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held his right hand tightly in her own. “You stop talking now and save your energy. You’re going to be okay, Ricky.”

I wanted to believe Arun’s words more than anyone. It was hard when Ricky’s normally tan, smiling face was pale and spattered with his own blood.

16

Arun and Tong went to work securing an actual bandage on Ricky’s side from the supplies we brought. They stopped the bleeding for the time being, and Arun administered a sedative to help him rest.

We propped Ricky up against the side of the crawler. He fell in and out of sleep.

“We need to get to my installation as quickly as possible,” Tong instructed us as we sat in the back of the crawler. “We have medical supplies there that will be able to save your friend.”

“What did he get hit with?” I asked. “What kind of weapon?”

“Our weapons are unlike your own,” Tong said, shaking his head. “We shoot metal projectiles through the air at great velocity. Although the piece of metal is no larger than my finger, when it is lodged inside the body it can do great harm.”

“Like one of our own old school bullets but longer,” I said, taking in the length of Tong’s finger. “We used to have weapons like that on Earth. They’re relics now. We invented newer and better ways to kill each other.”

“I should have brought the Heal Aid,” Arun said quietly. Her eyes never left Ricky’s barely rising chest. “I knew I should have. We only have two working Heal Aids at the Orion. I was afraid if we took the extra one and something happened to the one Doctor Allbright uses, the entire colony would be in jeopardy, and now because of my decisions…”

Arun allowed her voice to trail off.

“You did the right thing,” I said, not really trying to make her feel better but running the scenario through my mind and deciding what I would have done. “I would have done the same thing. Ricky’s a tough kid. He’ll make it long enough for us to get him some help.”

“I’m following the directions we set up before we left the Orion,” Stacy said through her comms. She stayed behind the wheel after we made our escape. “We should arrive at Tong’s installation before the suns set—sometime in the late afternoon if we don’t run into trouble.”

“Got it,” I said. I turned to Tong with a raised eyebrow. “What were those things shooting at us? The Rung?”

Tong nodded. “I don’t know if they too went into a hyper sleep to be woken when the Orion crashed or if they have been in hiding this entire time. All I know is where Genesis stood when my people and I were put to sleep. Legion ran wild over our planet. The Rung were nowhere to be found.”

Genesis, I thought to myself. I keep on forgetting this planet’s name is Genesis.

“I need your word, Tong,” Arun said, her normal calm leadership attitude gone. A dangerous look lived in her eyes. “I need your word that you can save Ricky if we get to your installation.”

“Arun Drake,” Tong said, using her full name. “If we can get there in time, my species has healing tools specific to treat this kind of injury. If we can get there in time, Ricky will live.”

That seemed to be enough for Arun at the moment. She placed her back to the cab and stared at Ricky’s sleeping form.

His chest rose slowly then descended and repeated the process. I had a feeling Arun was watching him breathe, making sure he didn’t stop.

I never even thought about what this whole mess would look like without Ricky. He was addicted to gambling, said childish things at times, and cracked inappropriate jokes, but our lives were better for having gotten to know him.

I didn’t want to think about trying to survive on Genesis without him.

Mutt made his way over to Ricky and placed his snout in the man’s lap. He whined before lying still.

I moved over to Ricky’s other side and sat by him. The events of the morning cascaded through my mind again. Questions like how many Rung were there? Would they attack the Orion? How were we going to get into Tong’s installation if it was in the mist marsh? All of these questions went unanswered.

Stacy drove all morning following the heading we had plotted out in advance. Our road took us through the forest to the south and the unknown beyond. Stacy maneuvered us through the forest, finding an old overgrown path Tong directed her toward. It clearly had not been maintained in a very long time. Trees fell over the road in sections, as well as bushes and overgrowth, but Stacy always found a way around.

It was while we were sharing a midday meal on the road that Ricky finally stirred. His eyes blinked open, taking in the scene around him.

“Oh, it wasn’t a dream after all. This sucks,” Ricky said.

“How are you feeling?” Arun asked, immediately going over to his side. “How’s the pain?”

“Not great.” Ricky winced. “I feel like I’ve been shot by a blaster round that’s still inside of me.”

“You’re not far off,” Tong said, chewing on his protein bar-jerky-smashed apple concoction. “The weapon that found you sent a metal projectile as long as my finger into your body. It’s inside of you now.”

We all looked at Tong, deadpan. He just nodded and took another bite.

“Not helping,” I said, then looked back to Ricky. “We’re going to get you some help, buddy. Tong’s people have medical devices that can help you. We’re going to reach his installation soon. You just have one job. All you have to worry about is hanging in there.”

Ricky nodded.

“You’re going to make it and you’re going to be fine,” Arun reassured him. “You can tell me whatever it was you were saying before, once you’re well.”

Ricky nodded.

Arun and Tong engaged Stacy in a conversation about the best route to take to