Page 35 of The Program

With deadly-looking barbed tips at the end that struck a remarkable resemblance to a mace…

‘You’re insane,’ she ground put, and though her words were scolding the effect was watered down by her amusement. Why she was trying to hide that particular emotion, I didn’t know.

‘What are you, sweet thing?’ I cooed at the baby now climbing into my lap with a contented sigh.

‘You don’t remember?’ asked Libby, concern now lacing her tone.

I shot her a confused look before shaking my head. I tried to access my memory, but there was a fuzziness in my brain whenever I tried to dig deeper that sent a wave of vertigo through me. It was so strong that I almost knockedmyself out by poking at the vacant hole, so I stopped. I’d learned a long time ago that poking at a raw wound would only make things worse.

‘That thing in the middle of the cave woke up. It did something to you. It was like you were in a trance and I couldn’t snap you out of it. None of us could. It bit you, then it just… turned to dust and left this guy behind. He’s been immovable from your side ever since. He wouldn’t even let me close to you to check if you were still alive.’

Her voice cracked at the end, and a surge of guilt rose inside me. Gently nudging the heavy creature off of me, I ran over to Libby on unsteady legs and practically collapsed in her arms.

‘I’m sorry, Libs. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m okay.’

She wrapped her arms around me tightly, but her next statement helped me understand where her amusement came from. ‘I figured that out when you started snoring.’

I scoffed, pulling back now when I felt my strength was starting to return so I didn’t need to lean on her as much. ‘I do not snore.’

Her answering smirk said otherwise, but I refused to believe it. Out of the two of us, she was the loud sleeper. I was as quiet as an angel.

But then her explanation registered in my brain and I glanced back at the creature in shock. Now that I was really looking, I could see it. He was smaller and vibrant with life, unlike Dave, but I was looking at a suddenly very annoyed Dave Junior. He bleated at Libby and shoved his way between us, then levelled his youthful gaze on me as if expecting praise.

‘Now, now, Dave Junior. That wasn’t very nice,’ I scolded him firmly. Two pairs of pointed ears flattened against his head and he whimpered at my displeasure. I shot Libby a harsh glare when she snickered behind her hand.

‘Be nice, Libs. He’s just a baby.’

As if he understood my words, Dave Junior cast what could only be conceived as a smug glance from under a row of short, thin eyelashes the same deep purple colour as the rest of him.

‘Oh, don’t you start,’ she sniped at him, and his head whipped back towards me as if to saylook, she’s being mean!

I laughed at them both and did the only thing I could think of to try to make peace. I placed one hand on top of Dave Junior’s head and entwined theother with Libby’s so they could see that I wasn’t going to choose one over the other.

I didn’t know what it was about him, but my instincts were screaming at me that it was my job to care for him now that his daddy was gone. It saddened me that he was an orphan, and I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. Libby mentioned he’d turned to dust, but I couldn’t imagine it. How could a creature that large and sturdy just dissipate into nothing so quickly?

Either way, the result was the same.

I considered for a brief moment that I should let Dave Junior back out into the wild, but immediately shot the thought down. There was a vicious need to take care of him, and the mere concept of pawning him off on something, or even someone else made me my stomach clench painfully with panic. No, he was mine to care for now, and there was no denying it.

But that raised another problem. I was leaving soon, and I couldn’t take him with me. It wouldn’t be safe for him, and I didn’t know how to take care of him here yet, let alone in a spacecraft.

CHAPTER 13

ARTEMIS

Ihad groupies.

Or, rather, Dave Junior had groupies, but I liked to think they were here for me, too.

I wasn’t sure what it was about him that made the other women in camp gravitate towards him, but I had made my way to the wrecked ship after last night’s altercation with my newest buddy in tow, and about half of them trailed behind me. Currently, they were squatting in a semi-circle around the pile of scrap I’d managed to find while Dave Junior was eyeing it up like it was the most fascinating thing in the Intergalactic Union.

Really, it was just useless metal. I was making a note of what parts had been scraped off when the ship had gone down so I could remould the metal into the correct shapes. It was largely a superficial job, but there were a few holes here and there that needed a more thorough patching up. I didn’t know what kind of metal it was, but it was a match to the ship and that was what gave it its usefulness.

They were picking up the pieces and letting him examine them with such focus and intent that I just let them have at it while I decided which hole to fill first.

I decided to get the biggest done first. It was large enough that even Foryk could have climbed through with ease. Unfortunately for Junior, I needed to take away his toys to melt into one larger piece I could cut down to size. Then I’d weld it over the hole and voila, problem solved.

With how easy this was turning out to be, I was still tensely prepared for the other shoe to drop. I wasn’t particularly superstitious, especiallyconsidering I hadn’t been taught any superstitions growing up under the thumb of either a dispassionate orphanage or The Program.

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