The Forsaken

It’s not just for me and Liam. I vow that if I survive, I will do everything I can to get everyone off this island and back to civilization.
    Liam has torn his helmet off too, with a wild glint in his eyes. “This might actually work!” he yells at me. “Go! Go!”
    I yank open the door to the pod and climb inside first. He follows. With the liquid turned to powder, there’s room enough for the two of us. But only barely.
    I knock the halo out of the way, and we cram our bodies together, pressing against each other side by side, as tightly as possible. Liam grabs the pod door and closes it. I hear a hiss as it begins to pressurize. He passes me the oxygen mask. We’re going to have to share it.
    I’m worried Clara will put a stop to our escape, or that the pod will malfunction because we’re not frozen. But I’m hoping that because everything is so regimented and automated, the pod will stick to its timetable no matter what.
    With a reverberating clang a tentacle slams down on the metal catwalk outside where we were standing just seconds earlier. Does it know we’re in here?
    I grab Liam harder, pressing my head into his shoulder as I hand him the oxygen mask.
    Another tentacle slams down, cracking across the front of our living coffin like a whip. This time the pod rocks back and forth, twisting and tumbling us into each other.
    Then something starts lifting us into the air.
    I shriek because I think it’s one of the miniature feelers at first, but the motion is too smooth. Then I realize our pod has been hoisted up by some sort of crane.
    I’m guessing that we’re about to be taken to whatever vehicle is going to ship us off the wheel. I wish I could see where we’re headed, but of course there’s no video screen on the inside of the pod.
    I hold on to Liam so tightly, my nails feel like they’re going to rip through his suit and into his skin. His strong arms are wrapped around me, holding and protecting me. We keep passing the mask back and forth, but there’s enough air trapped in the pod that we can breathe without the mask. At least for now.
    I wonder what’s happening to Gadya. If she’s fighting for her life. My mind can find no safe place.
    Our pod sways and then stabilizes again.
    “We’re going to be okay,” Liam murmurs into my ear. He’s trying to keep me calm.
    I know this could be the end. I sense that we’re swinging high up in the air, probably still somewhere inside the huge domed structure of the specimen archive.
    I shut my eyes.
    Then, with a jolt and a clank, our pod comes to an abrupt, puzzling halt.
    I hear a clicking noise, as though our pod has docked onto something. Perhaps we’re inside another, larger vehicle. Then, a moment later, I hear another click. Then another.
    “Where are we?” I whisper to Liam.
    “Not sure. Maybe in a transport aircraft?”
    “I hope so.” I wonder how the aircraft will leave the archive. Maybe through a subterranean runway, or even a retractable opening in the roof.
    I hear the muffled roar of jet engines starting up outside the pod. Everything starts shaking. We really must be inside a larger aircraft now. There’s no way to know for sure, of course, but that’s the sensation I get. It’s terrifying but exhilarating. I grab Liam tighter as the noise of the engines grows louder.
    “I think I’ve fallen in love with you,” I say to him, suddenly blurting the words into his shoulder. I had to say it, in case our pod blows up or something. It’s the first time I’ve told anyone I love them, other than my mom or dad when I was little. But I don’t know if he heard me or not, because the words got muffled, and he doesn’t say anything back.
    Our pod starts shaking like it’s falling to pieces, as the aircraft—or whatever vehicle we’re inside—starts picking up speed. My body is so tight against Liam that it hurts. Are we going to survive without the protective fluid?
    “Alenna!” I hear Liam yell. “Hold on!”
    A second later, the roar reaches a deafening pitch and the vehicle surges forward, like we’re blazing up some steep runway out of the archive.
    I can’t see. I can’t hear. And I can’t breathe. But I feel a sense of calm wash over me. I did my best. I didn’t give up. And in the end I found Liam again.
    If we’re about to die, I guess I’m okay with it.
    Then, sickeningly, we’re off the ground and rocketing through the air. Everything is shaking, vibrating, and churning. I’m still wrapped around