Page 18 of Rebel
Hope had another surge of adrenaline pulsing through me, and I picked up speed, barely registering Tide’s weight even with the pack on his back. There was a plateau above. Maybe a platform we could rest on.
He hissed in pain when I lost my footing and knocked into his injured leg. “Almost there.”
“Where?”
“There’s a ledge. Just hold on.”
And then I was scrambling over it, onto flat ground. “Okay, we made it, but don’t move. It’s a narrow ledge. There’s a cave, though. I’ll get us in there.” With Tide hugging my back, I crawled into the cave then fell onto my side. “You can let go now.”
He rolled away from me.
I lay panting for a moment, wallowing in the ache in my chest from the exertion and the lack of oxygen, and the fact this damn planet could go suck it. “Just stay still, I need to go check on the creatures.”
I crawled back out and peered over the edge of the ledge. The area below the ledge was clear.
The creatures were gone.
All I could do was hope I’d bought the guys enough time.
* * *
Tide was breathing fast and shallow. Not a good sign. He clutched at his thigh, but the wound was farther down his leg, in his calf. I tore at the fabric of his pants. Shit, the material was tough, but it ripped when I applied my teeth to it.
“Argh!” Tide clutched his thigh.
The wound was puffy and smelled off. It was difficult to see detail even with my special vision, but there was no doubt the wound was infected with a toxin that was probably in his blood now. The torn fabric could act as a tourniquet. I tied it as tight as possible high on his thigh, ignoring his yelp of pain.
“Poison,” Tide said. “I won’t last long.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s probably a toxin to incapacitate, not kill.” I hoped.
His teeth began to chatter.
Okay, his body was going into shock. I needed to keep him warm. The rock he was leaning up against was probably making it worse, but what if I slipped between him and the rock?
I maneuvered behind him.
“What are you doing?” he gasped when I jostled him.
“Getting between you and the rock.” I positioned myself so my legs were straddling him from behind. “I need to keep you warm.”
He didn’t protest but let me hug him from behind while rubbing his arms and chest with brisk movements. How long before the guys came looking for us? Had they gotten to the base yet? Oh, God, please let it be soon, because Tide’s heartbeat was galloping, and the faster it beat, the faster the toxin would spread. There was only the hope that Athion physiology might be different from human physiology, and that the toxin wasn’t lethal.
His head drooped.
“Hey, Tide. What’s it like being the oldest of five?”
“Huh?”
“Did you have to play big brother often?”
“I … I’m fine, Rogue. I’m awake.”
“I know, but if you talk to me, then we can make sure you stay alert.”
“Oh … Okay. Um … My father died a few months after the virus took our mother. I raised the boys. I was more father than brother to them. I held off on taking a government position until they were all out of the junior academy.”
A raspy cough wracked his body, and I held him through it. Shit, he was getting worse.
