Cut Off

<p>I should’ve stayed with my unit. Bright flashes of color told me the oxygen in my suit was running low, not that it would’ve mattered. My cracked ribs kept me from inhaling too deeply, even though I knew I should. Short, staccato breaths were all I could manage as I glanced for the thousandth time at the flashing light on my communicator. I didn’t answer it.</p><p>.</p><p>This was my own fault. The Commander ordered us not to engage the enemy while we scouted, but I thought that one had been alone. I remembered how one grey insectoid had hunched over its kill and ripped into it with serrated mandibles. I’d thought I had a clear shot from behind my tree, not knowing that on this alien world, the invasive parasites liked to climb.</p><p>.</p><p>Luckily for me, one of the insectoids above me was just as impulsive as I was and attacked alone. Somehow, I managed to escape that brief scuffle before the swarm could coordinate.</p><p>.</p><p>Now, I lay curled up in the forest, camouflaged by a net of vines that nearly blocked out the scarlet sky. My wrist comm blinked the same red color underneath the vines, demanding attention. I jammed a button with my gloved finger and gasped out, “Yes, Sir?”</p><p>.</p><p>“Where are you, Lieutenant?” The Commander’s voice was a mixture of concern and relief.</p><p>.</p><p>“Deep in enemy territory, Sir. They’re everywhere. I just wanted to say... This is it for me. I’m sorry. I should’ve listened.”</p><p>.</p><p>“Send me your coordinates.”</p><p>.</p><p>Did he think he could rescue me? A voice cut through the fog of my brain to remind me that he had the rest of the unit to think of and I wasn’t worth it. Finally I said, “I don’t think you heard me... ”</p><p>.</p><p>“No, you didn’t hear me. You need to trust me.”</p><p>.</p><p>He was right. I sent the coordinates just before my eyes fluttered shut. They didn’t open again until I lay in our ship’s medical bay with the Commander’s hand on my shoulder. He looked at me with love in his eyes and said, “You are worth it.” • Andrea Hargro