Into the Burn by C.P. James

Author:C.P. James [James, C.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Published: 2020-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

27

Owen was sandwiched between the soldiers called Charlies in the Scorpion’s personnel area. He couldn’t see much through the front windshield, though it was obvious enough they were headed toward the city. He never saw the other craft once they got in the air.

The one with Novi inside.

He had no idea how easy it would be for them to help her. They probably would’ve even if he hadn’t bargained for it, which made it seem that much more ridiculous. Now he’d have to give them something or suffer the consequences. If they were that good at healing, how good were they at hurting?

They warned him not to try and remove the tongue-like straps around his wrists and he could see why. Filaments around the edge grew down into his skin like tiny, barbed roots. The slightest motion was painful, which obviously was the point.

In other circumstances he would’ve been captivated by the experience of flying and asked a million questions, but he wasn’t captivated — just captive. He had to hope the others had gotten clear of the Skel and were well on their way to safety. As for Dillard, Bruce, and Elle, he wasn’t sure what to think. He’d been eager to join the fight but it was already ending before he’d landed a single blow.

All because of a girl he barely knew.

Every time he craned himself forward he saw an unbroken cityscape stretching to the horizon and beyond. The whole skyline arced slowly up toward the so-called Cytospire, the impossibly tall building at the heart of it all. The Scorpion made one lazy circle around it before touching softly down onto a landing platform.

When the door swung upward, they were so high above the city that the ocean looked more like a map feature than an actual body of water. The ocean!

The western edge of the city wall bulged outward like a ripe blister, forming an eye-shaped harbor filled with boats that looked like toys. Everything his eyes drank in was an absolute marvel. Under some other circumstances, he might have paused to enjoy it. But his life was probably forfeit and he knew it.

Not the easiest pill to swallow.

The Charlies hauled him to a nearby door and into an elevator that quickly dropped, then opened into an empty hallway. They led him into a room with a long metal table in the center and a bank of cabinets. Not exactly the kind of room where good things happened.

“On the table,” growled Aramor, who came in behind them.

When Owen didn’t budge, the Charlies hauled him off his feet and dropped him onto the hard table, the back of his head slamming back with a sickening clang. Stars filled his vision. They pulled his restraints free just long enough to splay his hands and feet and lash them to metal rings at the corners.

The living straps wrapped around them and tightened on his wrists. He yanked at them but the tendrils dug in and searing pain shot up his arms.

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