A Dangerous Connection – Chapter 9

I crash through the underbrush, branches whipping my face, my breath coming in ragged gasps. But I can’t stop. Stella’s fear still pulses through me, driving me forward. I have to find her.

“Stella!” I call out, my voice breaking. Where in the hell did she go?

Wait. Up ahead.

Her frightened mewls cut through the breaks of the trees, and the fear inside me grows and grows as we continue on. It’s not just my fear, though. It’s hers, too.

“Come on,” Tiago pants as he chases behind me. “Keep going.”

Suddenly, her terror spikes. A shrill, panicked squeal rings out somewhere up ahead, followed by the heavy flapping of wings.

“Stella!” I scream her name, willing my legs to move faster. Thorns tear my clothes and skin, but I don’t feel them. The adrenaline is too strong.

Up ahead, Stella is weaving and dodging and trying to get away from whatever is chasing her. She’s fast, but she’s not thinking straight. The trees and brush are thick, and I’m worried she’s going to get hurt. I don’t want to hurt her. I only want to help her.

“I’ll go right,” Tiago says and takes off into the underbrush.

“I’ll go left!” I shout after him.

We make a wide sweep around her, our hope to corner her at the next clearing. It’s risky because we could lose her, but we have to do something.

Stella is in a panic, and it’s hard to keep up with her as she flies. I leap over a fallen tree and dart around a boulder while Tiago pushed through thickets of shrubs and vines. My hair gets tangled in the branches of a tree as I rush past, and I yank it free, keeping my eyes on Stella. She dips lower, trying to avoid us, but Tiago is closing in on her fast. The shit. I flail in the air as I lose my footing on a vine or something.

“Sora! Look out!”

I crash into the forest floor below with a heavy thud. My body slams into a tree trunk on the way down and I bounce off it onto the ground.

“Shit! Are you okay?” He skids to a halt next to me as I groan and sit up from where I landed against the tree.

“What just happened?” I ask, blinking my eyes.

“I think a vine or something brought you down.” I grab his hand and he pulls me up before looking around. “Where did she go?”

“She flew that way.” He points to our left. “I think we lost our chance.”

I take a deep breath and hold it for a moment before letting it all out at once. “Okay.” Another deep breath. “We’ll keep looking, though. I don’t want to give up on her.”

Tiago brushes dirt from my shoulder and pulls a thorn from my torn t-shirt before he nods and takes off through the woods again. Shit, my ankle is in pain, but I can walk. I call Stella’s name and tell her we won’t hurt her if we catch up with her, but there’s no answer back.

Please be safe. Please don’t hurt yourself. Please let us help you.

I pick up my pace, limping along. I refuse to give up.

I burst into a small clearing as a dark shape drops from the sky, hitting the ground with a thud.

“Stella!” I cry out. She struggles to rise, whimpering, one wing bent at an awkward angle. A dark shape casts a shadow on the ground as it flies over. My eyes lift to the sky. Oh wow. Whatever it is, it’s circling and hoping to snag Stella for a snack. Damned Rio. Why does it have to be so deadly?

I sprint from the trees, but before I can reach her, a man darts out from the tree line. In one smooth motion, he scoops her into his arms.

“Gotcha!” he exclaims. Stella goes still, staring up at him with wide eyes.

I skid to a stop, rage boiling up in me. “Let her go!”

We both look up at the creature in the sky as it glides off. Two humans are too much for it.

The man’s eyes meet mine in surprise. He’s tall and lean, with shaggy brown hair and a scruffy beard. His clothes are worn and practical. Stella seems calm in his grip now, her panic fading. A woman follows from the same place he just was.

“Who the hell are you?” I demand. Behind me, Tiago and Adrian crash through the bushes and join us.

The man holds up a placating hand. “Easy now. I’m not going to hurt her.” His voice is smooth and soothing. Stella relaxes further, nuzzling into his flannel shirt. “I think her wing is dislocated.”

“Is she going to be okay?” the woman asks, worry etching two lines between her brows.

“Yeah. I think so.” Stella turns her eyes up to him, clearly in love. Well, I guess she has a crush on someone.

“Sora, are you all right?” Tiago touches my arm and pulls me back. He and Adrian move to stand close to me. The man and woman look between all of us, eyebrows raised.

“Sorry,” the woman says, rolling her eyes and blowing out a big breath. “I’m Skylar, Skylar Kawabata. I work for Athens Industries —”

My stomach sinks as I realize we drove Stella right into the grips of Athens.

