Into the Fire (Into the Churn Book 2)

by Hayley Reese Chow

“Grady! Bex! You there?” Foster swiveled the cam once again to spot their ship coming in hot, one wing burning. “We’re here,” Grady said, voice tight. “And landing a little sooner than expected. Meet you at the door I guess and really hoping you have a different way out of this joint.” “We do,” Ezren’s dad said before turning to Ezren. “Those are friends of yours, I assume.” Her voice trembled, but Foster could hear the smile in it. “The other half of the team.”

“Do not underestimate hope. It’s the foundation of everything we build—progress, courage, change. It’s the one thing that’s kept me alive in the face of immeasurable loss, and I refuse to let any of you let it go when we need it most.”

Ezren held out an arm to Bex. She grabbed it and their heads knocked together. “Odd numbers,” Bex whispered. Grady put his arms around them in a makeshift huddle. “Just like we’re back on Belethea.” He reached out and pulled Foster into their knot. “Be strong. Be swift.” “But there’s no finish line,” Foster said. “No race.” “We’re always racing against time,” Bex answered, her ice-blue eyes like cold stars. “And may we always be faster.” “Belethea, mother of mountains and skies,” Ezren whispered. “Protect us,” they said together, another explosion reverberating through the metal walls.

“So those were your friends?” Ezren’s heart swelled in her chest as she fervently sent up a prayer that Casolla would keep them safe for just a little while longer. “More than friends, Dad. Family.” “Seems like you have a lot of that on the team.”

The blast had forced it open, and the luxies were floating upward into the air. Head spinning, she slammed the cylinder shut as three of the escaped octopi-like creatures pulsed in the dark room. The gunfire ceased, all eyes on the small, colorful life-forms. “What the fod is that?” said one of the looters. “That, gentlefolk, is the first complex alien life-form found in the Casolla system, and the fifth in the history of humanity,” Ezren’s dad said, resignation weighting his words. For a moment, they watched as the creatures’ pulsing light slowed, their lights dimming.

“According to interplanetary law, this is a land of complex life, and there can be no human claim or activity here.” She swallowed, the pain like fire in her side. “Because if there is, we might as well kill them now.”

“Stop it,” he growled. “I will go to hell and back for you if I have to. I swear it on the sun.”

“Life would’ve been a lot chaffing easier if we just focused on something smaller than, you know, the whole fodding ’verse.” Dr. Hart skidded to a stop at a large door. “Are you really that selfish?” He turned to him sharply, his gaze as hard and dark as Ezren’s.

He held her gaze, his hands gently running along her arms. “And I choose this.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “If it’s what I have to do to protect my family, it’s what I’ll do.” And suddenly, he completely understood Ezren’s dad and the decisions he’d made. Sometimes, the only choices were bad ones.

Foster held out a hand to Grady. “I’ll see you back on the ship.” “You’d better, or I swear I won’t forgive you this time.” Grady gripped his arm and pulled him into a tight hug with a rough slap on the back. “And we were just starting to get along.” Foster chuckled. Bex stared at him coolly. “I refuse to say goodbye to you.” Her gaze swiveled to Ezren and Grady. “To any of you,” she added, stalking off into one of the pods. “I’ll see you on board the ship.”

“People leave, but you and I, we’re forever. So no matter how many times the ’verse separates us, it’s never far and never for long.”

“Then why is it so hard?” Ezren sniffed, wiping at her eyes. He smiled ruefully. “I guess it’s part of being in love.” Ezren’s lashes fluttered again, her lips trembling. “I’m not ready to say goodbye yet either.” Foster’s eyes filled as the odds of their predicament weighed on his shoulders. “You don’t have to, Ezren.” “I love you, Foster, too much for the ’verse to hold.” She looked up at him, her eyes huge and dark. “Promise I’ll see you again.”

He pressed his lips to hers, tasting the salt of her tears as he kissed her with everything he had. Like one kiss could fill a lifetime. Like it could be the last.

He would make sure her pod got off the ground. And he would make sure it got the rest of the way. Because his heart was in that pod, and if it didn’t escape, then it didn’t matter if he made it off this death planet or not.

“Ezren, things will always go wrong; that’s out of our control. But it’s now, when the world is at its darkest, that we find out who we really are, and what truly matters. I know you’re scared, but it’s when you’re at the end of your rope that you have to fight the hardest to hold on.”

Dad: Two guns are better than one. Besides, I’ve got to make sure some kid doesn’t die for my mistakes. Not when my daughter’s in love with him.

