CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KIRSTEN BECOMES IMMEDIATELY disoriented as the howling wind whips the snow around her face and body, blinding her completely, and stinging the exposed areas of her skin like a studded whip. “Dakota!”
“It’s alright! You’re safe!” Koda shouts to be heard above the shrieking wind. Reaching out blindly, she manages to capture Kirsten’s arm and she pulls the other woman forward and tight against what little shelter her larger, longer body can offer. “Don’t let go!”
“Not on your life!”
A massive bolt of lightening splits the sky, and the resulting crack of thunder shakes the earth around them with brutal force. Kirsten’s implants howl in outrage and she lifts her free hand to her forehead, trying fruitlessly to numb the spike of pain chiseling itself into her skull. The air stinks of burning rubber, and she can taste metal in the back of her mouth. Thunder? In the middle of a snowstorm? What the hell??
“Manny! Get us out of here!”
“Any suggestions? I’m blind here!”
“Shit!” She turns her head slightly to the side. “Kirsten, can you move?”
“Yes! I’m fine!”
“Come with me, then! Manny, stay close!”
“Like flies on horseshit, cuz!”
With determined steps, Dakota leads her small group forward, eyes straining to see through the lashing snow. It’s absolutely useless, and the only thing she can rely on are the instincts she’s honed through her life on this land.
When lightning again splits the sky, she uses that same instinct to pull Kirsten to the side and shield her with her own body a split second before the scraping, brittle branches of a giant tree crash down, dealing her a glancing blow on the shoulder.
“Jesus!” Kirsten shouts. “What was that?”
“Tree! Keep moving!”
“Tree?!? We’re in a whole forest of trees!! What if we wind up running into them?!?”
“We’ll all get bloody noses! Now move!”
Not moving isn’t really an option as Kirsten feels herself being pulled forward by the strength of Dakota’s inexorable grip. Her mind rebels against the less than gentle handling, but her body knows a good deal when it senses one, and moves her along complacently.
A chant to the Mother soft upon her lips, Dakota continues to use blind instinct to lead her party out of the dangerous woodland as lightning and thunder continue to do battle around them.
Then comes a flash of light and a loud coughing sound that is neither lightning nor thunder. “The mines.” Koda remarks, still moving them through the thick grove of trees with uncanny precision and not a little stealth.
“Hoo yah!” Manny yells from his place glued to her right side. “Die, you motherfuckers!”
A second, third, and fourth explosion follow in quick succession. With a soft cry, Kirsten falls to her knees, arms wrapped around her head as the feedback of the dying droids—sounding amazingly like human screams—sears through her implants, robbing the strength from her body and the thoughts from her mind.
Koda stops immediately and squats down on her haunches, barely able to see the other woman’s pain wracked face even from scant inches away. She grabs Kirsten’s shoulders tight in her hands and barely keeps herself from shaking the young woman like a rag doll. “What is it?!? What’s wrong?!?”
Kirsten’s mouth is frozen in a rictus of absolute agony, and Dakota divines the problem immediately. “Turn them off!” she all but screams. “Turn them off!!”
If Kirsten can hear her, she gives no sign. A keening moan continues uninterrupted from the very back of her throat as her body rocks in an instinctive attempt at self-comfort as old as time. Squinting through the hard-driving snow, Dakota unwraps Kirsten’s arms from around her head and, praying silently that she’s doing the right thing, feels for the tiny bumps behind each of the young scientist’s ears. With deft, gentle pressure, she presses inward. Relief flows through her in a tangible wave as Kirsten’s body begins to relax almost immediately, slumping weakly against her. Pulling off a glove with her teeth, Koda raises a warm palm to Kirsten’s chin, tilting the other woman’s gaze up to meet her own. Her mouth carefully forms one word. “Better?”
After a moment, Kirsten nods. “Much. Thank you.”
Koda can’t help the smile that spills out, and Kirsten responds with one of her own, all the more glorious for barely being seen, like the tantalizing flash of a deeply desired gift.
Another moment goes by, the sounds of exploding landmines slashing through the air around them. Releasing Kirsten’s chin almost reluctantly, Dakota slips her glove back on and looks carefully at Kirsten, asking a question in her eyes. Kirsten nods and, with a deep breath, Koda rises, pulling the other woman up with her and holding her until Kirsten is more or less steady on her feet.
Kirsten moves up to turn her implants back on, only to be stopped by Koda, who catches her hand and curls it firmly around her bicep. Understanding the silent message, Kirsten gives another nod and begins walking forward in step with her companion. Effectively blind, and now completely deaf, she has no choice but to trust the tall Lakota woman who has, for the second time this day, saved, if not her life, at least her sanity.
Trust is the one emotion she has never, truly, felt able to give anyone. But in the end, and with this woman, she relinquishes the fetters in her soul without a second’s hesitation. There is something very freeing in this simple, if profound, act, and in this giving, she finds herself changed in a way she could never have predicted.
*
When the explosions start, Tacoma immediately clicks his comm. unit, then winces as static crackles directly into his ear. Undeterred, he clicks the unit again and again, willing to hear his sister’s voice through the interference. “Tanski, come in. Dakota, if you hear me, come in.”
As more explosions rip through the night, Tacoma looks over at the Colonel with wide eyes. She holds a hand out. “Let me try.”
Slipping the earpiece from his ear, Tacoma hands the unit over to Allen. She situates the piece, then clicks to open transmission. “Allen to Rivers. Allen to Rivers. Do you read me. Over.” Static answers her, and she tries again. “Allen to Rivers. Dakota, Manny, damn it, if you’re receiving me, answer.”
Nothing.
She shoots a quick look over her shoulder. “Mendoza, do you have a fix on their position?”
The young corporal looks at her with a hangdog expression. “No, Ma’am. Nothing but interference across the board.”
“Shit.” Allen’s epithet was softly spoken, but Tacoma’s sharp hearing picked it up, and he shared with her a brief look of concern and commiseration. “Allen to Rivers. Dakota, can you read me.”
Another moment passes in silence.
Tacoma shoulders his weapon and straightens his jacket.
“What are you doing?” Allen asks, eyes narrowed.
“I’m gonna find them. Now.”
“Wait.” She doesn’t back down from the tall man’s fierce glare. Swallowing her Colonel’s pride, she deliberately softens both face and voice. “Please, wait. You don’t even know where they are!”
“She’s my tanski. My sister. I don’t need a map. I just need this.” A meaty fist thumps against his heart. “I’ll find them.”
Static crackles. And then….
“…ta he…rea…u.”
“Dakota! Dakota, can you read me? Come back.” She knows her voice has a note of rather obvious desperation in it, but she can’t seem to dredge up the will to care.
Tacoma freezes, turns, and looks back at the Colonel, who nods and beckons him back while listening through the static to Koda’s broken words.
“…read…Colonel…t….”
“Dakota, you’re breaking up. Listen to me. We can hear explosions coming from your last noted position. Are you okay?”
“…fine….mines….we’re….”