Phantom Universe (16 page)

The Captain stabs his finger toward the opening more forcefully this time. She gets to her feet and does the walk of shame to the door and past the threshold where the crew members part to let her pass. Any movement from the crew makes her twitch and flinch away, though none of them make a move to touch her. She contemplates fleeing again, but has no idea where she’ll go.

The Captain catches up to her when she starts to climb the steps.

“
I know what happened, Summer,” he says, his voice surprisingly soft. She waits for the shouting. “I know who it was, and he’s gone the next time we reach port.”

She nods in acknowledgement, wondering why he’s telling her this.

“
Ya’ve been a great asset to this ship, Summer. If ya pull this shit again there’ll be drastic consequences,” he threatens, his dark eyes backing his words like a blood promise. “I’m giving ya a pass because someone destroyed something important to ya. Ya acted irrationally, and no one’s perfect.”

They continue their way down another rusted metal hallway, and the silence grows thick between them. He hands over the assorted paper and notebooks to her. She accepts them gratefully, but knows it’s useless—the only thing she knows how to write is her name, and the images aren’t easily replicable. These will just be a reminder of what she lost; not just her drawn memories, but her previous life. Her heart still aches for her mum, though she tries not to think about it too often or it only makes everything worse. Still, she holds them closely to her chest. Gifts are rare, and she never takes them for granted.

“
I’m gunna put a lock on yer door and give ya the key,” Captain Travis says, breaking the tension-filled silence. “But I’ll
also
have a key,” he warns. “That way no one’ll be able to do anything like this again, but at the same time I can make sure ya don’t do anything like what you did today.”

This is the nicest thing the captain has ever done for her, and she nods fervently, not believing her luck.

“
Though what ya did with the peppers was quite clever. He deserved it.” The Captain actually chuckles.

She looks up at his face questioningly, wondering who “he” is. She wants to make sure to spit in his dinner every night.

“
Oh no.” He laughs at the frown on her face. “Until he’s off my ship I won’t tell ya who it is. If ya try to pull any more tricks with him he’ll not tolerate them, and he’ll strike back. He’s been known to do some awful things to people.” The captain rubs his beard distractedly as they turn another corner, only feet away from her room. Aaron is waiting outside, smirking widely under his mop of fire-red hair. “I knew I should’ve never let that arrogant imbecile on this ship,” the Captain practically growls.

“
Hey, I can he’r ya, ya know? “ Aaron replies with a laugh.

“
I ain’t talkin’ ’bout you, boy.” Captain Travis stops outside Summer’s room and pivots to face her. “I’ve got to g’t my supplies so I can put the lock back on yer door. Aaron here’ll make sure—” He glances up at Aaron then back to Summer. “—that no one bothers you ‘til I g’t this lock in place. Ya burned many tongues tonight.”

Aaron finds this hysterical. Not Summer. She knows that she’ll have to watch her step for a while. Captain Travis might not punish her, but that doesn’t mean the other crew members won’t.

“
Don’t ya worry,” the Captain tries to reassure. “I’m the only one allowed to whip ya over this incident. I’ve called dibs.”

She nods.
But there are much worse things they can do
, she thinks internally as she rubs her upper arm where it’s blanketed with burn scars.

CHAPTER
17: BINDING

16 years old

Summer and Jaden huddle together inside one of the sleeping bags and share their warmth in the cold, damp cave. Summer slept the majority of the night, though she was aware whenever Gage and Cameron changed shifts for lookout throughout the night. She’s come to realize that neither Gage nor Cameron have any intentions of hurting them—at least not right now. Though her heart is pretty sure Gage wasn’t lying last night. Jaden snores softly next to her, while Summer peeks out of the sleeping bag to catch Gage’s still form in the other one.

His blonde hair is not the typical military high and tight. Besides being tousled with sleep, it’s combed forward to reveal just enough length to be rebellious, yet short enough to not be sloppy. A few strands of hair fall dangerously close to his eyebrows and tickle his forehead. She wishes he was awake so she could dive into the heavenly green of his hypnotic eyes. His nose, with its little, imperfect bump, is slightly blushed from the cold air. Full lips curve into a smile as he dreams. She’s curious of what, or who, it is that he’s dreaming of. Startlingly, his eyes fly open, and Summer dives into the sleeping bag to cover her face. Jaden moans quietly, turns over, and falls quickly back to sleep. It’s unbelievably embarrassing that she was just caught ogling Gage while he sleeps.

The only noise is the roaring waterfall covering the entrance, so she’s not sure if he’s fallen back to sleep or not. After several breathless moments, she glances over the edge of the sleeping bag and comes face to face with those chaotically, beautiful green eyes. For the first time in years, a scream almost escapes. Before she attempts to dig a hole out of the sleeping bag while scrambling away, Gage reaches out tenderly and runs his hand down her cheek. She freezes and finally takes in his expression—he’s smiling, but not menacing or evil-like. He’s smiling like Landon would, though Gage’s eyes have this fierce intensity to them that Landon’s doesn’t.

“
Did you sleep well?” he barely whispers—lip reading necessary.

She shakes her head and holds her hand over his. Her cheek starts to warm under his palm.

“
You’re cold,” he notes with a frown. His other palm encloses her face, and her cheeks are flaming—more with the emotions flowing through her than anything else.

Cameron comes into view and leans over his shoulder. “How is she today?”

“
Not sure yet—she obviously didn’t sleep well, and she feels like her temperature could be too low.” His eyes don’t leave Summer’s as he accesses her situation. Her head pounds slightly from her head wound.

