An Unforgiving Desert – Chapter 9

As Kalvin stomps about the pod and turns off non-essential systems, I strip out of the pressure suit. My whole body aches after all that strenuous work outside and then falling off the pod. Pulling my arms from the suit’s sleeves, I wince.

“Ow, mother…” I swallow my swear as I twist to see what hurts. Great. A giant red spot on my arm is the calling card of a bigger bruise to come.

I sigh as I push the suit down and then baby my hip. Deep breaths, Skylar. But I’m immediately overheated from both the exertion, the pain, and the embarrassment of the situation. How could I have been so stupid as to let go of the pod during a sandstorm? I fell, and it’s my own damned fault.

I’m still wearing the same clothes I wore during the final exam that I never got to take, and they demand to come off. I don’t care who is in this room with me I need to be more comfortable if I’m going to rest.

I pull off my outer shirt to my undershirt over my bra. I keep those on and step out of my pants, sighing as they come off.

“Oh shit, Skylar.”

My heart leaps into my throat, and I turn to find Kalvin looking at me, his face drawn with concern.

“Your hip.”

I glance down at it, and the whole side of my butt cheek, what can be seen from under my underwear, is flush with a bruise. No wonder it hurts so much.

“Let me get you an ice pack and some meds.”

He turns away from me without the slightest bit of embarrassment, and my feelings on him shift. For someone as arrogant as he was in school, he’s holding himself together during this crisis.

I gently set my butt on a nearby chair to pull off my boots, socks, and pants, and the cool life pod air is a welcome relief. Ahhh. The five layers of clothes were getting unbearable. I wonder if there’s any way to bathe in here. Probably not. We should save our water for drinking, but maybe there are moist towelettes in the survival kit.

“Here,” Kalvin says, handing me an ice pack. “Shake it up. It’s still getting cold.”

“Thanks.” My smile is weak, but it’s more smile than I’ve given him since we met, so I’m not surprised when his lips jerk.

He pulls open the seam of his pressure suit and does the same thing as me. He strips down to his underwear and checks himself over for injuries.

My instincts tell me to turn my back on him, but I can’t. This guy stole from Cressida, and instead of using the money for stupid shit, he paid tuition for flight school. That’s something I would do. I didn’t steal anything to pay for flight school, but I would sell everything I had if I couldn’t afford it.

I try not to ogle as he stretches out his arms and back. He did a lot of heavy lifting outside, so I’m not surprised he’s tired. I am surprised by his slim build like he hasn’t indulged in the high-calorie foods from the cafeteria. His muscles are cords over his long, lean frame, and his veins stand out on his golden skin. He’s someone I would have been attracted to in another life.

Not this life. At least, not anymore.

I press the cold pack against my hip, close my eyes, and rest back in the chair. The wind howls outside, and the life pod creaks, but we don’t go anywhere. Good. We should be fine until the storm ends.

Kalvin dumps his pressure suit in the corner, finds two bottles of water from the storage container, and joins me. He hands me a bottle and sits down across from me.

Well, now I have to look at him. Thanks for that, universe. I should not be attracted to someone like Kalvin because I have been told that I cannot get involved with anyone during flight school. Under no circumstances, none, am I to fool around. Marcelo, my matchmaker, said, “Your days of bagging whoever you want are over. From now on, your choices in men, or women, will be strategic and for the betterment of your family.”

“What are you thinking about?” Kalvin asks, sipping his water.

“Nothing.” Just my matchmaker and how he’s going to be worried about me if I don’t come out of this alive. “We should conserve water. I don’t know how long it’ll be until rescue.”

He holds up his bottle. “Half a bottle?”

I nod and adjust my seat, moving the ice pack to a part of my hip that’s not numb.

“That’s quite a bruise. I’ll see what’s in the medkit for you.” He moves to stand up, but I hold up my hand.

“Stop. Rest. It’s been go go go since those bastards forced us into this thing.”

He sighs as he sits back. “Don’t like to be babied, huh?” He sips again.

I shoot him a dirty look. “Are you trying to baby me?”

He bobs his head from side to side. “Maybe, maybe not. This is how I handle all women with prickly spines.”

I imagine myself as a cactus, and the visual is apt enough. Most people keep me at arm’s length except my dear friends and family like Vivian or Amira.

“I hope Amira is okay.” My voice is just above a whisper, and Kalvin’s demeanor changes. He reaches across the life pod and places a hand on my bare knee.

“She’s going to be fine. Their life pods ejected away from Sonoma. Security patrols have probably already picked them up.” He pats my knee once and pulls back.

I crack open my bottle and sip. The water feels like heaven going down my parched throat. Ah. It’s not a vat of wine, but I suppose it’ll do.

“So, tell me how you got involved with Cressida. Because I’m sure that’s one hell of a tale.”

He laughs as he digs around in the food bag next to him and produces two protein and energy bars. He tosses one across to me. I adjust the ice pack again and peel open the packaging on the bar. Mmm, I like the apple ones.

“It’s not that much of a tale.” He sighs back into his seat. “I had only been flying with my Class Two license for about a year. I picked up odd jobs here and there, filling in for pilots who took vacation or shore leave to be with family.”