“They’ll have a better chance with two gunners than one, and that’s all I really care about. Especially since I’m the reason my daughter walked into danger in the first place.” “You and Ezren really need to drop that line. It’s seriously starting to piss me off,” Foster said. “One person is worth it if you love them enough.” For a moment, Dr. Hart held his gaze. “Agreed.”

Foster’s jaw tightened, sensing this was more like an interrogation than a friendly conversation. “I intend to spend the rest of my life with her and make her as happy as I possibly can.” “And you think you’re qualified to do that?” Dr. Hart volleyed back. “You think you deserve her?”

Was it not enough that he’d come to try to save Ezren from this place? Was it not enough that he was sitting here right now, trying to protect her with his last breaths? Seriously, what did this guy want from him? “No,” he said through gritted teeth. “Ezren is brave and honest and she throws her whole self at everything that comes her way. She’s beautiful and smart and the strongest person I have the privilege to know. I doubt there’s anyone in this ’verse that deserves her, but I’m trying with everything that I fodding have.”

“And I also wake her up with a cronut and one of the dessert-coffee drinks she likes.” Dr. Hart barked out a laugh. “So I guess she still has the sweet tooth, huh?” Foster’s cannon beeped irritably, signaling his target was out of range, but he fired anyway. “You have no idea.”

Foster’s gaze narrowed, panic scuttling along his spine. “You’ve been planning this since Ezren’s pod took off.” “I do like to think ahead.” Blood leaked from Dr. Hart’s dark eyes, the skin beneath his goggs splitting from the topsuit’s steep toll. “You should try it sometime.”

Foster’s eyes stung with twisting relief and shame. He didn’t want to be relieved—he wanted Dr. Hart to get on the ship and haul his ass back to Belethea.

“And what about that talk we were supposed to have?” At that, Dr. Hart grinned at him, his round face transforming with it, and for a moment, Foster saw the father that had once shown Ezren her first terraforming lab. “I think you would’ve been a really annoying son-in-law.” “Wow.” Foster let out a dry laugh, even as the tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. “Thanks.” Dr. Hart took a step back, his voice catching. “But I would’ve loved you anyway.”

“Chaff, E, you’ve got some stones, girl. That was fritzin’ nervy.” He released the netting, and half-dragged her out of the egg-like pod. “Let’s get you to the regen room before you really do die on us.”

“We’ve now been identified as looters with illegal materials on board,” Bex said. “A CIF ship is coming after us.” “Well, they can try.” Shiro looked at Simon, the muscles in his jaw ticking. “Strap Ezren in the med bay, quick. And Sylvia, babe, for the love of suns, sit down.”

Though the healing interface indicated she was still in poor condition, there was a huge difference between being an inch from death and half a foot.

Then with the luxies and terranium at my disposal, I’ll create a paradise among the stars the likes of which has never been seen. Like the garden of Eden, a burbling fountain of youth with me as its god.” “As if anything would ever be enough for you,” Ezren spat as they dragged her from the room. “Your hunger will only eat you from the inside, and you’ll always be empty.”

Foster: May the storm winds bring you home. Another cloud erupted from the volcano—a blasting plume rippling across the surface—and the entire gun bay collapsed before his eyes. In a blink, Dr. Hart’s vitals dropped to zero, and the unmistakable tone of a flatline buzzed in his ears.

And then the world exploded around Foster. He clutched Dr. Hart’s work to his chest for dear life as he went hurtling through space, screaming into his helmet as he spun head over feet, every siren in his goggs screaming. But then as quickly as it began, someone grabbed his wrist. He flailed as his spinning stopped, and another hand closed around his elbow. Though he was certainly still flying through space at speed, he wasn’t spinning anymore. Instead, he was looking directly into his father’s face through a space-exposure suit, and for perhaps the first time in his whole life, he was happy about it.

“Thanks, kin, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without you and… you really saved my ass.” “The Harts are family. I was glad to help.” Davis’s sure smile faltered. “See you on the other side?” Foster’s mouth tightened—he didn’t have time to think about that yet. “If it’s the same to you, I’d rather it be this side.” “Right.” Davis snorted and he gave a small salute to Gerard. “Sorry about your ship, she was a pleasure to fly.”

