Wanderer - Millennium

Chapter 2-2

Kaira had far less room squashed between the barrels than she would have had within one of them, but she tried to get as comfortable as she could. There was a little more space lower down because the shape of the barrels curved inward toward the bottom.

She slipped down as far as she could, into a cramped sitting position. It helped keep her better hidden but it certainly couldn’t be described as comfortable.

She stayed as still as she could, hearing raised voices and the clangs and bangs of cargo being moved. She expected the barrels that formed her hiding place to be shifted soon, but they remained untouched.

As five minutes became ten then ten became twenty she started to worry she’d made a mistake. She’d been certain these barrels were tagged to be loaded on board the Glimmer, but what if she’d been wrong and they had been unloaded from the ship.

She started to consider climbing back out and checking, the urge to know whether she’d made a mistake growing stronger and stronger. She resisted it. If she had made a mistake then most likely all the cargo for the Glimmer had been loaded already. And if she was in the right place then climbing out and getting spotted would ruin a very good chance of getting on board.

So she stayed where she was, trying to ward off the cramp she could feel building in her legs and willing the loaders to get on with moving her hiding place aboard the Glimmer.

Finally she heard voices coming closer and forced herself to hold as still as she could. The voices grew louder, though she still couldn’t make out the details of what they were saying. Then they drew close enough for her to not only hear the words, but also to recognise the speaker.

“There she is!” said the voice she recognised as Jace’s. “I told you she was over here.”

Kaira’s heart hammered in her chest so badly it felt like it would burst out. She couldn’t see Jace. He wasn’t standing by the barrel he’d tried to trick her into. That meant he must know where she actually was, and now he’d led someone to her.

“I don’t know what she’s doing over here. All the cargo for the Glimmer was supposed to be at the south end. It’s a good job you noticed it Jace. I’d have spent another half an hour looking before I even thought of looking over here.”

“I couldn’t be having that. Now you have an extra half an hour to spend buying me drinks!”

“Ha! With all your side hustles you should be buying me drinks! But yeah, I’ll buy you a couple for finding these. Alright then, let’s get moving.”

Kaira’s body shuddered in relief as the adrenaline washed through her system. They weren’t looking for her. For some strange reason Jace had referred to the pallet Kaira was on or the barrels upon it as her. At least Kaira hoped it was the one she was on. If so she just needed to stay absolutely still and before long she’d be aboard the Glimmer.

Moments later the pallet was jolted and lifted. As it started to be moved the barrels shifted. Two crushed Kaira’s left forearm, while another pressed against her body, threatening to squeeze the air from her lungs. She wanted to hold absolutely still, but the pressure was stopping her from breathing.

Trying to ignore the pain in her arm she struggled to push back against the barrel restricting her breathing. It was heavy, very heavy, and she couldn’t even use her left arm to gain leverage, the pain was too great if she tried.

She doubted she could have moved the barrel normally, but panic lent her strength. She managed to shift it slightly. Not enough to be noticed, she hoped, but enough that she could at least manage shallow breaths.

She tried to drag her arm free but there was no movement there at all. Her arm was pretty damn painful but not excruciating, as long as she wasn’t trying to free it or lean on it, so she was pretty sure nothing had been broken. Yet. But over time it was going to do some serious damage, and if the barrels shifted any more they might outright break bones.

She could probably have wrenched her arm free with the right leverage, but it was halfway behind her and she was still struggling to breathe. She had no chance of freeing her arm unless something changed.

So she huddled there, her chest crushed and her arm becoming a blaze of agony, trying not to cry out against the pain. After less than a minute of movement there was a clunk which she felt as much as heard, and the pallet tilted. The barrels moved again and the pressure on her arm increased.

She couldn’t help but cry out, a cry she clamped down immediately in case anyone had heard it. But only for a few moments. The pain was so bad she had to open her mouth to scream… but the barrels shifted again, crushing her chest and the scream with it. She couldn’t choke down the smallest breath.

She started to panic and shoved at the barrel, but this time there was no moving it. The tilt was enough to ensure the weight of the barrel was too much for her to fight back against.

Darkness started to edge her vision, and ringing filled her ears. Terror gripped her heart but no matter what she tried she couldn’t move or make a sound. She’d failed. She’d failed and it was going to cost her her life.

Just before she lost vision completely there was another clunk and everything levelled off. The barrel that had been crushing her chest tilted back in the opposite direction. Not by much, but enough that she could drag down a desperate breath. Then another.

Whatever surface they were travelling over was rougher than in the docking bay. That made the barrels shift around more. Suddenly she felt the pressure on her trapped arm grow lighter. She wrenched it free, gasping in relief.

Then she sat, huddled in place and cradling her arm. Trying to keep the barrels from crushing her again. Before long she felt the pallet being lowered and the movement finished.

She heard voices again but this time she couldn’t make out the words. Then they moved away. She stayed where she was, struggling to believe that not only had she survived, but she’d succeeded. She was aboard the Glimmer and without being detected.

Somehow the crazy scheme had paid off. A laugh of relief started to bubble up inside her, but she forced the feeling down and focused on staying hidden. She was almost there… but the Glimmer hadn’t taken off yet.