Page 51 of Jhon
She hadn’t been kidding when she told Abbra she had broken a school record. It was just that it wasn’t some fancy running competition like they probably had back on Abbra’s home world.
At Ella’s school, there had been what the faculty called a Rush for Glory, and what the kids called a Bum’s Rush every winter holiday. The prize was a huge basket absolutely stuffed with food and grocery items.
With sector schools closed for the Hearth Day holidays, she and her siblings didn’t get free lunches. Ella would have run any distance, swum the deepest ocean, done whatever she needed to do to keep them all eating for the three dark and awful weeks before they could go back to school where there was always electricity, running water, and a solid meal in the middle of each day.
And for once, Ella’s long legs and a scrawny body were an advantage. She was fast, and she didn’t run out of gas. She didn’t even mind being made fun of by the other girls in class. Ella won that basket for her family every single year. And the last year before she dropped out, the gymnasia teacher told her she had broken a record.
Now, pumping her legs until they burned and pushing herself hard, she wished more than anything that Jhon were here.
Even if she made it to Charl, and got his attention, she wasn’t sure there would be time for him to get down.
Surely, an Invicta warrior could bring strategy to the problem, instead of just raw speed.
After what felt like a lifetime, she reached the bottom of the turbine Charl was working on. She waved and screamed from below, but the sparks were still flying, and he didn’t notice her.
She turned back to see that the others had managed to get grappling hooks into the island, but they were being dragged along without managing to slow it down. It would take a herd of mammoths to change its course.
When she looked up at Charl again, she noticed slight indentations that acted as a ladder up the turbine.
“Oh, gods, please no,” she whispered, even as she grabbed the first one and pulled herself up.
Though she was only a few feet off the ground, she was already dizzy. The world seemed to loom in and out, and her stomach was cramping horribly.
But the shadow of the island was nipping at her heels. There was no time to be paralyzed with fear.
She pulled herself up, rung over rung, clinging to the shallow divots.
Her arms screamed with pain, and her breath came in ragged gasps, but she kept pushing herself to move as quickly as she could.
But what was the use?
She might make it up in time to warn Charl, but they would never be able to make it back down.
Abbra’s words echoed in her head, driving her on.
Loving Charl is what I was born to do…
Ella was not about to let her new friend lose her soul mate.
“Not on my watch,” she muttered to herself.
She dragged herself onto a tiny platform at the top of the ladder and waved her hands again. Charl was only ten feet away, but he was working with dangerous equipment.
By the grace of the rings, he saw her this time.
She pointed toward the island, which was only seconds away from hitting them.
Charl’s face sank, and his eyes went wide with horror.
She gestured for him, and he ran to her.
But they could both see there was no time to descend the ladder-like pole. And they were far, far too high in the air to jump.
The island drifted close enough that she could see the individual tendrils of lichen.
The big Bergalian wrapped one furry arm around her in solidarity.
Ella closed her eyes and prepared herself for impact, praying to all the gods to look over Bo for her. It was a comfort to know that Abbra would care for him until Jhon could return.