Read Online Elemental by Emily White - Free Book Online Page B

into my mouth—some type of bitter drink—my stomach had
started protesting. It hit me then. as the acids lurched up into my
throat, that I should’ve taken my first big meal a little slower. I
clamped my mouth shut and swallowed. It burned all the way
down.
    I threw the empty packages to the floor and
lay back down on the cot, clutching my very angry stomach. I
should’ve known something as simple as eating would end badly. I
lived in Opposite World. When I expected bad, good happened. When I
thought nothing but good could come from something, that’s when
fate decided to kick me in the butt.
    I groaned. My food wanted to come up again—I
could feel it—but I refused to let it win. If I couldn’t control my
own body, how could I possibly control the outside influences of
the world around me? No, my body would bend to my will. I’d
rather suffer than lose this battle.
    I groaned again. It seemed my stomach was
more than willing to make me suffer. I started concentrating on the
purr of the engines and the whoosh of the fans as they recycled the
air throughout the ship. And of course, Meir’s steady snores were
easy to focus on. It helped a little, but my stomach refused to be
completely ignored. When it thought it was losing, it enlisted the
help of my muscles, which started twisting and pushing at my
abdomen to force the food up. When that didn’t work, it tried to
reason with me.
    Just let it out. You’ll feel better when you
do.
    Somehow, I had a feeling this was a typical
war tactic: when violence doesn’t work, send ambassadors to
negotiate terms of surrender. But I wasn’t about to succumb. I had
earned the nutrients my body now needed to function, and I
certainly wasn’t about to lie next to my own vomit.
    Nope. My stomach would just have to give in
and do its job.
    I breathed in and out slowly. Meir’s snoring
aside, sleep had now become utterly impossible for me.
    There was a very subtle change in the air
pressure around me, and the ship felt like it was slowing down. The
little movement, though I might not have detected it otherwise, now
made my stomach lurch. I almost lost the war.
    The feeling became much more distinct and I
was sure we had come to a stop. I remembered Malik mentioning
something about a checkpoint to Meir in the conversation I was not
supposed to have heard. Perhaps this was it.
    My heart started pounding as I also
remembered Malik had said we might find trouble here—something
about unknown battleships and precautions being doubled. I held my
breath and waited. Surely this wouldn’t take long. They would
confirm that the Meridian was scheduled to go to Soltak and
let us be on our way, nothing more.
    A deep boom shuddered throughout the ship.
My quivering stomach rejoiced at its impending success, while my
heart skipped a beat and I broke out into an icy sweat.
    I fought the urge to run and hide. Instead,
I rose slowly with my hand on my waist to shake Meir’s
shoulder.
    “Meir, wake up.”
    He didn’t budge.
    I leaned closer and pressed my lips against
his ear. “Meir!”
    He bolted up then, and nearly sent me flying
backwards. “What?” He rubbed his eyes, disoriented. “What
happened?”
    “I think we’re being boarded.”
    “Boarded? How?” He yawned. “We’re in
hyperspace.” No, he was definitely not all there. I suppressed the
urge to shake him. My weak little arms probably wouldn’t have done
much anyway.
    “No, Meir.” I shook my head. “We’re at the
checkpoint.”
    Another boom resonated throughout the ship.
Meir’s eyes narrowed as understanding replaced the vagueness of
sleep. “What’s going on?”
    “I don’t know. I felt the ship stop and then
there was a loud noise, like something was grabbing onto it.”
    “Hmm…” His eyes grew dark and brooding, but
he shook his head and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leaning
me in to press his lips against my head. “We’ll be all right.”
    I didn’t know if I could believe that.