Skylar panics, seeing my reaction. Her hands go up. “No, don’t worry. We’re actually… kinda saving her? From the military.” She sighs again. “It’s hard to explain yourself when your company always looks like the bad guy.”

“She’s not the bad guy,” the man says, cradling Stella to his chest. “Luca Rey. I’m a Rio wildlife expert and blockade runner.” He nods down at Stella. “I’ve been tracking this little one for a few days now, ever since she escaped from a research facility in the city.”

I frown, thrown off. Tracking her? Research facility?

That must be the place she escaped from.

Luca continues, “Not my research facility. The military’s, like Skylar said. They were studying her species.” His expression darkens. “Let’s just say their methods were… unethical. That’s why she escaped.”

I glance at Stella. She meets my eyes, and confirmation trickles through our bond. Luca is telling the truth.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “But why have you been tracking her?”

“To keep her safe.” Luca sighs. “The military wants her back badly. I’ve been working to find her so we can return her home.”

Home. The word sends a pang through my chest. That’s all I want for Stella too.

“We can help you,” I blurt out. “That’s why we came out here, to bring her back to her family.”

Luca studies me for a long moment.

“Well, we were trying to get out of the city but the lower levels are closed… Probably because of that.” I point to the sky where the larger creature flew off.

Skylar shakes her head. “The military is doing sweeps and shaking the native animals out of their usual hiding places.”

Luca takes off at a stride, calling over his shoulder, “She’s right. We can use all the help I can get. But we have to hurry, before —”

He cuts off as the trees shake from the roar of engines, and a military gunship passes low overhead about 100 meters away.

“Damn it, the police must have sent them.” Luca turns back to us, expression urgent. “Come on, our base is just west of here. We can lie low there.”

We hurry after Luca as he carries Stella through the trees. My lungs burn and my legs ache, but I force myself to keep up. We crest a hill, and Luca pauses to get his bearings. In the valley below sits a rocky outcropping covered in moss and vines. Luca heads straight for it. As we draw closer, I realize it’s more than rocks — it’s a camouflaged bunker built right into the hillside. He presses his hand to a hidden scanner, and part of the rock face slides away to reveal a metal door.

We rush inside, and the door seals shut behind us. My shoulders sag in relief. Luca sets Stella on a table and begins examining her injured wing. Now that we’re in the light, I can see the damage is worse than I realized. The thin skin of her wing has torn, leaving a ragged, bloody gash. Stella whimpers as Luca cleans and dresses the wound.

“Will she be okay?”

“She’ll be fine, with rest,” Luca says. He strokes Stella’s head. “She’s a tough one, and her species heals fast. Another thing the military has been testing.”

Stella trills, soft and sweet. I come closer and let her press her forehead to mine. A wave of exhaustion and pain washes over me, but underneath is a thread of hope. She knows she’s safe here.

I pull back and take stock of our surroundings. We’re in a small, cluttered room that seems to serve as a living area, kitchen, and workspace all in one. Computer monitors line one wall, maps and charts plastered around them. The other wall holds supply shelves and a compact kitchen. Two doors lead off to other parts of the bunker.

Luca clears his throat. “So, you know who we are, but…”

Skylar gives us a curt nod. Her sharp gaze sweeps over all of us in assessment.

Luca continues, “Who are you…?”

We quickly introduce ourselves. Tiago explains, “We rescued Stella after she was injured in the city. Sora connected with her and realized she needed to get home. We’ve been trying to help her return to the wild safely.”

Luca smiles. “Well, it seems we have the same goal then.” He turns back to me. “That connection you have with Stella… Her species has empathic abilities — they can project emotions and images into the minds of other beings. It helps them communicate and understand different species. But they have rarely connected with humans.”

Well, I knew Stella was telepathic, but there’s an entire species like her? And they use it to connect with others, not just their own kind. It makes sense now why she bonded with me so quickly. She was seeking understanding.

“I want to help return her to her family. Whatever it takes.”

“We’ll need a plan.” Skylar speaks up at last. Her voice is smooth yet commanding. “The military will search these park levels until they find her, but maybe we can slip out when they’re farther away.”

Luca nods. “We’ll have to keep an eye on them.”

For the next few hours, we hammer out a strategy while eating a meal from their stash of supplies in the bunker. Luca and Skylar have connections and resources we’ll need to watch the military’s movements.

“I think we’ll have better luck tomorrow,” Luca decides. “Get some rest tonight.”

He shows us to a small room, and I climb up to one of the bunks. It’s been a nonstop adrenaline rush since Stella first escaped. As the tension finally leaves my body, bone-deep exhaustion takes over. My eyes slip closed.