Page 37 of Guardian's Heart

"Just saydonewhen you're finished, and you will be dried," he informed me. "In the meantime, I will see what I have for clothes for you and the others." He didn't sound happy about that, not at all.Not my problem, I told myself, but something inside of me clenched when I remembered how we had made love in the forest. Didn't he feel anything for me after all that?

Without another word, leaving me to conclude that no, he didn't, he left the bathroom.You're a big girl, I told myself,you don't need his validation or this alien's affection.

I pulled his cloak off me, feeling strangely bereft, and rolled it into a lump to leave on the floor for now. Then my eyes fell on another slot in the wall, just like the one where Zaarek haddiscarded his pants in, and I figured that this was some kind of clothes chute, and I stuffed it down.

Once I was inside the shower, the wall retracted back, making me feel like I was inside a pill, but as the water rained down on me, I forgot everything that was bothering me. Never before had a simple shower felt that good. Not only was the pressure and temperature amazing, but the water felt much softer than at home.

I didn’t look down at the drain, as I had no desire to see what fell out of my hair and skin.

"Soap," I demanded, putting my hand underneath the dispenser and was rewarded with a generous blob of citrine-scented shower lotion. I scrubbed my entire body before I demanded shampoo and conditioner a little while later.

I contemplated staying underneath it for a while longer, prolonging Zaarek's relief, but decided to be the bigger person and told the shower, "Done."

I had expected to be hit by warm, drying air. Instead, it was the opposite. My hair was pulled up, just like my flesh felt pulled at from all sides. I shrieked, but it only lasted a few seconds, and every part of my body, including my hair, was dry.

Great, now what? I mused as I stood naked in the middle of the bathroom, with not a single towel in sight to cover up with. The thought of flashing Zaarek might have amused me for a moment, but I disregarded it quickly. With a sigh and out of options, I psyched myself up to leave the bathroom.

I stepped to the entrance, and the door retreated. Poking my head into the rest of his quarters while keeping my body angled and hidden behind the wall, I called, "Zaarek?"

No response. But I spied clothes on the couch.Run or not to run, that was the question. I craned my neck, but the large room appeared empty. I decided to make a run for it and dressed in record time. Still no Zaarek. Not a trace of him.

Through the still-open bathroom door, I saw my furshoeson the white ground, but I wasn't about to tie those back on my feet, and I didn't see any trashcan anywhere.

"Just leave it, serves him right," I mumbled about to sit on the couch and mull my options over. On a small, oval-shaped table, I spied the tablet Zaarek had given me earlier. My fingers itched to explore it more, but the moment I sat down on the soft couch and leaned my back against it, a rush of tiredness overcame me. I had no idea if it was day or night, here or anywhere in the universe. I wasn't even sure my circadian rhythm was still working, but I was dead tired. I leaned back further, facing a large, oblong window ahead of me, from where I could still see the celestial port, as Zaarek had called it. It was one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen. And something about this place that was giving birth togalaxiesfascinated me. My eyes however refused to stay open much longer. After some heavy fluttering, I gave in and closed them for good, hoping that when I woke up, the celestial port would still be visible.

The slumber I fell into wasn't easy. At first, I dreamed of the celestial port, but instead of birthing galaxies, it was birthing a stream of Morlocks, all set to chase me. The inevitable molasses where you could hardly move one foot in front of the other caught me, and I screamed, waking myself up.

It was darker now, and the room was still empty. I shook the remains of the dream off and rubbed my eyes. My mouth was dry, direly in need of water, just like my grumbling stomach demanded food.Great, stupid alien, leaving me all alone, I cursed and moved up from the couch. Despite the bad dream, I felt refreshed enough to go in search of sustenance.

The door to the hallway opened for me without any problems, and the murmur of low voices pulled me forward to the mess hall. Three men and one woman sat around a table,eating something that looked like mashed potatoes but came in different colors.

"Hi," I managed, raising my hand.

The low conversation stopped, and four sets of eyes took me warily in.

Finally, the woman replied, "Hi."

I moved toward one wall, where four square machines stood on a metallic shelf that appeared to be hovering straight out of the wall. "Is this where the food comes from?"

The woman rose and walked over to me. She held out her hand and said, "Amy."

"Nova." I took her hand and shook it.

"Yes, let me show you how they work." She pulled her hand back and indicated a light on the side that turned the machine on. The front looked now like a screen, giving me a picture of a steaming bowl of… mashed potatoes. "Seems like there is only one main course," Amy informed me, "but here are your flavor choices." She slid the slide with her finger to a page with more choices. The translator chip didn't translate the alien letters magically into English like the tablet had.

"What should I pick?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. As far as I could tell, I had about a gazillion choices of colors.

Amy shrugged. “We got four different ones. They're all pretty good."

"All mashed potatoes?"

Amy giggled. "That's what they look like, but the textures vary, and so do the flavors. We haven't figured out anything to compare it to, but it's okay."

"Well, thank you." I tapped my choices. "Would you mind also showing me how to get something to drink?"

Amy walked down to the third machine. "All we've braved so far is water."

"That's perfect, thanks again."

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