Free Broken Episode One by Odette C. Bell Page A

metal she had to scramble over in order
to get out of the ship, Josh didn’t help her. He marched ahead,
slamming his hands on his hips as he stared at the landscape around
them.
    Mimi eventually made it out and scrambled up the
sand dune beside him.
    She stared.
    They were in a desert. Though the sun was starting
to set, it was still remarkably warm.
    “Oh my,” she muttered under her breath as she looked
up into the sky. There were dual suns.
    This really wasn’t Earth.
    Suddenly she felt something to her side. She looked
down, confusion crumpling her brow.
    An object burst from the sand next to her.
    She screamed and threw herself to the side.
    Josh grabbed her protectively. Then they both
watched in surprise as the object turned out to be a small
subterranean drilling vehicle. It protruded from the sand, the
drilling mechanism on the nose winding down as a door was thrust
open along the body.
    A massive alien who had no right fitting into such a
small vehicle pulled its way out.
    Mimi held onto Josh fast.
    The alien looked the both of them over, then tipped
its head back and laughed. It sounded like an engine roaring into
orbit. “More survivors,” it said, its voice a gravelly mix between
boots crunching over rock and the deepest baritone you’ve ever
heard. “The Captain said it was ready to salvage. Said all the crew
was accounted for and had already been rescued. Guess he didn’t
count you guys as rescuable. Still, you got out just in time; a few
more minutes, and we would have torn that ship to shreds.”
    Mimi gripped Josh’s arm so hard it was a wonder she
didn’t break his bones.
    He didn’t push her off. He did, however, shift to
the side until he was in front of her. “Where the hell is the
Captain?”
    “Back in town. It’s a two-hour walk that way. Or you
could wait a bit, and I’ll give you a lift.”
    “We’ll take the lift,” Josh said immediately.
    “Wait, we will? No offense, sir, but how exactly are
we going to fit inside that thing?” She tried to be polite as she
pointed to the very cramped drilling vehicle.
    “By squeezing in,” the alien informed her with a
chuckle.
    “Oh my, okay.” Mimi bit her lip.
    “Plus,
it’s preferable to walking out in these parts, ma’am – there are sand wolves, salvagers,
and brigands.”
    “Umm ... aren’t you a salvager?” Mimi asked in a
falsely light tone.
    “That’s right. I am. And I know how bad my kind can
be.”
    “That’s comforting.” Though she wasn’t aware of it,
Mimi unconsciously shifted closer to Josh.
    He didn’t tell her to get back.
    Because he was doing it again. There was danger, and
he was going into protection mode, dropping his usual attitude in
favor of helping her out.
    “How long will you be?” Josh asked as he nodded
towards the broken ship down the side of the sand dune.
    “An hour, max. Sit back and enjoy the show,
humans.”
    With that, the alien saluted, squeezed himself back
into his vehicle, somehow managed to close the door, and gunned the
engine. With a sound like a million swarming insects, the drill
revved up, spinning so fast it became white hot. Then Josh pulled
her back as the vehicle tipped, slid down the sand, and plunged
back into it.
    She watched in astonishment as the broken transport
suddenly lurched to the side, the sound of screeching metal filling
the air.
    Out of the sand, she saw more drill vehicles as they
rammed into the transport’s hull, eating into it as sparks escaped,
dancing over the sand and leaving tiny swathes of singe marks.
    Once the drills heated up to a blistering red-white,
they started to melt the metal of the hull. As they did, great big
pumps on either side of the drill head would suck in the molten
metal, turn it into cubes, and spit it out onto the sand.
    Mimi had never seen a ship being salvaged, and it
was an incredible sight to watch.
    “They’ll
melt down everything – from
seats to the engine core – and create matter blocks,” Josh