The Lost Signal by J S Fernandez Morales

Author:J S Fernandez Morales [Morales, J S Fernandez]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2020-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The sound was deafening. It was like thunder right next to her right ear, vibrating inside her head and turning the insides into mush.

“Red!” gasped Fiona as she rose from her sleep.

It took her a few seconds to realize the terrible noise that invaded her ears was her own ragged breaths. Her back was drenched with cold sweat, and she could feel her heart racing against her ribs. Fiona was gripping her covers so hard that her claws had dug through them. Her whole body was shaking, and she took long, slow breaths to calm herself. Waking up in absolute fear and a feeling of impending doom was normal for her. That sound was a recurring nightmare, but she was never able to remember it until that morning.

“You’re twenty minutes behind schedule,” said Kurugar.

Fiona turned toward him, startled. If she had any hope of calming herself after the nightmare, she abandoned them when she saw Kurugar’s large figure filling up the room with menacing radiance. Twenty minutes was an inconceivable delay by his standards.

“What are you staring at me for?” he whispered, which was even scarier than if he had shown the real anger churning inside of him.

“I’m sorry,” murmured Fiona, scrambling out of bed to get ready.

“One minute, hybrid!”

Kurugar stepped outside and shut the door behind him. Fiona knew he was timing her, so she jumped into her clothes as fast as she could.

“Thirty seconds!” she heard him shout from the hall.

There was no time to braid her hair like she was supposed to, so a messy bun would have to do. Fiona rushed into her clothes, put on her boots and stepped outside short of breath. She didn’t know what Kurugar planned to do if she took more than one minute to get ready, but it was best to keep it a mystery. He took an examining look at her and made a disapproving sound with his mouth before walking to wherever he was taking her this time.

“You look tired, hybrid,” he said. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Fiona’s heart skipped a beat. Did he know she had sneaked into the mines? She wasn’t sure if he was genuinely asking or probing for information.

“I had nightmares,” she answered. It wasn’t the complete truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

“I noticed. Do you think that’s a good excuse for oversleeping and turning my day upside down?”

“No.”

“What makes you think you deserve more sleep than other people?”

“Nothing. It won’t happen again.”

“Look at you! You’re a mess! There is nothing worse than looking like you rushed through something because you can’t keep track of time. Everyone has a schedule to follow. You failed to follow yours. Is that what you want people to think about you?”

“No. . .”

Fiona restrained herself from showing any signs of relief. He didn’t know. If he knew, he would’ve been relishing in the opportunity to punish the guards. If she was going to keep sneaking into the mines, she would have to sacrifice her sleep and wake up on time.

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