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“ARE...YOU...OKAY...nasty...hit...skull...please...up...”
Jamie slowly opens her eyes, but the light makes her head feel like it is going to explode so she quickly closes them. From the feel of it she is lying on something soft and that doesn’t make sense to her. The last thing she remembers is getting hit on the head by the Astara who was holding her from behind. Grum...his name was Grum, she thinks.
“Are you okay? You took a nasty blow to the skull. I need you to wake up if you can.”
The voice speaking to her is husky and deep. It sounds somewhat like the voice of the Astara who kept the man with the blackjack from hitting her, but she isn’t for sure if it is the same. She can’t even remember the name of the alien who kept her from being hit, but she is sure that she heard his name.
“Bol. Your name is Bol.” She opens her eyes just a slit.
He is standing over her with a smile on his face. “Indeed it is. How do you feel?”
“The lights.”
“Of course.”
She hears his footsteps retreat and then a small clicking sound. The lights dim in intensity and she opens her eyes all the way up. She tries to sit up and almost succeeds before the pain in the back of her head gets to her. Falling back with a groan, she puts a hand to the back of her head and feels a bandage.
“Sorry that I had to cut your hair, but you had a pretty nasty cut on the back of your head where Grum hit you.”
“You cut my hair?” She feels around on her scalp and sure enough she only has hair on the top of her head. “Why is my hair like this?”
“I had to cut the back so I could get to the wound on your scalp. I figured that you would not want it left that way, so I styled it in the manner of our warrior women.”
“A mohawk? Really?”
“Yes. We have very few warriors that are women these days, but they still cut their hair in this way.”
“Great. I’ve got a mohawk.”
“I am sorry that you are not pleased with the haircut, but what is done is done and there is nothing that can change it. Would you like to sit up and try to drink something?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me help you.”
Jamie begins to sit up on her own, but the Astara is there in a flash and holding her back with his strong arms. Her head swims as she sits up, but she manages to stay sitting up. Bol walks over to a small fridge at the opposite end of the room and opens it. When he comes back he has a drink in a can. From the looks of the can it is some kind of really old soda, but her mouth is very dry and she is in no position to scoff at the drink. She takes the can and holds it high.
“Beggars can’t be choosers.” She drinks deeply and is surprised to find that the soda is still carbonated.
“That they cannot. Especially if they are Astaran beggars and inside the walls of the Camp Venogar.”
Suddenly, Jamie realizes exactly where she is and how badly these aliens have been treated over the last twenty years. She holds the can out and studies it for a moment. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier Bol. I forget my manners sometimes. Thank you very much for the drink.”
“Do not apologize. It is how I am used to being treated by humans.”
“Please don’t think we are all like that. We aren’t. I for one think that keeping you and your people in these camps is a disgusting misuse of power by the government. Let alone a criminal act. I truly am sorry.” She holds out a hand. “My name is Jamie Gettner and I am a reporter with the Gazette.”
“Long life to you Jamie Gettner of the Gazette. I am Bol previously of Sendara now of Camp Venogar.”
Jamie shakes his hand and takes another drink of the soda. As she drinks she looks around Bol’s home. It seems to just consist of one room with a kitchenette and a curtain for the bathroom area. He catches her looking around and waves a hand around the room.
“It isn’t much, but as you said before, ‘Beggars cannot be choosers.’ It serves me well enough and it keeps the rain and snow out.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so blatant.”
“Worry not Jamie Gettner. You are a reporter. Your job is to look at things from every angle, is it not?”
“Yes, it is I suppose.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Not at the moment, but I am sleepy.”
“Wait here one moment.” Bol gets up out of his seat and walks to the back of the room. He opens a door that Jamie assumed led to the outside, but to her surprise it leads to another room. The room is quite dark inside. He disappears inside for a moment. When he returns he is holding a bottle in his hands that contains a dark green liquid. Handing it to her, he speaks.
“Take a small drink of this.”
“What is it?” asks Jamie, holding the bottle up to the light in order to study its contents.
“It is a painkiller of sorts that my people make. It is made from a mushroom that we grow. It will help you sleep as well as take care of the pain.”
“Is it safe for a human?”
“It is,” he answers.
“How can you be so sure about that?”
“Some of my people sell it to the guards and others that come to various places along the wall. They abuse it and use it to get high, but it has no adverse effects if used properly. I promise you.”
“Alright.” Jamie tilts up the bottle and takes a small sip of the liquid. She expects it to be nasty, but to her astonishment it tastes a lot like grape juice with a hint of something that she has never tasted before. “Wow!” She holds the bottle out and studies it again. “That doesn’t taste at all like medicine.”
“No it doesn’t, and that is the reason that one must be careful with it. Even though it doesn’t taste like it, that is an extremely powerful painkiller. If abused it will destroy your liver and kidneys in a matter of months.”
Jamie’s eyelids are already beginning to get heavy, but her mind has always been sharp and is still working properly, if a little slow. “This must be what people are calling Astara Morphine. I’ve heard that junkies will give anything for a swallow of this stuff.”
“I’m afraid so.” He reaches out and takes the bottle from her.
“Thank you for what you...” She lays back on the bed with his help and closes her eyes. She struggles to open them again, but her eyelids feel like they weigh a thousand pounds and each thought takes all of her concentration to formulate. “Thank you for... today...”
“You are welcome Jamie Gettner.”
Jamie drifts off to sleep with a smile on her face.