Temper (33 page)

BOOK: Temper

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‘You have me,’ she wrote back when I was sure I had no one. I can’t leave her to rot. Thoughts of my best friend stir me when nothing else can.

Getting the serum and finding the truth about the other ship is only the beginning. I need to free my friend and learn why the green robes wanted so desperately to keep this a secret.

I drag myself upright. I have to get back for Kaih’s sake. For my friend I’ll put one foot in front of the other. I head down the hill, away from Samuai and his lying ways. Stumbling at times, I reach the road and force myself to keep going.

Lightning flashes.

I see him then, waiting for me ahead on the road. Samuai. Thunder cracks the night a heartbeat later as darkness returns. I freeze. I can’t bear to be near him. Not now. There’s nothing to say to mend what’s broken between us. I turn away, take a step up the hill. I’ll find another way to help Kaih.

But then the very ground beneath my feet begins to sway.

There’s a rumble, deeper, louder than the thunder. A growling from the depths of the earth that I feel through my body. “Earthquake,” I shout.

Stupid, because there’s no one who can hear me. Even if Samuai was closer …

Samuai. I can’t help it. Despite everything I strain to see the spot where he was lit up a moment ago. “Samuai,” I cry. Not because I forgive him but because the alternative is that I’m all alone.

But despite straining to look, there’s nothing there, and the ground is bucking beneath my feet. Panic squeezes my lungs. I scramble to stay upright. But I can’t fight this. I’m lifted, thrown backwards as the place I was standing splits with a terrible tearing of rock and earth. I land hard against the trunk of a mighty oak, the air rushing from my lungs.

I try to breathe. I can’t.

Winded. I’m just winded. This will pass. Earthquakes only last seconds.

Not in the Upheaval.

I push the thought aside as nearby trees drop like pencils, scattered by a giant’s hand. The splintering of wood as they break is lost in the roar of agony of the earth being torn in two. More chasms form, appearing in what was solid rock like veins opening in an arm.

Another tree falls.

I force air into unforgiving lungs, clogged with dirt, and crawl away from the trunk. I’m on my knees coughing up gravel and grit when it falls a second later. I crumple, shaking and screaming until my throat is so raw I can’t make another sound. All I can do is stare, my heart hammering. I was sitting there. Sitting right there.

There’s a lull, and I try to catch my breath. I want to go back in time. To Samuai’s side. Not to forgive, but to stop him talking at all. I could have kissed him again. Then I wouldn’t be alone now. I wouldn’t have to face how small I am.

Until now the Upheaval was an abstract thing that happened before I was born. Not even seeing the scar of it on the Earth and the city made it real. It was distant. Too big to comprehend. So I didn’t bother.

The ground rumbles again. Aftershocks? Or is this only the beginning?

I’ve lost all sense of direction except for the spot I last saw Samuai. It’s fixed in my mind. Lit up like the lightning burned it right into my brain. I drag myself upright, I have to see if he’s there. I take one step. Another. I keep moving. Twice, I stumble. The second time I fall onto my knees, and I’m looking over the edge of a cliff, into a chasm too deep for me to see the bottom of.

I scramble backwards, sobbing. I want to live. Damn it all I want to live.

When I’m a good few feet away from the edge, I wipe tears and rain from my cheeks and stand again on wobbly legs, barely strong enough to hold my weight. I must keep moving. To stay still out here is a death sentence. I’ll find Samuai.

I spit dirt and salty tears from my mouth and take another step. I will not give in. Not now. Not ever.

But I can’t shake the fear so sharp that it threatens to slice me open from the inside. Earthquakes like this have happened before. They and their aftereffects nearly wiped out humanity. What if the Company is right?

What if the aliens have returned?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A sequel is a funny thing, it relies so much on the people who loved the first in the series and
Lifer
will always be a book of my heart. Many thanks to Georgia McBride for seeing something in
Lifer
and then in
Temper
. Your belief in these stories is so precious. Also to the rest of the team at Month9Books who’ve been so great to work with from edits to publicity and everyone in between.

Special thanks to Ali McDonald who has given so much support.

Having a book out there in the wild is a scary and wonderful thing. The fear is eased by the great readers who’ve contacted me about how much they loved
Lifer
. I wrote
Temper
for you guys.

I would never have written a sci-fi book without the years I spent studying and learning in the lab. I was so lucky to work with amazing and brilliant people. Thank you in particular to Susan, Heather, Jason, Ula, the other PhD and Hons students and our supervisor Warren.

My writing friends are the ones who get me through each day at the computer. It helps to know I’m not alone. Thank you to Ro who read
Temper
in an early draft and let me pick her medical as well as writing brains – anything wrong is all on me. To Rach – couldn’t have finished this without your mails and feedback. Thanks again to all the lovely people from SARA and RWAus who have inspired me so much.

Thanks to my family and friends for your love and support. Thanks to the school mums who always listen to me stressing about edits and deadlines with a comforting smile. Also to Fi, Kirst, Dad and Lyn, Dick and Shirley. Thanks always to Mum who always believed in me.

To my wonderful kids who count down the days til they are old enough to read my stories and who tell everyone how proud they are of me – you three are the best small people around. Your stories are awesome too. Special thanks to Rockstar who shared what it’s like to be alone somewhere and unable to hear – hope I got it right.

And to Dave – always my first reader. Love you.

BECK NICHOLAS

I always wanted to write. I’ve worked as a lab assistant, a pizza delivery driver and a high school teacher but I always pursued my first dream of creating stories. Now, I live with my family near Adelaide, halfway between the city and the sea, and am lucky to spend my days (and nights) writing young adult fiction.

Find her online at
http://www.becknicholas.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/beck.nicholas

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/becknicholas

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http://www.pinterest.com/becknicholas/

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