Ash fell to her knees, her breathing shallow. The suffocating tang of smoke clung to her throat, mingling with the nausea rising from her insides. She didn’t know how long they had been walking, moving away from downtown Kaleida, away from the black cloud rising against the bruised sky. But she couldn’t keep going. Her legs felt like lead, her chest hollow.

The image of her father came even more vivid this time—lying on the floor, buried under the rubble, blood pooling under him as his life slowly slipped away. Her breath hitched, a fresh wave of sickness filling the emptiness inside her, so intense, so overwhelming… it rose in a sour burn, and before she could stop it, she bent over and retched onto the cracked pavement.

“Easy, girl. Breathe. Slower. Deeper,” came Kira’s voice as she knelt beside her, her hand steady on Ash’s shoulder.

Ash closed her eyes, filling her lungs, trying to steady her breath.

“That’s it,” Kira said, her voice soft, soothing, as if willing Ash’s breathing to slow. “Feel the air going in and out.”

Around them, the streets were silent, but the distant echoes of explosions and blaster shots reminded her that the chaos was never far. The holo-sign of a Meteor Mart glowed in the stillness, its windows broken, shelves depleted and the chain logo—a meteor exploding on impact—now seemed like a dark joke.

Ash wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her arms trembling as she tried to push herself back to her feet. “I’m fine,” she whispered with effort. But she didn’t convince even herself. She wasn’t fine. Not even close.

“We must keep going,” Kira stated, helping Ash up. A frown spread across her face as she glanced up at the sky. “We’re still too close to the fighting. People are fleeing east. We should follow.”

“East…” Ash muttered, her eyes drifting in the direction where all the shadows seemed to stretch toward. “Straight into the lion’s maw.”

“I know…” Kira sighed, following Ash’s gaze. Her shoulders dropped slightly, but she quickly shook it off. “But we’re surrounded by water everywhere else. That’s where the spaceport is. It’s the only way.”

The only way to what? Ash asked herself. She didn’t see the point in going on. Her limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, her body an empty shell, as if it belonged to someone else. Even the faint rattling of gunfire seemed a distant memory.

A sharp, high-pitched sound tore through Ash’s numbness—a piercing alarm from above, demanding attention. Ash flinched, her head snapping up. Lights twisted and shimmered in the sky, merging into massive letters that glowed against the clouds. It was as though the heavens had become a giant screen, projecting the message across the city:

Citizens of Kaleida,

With the oversight of the Terran Commonwealth, the Veritas Concordium is taking temporary control of the city, until a new, lawful government can be formed. While the deposed terrorist regime still hides and resists, the city is not safe. The terrorists are using its own citizens as hostages. We urge the civilians to head east to the city’s outskirts, where humanitarian camps are being built to shelter the affected population.

Commonwealth Fleet Command

A red arrow appeared beside the message, glowing ominously as it pointed east, its light cutting through the haze, reflecting off windows and puddles of standing water.

The words blurred in Ash’s vision, but a single sentence burned in her mind—the regime still hides and resists. They must mean the Delegates! Some must still be alive! Could her father have fled? Maybe he was in hiding or maybe he was… looking for her? Her chest felt like it would burst, her heart rising back from the abyss. Of course! He'd have gone looking for her.

Kira, her gaze fixed in the sky, gave a humorless smirk. “How kind of them. Too bad I don’t have a box of chocolates to give to our gracious liberators.” She turned to Ash, her eyebrows knitting together as she caught the look on the girl’s face. “What?”

“My father must have gone looking for me,” Ash declared, her voice trembling with hope. “He knew I was at school. We must look for him there!”

“We?” Kira’s tone sharpened as she rested clenched fists on her waist, “Look, girl, as tempting as it is to follow the opposite direction, that”— she pointed to the arrow in the sky—“is the only way out. You might find friends and family there, my ship is that way, hell, maybe even your father could be there—”

“No,” Ash cut her off, shaking her head, “he’s not there. That’s the last place he’d go.”

Kira crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. “Why? Why the last place?”

Ash bit her lip, her eyes darting to the puddles on the pavement.

