Page 12 of ReBOrB

Pushing herself upright, she glanced toward the door. It was closed. She took that to mean he was still off exploring. And she had no way of telling how long he’d been gone, or when he might come back. She didn’t even have a way to track time from this moment. Her breathing sped up. She was worried. What if he didn’t come back?

Cam noticed the green knobby things on the floor and realized that before he left, Reb had brought her some of that yama fruit. Just like he promised her. She noticed the knife, too. So, once she felt like getting out of bed, she’d have that to eat. Her breathing calmed as she realized Reb was a man of his word. He absolutely would come back for her. It just might take a little time.

Stuffing both their pillows behind her back, Cam picked up the water tube. Taking a couple of swallows, she glanced toward the window.

Holy shit! Her mouth dropped open, and she carefully sat the water tube on the table before crawling toward the window. She knew the sun was shining. It lit up the inside of the hover better than a hundred light bulbs. But she hadn’t thought about what the sunlight would do to her view.

It was… incredible. Maybe reminiscent of Earth… but with one of those fantastical photo filters.

The lake was blue—but no water on her planet had been that—electric aquamarine color. The cloudless sky had a slightly lavender cast to it. It was what she would have called sky blue… just with those purply highlights.

And the trees… She’d been wrong when she went outside last night. They didn’t have pink bark and purple leaves… the bark of the tree was a vivid green. Once again, the word electric came to mind. Electric lime green. And the leaves were bright orange, dark green, and pale yellow. The boulders beside their little ship were gray with purple and blue flecks.

The plants between the hover and the lake were in shades of blue and green… and there were several different types of wildflowers. Some hot pink, a few different purples, and even white.

She could look at that view for hours.

Sometime later, Cam’s stomach growled, and she grinned. She really could look at the view for hours. She hadn’t moved for at least that long, busy watching the fish jump, and a few birds fly between the trees. The hover wasn’t close enough for her to see what color they were, but she kept hoping a bird would inch closer to the ship.

Easing over to the side of the mattress, Cammy put her feet on the floor. Before she stood, she assessed her body. Her head still hurt, and her stomach not only felt empty but was still queasy. Sighing, she slowly got to her feet and took the few steps over to the fruit. Bending made her light-headed, so to gather the fruit off the floor she bent her legs and kept her back straight, her head up. And scooped it into her arms from the side.

When she climbed back into the bed with the yama, she took another sip of water and a bite of the hardtack before she cut into the fruit. Maybe hydrating and the bland cracker would help.

But the bland, dehydrated bread wouldn’t give her any nutrients. Which meant she needed to eat a little of the yama. Picking up one of the green, knobby tomato-looking things, she lightly pressed a finger on the skin. The covering felt thick. Similar to an orange, only slick. It was soft though, which meant Reb picked ones that were ready for her to eat.

He told her to cut into them and eat the inside. So, Cam picked up the knife and cut one in half. Her eyebrows raised when she saw the inside was also green. She cut it in half again and then scrapped the skin off one quarter. Sticking out her tongue, she tentatively licked the fruit. When she caught a hint of flavor and didn’t hate it, she took a small bite.

Cam’s eyes popped wide as the yama’s flavor burst in her mouth. “Wow,” she said to the empty ship. Reb was right when he said it was supposed to be like a banana. It tasted a little like one. But it also tasted like strawberries, oranges, and… kiwi.

Happily, she settled back against her pillows. Uncaring if the juice covered her hands and dripped in her lap, Cammy ate the yama she’d cut open, saving the others for later. Once she finished, she took a few more sips of water and scooted back under the blankets. Just stepping out of bed for a moment and then sitting up to eat the fruit had worn her out.

Cammy sighed, worried. Not just about her health, but about Reb. She was pretty sure he had planned to be back at the hover before the sun came up. She looked out the window and realized it had moved from one side of the lake to hanging right in the middle. It must be near mid-day. Noonish. The bright light hurt her eyes. Moving around on the bed, she arranged her back to the window, letting her eyelids drop. Cam was… exhausted…

ReBOrB

Reb couldn’t believe what had happened. He made it to the caretaker’s home without a problem. He’d gone in when everyone was asleep. Searched through the main floor rooms, pulling a pair of slippers from the bottom of a pile of shoes and a thick shirt from the back of their clothing storage. He discovered some herbs and spices that might help Cammy’s brain heal, and he found a mirror.

Not for Cammy. Although it was small enough, he could take it back to her. But Reb had held on to the mirror for himself. He could turn it just so… and study his mating bands. His mating bands.

All the brothers were born with what they believed to be marking bands. Each of the nineteen clone brothers was identifiable by their color, and by the unique series of dark scrollwork or tattoos on their right biceps.

Reb’s tattoo had half of a stylized sun on the top of his arm with the rays spread out. Or one of his brothers had said it looked like an open eyelid with lashes. Below the sun… or eyelid… there were several ribbons of ink woven together. Two of the longest ribbons ended in a fish-hook that curved toward his elbow.

Or at least, that is what his scrollwork looked like before.

Before coming to Viant and rescuing Cammy. Before he found his mate. Now, his identification marks had changed. They had stretched, thinned, and shifted from their normal place. He felt them vibrate and ache. They’d itched. And BrOdByc had told them all this could happen. None of this surprised him as he felt them move. Nor was he surprised to discover that he now had smaller marking ribbons stretched alongside his original tattoo. He’d expected this.

But expecting this to happen and seeing the reality were two different things. He had a mate. No. Reb didn’t think he had one… he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cammy was his. And he’d left her alone, in the hover, with no way to get out of the ship or call for help.

Siluthien Hell!

Not only was she alone, but Reb knew his mate didn’t feel well. He’d avoided doing a detailed scan because knowing what was wrong without having the supplies or means to help her would be unbearable. But every time he skimmed the surface of her psyche, he didn’t see any improvement in her health.

Reb’s primary goal in coming to the caretaker’s house was to search for one of the universal healing sets. A well-stocked kit of medicinal herbs and supplies might give him enough options that he could help Cammy until he could get her to the med bay on his ship.

The hike along the outskirt of the yama field had been without incident. There were no guard animals or electronic surveillance on the house. Reb walked in the front door and completed his search of the bottom floor without issue, finding several of the items that were on his list of necessities.

When the man and his wife woke, he’d hidden in the back of a small closet. Believing they’d go out to check on the fields so he could finish searching upstairs for the kit before leaving. But that didn’t happen.