Page 12 of Reaper

As Reaper took flight, I reflected on Brees’s suggestion. I hadn’t considered the idea of a mate. That had never even been a remote possibility. But she was right. So far, Reaper seemed to possess all the qualities a female should seek in a potential mate. I once more inhaled his scent, my face all but buried in his neck. His arms tightened around me with a possessiveness that made me further melt against him. Yes, he had the potential of being a good mate.

However, such thoughts vanished from my mind as the light overhead became brighter, and fresh air soon overtook the stale and rank stench of the base below. My throat tightened as we reached the small opening in the debris. With a strong flap of his wings right before flattening them against his body, Reaper propelled us through. Brightness unlike anything I could recall wrapped around me as the rays of the sun caressed my skin.

I couldn’t see anything but a glowing halo everywhere through which the ghostly silhouettes of Reaper’s companions moved about. They were all talking to me, to us, to each other, I couldn’t tell. I didn’t care. I was outside.

Reaper released me from his embrace long enough to pick me up and carry me in his arms. I stretched my arms wide to soak in as much sun as possible and feel the gentle breeze on my skin. It took me a moment to realize that I was laughing and crying at the same time. No tears ran down my cheeks—I was still too dehydrated for that—but I could have sworn they started welling in my eyes.

A persistent feminine voice eventually pierced through the fog of euphoria that had engulfed me. She was asking me questions I didn’t want to answer. She was blocking the sun, touching me with cold things I didn’t want.

“Leave me,” I grunted, feebly pushing her away.

“I’m trying to help you,” the female said in a pleading voice.

“Jessica, give her a moment,” Reaper said in a firm but gentle tone. “She has been trapped there for two decades. Let her savor her freedom for a minute.”

My Sun…

He understood me so well, almost like he’d always known me. I don’t know how long we remained outside. It felt like half a second and yet an eternity. I could have stayed like this forever but weakness, thirst, and an uncontrollable urge to sleep were all seeping in again, reminding me of the reality of my body’s poor state.

“Let’s get you to the Infirmary,” Reaper said gently just as these thoughts were crossing my mind. Once more, he was proving how attuned he was to me. “As soon as you have been treated and are feeling better, I promise to take you outside as often as possible and as much as you want. But we will need sunscreen. Your skin is very pale and unused to the sun. We can’t let you burn.”

I nodded and snuggled against him. He carried me inside, the female he had called Jessica walking ahead of us. For a second, I feared a wave of panic would overwhelm me upon entering another confined space. However, this vessel was no dying base. I couldn’t see the details, but the hallways were wide and luminous, the air was fresh and clean, with a slightly fragrant scent to it that was quite soothing and pleasant. Here, you didn’t have to push a reluctant door open as it whined and resisted. They simply slid open with a discreet swish as soon as someone approached them.

Reaper settled me down on an examination table, and for a moment, I feared he would leave me. To my utter relief, he only took a couple of steps back, when Jessica approached me.

“Hello, Janelle. I’m Jessica, the team’s Medical Officer,” the human female said in a sweet, warm voice that reminded me of my mother’s when she was trying to soothe me.

Her kindness, now that my initial euphoria had finally calmed down, made me feel even more terrible for the rudeness I had displayed towards her and the others. They had helped open the way for me to get out of my prison, and I had completely ignored them, pushed them away even as they tried to give me much needed assistance. I looked for nice words to express my mortification but came up short.

“Sorry I pushed you,” I mumbled, feeling awkward.

“No, don’t be,” Jessica said in a friendly tone. “Ishould be apologizing toyou. It was quite insensitive on my part not to realize you needed a moment. We were just so happy to find survivors, and you’ve suffered so much. I got carried away in my impatience to make you physically better while forgetting that emotions are just as important.”

I smiled gratefully at her understanding, wishing I could see her face instead of this blurred silhouette.

“First, I’m going to check your implants to make sure none of our equipment will negatively affect them, and then we’re going to get you in the particle shower before we begin your full exam,” Jessica said.

My face heated with embarrassment. With the clean and fresh air around us, my own stench was beyond shameful. I couldn’t comprehend how she still managed to display an impassive yet friendly attitude instead of shrinking away in disgust. I thought of apologizing again, but, unlike my earlier rudeness, the defectiveness of our hygiene facilities had been out of my control.

“Yes, thank you. I dreamt of washing again,” I said with sincerity.

“I can imagine,” Jessica said cheerfully, while scanning my implants. “I’ve been on certain missions where bathing wasn’t an option for too many days to count. Hmmm, yeah, this is bad. These implants have to come out completely, but they’re not a threat right now as long as you don’t use them anymore.”

“I have Janelle’s optical aid,” Reaper said. “I’m going to work with Madeline on a temporary replacement until we get back home and get her the latest technology.”

“Great,” Jessica said with approval. “Now off you go. I’m going to take good care of this young lady.”

“What? No!” I exclaimed. “Don’t go!”

For some silly reason, the thought of him leaving this room filled me with the irrational fear that I’d never see him again.

“I will be nearby,” Reaper said gently, taking my hand. “I will come back when you are done.”

“But… Why can’t you stay?” I asked in an embarrassingly whiny voice.

“Because we have to undress you,” Jessica said gently, although with obvious confusion.

I bit back the urge to say ‘so?’ and pursed my lips instead. I understood that you weren’t supposed to walk around naked in front of others. But I didn’t mind if Reaper saw me naked. I’d been naked in front of the Creckels many times before. In truth, in the past years, I’d taken to only wearing a lab coat when I was cold to make it last longer. I realized too many years in isolation and being alone at such a young age had deprived me of the worldly knowledge as to how one was expected to behave in society. It would be yet another challenge for me to overcome.

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