Page 39 of My Alien Bughead
As Zarkan looks down at the inhaler, he growls, his grip tightening until the case cracks further. He nods curtly before resuming walking, muttering expletives under his breath. The ship’s door slides shut as soon as he’s through and seconds later, the roughly patched engines rumble to life.
“You better open the door for them,” I tell Arnik grimly. “Unless you want them to blast their way out.”
As Arnik rushes off to start the docking gate opening sequence, I glare at Toli and his gaggle of idiots. “I hope you’re happy. You just sentenced everyone on this station to death.”
Chapter 23
D’Aakh
Dying hurts.
It kind of sucks. You’d think dying would be peaceful, like falling asleep, but no. It fucking hurts.
My entire body aches in a way I never thought possible. My muscles and joints scream whenever I even consider moving. My throat is dry like a desert, my eyes are glued shut. I can barely feel my ahni. My skin itches and crawls. Breathing hurts too. The all too familiar pain in my chest on every inhale letting me know that I have broken ribs. All in all, it’s not a pleasant experience.
Also, it doesn’t end. I’d like to just die and get it over with but no. I’m denied even that relief.
Should I be wishing for death, though? There was something important I was doing before I lost consciousness. Something I needed to finish. Someone I needed to save. To hold. To kiss.
“Lucía!”
I’d like to think I screamed out her name, but it sounded more like a barely audible rasp.
Someone heard it, though, because there’s noise around me now. “He’s awake. Z’Ree, can you help him with the pain? I can’t give him any more medication. His body is already over-saturated with all of the shit he’s been taking.”
Ah. They know about the stimsticks. They won’t be happy about that. But it doesn’t matter. Lucía is all that matters.
Soft humming permeates the room, the vibrations soothing me, tempting me to just slip into sleep’s warm embrace. I resist. Sleep would be nice but as the humans on board this ship like to say, there’s no rest for the wicked. And I’m the wickedest of them all. I don’t deserve rest, not until I make sure Lucía and her people are safe.
I try again. “Lucía?” This time, the word forms in my aching throat. A straw touches my lips and I suck at it, a groan leaving me as cold water pours into my mouth. “Where’s…Lucía?”
“She’s fine,” Nikolai replies. There’s some beeping and humming as he works a machine.
Z’Ree keeps up her “song”, a unique crystal resonance her people can produce to soothe people’s pain. Or to get them high. I never asked her about her abilities and she never offered. No surprises there. I’ve been a jerk to her. I’ve been a jerk to everyone.
“Sorry,” I manage, the word inadequate compared to all of the pain I’ve caused. I’ll do better. I’ll apologize to everyone,personally. I’ll beg for their forgiveness if I have to. But first, I need to make sure my Lucía is safe. “Where?”
“You’re in the infirmary on the Supernova,” Nikolai informs me, as if I haven’t been able to deduce that much already. “Lucía is back at the station. She was fine when we left.”
Opening my eyes a crack, I’m grateful for the dim lighting which makes it easier for my eyes to adjust. Still, it feels like a damned ore harvester is drilling holes into my brain. Also, I need a fix.
I reach into my pocket only to find it empty, then realize there are no more stimsticks. The ones I had on me were destroyed in the explosion and I have no doubt that Zarkan found the rest of my stash and moved them somewhere where I’ll never find them again. Dammit. I could really use that rush right about now. Or…not. I should probably start ignoring these intrusive thoughts.
“Wait,” I frown as my brain catches up with Nikolai’s words. “We left?”
“Yeah, well, the crowd ready to storm the ship made it clear we were no longer welcome on that station. Besides, after the locals attacked Nala and Ellen without provocation, no one was keen on staying, anyway. We were just waiting for you and the Serramorphs to get back. Once we had everyone on board, we hightailed it out of there.”
“But…” I attempt to sit up but a hand on my shoulder gently pushes me back down. “I have to—”
Nikolai glares at me. “What you have to do is stay in bed. You were practically dead when the Serramorphs dragged you in here! I had to restart your fucking heart. Twice! Even now, your blood pressure is all over the place and your vitals are unstable. You are not going anywhere.”
I struggle, determined not to give up so easily but my body is so drained it feels like I’m pushing against a bulkhead. Nikolai doesn’t move an inch, easily holding me down. After flailing myhand upwards in a ridiculous attempt at punching him, I find myself restrained.
Even with the thick straps tying my limbs and body to the bed, I still fight and grapple with the straps. The need to get to Lucía is too great, taking over every part of my mind, silencing the voice of reason telling me that talking to people would be far more useful than whatever the fuck I’m doing right now.
“D’Aakh, calm down!” Nikolai shouts. It does absolutely nothing to calm me down. “Blin!(Dammit!) He’s going to hurt himself. Z’Ree, can you sing something stronger to knock him out?”
“No!” As much as I crave the sweet oblivion of the famous Silithrae crystal song, I can’t afford to be drugged right now. “Please, don’t,” I beg. Realizing I’m acting like an idiot, I finally stop struggling.