Kira’s hazel eyes pierced through her. “What are you hiding, girl?” she demanded. “And don’t bullshit me, I can smell it a mile away. If you want my help, you gotta come clean.”

Ash crossed her arms, her sneaker scraping the wet gravel on the street. “He… He’s a Delegate.”

“A Delegate?” Kira’s eyes widened, and she ran a hand through her hair. “Perfect. A walking target as a sidekick. Just what I needed.”

Ash frowned. “Don’t worry, I won’t put you at risk anymore. I’ll look for him on my own.”

She turned sharply on her heel, starting to walk away.

“Hey!” Kira reached out, grabbing her shoulder. “I didn’t mean that, alright?” she said quickly. “You did good not telling me straight away. If the wrong person knew about this… you’d be in danger.”

Ash stopped, and her breath came out in a frustrated huff. “Why are they doing this?” she asked, throwing her hands up. “Why would they label us as terrorists all of a sudden?”

Kira sighed. “They say your government was financing terrorists, like the ones that killed their First Citizen,” she said, crossing her arms. “I don’t buy it. I bet the Terrans are overjoyed they now have an excuse to swoop in and take what they want.”

“Like our solumene reserve, for sure!” Ash clenched her fists at her sides, her voice rising. “Ever since we found it, everyone’s been drooling over it.”

“Yeah,” Kira agreed. “That gas has made you rich, sure. But it also painted a huge target on your backs. And you have enough to power the entire Terran Fleet.” She paused, her gaze drifting back to the glowing letters in the sky. The faint light reflected in her eyes as she spoke, her voice softening. “They’ll be looking for your father, Ash. Which is why you shouldn’t go after him. You’ll put yourself in danger. And him.”

Ash crossed her arms. “Or maybe I can help him. Maybe he needs me! He could be hurt, he could be—”

“He could be hiding,” Kira cut her off, “You could be caught by the Veritans or by the Terrans. You could blow his cover, or you could make him do something risky and dangerous.”

Ash’s face hardened. “You don’t know that! All hell has broken loose around here. Why would I make it worse?”

“Because it happened to me, girl!” Kira snapped, her voice rising. “And if I had someone to stop me, then maybe my—” she paused mid-sentence, looking away. Her hand went to her neck, grasping at something that wasn’t there. She sighed slowly. “Then maybe my father would still be alive.”

Ash’s frown faded as she looked at Kira. For the first time, she saw the pain lingering behind the toughness. “I’m sorry about your father,” Ash said, her voice faltering slightly, “But... but just because it happened to you, doesn’t mean it’ll be the same with me.”

“The Terrans are saying the city is not safe,” Kira yelled, pointing to the message in the sky. “That means things are going to get uglier. We gotta burn thrusters while we still can.”

Yet, for Ash, there was no point in leaving without her father. Her eyes were heavy, locking into Kira’s. “If you still had a chance to save your father, wouldn’t you take it?”

Kira looked back into Ash’s eyes, her lips pressed together tightly. She didn’t answer, but Ash’s words weighed in her eyes.

Ash dropped her gaze, taking a deep breath. “I just have to do this.”

She turned again and started walking, curling herself against her father’s jacket as the wind blew cold against her face. Gunshots and cries echoed ahead, the battle still raging.

“If I’m gonna go on this crazy stroll of yours,” came Kira’s voice from behind.

Ash stopped and turned, her eyes wide.

Kira took a deep breath before she started walking toward her. Her face hard, eyes boring into Ash’s. “If I’m to go, you’ll do exactly as I say. If I say stay, you stay. If I say run, you run. If I say roll over and barf like a dog, you better make me believe you’re a damn Labrador, you got me?”

Ash nodded quickly, her shoulders easing a little. Ash clasped her hands together as if in prayer. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Yeah...” Kira said, falling into step beside her. “I just hope I don’t regret this.”

As they walked side by side, a glimmer of hope stirred in Ash’s chest, faint but warm. Maybe, just maybe, not all was lost.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading this chapter!

If you were Kira, would you help Ash find her dad? What would you do in her place?

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter.

If you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a vote or leaving a comment below.

Your support means the world to me and keeps me motivated to continue writing.

Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the story!