Page 22 of Beast in the Badlands
RENN
I sit on a crate, fingers moving over the transmitter for what feels like the hundredth time, swearing under my breath. The damned thing is supposed to work—it's got power, it just won’t catch a signal. Frustration bubbles inside me, tight and angry, like a beast trapped in a cage.
Emry left this morning without a word. I wake up, disoriented and still half-dreaming, and she’s just… gone. I didn’t even hear her leave. I grind my teeth at the thought. She knows better than to wander off alone, especially in this hellhole.
Why the hell would she do that? Doesn’t she understand how vulnerable she is?
My blood boils at the memory of her leaving while I lay there, incapacitated.
Each second drags out like hours as I replay every moment leading up to her departure in my mind.
She can’t just run off into danger when I’m stuck here.
The way she spoke to me yesterday lingers in my thoughts. “This isn’t just temporary anymore, is it?” Her defiance ignites something inside me—an urge to protect her from everything, including herself. Yet here I am, powerless and furious, tethered by my own limitations while she runs off.
I pound my fist against the crate’s edge, feeling it rattle under the impact. The ache in my legs flares up, but that barely registers against the anger swelling within me.
The transmitter crackles—a brief burst of static followed by an open frequency ringing out faintly but unmistakably clear through the silence.
Kairon?
My heart kicks into overdrive as I lean closer to the unit, straining to catch every nuance of sound breaking through the airwaves. The static hisses again, and with each twist of the dial, desperation claws at my chest.
“Come on…” My voice rasps in frustration as I race through frequencies—hands trembling with urgency now mixed with hope. If it’s him…
A distorted voice filters through; I can almost make out words buried beneath interference.
“...location… evac...”
I grit my teeth and twist another knob, heart racing faster than ever. This might be it—the chance for all of us to get out alive. But if Kairon needs us—and Emry's not back yet…
I can't let her stay away any longer.
Just then, a new wave of static surges through the comm unit, drowning out everything else—the sound is both electric and maddening as realization crashes over me.
"Fuck!"
The static finally settles, and in the ensuing silence, I hear her voice break through—the tone is sharp, urgent, and laced with a palpable desperation that sends chills racing down my spine.
“Zone Four is collapsing—we need evac or backup now! Civilians and medics still inside! Please—anyone!”
A jolt of ice shoots through me as I freeze in place, my pulse stuttering before it picks up speed, hammering in my veins like the relentless beat of a war drum echoing in a distant battlefield.
It’s Emry’s zone, the very place where I know she’s been working tirelessly, putting herself at risk every time she leaves my sight.
I can’t breathe. Panic claws its way up my throat, tightening my chest with a ferocity that borders on suffocation as the weight of reality sinks in.
“Shit,” I hiss, the word spilling out like a curse, a desperate invocation of the chaos unfolding around her.
I shove the transmitter away from me, my anger and fear coiling tightly in my gut like a serpent ready to strike.
How long has she been trapped in that hell?
The last time we spoke, her voice was steady and reassuring; she mentioned patching people up, tending to the wounded with her usual determination and grit.
She didn’t say a word about an impending attack.
Who the fuck are these assholes, anyway?
The thought gnaws at me relentlessly, each second stretching into an agonizing eternity as I grapple with the stark reality of her precarious situation.
The very essence of dread coils tightly around my chest, squeezing with a grip that feels unyielding and cold.
I can’t allow myself to linger in this moment of uncertainty, this cruel limbo; I have to move.
I have to get to her before it’s too late, before the shadows lurking in that inferno consume her.
I shake my head vigorously, forcing myself to focus, to pull my mind away from the abyss of despair threatening to engulf me. The familiar heaviness of dread wraps around me like an unwanted cloak, but I can’t afford to drown in it—not now, not when every second counts.
With gritted teeth, I shove myself upright, my every muscle screaming in protest as I will my body into action. My legs throb, a dull ache that turns sharp with each agonizing movement, but there’s no time for weakness; not when she’s out there, fighting against insurmountable odds.
I strap on what gear I can manage with trembling hands—makeshift crutches hanging awkwardly from my shoulders, weapons secured tightly at my side, their familiar weight a small comfort amidst the chaos. Each item feels like a talisman against the dark, a reminder that I’m still in this fight.
As I stumble toward the door, each step feels like wading through molasses, slow and frustrating as hell.
My limbs won’t cooperate, each movement a battle against my own body, but the thought of Emry trapped in the swirling chaos drives me forward, pushing me through the pain and doubt. I can’t let her down; I won’t.
Outside, the sun hangs low in the sky, casting long shadows over the ruined landscape. Smoke billows in the distance—a dark omen that tightens the knot of fear twisting within me.
I push through the desert landscape, moving faster than I should risk. The air grows thick with ash and tension as distant gunfire punctuates the silence surrounding me like a heartbeat quickening into a frenzy.
Each step jars my injured legs, sending shockwaves of pain radiating through me. But if I collapse here—if I stop—I won’t make it to her.
And that's not a fucking option.