The Sympathizer

Chapter 18

It happens too fast. The rocks from above raining down over me, my hands whipping across my face to shield myself as I take a step back and then someone grabbing my arm. A blast of yellow light blinds me as the world shakes beneath my feet and then I'm thrown backwards. 

There's a ringing in my ears as I hit the floor and a lancinating pain in my back, it feels like my spine has been split into half. I close my eyes as a wave of dizziness hits, the sound of debris falling and shouts echoing far away. 

Someone's leaning over me, shaking my shoulders to keep me awake. I blink a few times and see Lazarus. There's a jagged cut over his jaw and a steady stream of blood dripping down his left arm. 

Fear consumes me and I reach out for him, wanting to warn him about the bleeding but my arm is so limp, it barely lifts off the ground. 

"My vitamin pack," I murmur sluggishly, gesturing to the small vial I keep in one of my pockets. It contains a multitude of chemicals designed to boost one's energy during battle and is said to work even when a Plutonian is close to dying. 

Lazarus fumbles with the tiny pocket on my left, grabbing the vial. He then quickly jabs its contents into my arm. I feel the effects immediately, my body awakening from the haziness after being thrown back by an explosion. 

Lazarus insists he doesn't need his and he helps me up. 

"Someone had to have activated it," I tell him, my throat so sore that I have to cough violently between words. "They can't be far."

He nods, murmuring into his communicator cuff immediately. I tell my squad to track all movement on the landing base and monitor for anyone leaving the planet. 

Someone rushes up to us, I turn to see Vera looking worse for wear. Her face is darkened by soot and hair half burnt off, the ends stuck together in black clumps. It makes me wonder what I currently look like. 

"One of our officers just fled for the base." She tells us, looking half shocked, half horrified. 

"Come on," I say before hurrying off in the direction of the landing strip but she stops me. 

"Not there," Vera says. She then dials on her communicator cuff and shows us a few moving dots on the far left corner. But they aren't anywhere near the landing base, in fact they're heading for the volatile ocean overlooking the Western bays. 

It doesn't make sense. No one can flee from this planet under such unstable conditions. She shares these coordinates with me and we flee the building just as the ceiling above starts to groan. 

We've barely made it out of the warehouse when the entire thing collapses with a deafening crash. Lazarus reaches out to stabilise me but I'm already sprinting towards the nearest rider. 

"At least check it first," He calls after me and I quickly do a scan before mounting the tinier model than we have on Pluto. 

"You coming?" I ask him just as he reaches me and the smile he shoots me gives me an adrenaline rush like nothing ever has. 

Vera and our squad members follow close behind as we zoom past a row of buildings and then weave through a dense thicket of trees. I can feel Lazarus's fingers tighten around my waist as I swerve violently, narrowing avoiding the bark of massive tree. 

"I'd forgotten how reckless your driving was," He says into my ear, his lips brushing my skin and I can't help but smile at his words. 

The sound of waves crashing grow louder and I follow the dots on the screen, picking up speed, hoping that we don't lose them. There's a large cliff over head, looming over the treacherous waters. The dots have stopped there but I don't see any figures over the cliff.