Since the landing gear had cracked the side of the hull in the ship, she could see daylight spilling through. She could see the ruptured tank and kicked herself in the ass for the reminder. The gap was wide enough for her to fall through. She hit the ground and froze. There were people outside, but no one saw her. She took the opportunity and rushed into the forest.

She knew what spot Aiden was talking about. It was close to the graves. She saw the rocks before the stump. She got on her knees and found the hole almost immediately. She stuck her hand inside and waved it around until she felt something cold. She pulled out the gun.

"Aiden, you clever fox," she said.

She stuffed it in her pants and ran into the woods. She looked back at the ship.

"Good luck, Aiden," she said.

She ran deep into the forest. She didn't see the glowstick fall out of her pocket when she got on the ground. She didn't see it had fallen onto Judy's grave.

She definitely didn't see the roots pull the glowstick into the ground.

~~~

Mark chewed on his cheek. They were moving deeper and deeper into the cave. The sound of the waterfall fell away and was replaced with the sound of drips and the occasional chirp from a bat. He couldn't hear the Poachers anymore.

"I think we're ahead of them," James said.

"I don't want to stick around and find out," Abigail said. "I tried to tell you they were ruthless."

"So is half of our crew," Mark said. "That doesn't apply to everyone."

"Well, for what it's worth, you gave it your best shot. They were just too far gone."

"That one fighter wasn't," James said.

"And now she's dead. Just being honest."

Mark hated their silence. He didn't want to hear everything else.

"So, are you going to answer my question?" Mark said to Abigail.

"About what?"

"Water. Do you boil it?"

"Oh, that. No. We get it from the trees."

"Trees?"

"There is water in the trees, yes."

"It's like sap," Mark realized. "The trees filter the water and make it clean."

"You have to be careful or the tree will die," she warned.

"That's great!" James said. "We can show the crew.

"Yeah. It hasn't rained in days. They're bound to be short on supply."

"Wait," Abigail interrupted. "You're not drinking the rain, are you?"

"We have rainwater collectors. Why?"