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

Exhausted and in pain, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. The medkit did not have a nanoshot but did have some painkillers and a compression wrap that would help her torso and ribs heal—getting it into place and activating it was going to be excruciating. I want to be fed and settled for that. She had not taken any painkillers yet because she could not afford to dull her wits until she was in a safer position.

I’ve spent too much time here. I’m moving too slow. She had hoped to make the trip in a few hours but it had taken her too long to scavenge the ship. And she still had to walk back. Dinner’s gonna be dried out.

Loading the last of her things onto the sled she rigged, she picked up the straps and slipped them over her shoulder with a wince. Her ribs screamed at her, but she began dragging the sled.

The smell of cooking meat filled Ace with a renewed sense of purpose. Each step still hurt, but each step was also closer to a full belly. Her mouth salivated in anticipation and she considered leaving the sled where it was, and coming back for it later—but in the back of her mind she heard a rough, graveled voice say, “Do it right the first time, so you don’t have to do it twice.” With a barbaric yell, she pushed on.

When she finally reached the small grove and took the harness off, she was well past any limits she thought she had. The pain she was in should have sent her into shock. Her hunger and low blood sugar should have made her faint. Her fear should have driven her mad and shut her down. But I am more than that.

She looked over her camp and a thunderclap of dread rocked her to her core; the carcass was gone. The tree that held it was snapped in two, the top lying on the ground. She reached for the piece of metal at her waist. Whatever did that must be huge. And it likes meat.

Nothing moved. Her oven had been disturbed but not destroyed. Cautiously, she moved toward it. The ground had been scored by large claws, but the oven was still covered, the cooked meat still inside. The heated ground must have scared it. Wincing as she crouched down, she was surprised at how hot and far the heat extended from the fire. The red dirt must be high in iron and holding the heat.

Using a broken branch, she dug the oven open and pulled up the wrapped meat. Peeling back the pieces of cloth she had cut from her flight suit, she swallowed hard. It smells so good! She looked around the edges of the camp and still saw nothing moving, nothing unusual. Burning her fingers, she tore a piece of meat off the roast, blew on it, and put it in her mouth. She chewed and the flavors spread across her tongue. Metallic chicken.

She kept a vigilant watch as she ate. Looking over the campsite, she realized the claws on whatever had come through the camp were over a foot long. Four-legged, but capable of standing on its rear legs. Tail for balance. Powerful enough to knock over trees. She shook her head. “So much for safe sleep in the trees.”

After she finished eating, Ace grabbed the medkit and the compression wrap and nestled herself under the fallen tree. It wasn’t an ideal position, either for safety or comfort, but it was the best she could do right now, and the sooner she got started the sooner it would be over.

She blinked away tears while she struggled to remove her gear and peel off her uniform. Each movement sent lances of pain through her side. Once that was over, she picked up the compression wrap. It reminded her of an oversized rubber band the size of a halter top, white and stamped with a medical red cross and the flag of the United Sol system. How did they get military supplies? It stretched as she pulled it onto her arms, but not much. She took a deep breath and swore under her breath as she fought the wrap over her head and down around her torso.

Breathing heavily, she reached for the medigel−an antibiotic, antiviral painkiller developed by the Quidle Military. She pressed the slender cylinder against her neck and tapped the button. The chemicals entered Ace’s bloodstream and the effects were immediate. Her vision softened and her body relaxed. She was still aware of the pain but it felt distant… or maybe not hers.

Do it. She reached up and gripped the thin white string attached to the compression wrap. You’re either going to wake up or not. She chuckled and yanked the string. The wrap expanded outward in both directions; when it reached her armpits and hips it started to shrink, form-fitting her figure and pushing every bone back into place. Ace screamed in pain and passed out.

  4: Ace

A thunderous rumble roared through the core of the moon. Branches snapped and the trees twisted and spun in all directions, some splintering and collapsing to the ground. Huge cracking sounds reverberated off the mountains, and the echoes roiled with ominous rumbles. Ace felt the ground shaking and vibrating, lifting her off the ground. Pain ripped through her body with each bounce.

Not dead. Opening her eyes, it was hard to comprehend what she saw. Squeezing her ribs, she sobbed against the pain. She had experienced earthquakes on Earth when tectonic plates shifted, but this was different, deeper. It lasted over a minute, and when it stopped, nothing moved. She rolled to her knees and stood up; it took her a moment to get her balance. She then climbed the closest tree that was still standing and looked over the chaos of her campsite.

I just can’t get