"Are you coming down or what?" Jerad called from below.

Tarris looked out the door and caught a glimpse of Jerad standing there impatiently. "Don't keep the boy waiting."

Asher climbed through the hole and stood on the small ledge. She gave Tarris one final glance, grabbed the railing, and started the climb down the ladder. Two steps down, Asher stopped and looked up. "I will take care of Rya." She continued the journey downward.

When she reached solid ground, Tarris addressed herself. "Come on now. You can do this." But could the suit do it? She had pushed it to its limits, and now she had to ask for more. Sooner or later it would give out. Would she reach the bottom before it did?

Chapter 9.

Tarris dragged herself through the hatch to rest precariously on the narrow ledge. She barely had room to move, and her useless legs made her work even more laborious. With effort, she managed to close the hatch behind her, using her shoulder to push hard against it. Finally, she heard a clunk as the lever fell back into place. If they were to be followed, the soldiers would have to find the exit themselves. That same satisfying clunk, however, also caused her heart rate to pick up. Now there was only one way to go. Down.

"Here," Tarris called, "catch this." She let her sack drop toward the ground, watching as Asher caught it and staggered back under the impact.

Sister.

I have to do this, Rya.

I know you do. I will help where I can.

No! Tarris said a little too forcefully. This is something I have to do on my own.

Why, when I'm here to help?

How could she explain what she herself didn't understand? She was deliberately putting herself at risk even though her shadow was able to help.

It's a matter of self-worth, Rya. I need to know I'm capable of doing this on my own.

What is there to prove? To me, you're everything.

Do you understand what you're saying? Had Rya progressed so far as to understand emotions?

Without you, I'm nothing, sister.

Tarris felt deflated. Maybe Rya didn't understand after all.

You're my life, Tarris. You're my friend, my protector, and my home.

Holy shit! Rya had evolved to the point that Tarris suspected her shadow could exist without her. If something happens, promise me you'll look after Asher.

But, sister...

No 'buts,' Rya. She'll need your protection.

How will I survive without you? You know that I die when you die.

I don't think so... my friend. Tarris smiled. Yes, Rya was her friend. You have also become a part of Asher. You're more than you were, my sister. You once were dark, and now you seek the light. If something happens to me, let her help you be all that you can be.

"Are you going to sit up there all day?" Asher yelled.

"Just getting my affairs in order," Tarris called back.

"That's not even funny, Trooper."

"Yeah, yeah," Tarris muttered as she shimmied around onto her stomach and let her useless legs hang over the edge. She wasn't a big believer in religious matters, but she offered up a prayer anyway.

Her strong hands grasped the metal handrail on either side as she slowly lowered herself over the edge of the platform. The muscles in her back flexed and burned under the strain of holding her dead weight in the air. She swung her lower half backwards and forwards from the waist in the hope of latching onto one of the rungs of the ladder. The frame had caught on something, and she felt the slight vibration through her legs. Despite the tenuous position she was in, she smiled. If she survived this, she would walk; she was sure of it.

With that thought, she let one of her hands go. She hoped all those years of lifting her own weight would pay off now. She fumbled around for the upright stringer in an effort to move herself past the platform and onto the ladder. Her fingers grasped around blindly as her other hand started to lose its grip. Sweat touched her brow, adding to her already tense situation, but she was unable to brush it away. She needed a miracle, and she needed it now.

As if someone had heard her plea, Tarris's fingers brushed the cool metal. She grabbed on strongly and waited until she had regained her composure.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Tarris answered Asher's concerned question.

This was where she would live or die. Did she have enough faith in herself to bridge the yawning gap between platform and ladder? Without dwelling on it for too long, she took that final step. Her hand let go, and her body swung down and out with the weight, leaving her hanging by her other hand grasping the stringer and her feet resting on a rung. The sweat increased across her brow as she pulled herself toward the ladder, close enough for her other hand to find purchase. She pulled herself in tightly and pressed herself against the rusty metal. Her blood rushed through her, and her heart pumped wildly out of control.

Well done, sister.

Tarris could hear the pride in Rya's voice.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Now the real work begins." She moved one hand to her waist and pressed a small tab to set the suit into a walking motion. She tapped it again to slow down the pace to almost a stop in the hope of using the suit's movement to shift her feet down one rung at a time.

Her legs moved back and forth slowly, imitating a lazy stroll. Tarris held on tightly and waited for one foot to leave the rung in a follow-through of a step. As the suit brought her foot forward for another step, she lowered herself for her foot to make contact with the next rung. It was awkward and dangerous in the extreme. The suit worked independently of her, and her body was left with no choice but to ride with the gait.

Finally, she reached down and switched off the walk. "Enough," she announced to herself. She was getting nowhere fast, and her strength was waning.

"I'm coming!" Asher called from below.

"Stay there," Tarris ordered.

"No! You need help-"

"I said, stay there!" Tarris shouted in a sterner voice. Images filled her mind as she sought a solution to her immediate problem. She needed to get off this ladder, and now. A scene from one of her old movies came to mind. The move was more dangerous than what she was attempting now, but it would certainly get her on solid ground a lot quicker.

Don't do it, sister.

"Do you have another solution, Rya?" Tarris said in a low voice. When nothing was forthcoming she answered, "That's what I thought."

She replayed the scene in her head and tried to imitate what was being done. The tricky maneuver involved releasing her legs and bracing them on the outside of the stringers. Once the legs were locked in place, she did the same with her hands, grabbing the outside of the stringers and leaving her braced either side of the rungs.

