Page 7 of The Alien's Private Redemption

A screen slid over her face, limiting her view to a pill shaped window. If she had been claustrophobic, she would have been terrified.

Instead, she fell into a deeply meditative state. Her eyes closed and her breathing evened out until she was floating in a void of bliss. The cocktail of hormones and drugs in her body continued their fight in the physical world while her mind wandered off without the burden of her body.

You should not wander so far,a voice said behind her.

She smiled but didn't turn to look.Have you come to save me again?

The gray mindscape stretched around them like television static given form, neither solid nor void. Each step felt both weightless and grounded, as though walking through a memory of movement rather than actual motion. The space carried no scent, no temperature, yet felt more intimate than any physical room.

His presence behind her left shoulder radiated warmth without heat, comfort without touch. It should have been disconcerting to feel someone so clearly in this private space, but instead it felt like finding a missing piece of herself she hadn't known was gone.

Do you need to be saved?he asked.It would be a fine excuse to leave this waiting room.

No, they're scanning for brain damage. I'm safe until they're finished with me.

What happens after that?

If it's like the last time, they put me back in my cell to sleep off the sedatives.

You do not sleep through the sedatives,he said. It wasn't a question and she wondered how he knew.

No,she answered.I never have. I don't feel pain, though. I've just found it's easier to not be present in my body. I avoid being aware of the indignities.

What indignities?he asked.

She shrugged and looked down. The void around them darkened until they both became aware of it. While she'd enjoyed talking to him with her back turned, now she was glad she couldn't see him.

How long have you run like this?he asked after a long moment.

All my life, she told him.It was the only place nobody could find me.

I'll always find you,he said.

The last time someone had used those words, it had felt like a threat. This time, it was a promise.

A promise that she not only believed, but wanted. Angela couldn't ever remember wanting to trust someone to save her.

I might not be worth finding,she warned him.I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison if I'm not executed as a traitor.

You're worth it. You always will be.

Angela turned to look at the lizardman who had saved her life and invaded her refuge. His form dissipated like smoke into the wind and she could feel his sudden absence.

She'd always craved places she could be alone, especially in her mind, but she ached with his withdrawal.

The dark, gray landscape around her no longer felt like a comforting retreat into solitude but a lonely step closer to the void.

Chapter 4

Zoric wanted answers. His walk through the flat, gray landscape that was her subconscious had been as sudden as the interruption that pulled him from it.

Instead, he was sitting in an office with Ae-cha, Colonel Schuh, and a couple doctors. It was too small for the number of people, with too few chairs. Zoric and Ae-cha were sitting, as were Colonel Schuh and the woman who had been interrogating Angela when he'd arrived. Another doctor was standing, leaning against the door frame, and there were two guards outside.

The chairs were not particularly comfortable for someone with a tail and Zoric had trouble keeping his from lifting his kilt higher than was appropriate. He almost envied Ae-cha her long robes but he was determined to dress as like a human as he could.

"She does not appear to have any new damage from the incident," one of the doctors, the one who was standing, was saying. "But if you're going to let someone trigger that again, I'd appreciate being able to monitor her brain as it happens."

"You won't find anything," Ae-cha said. "Human machines are far too primitive to see what truly happens in the human mind."

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