I nod. “Temp crew jobs. We hire people like that all the time.”

He pauses, thinking. His dark eyebrows pull together. “I met Cressida at a bar on Avenal. She was unrecognizable as the former heiress I had seen on the news. She buzzed her hair, and she wasn’t wearing makeup or fancy clothes. She told me she wanted to run black market goods for a while, just to earn some money.”

“What kind of black market goods?” I try to keep the anger out of my voice.

“Calm down, princess. Genetically modified seeds, animals from Rio, guns, and weapons.” He waves his hand in a circle.

If I tell him to stop calling me ‘princess,’ he’s just going to do it more. I swallow the urge to kick him from across the space between us.

Then he sighs. “Everything was fine until she got the android on crew.”

“Ricardo Nine?”

“Yeah. He’s also black market goods. With him along, Cressida realized she could start hacking ships and stealing them. After the first ship, I wondered if she was going to continue. But she just kept seeing it as a new way to ‘win.’”

He shrugs, and I chew on my bar for a moment.

“Well, I suppose none of this surprises me. There’s always someone like her who feels she deserves more than she’s given.”

Kalvin raises his eyebrows. “Are you describing yourself?”

“Me?” I splutter. “Is that why you keep calling me ‘princess?’ Have I somehow given off the impression that I’m due some sort of universal favor because of who I am?”

Kalvin takes a massive bite from his bar, and we wait for him to finish chewing. “Cressida spent the first three months of my time with her complaining about your family. How Vivian — your cousin, right? — scammed her out of her network mate. How privileged you all were. I didn’t believe her, but she remarked on it enough that I looked you up.” He points across to me. “You grew up in a prominent family with plenty of opportunities for education and advancement in society. I think ‘princess’ is an apt description.”

Anger heats my chest as I remember my childhood living on ships without friends, without birthday parties or socialization. I had Vivian, but I didn’t see her all the time or anything. I had my brothers and sisters and my dads, and we had plenty of food most days, when I wasn’t being punished for not obeying. But that was about it. I should have gone away to school, but the dads refused. I should have spent my days in the lap of luxury, but instead I was holding my family together. I lived in my books and videos and tried not to piss off my mom’s third consort, Dominic. I was lucky to breathe free air two or three times a year.

I turn my face from Kalvin and stare off into the distance at the door. It doesn’t seem worth it to correct his assumptions about me. After we get rescued, I doubt I’ll ever see this boy again. And the way he’s summed me up so perfectly in his head can’t be beat. I’d rather he underestimate me as a pretty, vapid princess than know me for what I really am.

“Sounds like you have me defined to a T.” I produce an airy smile out of nowhere. For people that know me, this smile would make them think twice about going any further with the conversation.

Kalvin smiles back. “I could call you princes instead. Spanish is my first language. I was raised in the backwater burbs of Palo Alto.”

“Call me whatever.” I rise from my seat and turn my back to him so he can’t see the anger morphing to hot tears in my eyes. No, Skylar. Do not cry.

I draw in a heavy breath and clear my throat. There. Tears gone.

“I’m not familiar with this life pod design. Do any of these chairs pop out to make a bed?”

I turn around in time to see Kalvin’s eyes shoot from my butt to my face. I look him over from his face, down his chest to his boxer briefs. He has a hot body, for sure, and he probably has no problem getting laid when he decides not to be an asshole. I’d fuck him if I wanted to.

I don’t want to.

Not if I’m a princess.

He gets out of his chair and tucks it back into the wall. From above, he releases four latches and a padded cot folds down.

Ah, okay. I see the same on my side. Great. I release my bed and test the mattress with my hand. It appears to be made of a cooling foam similar to the beds I have on the home ship. I can sleep on this.

I ignore Kalvin as I use the tiny composting toilet and assess myself in the bathroom’s mirror.

Time for a pep talk.

Whatever happens next, Skylar, you’ve got this. You’ve read books about desert survival and the manual on Calfornikus System rescue scenarios. You just have to survive until rescue comes. That’s it. There’s food and water and shelter — the three things you need to make it to the end of this nightmare. Kalvin can think whatever he wants. If he decides not to follow and not to listen, fuck him. Right?

Right. The goal is to survive. I won’t sacrifice him or anything. But I also won’t help him if he’s willfully ignorant.

I return to the living area of the life pod, grab a corner of the parachute, and pull it across to my bed. It may be sandy, but I don’t care. I just need something on me so I can sleep.

“So, that’s it? You’re going to bed?” Kalvin’s voice sounds skeptical. “I thought for sure you’d fight me on the nickname and the stuff I said.”

I lie down in the bed and roll over with my back to him, keeping pressure off my bruised hip.

“Yes, I’m going to sleep. No, I’m not going to argue with you. It sounds like you have me all figured out.” I whip my head around. “And you talk too much for someone who knows so little.”

“I do talk a lot…” He pauses. “Sorry.”

The wind whistles and blows outside, and the sound makes my eyelids droop.

“Go to sleep. You’ll need your energy for when the storm is done.”

“If it’s ever done,” he whispers.

I pull the parachute up to my shoulders, yawn, and fall into a blissful sleep.