Refusing to think about the outcome and how much it would hurt, Tarris released her tight grip and allowed the uprights to pass through her palms. The descent became too fast, and she tightened her fingers on the metal pipe and slowed herself down. When the rusted and torn pipe dug deeply into her skin, she panted wildly in an effort to control her pain. Rya moved around inside her in discomfort, but there was little she could do about it.

Tarris stared at the ground as it rushed up to meet her. A few feet from the bottom, she grasped the stringers hard and slowed herself down to a mere crawl. When her feet reached the floor, she just stood there. Her feet and hands still gripped the cold metal pipes firmly.

Asher rushed up to her and gently pried her fingers away. "Oh God! Why did you do that?"

Tarris looked at her blankly for a second before she looked at her hands. Blood pooled in her palms, and tiny slivers of metal stuck out of her skin. "Because the other way was going to kill me," she said in a shaky voice.

"Let me look at it."

"Not here," Tarris said. "We're too visible from above. Jerad, get us out of here."

"We have to see to this," Asher insisted.

"And we will... once we're out of sight." Tarris started to shake.

"That's shock. This won't wait."

"It will have to wait!" Tarris shouted.

Jerad set off across the floor of the large cavern. Under Tarris's instruction, Asher activated the suit and Tarris moved forward. Asher shouldered Tarris's bag as well as her own to relieve Tarris of the extra weight.

They made good time across the expanse of floor. On the other side, they entered a semicircular tunnel standing about twenty feet high. Three tracks of steel rails lay on the ground parallel to one another; one rail was slightly smaller and sat between the two larger rails.

The farther they moved into the large tunnel, the more the light faded, until it was pitch black. The rail at their feet became their friend as it guided them until the dark gave way to light. The tunnel opened up into another open space, not as big as the one they had just left, but one that looked more habitable. A platform sat about five feet above where they stood, and they had to climb up to gain access.

Getting Tarris up onto the platform took a great deal of effort by all three. She herself was unable to use her hands, leaving most of the work to Asher and Jerad to hoist her up the five feet. Afterward, they lay exhausted on the hard ground and ignored the discomfort. Light came from above, somehow filtered through a hole from the outside.

"We'll rest here," Tarris said. "Jerad, are you able to get a fire going?"

"Sure thing." He scampered off to search for something to burn.

"Over there," Asher said quietly, and she offered a hand to help Tarris up. Asher once again touched the suit's tabs to move Tarris over to a corner of the platform. "At least we can have a fire here without it being seen."

"Since when did you become so smart?" Tarris smiled weakly as her injuries took over her attention.

"It must be from hanging around you all day," Asher said with a chuckle.

Tarris landed clumsily on the floor, and she couldn't have cared less. Asher helped her lean against a wall and extend her legs out straight. She reached for her backpack and extracted her medical supplies. "You know, I didn't think I'd be using this so soon after we left the apartment."

"I didn't think I would need it either." Tarris looked at Asher with bloodshot eyes. "I had no choice." Tarris silently pleaded for Asher's forgiveness.

"This is going to hurt." Asher waved the small bottle of antiseptic in front of Tarris's face. "You might want to tap the medipatch before I start."

Tarris reached for the spot on her wrist with a bloodied finger. Before she had a chance to remove her finger, Asher tapped her other patch and sent Tarris off into a medicated sleep.

"It'll be over..."

Tarris didn't hear the rest of Asher's sentence.

The sound of Asher's voice caught Tarris's attention. Her medicated body woke up before her drug-soaked mind did. She was lying limp in Asher's arms.

"My mom and dad are gone now." Asher's low voice settled over Tarris like a warm friend. "They didn't get to see me become a mediprac, but I know they would have been proud. I really miss them." Tarris could hear the wistfulness in Asher's voice.

"At least you knew them." Tarris shifted to a more comfortable position before she snuggled her head back in between Asher's breasts.

"You're awake." Asher didn't seem surprised.

"Yes. Tell me more."

"I'll make you a deal. If I tell you my story, you tell me yours."

"Sure," Tarris said readily.

"Oh no." Asher tightened her grip on Tarris's waist. "You agreed to that too quickly. I want the whole truth, Tarris. No shortcuts or hidden meanings, or no story."

No one had ever heard the whole story, not even her mother. Rya was the sole possessor of her secrets.

When Tarris didn't answer, Asher said, "Fine. You don't want to share? Then no more bedtime stories."

Tarris felt Asher's breath across the top of her head, large sweeping exhalations that blew down against her scalp. Asher was not a happy woman.

"No, it's not that. I've never told anyone everything before. It's just not that easy."

"Don't you trust me?"

"I'm trusting you with my life. What more do you want?"

"You know," Asher said, "these last couple of days have been a revelation to me. I've met my very first Shadow Ops assassin, been invaded by her shadow, made love to her, and I'm now on the run with her. And you know what?"

"You want to kick the girl when she's down?"

"No. I wouldn't change a minute of it."

"But I seem to recall you cursing your scientific curiosity," Tarris said warily.

"It was in the heat of the moment. I didn't mean it."

But Tarris didn't dismiss it as easily as Asher had. She decided to change the subject. "Where's Jerad?"

"After he got the fire started, he and I ate some of your rations. He's off trying to find a way out of here."

Tarris looked into the fire burning a few feet away. Its heat was barely felt from where she was, but it took away the slight chill in the air. She closed her eyes and concentrated on whether she could feel the warmth on her legs. Was it too soon to tell? Her patience was wearing thin at her slow recovery. She had already dismissed the fact that she hadn't walked for sixteen years. She wanted her miracle, and she wanted it now.

As she contemplated her life and where she was now, she felt something. Had she imagined the sensation? Was she so desperate to feel something that her mind was playing tricks on her?

"What are you thinking about?" Asher's lips tickled her ear as she spoke.