The Key

  Chapter 24

  Kamira opened her eyes. Blood ran freely from a gash on her forehead and into her eyes. She hurt. Her entire body ached from the crash.

  Still slumped against the destroyed control console, Kamira ripped a length of cloth from her robe. She groaned as she sat upright. Taking the strip of fabric in both hands, she tied it tight around her head, bandaging the wound on her forehead and stanching the flow of blood. Gingerly, she wiped the blood from her face. Once she could see clearly, Kamira started to check the rest of her body for injuries. She started at the top of her head and using her hands, she quickly worked her way down to her feet. Finding only bruises, albeit deep ones, she let out the breath that she had not realized that she had been holding.

  "T'Sula!" Kamira screamed, remembering her cousin. She looked at the seat next to her. It brought tears to her eyes. The seat held her cousin's crumpled, twisted body against the shattered windscreen. Shards of glass penetrated T’Sula’s body in so many places that Kamira didn't try to count.

  She and T'Sula had been closer than cousins since childhood. Memories flooded her mind. Kamira lost herself in the midst of chaos and heart wrenching memories.

  It had been an oppressively hot summer. The biteflies were particularly bad that year. At least seven children had been hospitalized by bites. Kamira had coerced T'Sula into stealing away, and hiking to their favorite swimming hole. She had packed a lunch as well as any five year old could do, and they set off.

  They hiked well past lunch time before reaching the tunnel that led to the swimming hole. The tunnel was relatively short, and it wasn't long before they sat down to eat. The sweet dates tasted exquisite with the fresh, cold water from the river that fed the underground lake. A natural skylight lit the large cavern enough to see by, and give the appearance of perpetual evening.

  Water tag usually required a few more people than just a seven year old and a five year old, but the girls made due. They didn't notice as the sun slipped past the horizon, and the thick blanket of night fell across Bakesh. The cool water and long day finally overcame Kamira. Far out in the middle, at the deepest part of the lake, her tired arms and legs grew heavier until she could not move.

  She tried to float, but even that was too much. Slowly she started to sink. The only other memory she had of that night, was seeing T'Sula's bright red swimsuit before her eyes shut completely. Early the next morning Kamira awoke to T'Sula sitting by her bed. She gave her a stone, and told her that it was from the bottom of the lake.

  The concussion from a nearby explosion brought her back to the awful present. It brought her back to the time where she had failed T'Sula, and her cousin had died for it. Tears continued to roll down Kamira's cheeks as she freed herself from the wreckage. Her body ached. It hurt to breath. Everything hurt, even her hair. A couple of vertebrae in her back cracked and popped as she tried to stand. Her head throbbed hard enough to bring her to her knees. Nausea caused her to retch.

  "Oh, Gods." she muttered as she climbed back to her feet, and wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her robe. A Ta'Reeth lander slammed into a nearby building, showering Kamira with rubble. Ta'Reeth soldiers erupted from the remains of the building as Kamira ran for her life.