“Crashed” Paret 16
Five hundred feet now separated Cellima from the road she had detected — five hundred feet from the one called Patty.
For the first time since escaping the basin, she felt the beginning of something she had not felt in several hours.
Relief.
Not safety. Not yet. But enough endurance to continue forward.
Just a little further, she thought.
She felt calm enough to attempt communication with Patty again. Although she had initially accessed the mind of Ken as well, she felt that she and Patty had forged something different — a bond of sorts. Almost a kinship.
Their communication between one another had become nearly seamless, provided there was no interference… such as animals tracking her trail.
She had not sensed the lone dog for several minutes.
After escaping the gully, she believed she had slipped past the beast unnoticed.
Slowing her motion just enough, she attempted to send a signal wave toward Patty.
I have been forced to erase again, she pushed through the connection.
I am running. I have detected your presence approximately five hundred feet from my current position… I am—
“Honey!”
Patty’s voice burst out before the connection had fully settled.
“She’s still there. She’s still alive!”
Ken turned toward her immediately.
Then Patty’s tone shifted — darker now, almost dismal.
“She’s been forced to kill again, honey… she’s running, and she’s scared.”
The voice in Patty’s mind had been clear — but different.
Again, she sensed fear in her.
“Where is she?” Ken asked, genuine concern filling his voice.
“She’s somewhere… maybe five hundred feet away. She didn’t say exactly where. It felt like she wasn’t finished communicating, but the connection just… abruptly shut down.”
Patty’s worry was obvious.
Ken could see it in her eyes.
He took her hand.
Reaching deep inside himself for calm he did not entirely feel, he spoke with the most reassuring voice he could find in the middle of his own uncertainty.
“Honey… Cellima is a very capable individual.”
He chose his words carefully.
“She’s made it this far through all of this and she’s still moving forward. Give her time. She’ll be okay.”
Patty took those words to heart, but the worry remained.
She couldn’t stop wondering why the communication had ended so suddenly.
Ken was right.
Cellima had proven herself resilient.
Patty repeated that thought to herself again and again.
Still… the question refused to leave her mind.
Why did the communication end like that?
The connection to the one called Patty had been clear.
Her mind was steady.
Open.
Cellima had planned to tell her exactly where she would emerge from the woods. She could feel Patty’s presence close now — almost at the point where the forest would break.
I am—
Then it happened.
The animal.
She had not sensed it at all.
The dog’s teeth — sharp as a dagger — clamped onto the suit at her calf.
Pulling.
Yanking.
Tearing.
This is not good, Cellima thought.
Not good at all.
The suit had been designed to withstand stress. Defensive systems were built into it, but it had never been intended for this kind of combat.
The dog held firm.
But its teeth had not penetrated the outer layer.
Yet.
The signal boosters had drained nearly all of the suit’s reserve energy.
Cellima knew that with the dense canopy of these woods — and the limited light available on this planet — the recharge time would be significantly longer than normal.
It came down to a gamble.
She would have to attempt another erasure.
This time, she would again need to use the palm beam that had erased the soldiers earlier.
But if the remaining reserves were insufficient…
The beam would fail.
Blood began to trickle down her leg.
The animal had broken through.
Its teeth tore past the outer layer, ripping through the weaker section of the suit and into her flesh.
The dog shook its head violently now — frantic, savage — as if trying to tear her leg free from her body.
She could feel the teeth now.
Deep.
With every violent shake, the pain was excruciating.
She must act.
Now.