Lara
Waking up slowly, I reveled in the feel of soft sheets. It had been a long time since I felt such comfort, and I didn’t want to leave. Not only did I feel comfortable, I was clean. Now this was heaven.
Stretching my arms over my head, I yawned, then opened my eyes. A light gray metal covered the ceiling and the walls were a shade darker. Something close to warm sugar-spice wafted from the sheets and permeated the air.
Turning over, I squalled, “Oh!”
My hand flew to my chest. Cami sat in a chair next to the bed with a silly grin on her face.
“How the hell did you end up here?” she asked. She didn’t sound mad, only shocked.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I got knocked off course and sucked into a wormhole.”
“Huh, me too.” Throwing one leg over the side of the bed, then the other, I sat up.
Admittedly, I didn’t feel the same anymore, not after everything I’d been through. But seeing Cami made me feel a bit better. At least I wasn’t the only Human in space.
“So, what happened?” Cami asked, concerned.
“You first. You’re with the red guy now?”
“Zorvak,” she replied, chuckling. “Yes, he’s my mate…err…husband…so to speak.”
“YOU GOT MARRIED?”
She nodded; I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t get her to do anything with me. Ever! She’d just sat in her room with her nose stuck in a book.
“Get out! You did not!”
“Yes, I did.”
“You—the lady with the withered up vajaja.”
“Oh, God. Stop saying vajaja.”
I laughed. It almost felt like old times. “Fine. So how did you end up with Zorvak?”
“It just happened.” She shrugged. “Zorvak had been kidnapped and held against his will. I rescued him.”
Of course she did. Cami had a lot of courage and always faced every situation head on. But not me, I was a scardy cat. Always had been. “And now you’re married?”
“I am.”
I noted that she really did look love struck, something I’ve never seen before.
“We were on our way to Jaur to have my NI removed,” she added. “How lucky is that? It’s the first time I’ve left Ulaya, and we found you.”
My head began to hurt. Jaur, Ulaya… I had no idea what they were. Cities? Countries? Maybe planets? This really felt like starting over from scratch.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “I don’t know anything, except I escaped and left my friends behind. I feel so guilty.”
Cami stood and pulled me into a hug. In the back of my mind, I knew that if I had tried to help Nonya, they would’ve caught me too and we both would’ve been locked away. It still didn’t ease the guilt.
“Oh, Lara, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, but you’re safe now.”
When she released me, I tried to push those feelings away and smile. An uneasy feeling washed over me, and I knew it belonged to Roark. “How do I know that Roark is uneasy right now?”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No. I haven’t talked to him a lot. Only in my head, and then he was trying to get me to trust him.” I scoffed. “How could I trust someone I’d never met? And yet, I think I do. That’s strange, huh?”
“No, it’s not strange. Well, maybe a little.” She smiled. “I have encountered all sorts of beings, and they are all different. We’re on our way to the planet Jaur, so Munic can have my NI removed. Wait until you see them.”
“Munic?” I smiled.
“Munic and Oddle rescued me when I crashed. They look like walking blobs of Jell-O.”
I laughed. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah. It took me a long time to get used to everything and accept that I wouldn’t be going home.” Her smile faded and a faraway look appeared in her eyes. “I miss Mom and Dad.”
“I’m sorry, Cami.”
She swallowed hard and focused on me again. “It’s okay. I’m actually very happy with Zorvak.”
“I kind of like Roark.” I grinned, thinking about the tender way he clutched me against his chest.
“That’s great. He’s a really good guy.”
“I’m having a hard time”—I began, and swallowed hard because I hated to admit this aloud— “with him being red, and an alien, and that makes it harder for me to give in and trust the situation—and him.”
“Oh, Lara, I understand. It’s hard to know who you can trust and who you can’t. Some species are downright assholes.”
I scoffed, then thought about the Suntae “That’s an understatement.”
“Could you imagine the look on Evan’s face if we could tell him that we were one species among…who knows how many…in space?”
Evan, our boss back on Earth, had chosen and prepared us for this mission. Just thinking about it made me laugh. “They would trip all over themselves if they knew. Oh God, could you imagine the manuals they would write and implement? And then the treaties they would try to negotiate!”
Cami looked horrified at the thought. The government would have so many rules, it wouldn’t even be funny.
“No, I couldn’t,” she said. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
I sighed heavily, thinking about Roark and just starting over in general. “What am I going to do?”
Cami looked at me like I had two heads and asked a stupid question. “You’re going back to Ulaya with me.”
I wanted to stay with Cami, maybe Roark. At least I wouldn’t be the only shiny new penny that everyone would stare at.
“Is everyone red?” I asked, wondering about Ulaya. The possibility of living with clean air, walking outside—that excited me.
She laughed. “Oh, yeah.”
“When I first saw Roark, I thought he looked like a demon, or maybe a bright red lobster. Of course, I was hungry.”
Cami burst out laughing. “I thought the same thing about Zorvak! Well, not the lobster part.”
“But he’s too nice to be a demon. I think.”
Cami smiled. “You get used to the color and then you won’t notice anymore.”
A knock on the door startled us both. I lifted my eyes and saw a pensive Roark standing there, holding a tray of food. My stomach rumbled.
Cami smiled, patted my hand and pushed up from the chair. “I’ll see you later, Lara.”