Pulling his uncooperative lower half behind him, he made his way to the hatch with his one good arm. He felt an explosion of strength, intending to claw across the desert to the retreating ship and drag it back to Earth so he could rescue her. Managing to get out of the pod, he depleted this jolt of energy, succumbing to his injuries. He collapsed a couple of yards away. Dizzy from the pain and the apparent loss of blood, he noticed the inside of his armor felt wet and sticky around his chest.
He wept into the sand. He’d lost her.
He was sprawled facedown. Holding on to the last of the sun’s heat, the ground was warm against his cheek. It was a sharp contrast to how cold his body started to feel. Pain engulfed his abdomen, like he’d swallowed a bag of razorblades. His armor’s first aid system must’ve stopped working. He gasped for air, coughing when he sucked dirt into his throat. A measure of strength returned, and he used it to roll onto his back.
The escaped recruit ship was still visible, a golden pyramid rising up into the dark heavens. Climbing until its shape was no longer discernable, its yellow glow and size distinguished it from the stars. It adopted a speedy flight across the night sky, entering into space and orbiting the planet with man’s puny satellites.
Angry tears clouding his vision, he watched it race toward the horizon. Off in the distance, the battle with the two disabled Anunnaki ships grew quieter. He hardly cared—didn’t care about anything except that Kelly was gone.
But there was no guarantee she was dead.
Staring up at the heavens, that desperate thought sparked a little flame of hope in him. He was freezing, but he was too weak to shiver. His abdomen seemed to inflate like a balloon, pressing into his lungs and forcing his breaths to grow shallow. How would he get her back? He didn’t have a clue. But maybe Jones and the other rebels could help. If there was a way, regardless of how dangerous, he was going to do it.
The flame of hope diminished as the ship slid out of sight. It seemed to be tearing his soul away from his flesh, dragging it beyond the horizon and surrendering his broken body to the desert. Suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion and heartache, he trembled, exhaling all the air from his lungs. The natural inhalation didn’t follow as it should. His head spun, and his vision blurred. He focused every reserve of dwindling strength, determined to stay alive so he could save her. Try as he might, he couldn’t take another breath.
Darkness closed in and stole away his pain, quieting his panic. Deafening and blinding him, it crushed his senses and devoured his thoughts. It destroyed everything until there was only one flickering image floating in the emptiness. It was Kelly, standing close to him. Focusing on her beautiful face, he knew as long as he could see her, he was still alive. He reached out to her, trying to press his lips to hers one last time. His fingers passed through her ethereal image like she was made of smoke. He couldn’t stop her from fading—didn’t have the strength to hold the shadows at bay. Lethal darkness billowed through her ghostly image, and she was gone.