sand. But it stays together long enough to smash into a giant dune. Sand covers us, blacking out the cockpit but for the still-beeping emergency lights.
Everything is calm except for the howling of the animals. And the child, Ella, cries.
I’m almost afraid to look away from the controls or let go of the flight yoke. And then I hear Zophie gasping for air and Crayton talking to Ella, and I know that they’re alive. I look at them. They glisten with sweat and their eyes are wide, but they’re okay.
I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath, but I exhale finally, peeling my shaky hands off of the controls.
“You did it,” Zophie says.
And I can’t help but laugh a hysterical, confused laugh as I try to gulp for air.
CHAPTER NINE
GETTING OUT OF THE SHIP PROVES TO BE A challenge.
The only way we’re able to escape is thanks to Raylan’s weapons cache—one of the few boxes we haven’t touched in the year and a half of our journey. My landing might have kept us from crumpling against the earth, but it also deeply embedded us in a sand dune. The loading door is blocked, and without any fuel to punch the thrusters or engine, it’s impossible for us to dig ourselves out of the sand. After a little bit of brainstorming, I find an old incendiary grenade in one of the boxes from Lorien and blow a hole in the side of the cargo bay while we huddle in Crayton’s living quarters along with the Chimærae.
On one hand, it’s perfect that we’ve crash-landed in the middle of nowhere, with no humans to catch sight of us. On the other, seeing nothing but sand anddunes surrounding us isn’t the most welcoming sight imaginable.
“How’s the radar on Earth?” I ask as I jump down into the hot sand, wearing the T-shirt and black pants I had on the night everything changed on Lorien. They’re a little baggier on me now, but I hardly notice. It is so good to be breathing air that hasn’t been recycled and to feel sunlight beating down on my skin. I don’t mind the heat. I welcome it, just as I welcome the solid, stable ground under my feet.
“Their systems aren’t exactly unsophisticated,” Zophie says, climbing out through the smoking hole. “It’s possible someone caught our entry. We’re in northern Africa. Egypt. We’re close enough to their capital that they may have had eyes in the sky.”
“Can someone take her?” Crayton asks, and then he hands Ella down to Zophie.
Soon the three of us stand at the top of the dune our ship has crashed into. The sand stretches out for what seems like an eternity.
“Which way do we go?” Crayton asks. He’s now got Ella strapped to his chest, holding his hand over her head to shield it from the sun.
“I’m not sure.” Zophie bites her lip. “I was charting us visually from space once we were close enough.”
“Isn’t there something on the ship that can point us towards civilization?”
“None of our tech is made to work with the satellites here,” I say. “I might be able to reconfigure something, but I have no idea how long it would take.”
“If the humans tracked our entry they might be coming this way.” Zophie raises her hand to her eyes, squinting.
“Then we should move,” I say. “Try to find a populated area and blend in.”
There’s some kind of commotion below us, and I realize that the Chimærae have all flown out and are now stretching their bodies, morphing between shapes and wrestling with one another in the sand. They seem as happy as we are to be outside again. A few of them take avian forms and soar up in the air.
“I’ve never seen them so riled up,” Crayton murmurs.
“They should get it out of their systems here,” I say, “while we’re out of sight.”
I can’t help but wonder: What are we going to do with all these beasts now that we’re on Earth?
One of them—a giant blue bird—flies higher than the others, golden eyes shining like a beacon in the sky. It lets out a shrill call and then swoops
Everything is calm except for the howling of the animals. And the child, Ella, cries.
I’m almost afraid to look away from the controls or let go of the flight yoke. And then I hear Zophie gasping for air and Crayton talking to Ella, and I know that they’re alive. I look at them. They glisten with sweat and their eyes are wide, but they’re okay.
I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath, but I exhale finally, peeling my shaky hands off of the controls.
“You did it,” Zophie says.
And I can’t help but laugh a hysterical, confused laugh as I try to gulp for air.
CHAPTER NINE
GETTING OUT OF THE SHIP PROVES TO BE A challenge.
The only way we’re able to escape is thanks to Raylan’s weapons cache—one of the few boxes we haven’t touched in the year and a half of our journey. My landing might have kept us from crumpling against the earth, but it also deeply embedded us in a sand dune. The loading door is blocked, and without any fuel to punch the thrusters or engine, it’s impossible for us to dig ourselves out of the sand. After a little bit of brainstorming, I find an old incendiary grenade in one of the boxes from Lorien and blow a hole in the side of the cargo bay while we huddle in Crayton’s living quarters along with the Chimærae.
On one hand, it’s perfect that we’ve crash-landed in the middle of nowhere, with no humans to catch sight of us. On the other, seeing nothing but sand anddunes surrounding us isn’t the most welcoming sight imaginable.
“How’s the radar on Earth?” I ask as I jump down into the hot sand, wearing the T-shirt and black pants I had on the night everything changed on Lorien. They’re a little baggier on me now, but I hardly notice. It is so good to be breathing air that hasn’t been recycled and to feel sunlight beating down on my skin. I don’t mind the heat. I welcome it, just as I welcome the solid, stable ground under my feet.
“Their systems aren’t exactly unsophisticated,” Zophie says, climbing out through the smoking hole. “It’s possible someone caught our entry. We’re in northern Africa. Egypt. We’re close enough to their capital that they may have had eyes in the sky.”
“Can someone take her?” Crayton asks, and then he hands Ella down to Zophie.
Soon the three of us stand at the top of the dune our ship has crashed into. The sand stretches out for what seems like an eternity.
“Which way do we go?” Crayton asks. He’s now got Ella strapped to his chest, holding his hand over her head to shield it from the sun.
“I’m not sure.” Zophie bites her lip. “I was charting us visually from space once we were close enough.”
“Isn’t there something on the ship that can point us towards civilization?”
“None of our tech is made to work with the satellites here,” I say. “I might be able to reconfigure something, but I have no idea how long it would take.”
“If the humans tracked our entry they might be coming this way.” Zophie raises her hand to her eyes, squinting.
“Then we should move,” I say. “Try to find a populated area and blend in.”
There’s some kind of commotion below us, and I realize that the Chimærae have all flown out and are now stretching their bodies, morphing between shapes and wrestling with one another in the sand. They seem as happy as we are to be outside again. A few of them take avian forms and soar up in the air.
“I’ve never seen them so riled up,” Crayton murmurs.
“They should get it out of their systems here,” I say, “while we’re out of sight.”
I can’t help but wonder: What are we going to do with all these beasts now that we’re on Earth?
One of them—a giant blue bird—flies higher than the others, golden eyes shining like a beacon in the sky. It lets out a shrill call and then swoops
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