Not Without Me

  Cough. Cough.

  My eyes slowly blinked open. The world around me spun.

  I waved my hand, blowing away the smoke. When the smoke cleared, everything had fallen. The huts, the houses, the village hall — all collapsed.

  It was all gone.

  The pit we used to play Monomitt. The rockside where Ma and Fa would make clay pots.

  All of it — gone.

  I slowly pushed away the rubble in front of me and tried to stand.

  Just then, I felt a sharp pain in my right leg.

  I let out a sharp cry of pain. My hair whipped as I turned to look at what caused the pain.

  A jagged piece of clay wall had pierced the skin of my leg.

  I grunted, sitting up straight to get a closer look at the wound. It looked deep. Orange blood spilled out, staining the ground.

  “Ah-”

  I winced, grabbing the clay shard and gripping it tightly.

  “Ugh-”

  A single tear escaped my eye. It was lodged deep. Far too deep — it had come out the other side.

  I tried to wiggle it out but it only caused more pain.

  Helplessness washed over me. How was I supposed to run with this?

  I swiped the air in front with a shaky hand, bringing in the digital storage. There were ray icons, most of which I didn’t understand. But one I did know was what mattered most.

  The time.

  Only an hour and a half before they left.

  One hour and thirty minutes.

  They wouldn’t wait for one girl.

  Not when a planet was dying.

  I had to get up.

  I had to.

  I pushed myself up, and immediately stumbled. The shard wasn’t letting me go anywhere.

  Blood trickled down my leg, leaving a footprint.

  I had to get rid of it if I wanted a chance of getting back to my family.

  I lowered myself to the ground and stared at the bleeding leg for quite some time before taking the initiative and gripping the shard tightly.

  I hissed.

  I had to do it.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled at it. A yell of pain echoed in the musty hot air. It was agonizing. I had never felt pain like this before. I wanted it gone.

  My hands clenched around the shard jutting from my leg. I took a deep breath, ready to take it out.

  “AHH!”

  Orange blood sprayed out, soaking my legwear. My trembling hands gripped my shirt, ripping a strip of it to wrap around my bleeding leg. I knotted it, tightening it until my vision swam. The fabric of tettara skin was quickly soaked with blood. It wasn’t my biggest concern.

  I pushed myself off my feet, standing up and looking past the rubble. The air was thick with heat and moisture while dark gray fog blinded my view.

  As soon as I took a step closer, I collapsed onto the ground, feeling the hot surface beneath me and pain shot through my leg.

  I let out a yelp, falling forward.

  I forced myself upright. For Ma. For Motalla. For Fattaralla.

  Every step I took, the pain only grew worse and worse.

  I felt as though shards of black glass pierced me with every step.

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  The more I kept pushing, the closer I got to Ma and the others.

  I pushed through. Through the agonizing pain, I pushed through the rubble to make my way over to the ship that waited.

  Steam blew through the cracked ground, and an outline of orange filled my sight. The doom was near.

  I moved forward, limping. Time was running out, and I had not made any progress. I was far away from the ship. From Aktoe.

  My head tilted down as I stared at my leg.

  I leaned down, tightening the fabric around my injured leg.

  If I didn’t run now, I would never see them again.

  I braced myself for the immense amount of pain I was about to feel.

  My feet moved swiftly across the hot surface. My leg throbbed from the deep wound left behind.

  Tears escaped the corner of my eye.

  Despite the agony, I kept running.

  Pushing myself to my limits.

  Boom! Boom!

  The ground shook, and I finally slowed down, taking a deep breath as I took in my surroundings. Tintara* had also fallen to Ma-Oktava’s wrath.

  The pain worsened the longer I ran, trying to get back to Ma.

  Nonetheless, I pressed forward.

  Boom! Boom!

  The ground shook once again, nearly throwing me forward. The ground was shaking constantly now — violently. I shoved forward, trying to move. There was not a single second to waste. I urged forward, running.

  My body begged me to stop. But the thought of Ma standing at the edge of the ramp — searching for me —

  Calling my name.

  And not hearing an answer.

  That image forced my legs to move.

  I kept running and running despite my body nearing a collapse.

  Harsh wind blew my hair. The smoke had thickened. Ash fell down as if burying me with Ma-Oktava.

  There was no time to stop. No time to cry.

  Fa didn’t raise me to cry, Ma didn’t raise me to be a quitter.

  My wounded leg begged me to stop, but I was determined to reach my destination. I wobbled slightly — a silent retaliation from my leg.

  The sand blew as my feet skidded, coming to a halt.

  I pulled up the digital storage box and scrolled through the setting to find the time. Forty minutes left.

  Dread filled me.

  I needed to hurry.

  I moved forward, ignoring the agony.

  For my family, this was the least I could do. What if the ship leaves without me? Ma would lose her mind. Motalla would hate me. Fattaralla would cry.

  I dragged my injured leg, continuing on.

  My eyes locked on the ship, now no bigger than a speck in the distance.

  I was near. I was near.

  Tears slipped from the corner of my eye.

  I limped forward.

  I could imagine Ma holding out her hand for me. The others would run to wrap their arms around me when I returned.

  I would mend things between Aourine and me.

  I would.

  I would.

  BOOM!!!

  The ground split open. Molten bursts shot upward, and droplets struck my face.

  Ma-Oktava gave way beneath my feet.

  I reached out for something. Anything.

  My vision darkened, going completely black.

  My family—

  ???