Page 22 of Rescued

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CAIMBRIE

After some time, I unraveled myself from Herod, straightening and dusting myself off before sitting on my bunk.

“We have a problem,” I started, carefully avoiding anything that might reveal my emotional state.

“Of course we do. But are you okay?” he asked kindly, a question I was not prepared to answer.

I stared at my hands. Was I okay? I supposed I was physically fine. I hadn’t been injured at any point, and I had never come face to face with any real danger. But that wasn’t what he was asking, and we both knew it.

Mentally, I was exhausted. Just because the intruders hadn’t gained entry to the ship didn’t mean that my mind had let go of the possibility. Herod himself had admitted that they might come back. There was something extraordinarily taxing about living in a world where I always had to be on high alert. Around any corner I might meet with my demise, and I wasn’t ready for that. I didn’t even have any tools to protect myself!

“Caimbrie?” he asked, taking my hand and drawing my eyes back up to his. I hadn’t answered him.

“Hm?”

“You are going to be okay. I promise.” His voice was firm, and his eyes were serious, for once.

“How can you say that? How can you know?”

He looked hurt, but his face was solemn. He placed a hand over his heart. “Because I swear on my life that I will see you to safety.”

I heard what he was saying, and despite all my misgivings, I actually believed he meant it. I decided to change the subject.

“There’s a leak in your fuel system. We need to fix it, or we’re never going to get to Divoron.”

“How bad is it?”

He didn’t press me about what I knew or how I knew it. He took my word for it, and that was something.

“Hard to say. I didn’t have any light. How long do we have before we’re out of here?”

He shrugged. “I was hoping to leave as soon as it was light out. We’ll be safer out there than we will be sitting here.”

I sighed. Nowhere really felt safe right now, but at least out there I knew nobody would come pounding at our door. I caught myself laughing ruefully. That wasn’t true either. Just a few days ago I had been floating through space aboard the Patrol ship when Herod himself came bursting through the door. Nowhere really was safe, was it?

Herod looked at me strangely and I stifled my laugh. Perhaps he thought I was losing my mind.

“Let me grab a light and we can check it out.”

“Wait-“

I spoke up before I even knew what I was about to say. I was afraid to let him out of my sight again.

He paused. “Do you need something? Whatever it is, I’ll get it.”

I looked up at him, confused by his offer. Did he think I was about to ask for a snack or something? No. What I needed was something much greater than that.

“Don’t go,” I muttered softly, scooting over on my bunk to make room for him. “I don’t want you to go.”

Instantly, the slump in his shoulders rebounded and his eyes glittered with some kind of relief. Was he actually happy that I asked him to stay? He hesitated at the door, watching me with concerned eyes.

“I’m not okay,” I admitted in a whisper. “Everything that’s happened has been so hard. I was scared tonight. For myself, and for you. I didn’t know where you were, or if they had taken you. You have no idea how many awful scenarios ran through my mind.”

He shifted uncomfortably and gave me a guilty, apologetic look.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Caimbrie. I was trying to give you some space and deal with some… personal matters. I thought I would be back before you woke, and everything would be fine. I never would have left you if I thought there was danger lurking out there.”

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