Cameron sighs, and if Summer isn’t mistaken, she would say it’s in concern. “I should probably check her out again, and feed her some breakfast.”

Jaden yawns loudly behind Summer. “What’s going on?” she asks sleepily.

“
We’re hoping to call in transport today to bring us to the hospital,” Cameron says. “If the lines are still static we’ll have to walk. It’ll take several days, and I’m afraid we’re just not prepared for such a long trip in the wild.”

Jaden stretches as she sits up and meets the cold air. “It’s freezing in here.” Her hands run up and down her arms. “Anyway, if we get stuck out there—‘in the wild’—we’ll be fine. Remember, I can hunt. My old master liked to hunt for sport and brought me along to do the dirty work.”

“
I don’t think you understand—plus, hunting is illegal,” Cameron argues. “It’s dangerous out there, and we can’t just hunt without permission. There are hunting seasons, and you must be trained beforehand. Only a handful of people are chosen to hunt—usually it’s a talent that runs in the family. If you’re caught without the proper permits you could be put on trial. Some have even been executed!”

The word startles Summer, but Gage’s palm over her cheek prevents her from flinching away. Her breath catches in her throat. Cameron said “executed.” It’s unsettling and upsetting to hear that.

“
There is no way I’d starve over a stupid law like that,” says Jaden, her voice even. “If you are so afraid to hunt, I’ll do it for you.”

Cameron huffs. “Buying illegally hunted game is also
illegal
.”

“
It’s your lucky day then. I’m giving it away for free!”

Gage and Cameron can’t help but chuckle.

“
Plus, I saw both of you partaking in the eating of my rabbit,” Jaden adds.

Cameron opens her mouth as if to say something, but then her face goes blank, like her mind has left the proverbial building. Suddenly, she blinks her brown eyes rapidly before shrugging. “Well, looks like it won’t be an issue. Transport just contacted me. They’ll be here in a few hours—told us to hang tight and to eat some breakfast in the mean time.” She looks at the back of Gage’s head. “It’s gotten worse,” is all she says to him.

Gage closes his eyes, frowns, and sighs. “I was afraid of that. Did you tell them who our passengers are and that both of them need medical attention?” Summer watches the lines of his face grow hard and straight, though his hands warming her cheeks stay gentle.

“
Yes, they know. There were some protests, but I have great connections in the transport system thanks to my profession.” Cameron begins to unpack food from her bag and sits it out. “Doctor Rose is waiting at the Phantomship Medical Institute.”

The tension in Gage’s jaw softens, and his eyes open to expose those spellbinding eyes, entrapping Summer immediately. “That’s good news,” he says.

Jaden hops out of the sleeping bag and starts to ask Cameron a million questions about the food and other things in her pack. Summer, on the other hand, doesn’t move she’s so enthralled by Gage.

“
Hey, are you warmer now?” His voice is soft, like a caress over her skin. She nods between his palms, and he lets go. “It’s been too hot outside to carry any kind of cold weather gear, so I’m sorry I don’t have anything warmer,” Gage continues as he sits up, turns, and digs through his pack, his voice becoming muffled. “But I hope these will fit.” He pivots back around and hands her some folded clothes.

Sitting up, she takes the clothes from him and grins.

“
Oh, and one more thing.” He holds up his finger as he rummages in his pack again. “Now you’re set.” On the pile of clothes, he adds a plastic bag full of things she doesn’t recognize, and she glances up at him in question. It’s like an automatic gesture now as he holds out his hand, palm up.

Summer drops the clothes and bag into her lap and gingerly takes his palm. “I don’t know what to do with the stuff in the bag,” she writes slowly with a shrug.

“
That’s okay—I’ll show you.” Gage glances over his shoulder at Cameron to see how much longer until breakfast, then he turns back to Summer. “If you want to change, you can go around that corner”—he points to where Cameron and Jaden went last night—“and then I can show you what to do with the rest of this stuff. Sound good?”

She inclines her head and writes in his palm, “Thank you.”

“
It’s not a problem.” He stands, turning his hand so he can help her up. She’s not sure for a second, but he waits with an encouraging smile until she gives in. The sleeping bag tumbles from her tiny frame, and the cold air immediately rushes in, penetrating her skin and sending chills down her body. “We’ll be out of here soon,” he promises and rubs his hands along her upper arms to create friction to warm her.

Biting her lip, she nods and backs away. The light follows her into what appears to be a small passageway to another part of the cave. The mystery of the light isn’t answered when she spins around for the source. She quickly pulls off and tosses her ratty pair of pants on the ground. The black pants Gage gave her are several sizes too large—in length and around her waist. The top has a string she uses to tighten them, and she then rolls the waistline until the pants no longer drag along the floor. Next, she removes her bloody shirt—which might as well be called a potato sack, because it used to be one. Landon was creative enough to make it into a shirt for her; he even sowed the hemlines. This she makes sure to fold neatly. If Landon never returns she wants a physical reminder of their amazing friendship. The black shirt she throws over her head is long-sleeved and engulfs her. It’s so long it hits the tops of her knees. Gage was even nice enough to include a pair of black socks; they are so long they reach past her knees. The only things missing are underwear and shoes.

Summer peers around the corner to see the three of them cooking a strange looking breakfast. Cameron has lain down a thin piece of metal that glows red and has placed a compressed bag of food over it. It grows larger and larger until purple steam rises from a hole in the top. Cameron drags it off the heated metal and lets it cool before cutting the bag open with, what appears to be in Summer’s vision, thin air. Jaden is riveted, giggling with the hugest grin she can plaster across her face.