Page 67 of Fighting Gravity
Humid air wafted out toward us smelling like grass and cinnamon. The combination made me blink as we entered. I was certain what I was smelling wasn’t cinnamon, but I needed to compare it to something familiar.
Entering the passage into the building, I finally saw signs of gek technology in the form of lit-up walls. It was dull, but I could make out lines and what I thought looked like star constellations. Every now and then, a red dot would brighten somewhere on the map. I had no clue what that meant, but it was not some flashing advert or commercial. It looked like live galaxy maps.
Once the doors to the outside slid shut, three gek males filtered into a main lobby wearing something equivalent to robes in the same leathery material Rhone wore. Theirs were a deep wine red that faded to black at the hem and the fact that they matched made me think they were uniforms of some kind.
One of the two looked me up and down and wrinkled his nose while the other more yellowish one raised his chin to look down at me like I was a bug. Even when the other one started talking to Rhone, clearly about me, the yellowish one kept staring, taking me in like he was studying every disgusting detail. Then his eyes shifted to look at Lin and I felt marginally more at ease.
I listened to all three gek exchange words in a heated manner. It was clear the two in robes were not thrilled about a human and a fugitive being in their embassy building, but Rhone seemed to be winning the debate judging by the nods I was seeing. He had a strong presence. One I’d seen most others shy away from. The men in robes had thinner figures to Rhone’s battle-hardened thickness and it made a difference in their demeanor.
After hearing the gek language so many times, I was beginning to pick up repeated words. Mainly “urok” and “hovokah,” which I was starting to assume was “prisoner” judging by the way someone always gestured my way when they said it.
When the yellowish gek reached out to touch Rhone’s arm, turning him slightly away from me, the other, more bluish one made a move in my direction. In an instant, his hands came out, one grasping my hair and the other cupping my breast.
Not one fucking alien seemed to respect female breasts…
Reflexes took over and I shoved him off of me, swinging my fist into his rock-hard jaw. I was pretty sure it hurt me more than it hurt him, but it stunned him nonetheless.
It stunned me, too. Enough that I didn’t even realize the hand coming at me in retaliation. It slammed into the side of my head, nearly tossing me to the ground. But I wasn’t that easy to knock down. I braced, cupping my palm on my face as I snapped my head up.
Blue stepped back, eyes wide with anger, when Lin unexpectedly moved in front of me. Her son kept tight hold of her hand as she wedged herself between me and Blue and by that time, Rhone’s booming voice rose up through the commotion. Behind his tone was that deep humming bass, which sent chills all through me, but not the same kind of chills I was used to suppressing. These were fear-inducing and the other’s felt it too. The two robed men lowered their heads a fraction and things went silent. Then Yellow said something in an almost apologetic tone. Blue, however, wasn’t so quick to settle down. He argued with Rhone until finally, Rhone turned to me and pointed toward the entrance.
“Go back to the ship,” he said.
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I grimaced and spun on my heels, heading for the door. When I heard footsteps following, I glanced over my shoulder to see Lin walking behind me. Rhone stayed back, speaking with new aggression to the men in robes.
Something told me none of what transpired was supposed to happen. Nothing went as planned and Rhone wasn’t happy about it. But, the first thing I had to do was get back to the ship because yet another port had proven unsafe for me.
As I walked, I took comfort in hearing Lin in my wake. Hell, we found her in an arena. If anyone could take care of herself, it was her. But without Rhone, we were attracting attention and he wasn’t there to divert it. I walked briskly, keeping my fists balled by my sides. My head was throbbing with the remnants of Blue’s assault. I was lucky it was an open-handed slap because if he delivered the blow with his knuckles, I’d probably be unconscious or worse.
“Iva’kel tor’hak tel ahk,” Lin said.
I glanced at her but had no clue what she was saying. I just sped up the pace because some of the gek we were passing weren’t looking too friendly.
When we came to the ship, we had a tail. Some brownish-green asshole without a shirt holding a thick rod of some kind like it was a weapon. I put one foot on the ramp leading into the ship when Veron appeared in front of me, standing in the doorway.
She was just what I needed…
She looked down her nose at me first and for a second, I thought she was going to toss me to the wolves.
I braced for it when she suddenly peered over my head at the man following us and spoke calmly to him. The man responded heatedly, which made Veron add some harshness to her words. Finally, he backed off and her eyes dropped to me again. I had no way of knowing what my face looked like, but it was pulsing. My pale skin would have a bruise on it in no time if I knew my own body well enough. Which I did. Veron seemed to notice something and flicked her chin toward the entrance of the ship.
“Get inside,” she said.
It wasn’t a kind gesture. It was more of a reluctant one like she knew Rhone would have her ass if I disappeared. I sighed and walked past her while Lin stopped to talk with her.
I really wished I knew what they were saying. If I could pick up language as fast as they could, I’d be throwing insults much more effectively, I was sure.
The first thing I did was retreat to the washroom to put some cold water on my cheek. Blue’s hand was big. He’d covered the space from my cheek to my scalp above my ear and a bit on my forehead. With wet hands, I scooped my hair back from my reddened face and sighed, trying to eat the anger boiling inside me.
Half an hour later, Veron appeared in the doorway to the washroom to catch me grinding my teeth, arms crossed over my chest as I leaned up against the wall. She never looked happy to see me and this was no exception. She marched forward and grabbed my chin, turning my head to the side to see the welt. I jerked away from her.
“I don’t need your help,” I said.
“I know you don’t. I wasn’t offering. Lin says one of the officials hit you.” She took out her little silver device and did a quick scan of my head. “No fractures. Just light bruising. You’re so—”
“Fragile? I’m getting real tired of that word.”
“But you are,” she said sternly, stepping in and looking me right in the eyes. “And we are not. Bravery is one thing. A lack of self-preservation is another.”
