to someone outside the edge of Charlie’s view, and moments later, a guard stepped forward pushing a beaten-up woman ahead of him. The woman’s lip was split, a bruise blooming across one cheek and an eye blackened, her dark hair hanging in a tangled mass of curls.
Despite her horrible appearance, Charlie recognized her. She stumbled forward as the cell was opened and Mia was thrust into it. Her body collided with her friend, and Charlie shouldered Mia’s weight as they went down together. Retreating footsteps echoed around them until finally the door slid shut at the far end of the corridor, leaving Charlie alone with Mia.
Mia cracked one eye open and glared at her. “Don’t you dare start fucking crying, Charlie. Tears never help anyone. We need to help ourselves get the fuck out of here.” Mia shuddered, but when she opened her eyes again, she managed a weak smile. “I was kinda hoping never to see you again, that maybe you had gotten away for good and found something wonderful out there, far away from this place.”
“I did,” Charlie whispered, her hand gently brushing Mia’s hair back from her brow.
Her friend frowned at her. “I don’t understand. What are you doing here then?”
“I fell for a goddamn trap, but they had the perfect bait to make me let down my guard. They had Doug.”
Mia’s mouth fell open in horror. “No. Not Doug. Please don’t tell me Doug is responsible.”
Charlie solidified her grip on her friend as she attempted to recoil. Her voice took on an urgency as she spoke in a low voice.
“He did it for you, Mia. I understand that. Don’t get me wrong—I’m mad as hell at him. I want to strangle him, throw him in a cell for hours without water, and have Rhyst kick his ass up and down the street. I mean, fuck, I really can’t believe he did that to me after all we’ve been through.” She let out a ragged sigh and rolled her neck in an attempt to release some of the tension rising with her surge of anger.
It helped a little, she was able to calmly meet her friend’s eyes when she spoke again. “He loves you, Mia. I probably wouldn’t have understood it before I fell in love myself—hell, I would probably set fire to the entire colony if it meant saving Rhyst. It’s impossible to give up when some hope remains. He couldn’t give up on you when there was even the slimmest chance that he could save you.”
“Then he’s an idiot.” Mia let out a watery laugh filled with sorrow. Probably as close as her friend would allow herself to get to crying at that moment. “They aren’t going to keep their promises. They’re going to use him up, and once they’re done, they are going to put a blaster between his eyes. They’ll kill him, and I’ll never see him again. Shit, who am I kidding? I’m never going to see anything outside of this fucking place again. They will never let me out of here, Charlie.”
“Then we’ll get ourselves out,” Charlie whispered.
Her friend looked at her doubtfully.
“Maybe your alien will come for you like they want,” Mia whispered.
“Yeah, he will come. Gods help them when he does. Should have been careful with what they decided to wish for,” Charlie said around a raspy chuckle.
Mia disentangled herself to settle back, propped against the wall. Charlie could see the wheels turning in her friend’s head as her scabbed lip pursed thoughtfully, despite the pain that it must have caused her.
“We listen for the alarm, and we make our escape when everyone is busy with the attack on the colony and the guard is distracted. No waiting for a knight in shining armor to rescue our asses,” Mia said.
“Fuck yeah,” Charlie whispered, her pulse picking up as she imagined Rhyst coming for her.
She wouldn’t wait for him to rescue her. She would fight her way out, find him and fight by his side. Her eyes were leaden with exhaustion, but she leaned her head in against Mia’s and they whispered between themselves until they became too tired to continue. Still, they managed to create a rough plan of what to do. Much of it would depend on them winging it.
Now, it was just a matter of time.
Chapter 38
Rhyst growled as he led his team through the shadows around the colony. The sun was low on the horizon, and the moon rose radiantly, shedding its light over the plains,