Page 81 of Zalis
She didn’t feel alone. That same itchy, crawly sensation of being watched was back and it made no sense.
No, it did. She rubbed the spot behind her ear. She wasn’t ever alone. She had that chiptheyput in her. Physically, though, no one else was in the tunnel except Zalis, and he’d be back any minute.
The glowstick died. Darkness surrounded her.
Her body was coiled tight, listening for every noise. Zalis was out there. She should hear footsteps. Why weren’t there footsteps? Scenarios played out in her mind, none of them good and all of them ending with Zalis dead on the ground. A stray rock hit his head in just the right spot. Suhlik got him. A cloud of deadly gas released by the quake. Or Vanessa’s glowing fungus gained mobility and attacked. The scenarios spiraled in increased improbability.
She knew it was the fear taking over her mind. She knew that, but all those fears came down to Zalis beinggone.
That pained her more than she expected. They hadn’t known each other long but she didn’t want to imagine life without him. She never got the chance to tell him how she felt, that his romance plan worked, awkward dates and all.
Grief for something that hadn’t happened yet sank sharp claws into her, ripping another sob from her sore throat.
“The exit is blocked.”
She screamed. No shame in that.
A large figure stood before her, dark against the darkness. Patterns glowed on his skin. She recognized Zalis, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing.
A new glowstick burst into illumination like a supernova. She blinked at the sudden brightness. Zalis wasn’t wearing a shirt but otherwise was in one piece.
“You’re okay,” she managed to say, her voice nearly not cracking. Fine, it cracked. A lot. Look, this was super stressful. She was allowed to be emotional. “What happened to your shirt?”
“A water pipe burst and my shirt is wet.” He held up the offending item.
“Maybe your shirt is cursed. First a fire and now this,” she said, trying to keep her tone light and funny because the alternative was screaming in terror.
“This is serious.”
“I know it’s serious, Zalis,” she snapped. “That was a bombing. The cave… caved in. This is pretty much the extreme end ofserious.”
“You are upset.”
“Yeah, I am. You’re supposed to keep me safe.” Her voice wavered, sounding more like an accusation than she intended but her intentions meant nothing at the moment. The dam holding back her fear broke, coming out in a massive sob. Tears rolled down her face. “I’m tired of being afraid.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “It is logical to be afraid. A wise warrior listens to fear and stays alert.”
“You’ve never been afraid.” The platitudes she could do without, but the hug was good.
Solid.
Real.
“It’s not just now. It’s always been like this.” Sobs added a strange staccato to her voice, but she couldn’t seem to stop talking. “I was afraid of a match, so I got my name out of the database. I was afraid to go back to Earth, so I glommed on to you.”
“I am glad and I have been afraid,” he said.
“Don’t lie to make me feel better. I know we’re in a collapsed mine shaft like some nineteenth century penny dreadful, but your credibility can only stretch so far.”
“Your humor has returned.” He sounded approving.
“Yeah, gallows humor. Everyone from Generation Invasion has it. When have you ever been afraid? You’re so… big.” She struggled to express, well, anything. Words were hard.
“Earth frightened me,” he said.
Gemma sat up, pushing away enough to get a good look at his face. “Earth scared you?You.I don’t think anything on Earth could put a scratch on you.”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “The poisonous ivy was unpleasant.”
