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EMILY’S BACK HURT AND her head ached. At some point in the night she’d fallen asleep slumped over next to Lena and it hadn’t exactly been restful. She looked at her friend but saw no change in her condition. Oz had said she shouldn’t expect it, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t wish for a magical recovery.
Her stomach growled. Emily couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Dinner? Had they been fed before they fled? The aliens—Apsyns—hadn’t been the best cooks. At least, she hoped the bitter gruel they’d subsisted on was the result of bad cooking and not some Zulir delicacy.
What did aliens eat? Her stomach demanded she find out now. But first Emily had to check on everyone else.
If she could find them.
She ducked her head into the room she and Luci had been given but the bed was empty. Joel and Zac’s room was empty as well. She checked the store room where they’d first huddled together and didn’t see anyone there either. But when she listened she could hear sounds coming from the main part of the apartment. She followed her ears and found humans and aliens all gathered in the kitchen area, standing at the counter and watching as Oz put down a steaming plate of something.
It didn’t smell like gruel.
He looked up and smiled at her and Emily wished her body didn’t respond. Even if the whole buying her thing had been a misunderstanding, he was a freaking alien. One of the same species who had been performing experiments on her for months! She couldn’t trust him.
That’s not fair, her thoughts whispered. She’d be outraged if someone thought the same about her just because some humans somewhere did shitty things. She wasn’t going to be some alien racist about this.
But she still remembered what it felt like to be strapped down to that bed while they pumped her full of electricity. She still remembered the despair when Oz offered a paltry sum to buy her freedom.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. His smile had dimmed a little, as if he could look into her head and read the shape of her thoughts. The hint of fang peeking out from under his lips was a reminder of just how alien he was.
She didn’t want this to become a thing. Oz and Solan were helping them now and they didn’t have to. Hopefully they’d be able to find a space ship to send them home. She didn’t need to let this toxic resentment grow within her until it poisoned her against everything. So she forced the emotions down, forced it all away.
She could do this.
And she was hungry.
“What are you eating?” she asked, walking up and slinging her arm around Luci, holding her close.
The girl groaned as she ate half of what looked like a dumpling. “It’s so good,” she said. Or that’s what Emily thought she said around the glob of food in her mouth.
“It has actual texture,” Zac added, eating a bit more delicately. “And spices.” Joel was too busy wolfing down his portion to say anything.
Oz put some of the dumpling things on a plate and pushed it towards her. Emily looked for a spoon or something, but everyone else was eating with their fingers so she dug in.
Oh god.
It was better than sex. Okay, it was better than she assumed sex was like. She’d been too busy to get around to it back on Earth and she’d been a bit preoccupied since then. Flavor exploded in her mouth, juice and meat and delicious. She stuffed the rest of the thing in and barely bothered to chew. Then she took another, trying for a bit of decorum.
It didn’t work.
She only realized that there was something dribbling down her chin when Oz offered her a napkin. Her cheeks flamed and she quickly wiped away the evidence of her animalistic eating. The next dumpling she ate like a civilized person, and even though she was still hungry when that one was done she forced herself not to immediately reach for another. She dabbed daintily at her lips and gave Oz a grin. “Those are good.”
He smiled and it was like the sunrise, bright and a little overwhelming. “It’s nothing. I figured you could all use a meal.”
“It’s something,” said Joel, coming out of his own alien dumpling-infused haze. “The shit they were feeding us barely counts as food.”
Emily shuddered to think about it.
Oz made more dumplings.
It was a good breakfast. Sure there were no bacon and eggs, but Emily could live with that, especially if Oz had culinary skills like this. But eventually they had to face reality. She explained what Oz had told her about the Matching stuff and how he thought the Apsyns wanted to somehow steal those capabilities from humans. He watched quietly as he cleaned up the kitchen, neither interrupting her nor contradicting her, though he did add some context when she didn’t know the full story.
The others had questions. Emily couldn’t answer most of them. Oz did what he could, but the fact remained that they were still a group of escaped humans, one of them comatose, a long way from home with no way to get back.
Yet.
Emily remembered what her shitty little law school apartment looked like and she wanted it back so bad she could cry. The walls had been paper thin. Her neighbors seemed to breathe pot smoke rather than air, and she had to studiously ignore the scratching she heard in the walls. But it had been hers and she’d earned it.