“If we call for help now, they’re as likely to kill us as to rescue us. As it stands, the only thing you can do for her is survive.” Foster’s hand spasmed, and he looked away, massaging his twitching fingers as his mind searched for alternative solutions. His dad leaned forward, his expression softening. “From what I’ve heard of her, that girl can take care of herself. And she has plenty of help. If anyone can make it out of this, it’s her.”

“It’s okay. It was just a ship.” His dad tapped his fingers against his knees. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to float through space with for the next who knows how long, but I’m glad I was able to be here for you.” Foster swallowed the massive knot in his throat. How strange a universe was it that Gerard, the last person he’d ever counted on, had been there when it counted most. Was here now when everything fell apart. Was looking at him like… like a father. “Me too, Dad.”

“Open both doors at once and let Sylvia run down the hall to distract them,” Shiro said. “Then we’ll have our own little royale brawl.” “Are you saying I’m the bait?” Sylvia’s lids lowered, clearly unimpressed with this plan. “The most beautiful bait,” Shiro replied smoothly. “Oh, stop it.” Sylvia bounced from foot to foot. “I’m ready.”

Ezren turned to see Simon and Bex behind them, their own rifles in hand, and she flew toward them, wrapping an arm around each. “How’d you know the ambassador was rotten?” Bex threw a gun to Shiro. “If the ex-CIF agent has a bad gut feeling, that’s something I can trust.”

“Royalers, your carriages await,” Shiro announced. “I’ve got the one on the right,” Ezren said, choosing the sportier ship with the larger engines. “Who said you get to pick?” Simon protested. Bex crossed her arms. “Or go alone.” “I’m not really going alone.” Ezren met their gazes, her voice hard. “I’m going to pick up my doubles partner.”

“You’d better take care of her, Shiro,” Simon yelled after him. “We only have one manager.” “With my life,” Shiro called back.

“Race you there?” Simon asked, a heavy limp to his stride as their boarding ramp lowered. And Ezren couldn’t help letting out a laugh. Her craft was obviously faster, but since she was making a detour, he might stand a chance. “I thought you didn’t fly spacecraft.” “Neither do you,” he volleyed back. “Then I guess you’re on.”

Across from him, Gerard nodded, rubbing a hand over his trim beard. “And I thought watching the royales was stressful.” “How would you know?” Foster snorted, probing the reopened injury in his right side. Luckily the pressure of his topsuit had already stopped the bleeding. “You were never a fan.” “And that’s why,” Gerard replied with a dry laugh. “I couldn’t even watch them without my hands starting to sweat.”

“Wait, what?” Foster’s brow furrowed. “You never took me on tour.” Gerard’s eyes widened. “Holy chaff, yes, I did. I carried you around with me for a solid three years straight. Age five to seven.” Foster cocked his head. “You’re fritzing me. I don’t remember that.” “That’s because all those blows to your head have fried your brain.”

Foster barked out a laugh. “Which reminds me, you haven’t been taking any black-market youth regen treatments, have you?” “Ha.” His dad framed his jaw with a hand. “You’ll be happy to know my youthful good looks are all natural. Though if you’re not careful with these death-defying stunts, my amazing genes will be wasted on you.”

Gerard snorted, checking Foster’s helmet seal. “You’ve done a hundred more dangerous things than this in the past twelve hours, and a little space hop is what’s getting you down?” “I don’t like space.” In fact, Foster was going to chaffing hug solid ground once they landed on a planet. At this point, he didn’t even care which one.

“Are you sweating?” Foster’s chest heaved. “I don’t like space walks.” “Well, I suppose that should be reassuring that even the great Foster Yunin-Sterling fears something. Good to see your sense of self-preservation is still in there somewhere.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Ezren.” Her name sounded like a whispered prayer on his lips. Then he was reaching for her, and they were crashing together, his arms drawing her to him as she buried her face in his neck. Pure relief rushed through him, pulling his frayed edges back together, drowning him in euphoric peace. He clutched her to his chest, pressing his face in her hair, drinking in the warmth of her skin—trying to convince himself that she was real. This moment was real. They were alive—her touch rekindling his dying hope into a blazing fire.

Then she took his face in her hands and kissed him. They tangled together in the zero-G, holding on to one another as if they could crush out the grief that threatened to drown them. Her lips were warm and soft on his, the familiar taste of her like a balm for the fear still rampaging through him. And even though beyond this moment, everything was still so wrong, they were together—and for now, that was all that mattered.

Something swelled in Foster’s chest as he looked from his dad to Ezren. Like something right was finally coming together. And then he realized with sudden clarity—it was his family.