Over the Moon by S.E. Anderson

Author:S.E. Anderson [Anderson, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sea Breeze Books
Published: 2023-01-09T16:00:00+00:00

One moment, Crow was glaring at Nemo, bristling with frustration, and the next, I’m dangling in the air from a tree, trapped inside a net, the rope digging into the flesh of my arms. I don’t even have the chance to scream.

My stomach churns as the net swings in small circles. There’s a lump on the back of my head, and it aches, fogging my mind. I peer into the jungle’s depth, seeing nothing in the darkness.

I reach for the locket, hoping for some kind of sign, but it’s ice-cold. I don’t know what I expect—that it can somehow warn me of impending danger, as it seemed to when the storm was brewing earlier? But the dead piece of jewelry hangs limply around my neck, no more mystical than the tip of my little finger.

As the net turns slowly, I catch sight of another body hanging from a tree. Blond hair sticks out through the woven contraption, the frail figure within still and silent.

“What in the void? Nemo!” I stick out the toe of my boot to brace myself against the tree and stop the spinning. My gut is writhing.

“Dora?”

“Yeah, hey. Is Crow here, too?”

The droid slowly wriggles around to face me. He’s no worse for wear, but his face is carved with worry.

“I have not seen her. Are you injured?”

“I don’t think so. What happened to us?”

“We were abducted, though I surmise you guessed as much. By whom? No clue.”

I groan in frustration. I have to stay focused, rational. Panic won’t get us anywhere, but it’s proving impossible to convince my body otherwise. Ropes and nets don’t have wires and gears. They can’t be tricked into helping me escape.

My chest buzzes, sending a wave of relief washing through me. “Tau?”

The bot chirps what could be either a confused jingle or a birthday song. It doesn’t sound much like he has any idea what’s happening either.

The net presses tightly against my body. I have my foot jammed against the tree to stop the spinning as I fight to wriggle Tau out of my coat. He slips out of the net to sweet freedom.

The dark forest is silent. If there were birds before, they don’t make a sound now. The bot hovers between me and the droid, glowing softly.

“So, um, any idea how we get out of here?” I say, eyes fixed on Nemo. He doesn’t look worried at all, his face stoic as a statue. Still, he’s used to remaining motionless for years on end—life imprisoned in a net is closer to his default setting than the frenetic activity of our past day. “Do we even know where here is?”

“We are approximately one-mile northeast of our initial position,” Nemo said, “according to my internal GPS. However, I am not quite sure how accurate it is after all these years.”

“Not that far, then,” I shudder. We’re off the path, making us vulnerable to Eve, whether or not she’s working with whoever put us in these nets. And Crow has either been taken somewhere else or has outright abandoned us.

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