Oz’s hand covered hers. “Are you alright?” he asked.
The others were talking amongst themselves, not intentionally giving her and Oz privacy, but it happened nonetheless. “I had a life, you know.” She shouldn’t dump this on him. He didn’t need her baggage. But now that she was feeling safe for the first time in months it wanted to burst out. She’d been too focused on survival to really think about all that had been taken from her. “As soon as I pass the bar I’m supposed to become an associate at the firm I clerk for. A real job. A real life.”
Oz came around the counter and stood next to her, his hand landing on her shoulder. “I’m not sure what all that means, but if I could give it back to you, I would. I’d do anything for you... to feel safe.” That last bit was tacked on quickly and Emily decided not to dwell.
“Do you have lawyers here?” she asked. “People who study the law?” She couldn’t imagine a world without it. How could people protect themselves if they didn’t know the law?
“We have lawyers,” Oz assured her. “But I’m not sure what bars have to do with anything.”
She couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped. “So far there’s been a lot of drinking involved.”
He squeezed her shoulder gently. “How does a lawyer in training learn to do the tricks you performed? I can’t say that I see how the two go together, though I’m not particularly familiar with Earth’s customs.”
“Trials would probably be more entertaining if we had to flip our way through them,” Emily mused. Though she couldn’t imagine all the training necessary on top of her soon to be required billing. “No, I was a gymnast when I was young. All through my childhood. I wanted to be an Olympian. Never quite got there, though I did medal in state in high school. Even made it to Nationals once.” But never to the top of the top. She shouldn’t feel bad about that, she knew. But even her parents hadn’t been able to hide their disappointment at her constant failure to go all the way.
“There are more words in there I don’t understand,” Oz said. “But it sounds like this was something competitive for you? That you loved?”
Did she love it? She’d felt so free when she gave it up, when she realized her body didn’t have to hurt all the time and she could actually have free time. But then she remembered what it felt like to soar through the air. That was another kind of freedom.
“I did love it,” she said. “But I couldn’t do it forever.”
Solan called Oz away and Emily was relieved. She didn’t want to get in too deep, but the longer he was around, the more she was sure it was going to happen.
She snagged another dumpling and had just taken a bite when Zac came up to her and bumped her hip. “So...” he said. “Is that going to be a thing?”
“Wha...” it came out garbled around the food.
Zac nodded to where Oz had wandered off. “Are you going to be distracted by a certain smoldering warrior?”
“Smoldering?” She took the last bites and wiped her mouth. “Sounds like I’m not the one who’s distracted.”
“I’ve got eyes,” he laughed. “But you’re the one who was practically cuddling against him. Do you really think we can trust them?” It wasn’t a warning. She knew that. Zac was asking a genuine question.
“I don’t know,” she responded. “But I think I want to.”
***
CRU TRIED TO CALL THEM again. Solan and Oz ignored it. If their captain got a hold of them, he could end their scheme before it began, and neither of them wanted that. But it meant they had to act fast. It was one thing to dodge a call for a few hours, and another entirely to dodge for days when they were on the cusp of an important mission.
Solan was the better pilot, so it made the most sense for him to take the humans. And Lena had to go with them since she was in need of the most medical attention. Then came Luci. The girl was holding together, but Oz knew Emily would want her on the first flight out, so she got a spot. Only one of the humans had to stay behind.
It would be selfish to ask Emily just so he could spend more time with her. And he wouldn’t put her in more danger.
But the thought of two days alone, just the two of them, held a certain sort of appeal that Oz would never admit to out loud.
They’d gathered the humans in the kitchen after they’d had time to eat and get clean. They already looked better than they had the night before with a bit of rest. Oz hoped they could make a life in Osais or one of the other Synnr strongholds on Aorsa. It wouldn’t be the same as Earth, but they’d have an opportunity to live. It was better than whatever they’d put up with over the last few months.
Emily met his gaze when he and Solan stood in front of them and he could see a question in her eyes. It would be answered soon enough.
“We want to get you out of here,” he said.
Something caught between relief and fear pulsed through the group.
“Get us out of here how?” asked Emily, ever the doubter. He couldn’t exactly blame her.
