A thinly veiled panic churned just beneath the surface, despite her soldier calm. What if she never saw her knot again? What if everyone was dead? She dashed away the sweat dripping from her forehead. Surrendering to despair would only waste time and energy, she scolded herself.

Another couple of trips to the tree line and back were all it took to make an arrow made of branches pointing in the direction of the hill. If the others entered the battler—which they would if they found the wreckage—there was no chance the knot would miss the arrow upon coming back out. Or Romy’s space boots, removed and strategically placed next to it.

Romy had to believe that if she didn’t find them, her knot would find her.

Her choices were few.

Sit and die.

Or move and live.

CHAPTER FIVE

From Romy’s vantage point in the wreckage, the dry bush had appeared sparse, but upon entering, the growth became so dense she couldn’t tell if she were moving in the straight line she’d set for herself. A nagging self-doubt plagued her––a fear that every step she took might move her away from her friends.

Romy knew she could be thousands of kilometres away from her knot.

She couldn’t stop thinking about how it was her piece of the wreckage that possessed the parachute. Did the battler have more than one parachute? And there was also the fire outside the craft, let alone the fact the ship tore to smithereens somewhere during the crash landing.

She took one unsatisfying mouthful of water to quell the scratchy thirst in her throat. The sun was lower in the sky, and the temperature steadily dropped. She welcomed the reprieve from the beating heat. Progress was slow. Her palms, though used to gripping guns and cleaning, were covered in blisters from the crutches. Her ankle had settled into a deep burning ache, which throbbed with every jarring hop.

The sun dipped just below the trees when the ground beneath Romy’s feet began to slope upwards. Startled from her mechanical motion, she peered through the trees and saw she’d reached the bottom of a hill; whether it was the one she’d aimed for was another question.

Indecision tugged at her. It was dark. Her day’s adventures included: a crash landing from space, a head injury and broken ankle, a long fall from the battler, and several hours of painful walking plagued with heartache. Her body and mind needed rest.