Chapter 37: Gone
Fayra followed the river for a couple of hours. Sometimes Blue would pull out in front of her, sometimes he'd lag behind. For the most part the animals had left her alone. She didn't want to draw attention. Mando had been right about that, she thought. She pushed him from her mind.
The walk along the river wasn't that easy. Especially for her bare feet. She had to concentrate to keep from tripping over rocks and roots. She admitted shoes would be helpful, but the feel of the earth beneath her gave her a connection to her surroundings. She felt like she was suffocating when she lost it. It was always an exhausting adjust to go from that connection to being aboard the Razor Crest.
Memories of the ship flashed through her mind. "No." She said aloud. Concentrate on other things, she scolded herself. Other things and not Mando.
The roar of the river began to grow louder, so much so she thought something was wrong, but she knew she was going in the right direction. The water called her, it wanted to lure her, she felt its pull the closer she came. She looked ahead through the trees and gasped. Fayra began running toward the falling water, her heart leaping. Blue hot on her heels.
She reached the small clearing surrounding a pool of sparkling water. A mist rose, swirling up, off it's surface as it was struck by the water flowing from above. The droplets floating through the air began attaching to her skin, sending a cool chill through her. She craned her neck looking up. It looked like it poured straight out of the sky. She stood for several long moments, fascinated at the marvel in front of her.
Blue rammed her ankle.
"Well, don't get too close. You might rust."
A frantic Blue ball whirled.
"I'm kidding!" Fayra giggled. "Come on, let's sit."
She found a small rock and sat. After the long walk, she was famished and retrieved some food from her bag. She never, in her whole life thought she'd see something this beautiful. But she dreamed it. Over and over in that small cage, she'd dream of a moment just like this one. All her thoughts melted away as the roar of the water crashing into the rocks below drowned out everything around her.
Tears streamed down her face, her emotions overflowing, she had to close her eyes at the sight and just listen. It was almost too much. She had to work to calm herself, to make herself breath deep and slow. She propped herself against another rock behind her, leaned back and watched as the water just kept coming.
Mando cleared the path leading back to the Razor Crest. A small ornate scarf hung from his belt, flapping in the wind. As he approached his ship he saw the cargo bay door open. He glanced around, drawing his Pulse Rifle. He picked up speed as he scanned the grounds for Fayra or any immediate threats. He picked up nothing but his and Fayra's footsteps from earlier.
He entered the Razor Crest, weapon armed and ready. His weapons cabinet drew his focus and the drawer had been open. He quickly noted what was missing, then took a moment to listen to anything happening on the floor above. Satisfied, he climbed the ladder. He tactfully searched each compartment. When he got to Fayra's room he noticed some of her things were missing as well. He lowered his weapon, the ship was empty and Fayra was gone.
He went back outside and searched for her footsteps again. On the opposite side of the ship he found some headed toward the river's path, disappearing into the forest.
He muttered a single word, "Fuck."