looking
forward to shopping for a new wardrobe some day in the future when I was safe
and had money again. I tried not to think about how I’d get to that point.
Benson made the money transfer. Poor Lanny. Not only was he
missing food and clothing, a big chunk of his bank balance had just disappeared
as well.
“Cabin nine,” the captain barked. She gave us directions on
how to find it. With takeoff looming, there were no crewmembers available to
show us to our room. She didn’t seem terribly nervous about having us loose on
the ship either. I guess that large weapon on her belt served as a deterrent to
bad behavior.
We made our way through the cramped corridors. Crew came and
went in the narrow passageways, forcing us to press ourselves against the
walls. No one gave us so much as a second glance. Still, a shiver of relief ran
through me when we found the door with the universal symbol for nine on it.
Benson entered the code the captain had given him and the
door swung open. If I’d thought the hallways seemed cramped, the tiny room
redefined it. A bed, barely wide enough for one person, lay shoved to one side.
A couple of drawers to hold clothing were built into the wall. The
accommodation offered no chair, no other furniture, not even a porthole to
watch the galaxy go by.
We wouldn’t have anywhere else to go or anything to do but
stay in bed. That thought brought a smile to my face. I started to enter the
room.
“Janeece?” inquired a voice behind me.
I froze. No , I thought. No, no, no! They
couldn’t have found us so soon!
Benson’s head came up at the sound of my name, but he gazed
through the narrow doorway appearing completely unperturbed.
Slowly, I turned to face the person risking my exposure by
saying my name out loud.
To find Gryl standing behind me.
“Gryl!”
She enveloped me in a giant bear hug. I hugged her back
until I was practically smothered by red fur. Finally, I pulled away. “I
thought you were dead!”
Gryl let me go. “I thought so too, but there was a great
deal I didn’t yet know.”
“Such as her daughter was the key to the discovery that’s
going to save us all,” Benson said, coming up behind me.
Gryl took up the story. “They were holding my daughter in
another part of the facility, you know. They wouldn’t let me see her, so I had
no idea how she was doing. I worried she was dead. But it turned out the virus
sped through her system and she began to get well. They used her to develop the
cure.”
“How did you get out?”
She nodded toward Benson. “They were going to keep me and my
daughter. I didn’t think it was fair since they already had all the blood they
needed. The testing was pretty much finished. They’d begun to make the cure.”
“So, I thought it was time Gryl and her daughter left with
the rest of us.”
“The rest of us?” Until now I’d thought we were the only
ones.
“There were a few of us,” Benson said. “We’ve scattered to
make it harder for them to track us. But Gryl and I arranged to meet up on this
ship.”
I started to ask him about that, but before I could, a much
smaller version of Gryl stepped out of a cabin just down the corridor. She
asked a question in her own language. I didn’t understand the words, but the
meaning was clear. Who are those strange bare people, Mom?
Gryl beckoned her closer. “This is my daughter, Ryll.”
Ryll gave us a shy nod.
“So you’re coming with us?”
“As far as Solda.”
That was probably a good idea. The faster we split up, the
better for us all.
Still, I was overjoyed to see Gryl. I’d been worrying about
her for days. That she might have a chance to start over with her daughter on
some planet far away lightened my heart.
A herd of crewmembers barreled down the hall on their way to
ready the ship for takeoff, cutting our reunion short.
There was so much more to say and goodbyes to make, just in
case we didn’t see each other when Gryl and her daughter departed at
forward to shopping for a new wardrobe some day in the future when I was safe
and had money again. I tried not to think about how I’d get to that point.
Benson made the money transfer. Poor Lanny. Not only was he
missing food and clothing, a big chunk of his bank balance had just disappeared
as well.
“Cabin nine,” the captain barked. She gave us directions on
how to find it. With takeoff looming, there were no crewmembers available to
show us to our room. She didn’t seem terribly nervous about having us loose on
the ship either. I guess that large weapon on her belt served as a deterrent to
bad behavior.
We made our way through the cramped corridors. Crew came and
went in the narrow passageways, forcing us to press ourselves against the
walls. No one gave us so much as a second glance. Still, a shiver of relief ran
through me when we found the door with the universal symbol for nine on it.
Benson entered the code the captain had given him and the
door swung open. If I’d thought the hallways seemed cramped, the tiny room
redefined it. A bed, barely wide enough for one person, lay shoved to one side.
A couple of drawers to hold clothing were built into the wall. The
accommodation offered no chair, no other furniture, not even a porthole to
watch the galaxy go by.
We wouldn’t have anywhere else to go or anything to do but
stay in bed. That thought brought a smile to my face. I started to enter the
room.
“Janeece?” inquired a voice behind me.
I froze. No , I thought. No, no, no! They
couldn’t have found us so soon!
Benson’s head came up at the sound of my name, but he gazed
through the narrow doorway appearing completely unperturbed.
Slowly, I turned to face the person risking my exposure by
saying my name out loud.
To find Gryl standing behind me.
“Gryl!”
She enveloped me in a giant bear hug. I hugged her back
until I was practically smothered by red fur. Finally, I pulled away. “I
thought you were dead!”
Gryl let me go. “I thought so too, but there was a great
deal I didn’t yet know.”
“Such as her daughter was the key to the discovery that’s
going to save us all,” Benson said, coming up behind me.
Gryl took up the story. “They were holding my daughter in
another part of the facility, you know. They wouldn’t let me see her, so I had
no idea how she was doing. I worried she was dead. But it turned out the virus
sped through her system and she began to get well. They used her to develop the
cure.”
“How did you get out?”
She nodded toward Benson. “They were going to keep me and my
daughter. I didn’t think it was fair since they already had all the blood they
needed. The testing was pretty much finished. They’d begun to make the cure.”
“So, I thought it was time Gryl and her daughter left with
the rest of us.”
“The rest of us?” Until now I’d thought we were the only
ones.
“There were a few of us,” Benson said. “We’ve scattered to
make it harder for them to track us. But Gryl and I arranged to meet up on this
ship.”
I started to ask him about that, but before I could, a much
smaller version of Gryl stepped out of a cabin just down the corridor. She
asked a question in her own language. I didn’t understand the words, but the
meaning was clear. Who are those strange bare people, Mom?
Gryl beckoned her closer. “This is my daughter, Ryll.”
Ryll gave us a shy nod.
“So you’re coming with us?”
“As far as Solda.”
That was probably a good idea. The faster we split up, the
better for us all.
Still, I was overjoyed to see Gryl. I’d been worrying about
her for days. That she might have a chance to start over with her daughter on
some planet far away lightened my heart.
A herd of crewmembers barreled down the hall on their way to
ready the ship for takeoff, cutting our reunion short.
There was so much more to say and goodbyes to make, just in
case we didn’t see each other when Gryl and her daughter departed at
Similar Books
