Truehearts & The Escape From Pirate Moon by Jake Macklem (ebook audio reader TXT) 📕

Cockpit has been practically disassembled. Damn it. Lifting his rifle, ready to fire, Cam moved to the closest tree. I don’t know how long this thing has been here. Since the last flood anyhow. I don’t know if anyone survived. Cam sighed. Except for the someone who stripped the ship after it crashed. Damn it.

Taking a knee, he kept the rifle resting in his left elbow as he pulled his canteen and took a sip of clean water. No way to know if they’re even alive. It’s not like it’s a nice place, with the heat and the iron, heavy metal poisoning would be inevitable. No one could survive here very long without the proper equipment. They’re probably dead. He took another sip. Yeah, probably dead.

Cam nodded as he replaced his canteen and stood up. I’m just gonna head to the pickup point. He started walking back, and slowly came to a stop. Damn it!

He started surveying the ground—grooves ran through the soil, about three inches deep. The Susaderm. A few grooves just scratched the surface of the ground, several of them, a few sixty or seventy centimeters apart. He followed those; the distance between them never changed. Definitely drag marks. He continued to follow them, a heavy guilt pressing against his heart. I’m sorry, Gwen. I gotta check. Whoever it is killed a Susaderm. With the right gear—and a lot of luck—a survivor might have a chance.

Exiting the woods, he lost the trail in the tall grass. The last time they were here was a while ago. Grass has had time to regrow. He studied the landscape to the right. The horizon rose and he saw the faint blur of shade along his sightline. Other, brighter colors stood out in splotches among the sweeping red. Another small wood at the base of the mountains, and the vegetation is more vibrant. Probably a water source nearby. He looked to his left. Near a similar rise in the terrain, the scarlet waves began to break upon grey, stony ground. More mountains in the distance, but nothing between here and there. He scanned the continuing plain of red grass in front of him. That’s just death. “To the right it is.”

Cam guessed the two mountains were one long ago, but the force of the rushing water had worn a path between them. Over time the path widened and deepened, creating a recessed valley on the plain. The natural channel created a welcome breeze, offering brief moments of comfort and sending waves through the grass, creating a sound that reminded Cam of distant glass breaking. More of the hemp-like trees grew in this area than Cam had seen anywhere else. A few sixty meters from the edge of the wood was a glistening yellow river. It would have appeared on detailed pictures of the survey area, but his report had not included them. For a moment he wondered why again. Why was the Survey so incomplete? When I get home, that will get explained that to me.

If someone was gonna make a go of it, this would be the place. Kneeling at the edge, he pulled out his scanner and stuck the wand in the water while watching the red and black flowers float on their lilypad-like leaf. The petals spread from a bulbous base, and the pistols were vividly colored and looked to be fuzzy. The wand beeped as it concluded its scan. Oxygen-rich and slightly acidic. It’ll keep you alive but should be filtered. Standing, he returned the scanner.

“I’m sorry!”

Cam snapped his eyes toward the woods, rifle on his shoulder, aiming over the scope. A woman that speaks Sol. Isn’t Gwen just gonna love that. Moving forward, he never lowered his weapon. He quickly closed the distance to the tree and heard rushed movement coming from within the woods, getting closer. He knelt into a firing position against a tree and peered through his scope. She’s moving fast. Maybe being chased. Oh hell, what if there’s two of them?

She tore across the ground, moving with surprising agility. Cam tried to keep her in his scope, but the woman’s unpredictable motions made it too difficult. She’s scared… like she’s seen a ghost. He quickly redirected his aim, scanning for whatever it was she was running from. Peeking over the scope so he could see a larger area, he scanned the woods behind her. The steady breeze rustled the grass and tree branches, yet no shadow moved out of place; there were no creatures or sounds of danger. From what Cam could see, she was the only disturbance.

There’s nothin’ there. He looked at the woman as she fell to the ground. What’s got you so scared? Standing up, he rested the rifle in the nook of his elbow and started slowly walking toward the woman. “What are you running from?” he said when they were about twenty paces apart.

She was naked except for the dirt that covered her red-stained skin. Around one and a half meters tall, she was well-muscled but malnourished. Cam felt the warmth of his cheeks as he blushed, noticing her profile. Gwen would be so jealous. Her hair was filthy and matted, but red underneath that. She had numerous small cuts and bruises, some fresh and some close to healed. She looked up with pale green eyes squinting. A shadow covered her face. “Things I can’t run away from.” Her eyes, wide and haunted, bore into his.

“That… ship out in the field, that… Uh, yours?” Cam asked.

“The Warthog? Nah, I stole it.” Red sat back on her knees staring at Cam.

“Oh, did you now?” This makes things easier. Maybe there’s a reward. Cam flipped the safety off his rifle.

“Mission demanded it. Had to escape… Warn command.”

“You a soldier?” Damn it.

“Lt. Commander Ace Hart. STAR. Sol military.” The young woman started to