“We have friends on a ship orbiting the planet. They have medical equipment that will allow them to see to your friend and can eventually take you to our home city of Osais. There’s a small human population there and a growing community. You should be welcome.” He could see they didn’t like that and he kept talking before they had time to object any more. “One problem, though, is that our shuttle can only hold four passengers. At least one of you needs to stay behind until we can make a second trip.”
They all started talking at once. Oz couldn’t make sense of any of it, but he made no effort to interrupt. Not yet.
After a moment they quieted. “Lena and Luci are guaranteed spots on the transports. Solan and I thought it would be best if you decided how it will work out for the rest of you.”
“Can’t we just squeeze an extra person in?” Joel asked. “You should have seen how many people we could get in my minivan when I started driving.”
“You drove a minivan?” Zac laughed. “Okay, soccer mom.”
Joel rolled his eyes. “It worked.”
“There’s no way to secure an extra person,” Solan answered. “We tried to think of the logistics, but because we’ll have to transport your friend in stasis, she’ll already be taking up more room than normal. Maybe we could fit an extra under other circumstances. But not these.”
“I’ll stay.” Emily offered before anyone else could.
It was what he wanted to hear, and yet Oz wanted to argue as Emily’s voice cut through. He wanted her safe, punt it all, wanted her on that ship and far away from grasping Apsyn hands.
“No,” Zac jumped in. “I should be the one to stay. I’m a man.”
“And what does that make me?” Joel demanded, arms crossed and face dangerous.
“I mean, you’re... um,” Zac stuttered, “short?”
Luci remained quiet, huddling between Zac and Joel.
Emily crossed her arms and glared at the other humans. “You need to go and keep Luci and Lena safe. I’ll be okay by myself.”
“We’re not leaving you alone,” Oz rushed to assure her. “Solan will be taking you all to the ship. I’ll stay behind.”
Emily blinked. She opened her mouth. Then she closed it. After a quick sigh she nodded once. “I’m staying, guys. The longer we argue, the more danger we put ourselves in.” Both men still looked ready to fight, but Emily held firm, and before long it was settled. Lena, Luci, Joel, and Zac would head out with Solan while Emily and Oz would stay behind.
Then it was time to get the humans ready to go. Luckily their shuttle was located on top of their building so getting the humans to it wouldn’t be too risky. But to be safe they waited until darkness fell and then moved quickly. It took all hands to get Lena safely strapped in, but almost before Oz knew it, Solan and the humans were taking off, leaving him and Emily alone on the roof.
It was a beautiful night, a slight breeze moving the fragrant air around them, stars dotting the sky, with the rest of civilization hidden off in the distance. It seemed like he and Emily were the only two people in this sector of the city, and Oz wished he could keep it that way.
They stood close enough to touch. All he’d have to do was move his hand the tiniest bit and he’d be holding hers. Did humans do that? Most of the humans he’d met had either been raised away from Earth or gone for so long that they’d adopted Synnr customs. But Emily still acted like she was on Earth.
He wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to put his arm around her. He ached to kiss her. And more.
But he’d wounded her once, and even if he could find a way to recover from that mistake, he doubted that she’d want more from him. How could she when she wanted to go home?
“When will he be back?” she asked.
“A little less than two days. There are patrols and security measures he’ll need to circumvent which makes the trip take longer. And...” No, she didn’t need to know about Cru. He didn’t want to worry her.
But he’d already said too much. “And?”
He turned completely toward her and let his hand brush against hers, but pulled back before she could think he was trying to take advantage. “Our captain may not be happy with this. He won’t harm your friends, I’m sure of that. But he can be... loud.”
Emily was silent. She looked out into the night. “What’s going to happen to us?” The question was so quiet it was almost swallowed up by the darkness around them. “Do you think we’ll be able to go home?”
Oz’s heart hurt and he didn’t know how to answer her, at least not the second question. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe,” he promised. Whatever orders he had to ignore, however many captains he had to scoff at. He’d make sure Emily and her friends had a chance. It might have not been the life they expected, but they’d have freedom and safety.
A few minutes later they headed back inside. Oz would have offered Emily a book or something to entertain herself with, but the translator she’d been outfitted with only worked for spoken language, not written. But she seemed content to sit and look out the window for a long time.
He thought it would be a peaceful night, that they could wait for Solan to return and get Emily to the ship without issue.
Then the warning siren went off and all braz broke loose.
