Kohl:

Hayden slid off and I grabbed his hand. Those lines of shimmer sawed through the white vertically, leaving the aftermath to tumble like dominoes or bookshelves in a store right at us.

Glen slid to a stop just as the ground under him began to fail. He jumped for a more stable surface, but that too gave way just as he got a grip on the edge.

“Glen!” Hayden yelled into the communicator. There was no response.

I pulled Hayden along as I turned around and sprinted back to the fluff, watching our chances slip away every second. It crept closer, no matter how fast our legs carried us.

Hayden:

“They said we will wilt. We were to end and be forgotten. They can never be more wrong. And in that pit, they will lay broken in their own mistake. Where do you stand, Emol?"

The ground was no longer stable. It faltered under our weight, making us trip when it shook like a scared animal. Still, we pushed on, even though we knew we wouldn’t make it.

I was the first to fall, the ground disappearing under me in an instant. I needed to let go so Kohl wouldn’t be dragged.

He saw me fall and only held on tighter.

Kohl:

We were close. So close. And I felt Hayden slip away from me. I fell with him, catching on the edge that thankfully stayed.

Poor Glen.

In the effort, the momentum sent my body to crash into that same edge that acted like a jackhammer to the ribs. I don’t remember if I screamed, but the agony almost made me drop what I cared about the most as we swung there for what felt like an eternity.

Hayden took out his pickaxe and latched himself in the standing ice, relieving the weight on my arm. I used all my strength to stay conscious with the world spinning in darkness, focusing on the piercing cold. And Hayden’s panicked voice when he reached me.

“Stay with me, Kohl.”

Don’t pass out...don’t… all my weight fell onto him as the world began to leave. Make the pain stop. Make it…

Hayden:

“Come on, Kohl,” I heard his labored breathing, his body rattled with pain. And I didn’t know how to ease it. “Kohl...you can’t lose it, not here. Please Kohl, I need you.”

He sucked in a breath in response.

I pulled myself over the edge, reaching my hand out for Kohl to grab once I was stable. “Give me our hand.”

He looked up at me, hidden by the black sheen of his helm. Slowly he reached out, only to stop when a shadow cast over me.

Kohl:

“Hayden…” I saw the dark figure towering over him.

Hayden whipped around, attempting to jab where he could with his elbow, but the figure was quicker, locking an arm around Hayden’s neck from behind, dragging him out of sight.

I cursed, trying to go after them. Demands in Hayden’s native tongue echoed through the air, some aimed at me when more figures appeared, black suited like us but illy fitted. Two pulled me out, letting me lay there in the snow.

Three. There was only three of them.

The void waited for me as I held my crushed side, hearing as Hayden thrashed around to get to me.

I’m sorry Hayden.

Hayden:

“Who are you?” the voice demanded next to my ear.

I jabbed the guy’s gut but his hold on me only tightened as he asked again when he didn’t get an answer.

Kohl was motionless on the ground beside the other two who were smaller than the one who had me in a headlock.

“Why have you come, what is your race?”

“He’s human! And I’m…I’m an emol.”

His grip suddenly loosened and air met my lungs again. I guess I answered right. “Your names.”

“Hayden...Kohl.” I clawed at the arm as he pulled me further away from the human. “He’s hurt and he needs help! Just--please. We didn’t come to harm you.”

“If you were, you’re doing a sucky job at it.” He threw me to the snow, a boot to my back to keep me there. “Does he speak our tongue?”

“No.”

“The third, who is he?”

Glen. He’s alive? “Our guide. We come to seek refuge.”

“Dad,” one of the two grabbed his attention, poking Kohl with his boot, “he looks pretty dead. Should we...chuck him?”

“Bring him with us. We’ll see what we can do…” Then he went back to me, releasing his weight, “get up.”

I shifted to my knees before doing so, watching as the two lifted Kohl to carry him. I felt a solid hand on my shoulder, pushing me to walk.

I obeyed, limping from my throbbing leg. My eyes stayed on Kohl, praying for him to be okay.

They didn’t take us to the dome directly, but to an underground entrance reinforced with old metal that had seen better days. It was the structure of the bunker that opened up to a resting area and a door I figured wasn’t accessible to strangers. Pots were stacked and beds were placed near the heater that looked too outdated to be working well. Furs acted like carpeting, starting where the space did.

It was warm enough for me to take off my helm when the man in charge ordered me to. The moment my face was revealed, he seized my chin, turning my face in different angles so he could see all the details, pushing my hair away when it got in the way. Satisfied, he let go. “So that part is true,” he said, “you are an elite. Far from your comfortable life.”

I looked for Glen.

“He’s on his way,” The leader took off his own helm, revealing a face of an aged man, his dots dull with a yellow hue. Scars ran along his nose and mouth, partly disfiguring him, “As for your human...my son will do his best.”

I helped with undressing Kohl who winced once his damaged side was exposed. It was discolored, lifting awkwardly as he tried to breathe.

The one who was in charge of treating him had a grim expression on his face, younger than the leader but a decade or two ahead of me and Kohl. “It’s definitely broken.”

“Fix him,” I demanded.

“I plan to, child. Help me place him on a mat.”

I did so as the bunker opened again, spilling out Glen and the second of the Leader’s sons who looked annoyed the moment the helm was off.

Glen rushed over to me and locked me into a protective embrace, “Oh, thank the gods! I thought I lost you again.”

I ignored the “again” part, just relieved that we have someone to help us get out of here. “Kohl’s damaged.”

Glen slowly released me to see for himself. “How unfortunate. I’m sure he will be fine.” Those words couldn’t be colder, even if he tried. “You are important and you safe--”

I shoved him away, “F*ck off, Glen.” My hands curled at my side. They all stared at me as I angrily pushed back my hair that fell over my face. I was careful not to say what I wanted to. “Sorry.” I wasn’t in the slightest. “Seeing him hurt is throwing me over.”

Glen took it as a que to over more of his “comfort”, but the look I shot convinced him otherwise and he allowed his hand to fall. “It’s alright. We understand.”

“I’m sure the emol is tired,” the Leader offered, treating me like a wild cat in a corner, “Some food and a nice rest would do him wonders.”

I’m here, you know.

Glen nodded, “They’re so fragile. How careless of me to put my charge through such an ordeal.”

The Leader caught my confused expression but didn’t address it. Instead, he patted my shoulder before heading over to the pots to feed me whatever they had available.

Once the aged man was out of earshot, Glen squeezed my arm.

“I’m still mad at you,” I tell him.

He rolled his eyes, “It was bold of you to tell him you’re an emol when you don’t remember.”

“Whatever.”

“Hayden. Do you even know…?”

“He’s convinced that I am, that’s all I care about,” I shook him off. “And he’s saving Kohl.”

“Hayden, listen to me.” I rather not. “You are worth more than gold to the Empire. People like you keep the monarch alive…”

“I don’t understand.”

“Less people know who you are, the better. Trust me. Especially since you never carried before. ”

“What kind of world do we live in?”

“Funny that you ask that,” he took a sip from a cup nearby, “It’s the same question you asked me almost a year ago.”