The Long Forever. Eugene Lambert

care?’

      ‘Yeah, back off,’ a tall girl with a pox-marked face snarls.

      I don’t need this. Twelve of them, only one of me, and I’m supposed to be keeping my head down. But now I get my first good look at the Slayer. I see the way-too-long-for-a-Slayer blond hair, matted with blood.

      ‘Oh, no way. It can’t be!’

      I barge past the kids, drop to my knees and roll him on to his back. Stare in disbelief at the battered face.

      ‘What the frag are you doing here?’ I hiss.

2

       CHANGE OF PLAN

      Murdo! Still in the captured and patched Slayer gear he wore the night he marched us over to be thrown inside the loading cage. But what’s he doing here? We left him behind on Wrath. Unless they caught him? Crap! Does this mean they’re on to Sky and me too? Nah. Can’t be. The crewmen didn’t even glance at us when they threw him in.

      I’m working on winding my gob shut when growler boy grabs hold and hauls me to my feet.

      ‘Mate of yours, is he? This Slayer?’

      I’m collecting hard stares from the rest of the nublood kids too. And now that lurch thing happens again. We all stagger. By the time my eyes quit playing the fool again, the prickly skin feeling is back with a vengeance.

      The kid holding me seems unfazed; he shoves his face at me. ‘You and your sick friend over there – who are you?’

      We haven’t told them yet, or why we tricked our way into the cage and off Wrath, in case somebody squealed. Early on, one kid asked us where we’d appeared from. Sky told him a made-up ident camp name. And lied about us being shipped into the No-Zone weeks earlier to slave away on fetching and carrying inside the Slayer dome, until it came time to ship us off-world. Since then we’ve kept ourselves to ourselves and our mouths shut.

      ‘What do you mean?’ I say, stalling.

      He’s half a head shorter than me, but much broader and stockier. And I’m pretty sure his name is Cam. The way he carries himself tells me he knows how to use his fists; the harsh look on his face says he likes using them.

      He jerks his head at Murdo, who still hasn’t moved.

      ‘You know that Slayer, don’t you?’

      ‘How about you let go of me?’

      ‘How about you tell me why you’re mates with a Slayer?’

      He shoves me a step backwards, and his mates crowd round too, peering at me suspiciously. Behind them, I catch a glimpse of Sky struggling to stand up.

      ‘You’re asking for it,’ I snarl. ‘Let go of me, or –’

      ‘Or what ?’ Cam gives me a harder shove that slams me back against the bars of the cage, rattling them.

      That does it. I’ve had enough of being pushed around.

      I crouch, which pulls him closer. Fists together, I burst upwards and lash out to break free. Before he can react, I’ve spun and hip-thrown him on to his back on the deck. He stares up at me, mouth open, winded and shocked. I’m guessing nobody’s ever body-slammed him before.

      His mates look gobsmacked too. Good.

      It’s tempting to be all sneery and ‘I-did-warn-you’. Instead, I hold my hands out in front of me to show him I don’t want to fight. And I go for my most reasonable look.

      ‘Okay, you’re right, I do know the guy. His name’s Murdo Dern. But it’s not what it looks like. He’s no Slayer. He’s just wearing their gear and pretending.’

      Even to me it sounds lame, heading for unbelievable.

      I step back. Cam picks himself up, glaring at me the whole time. ‘Pretending? Why would he?’

      ‘It’s a long story,’ I tell him.

      ‘And not one we want shouted out loud,’ Sky says. She’s up now, but it looks like it’s costing her.

      ‘So get telling then,’ Cam growls.

      ‘It’d better be good,’ the pox-marked girl says.

      Now I’d rather be finding out from Murdo how in hell he’s wound up in this star freighter’s cage with us. But, short of pulling my blaster, that’ll have to wait.

      ‘Tell them, Kyle,’ Sky says. ‘But keep it down. Okay?’

      ‘Fine.’ I whisper the telling in as few words as I can manage, starting with Sky, Murdo and me being ident resistance fighters. Their eyes go wide. People fighting for them instead of against must be hard to take in. Skipping the bad stuff – that we were making our last stand out in the No-Zone – I bang on instead about the Facility raid and the hundreds of nublood kids who were found there and brought to safety. At least for a while anyway.

      One of the younger kids cheers, but I shush her.

      I move on to how we stumbled across the Slayer spaceport. ‘That’s how they smuggle their mined darkblende off-world. And nubloods, like you guys.’

      Cam recoils, like I’d punched him. ‘We’re off-world?’

      ‘They didn’t tell you?’

      ‘No. We’re just beasts to them,’ the girl says. ‘We thought we were being moved to a new camp.’

      Sky’s scowl slips. She looks almost sympathetic. ‘We don’t know where we’re being taken, but it won’t be on Wrath. This is a starship, not a windjammer.’

      I see and hear the shock at our news. Fair play though, nobody wails or cries. Like I said, toughest of the tough.

      The lad shakes himself. ‘Were you captured then?’

      ‘Huh?’ I say, confused.

      ‘You’re in this cage with us. How come?’

      ‘Oh yeah. I mean, no, we weren’t captured. That’s why Murdo’s wearing the Slayer gear. We scavved it off troopers we’d killed. He walked us to the cage like he was our guard. Two prisoners, late for loading. The guards didn’t ask any questions. Why would they? They’re more worried about you guys busting out, not us breaking in.’

      Cam looks like his head will explode. He’s not alone.

      ‘Knowing you’d be taken off-world, you got yourselves chucked in this cage?’ he says, his voice climbing.

      ‘Why would you do that?’ pox-girl says.

      Can’t help it – I glance at Sky. She narrows her eyes.

      But what can I do? I’ve a dozen mean-looking nublood kids glaring at me. I have to give them something.

      ‘We got in,’ I say. ‘And we can get ourselves out.’

      Slipping my hand inside my jacket, I flash my blaster. Just enough that they see what it is before I tuck it away again.

      I see lots of eyes light up with hope.

      Cam darts a look at Sky. Scowling, she nods. But makes no move to show them that she’s carrying too.

      ‘Well, what the hell are we waiting for?’ he snarls.

      Yeah, good question! Before I can answer him though, a groan reminds me that Murdo’s still lying at my feet. I look down and see one of his blue eyes is open. The other looks like it’ll be swollen closed for a while.

      ‘We can’t wait,’ he croaks. ‘It’s bust out now, or never.’

      ‘Who asked you?’ Sky snaps.

      Clutching