Page 64 of Warrior Rescued

My beautiful little warrior. Warrior.

“Warrior!”

His gaze shot to the viewscreen. Something had happened to make the vile reptiles veer off course, otherwise he would’ve overtaken them.

I have a feeling I know who that something was.

Elena was a true warrior. She’d proved that from the moment he arrived. She wouldn’t go willingly with those spineless pieces of shit, she would’ve given them a fight.

Swiftly he maneuvered the cruiser, estimating how far he’d actually witnessed the other one travel, then began his hunt again.

Elena

Don’t look back, just run.

Elena pushed herself faster, veering toward the left, as she felt the droplets hit her skin. The scalding hot water tested her limits, but it wasn’t the full brunt of the eruption raining down on her, if it was, she wouldn’t be having these thoughts, she’d be dead.

So run, bitch, or that’s exactly what will happen!

Her lungs and muscles burned. There was a stitch in her side that added to the agony of her injured knee, forcing tears from her eyes that mixed with the hot rain. None of it mattered. Her gaze was on the steaming pit ahead. The geyser, the biggest one yet, was gearing up. She could make it. She had to make it. This time there was no running wide to avoid its wrath, not if she was going to reach the other side of this hellish place.

The giant geyser sputtered, the ground shaking violently as she passed it. The hot, humid air built and still she ran. There was an odd sound amidst the roar of rushing water erupting from the earth.

What the fuck?!

She panicked, wondering what fresh level of hell was happening behind her, and stumbled. Whatever it was, there was no time.

What’s the count?She desperately tried to recall as she scrambled off the ground.Shit, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight.

She couldn’t feel her legs but continued running. The steamy heat all around made her lightheaded and a snippet from her past assailed her. Somehow, she was six years old again, running from Paul, the neighborhood brat who’d tried to steal her Barbie. She was a pudgy little kid and completely out of shape. Her breath heaved out, her lungs burned and she cried, but her apartment building was just up ahead. She’d make it. She couldn’t let Paul give Barbie a magic marker make-over. Finally, she shoved through her front door and collapsed panting on the floor.

Safe at last!

Elena blinked as it registered that it wasn’t carpet beneath her but rocky ground.

Shit!

Horrified, she jumped to her feet. After everything she’d been through, to be killed by the delusion of the first time she ran for her life would be fucking ironic. Just as she was about to start running again, the mist parted, revealing the oasis of safety wasn’t a mirage.

“I made it!” she laughed deliriously, collapsing on the ground.

Her spent mind hadn’t entirely fabricated the whole situation. It was a miracle. A shadow blocked out the light and reality intruded on her giddy mood.

“You were supposed to lead us!” Spiny huffed, staggering as he waved his gun at her. “Stard is dead!”

She glanced back at the geysers. Through the mist she spotted the pilot’s body lying nearby the largest boiling fountain. The plan had been to lose these bastards on the dangerous trek and yet she cringed at the thought of being boiled alive. It was also unfortunate the pilot was the first to go. He was the less annoying of the two. At the end of the day, though, she could still sleep with herself.

“You wouldn’t have made it through if I hadn’t been leading you,” she pointed out as she glared at him.

“Exactly where are you leading?” Spiny hissed. “I’ve noticed you’ve been heading north. Fuzyre is east!” He jabbed his gun in the direction of the reptile base.

Her gaze drifted past the bristling asshole to the volcanic desert stretching from here to the horizon. It was a relief to be past the geysers, but the rocky plain was riddled with rivers of magma. Unlike the wasps, explosive plants, geysers and hot springs, she had no experience with the active lava flows. She’d avoided crossing the desert this close to the volcanoes.

There’s no fucking way!She turned her gaze back to Spiny, staring straight down his gun.

“I don’t cross the magma flows,” she informed him.

“You do today!” Spiny fired at the ground near her feet. “Lead!” He aimed at her head.

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