32. Ree

32

Ree

We run at speed for a while before he slows us and crouches down, a clear signal for me to slide off.

He looks at me and then cuts his eyes over to a small hole in a thick patch of the brambles like the one I fell in after my first time leaving the ship.

I wrinkle my nose, then crawl through.

I mostly avoid the thorns, keeping my curses under wraps the few times one hooks through my clothing and into my skin. After extracting myself, I keep on crawling.

I'm not paying enough attention and bump right into Silver's chamber with my head. I had expected the light to still be on, though I realize it was a stupid assumption.

Thivoll would never leave her with a beacon announcing her presence.

There isn't much space, but I move out of Thivoll's way enough so he can come through. Considering how much smaller I am, I don't know how he made it unscathed and then realize that he is simply pushing against the bush like it's no barrier.

His scales must be protecting him and I'm jealous.

He moves to where he can work the touch screen controls, then speaks in a whisper.

"Prepare your tools and I'll open the chamber to rouse her."

I hope she doesn't wake up screaming, but if she does, I'm sure Thivoll could quickly take us all out of the area.

I remove the stitch stapler and nod to Thivoll to let him know I'm ready. It kills me to be doing this without proper sanitary procedures, but I'll just have to hope her nanites will protect her.

The chamber snicks open and Silver's breathing picks up pace, but she doesn't wake up. That's a blessing in one way, but very concerning.

Of course, I have no idea what's normal.

"Do people usually wake up instantly? It seemed to happen quickly on the ship."

He shakes his head. "It will take a short while if she isn't jarred awake, but I would work fast to take advantage of the transition."

I get right to work, no need to cut off clothing like we would in the ER because she is still naked.

As I rapidly close the wound up, the tool incredibly awkward in my hand and my work not nearly as neat as I would like, I try to ignore my rage over what's been done to her.

Thivoll must sense it because he purrs and nothing about this is pleasant so it can only be meant to soothe me.

I finish up in just a few minutes, my hands sticky with blood and nothing to wipe it on. I end up smearing it on the interior of the chamber, hoping it seals off the scent.

I move up to feel her head. There are several large bumps under her thick mass of silver curls. I grunt as I try to wrangle her hair out of the way so I can feel better. Thivoll reaches forward to help me.

"No," I blurt out and he snatches his hand back. "Sorry. I just would prefer to give her a choice in her transformation. If we can."

He nods. "I hadn't thought. That's a good idea."

I don't like what I find on her head. "Could you turn the chamber light on for just a moment?"

He complies, and I waste no time in peeling her eyelids back. As I suspected, her sclera and iris are the same light green that sometimes shows in her hair, just like my aquamarine eyes.

But the pupils are far too large. "Are my pupils, the inner black part I mean, as big as hers?"

I look up to Thivoll so he can better compare. "No, yours are much smaller."

I groan. Not good.

"I can't say for certain with her still unconscious, but considering how dilated her pupils are she at the very least has a concussion. I'd guess that since she won't wake up, it's severe. I'm afraid she might have brain damage, Thivoll."

"You're probably correct. She should have come out of stasis by now."

I frown, feeling helpless again. Nothing we will ever find in a hunter's camp could solve this issue.

He pats my shoulder, careful to keep his distance from Silver. "We have done for her what we can. Getting her back in stasis so it can keep her stable while her nanites work is her best hope."

I nod and move out of the way so he can close it. As the gas puffs back over her, I feel sick at heart.

"I wish we could have at least dressed her. It isn't right, Thivoll."

His purr starts up again. "What we can do is find a safer place for her and move her there. Then keep returning to her with supplies as we wait until the chamber stops functioning."

I know he's right but I have a hard time accepting that I have to keep leaving her. "What if I stay?"

He doesn't speak for a moment. "This may sound heartless, but the smell of her chamber and blood will attract prey. Not all of them will be peaceful and I would rather you stay away from her unless I'm with you."

I don't think he's heartless, but there is a layer of brutality among the practicality. "I don't know, Thivoll. It doesn't feel right."

He huffs out a breath. "I want to respect your freedom, but I'll not hesitate to carry you out of here by force. I'll help you find and protect your fellow humans, but never at the risk of losing you. Never."

His voice is firm and part of me wants to argue, but I also know he's right. Risking myself doesn't help Silver.

My shoulders slump.

"Alright. I'll leave, but I won't feel better until we have her in a less exposed area and have enough supplies so I can nurse her back to health. We need a place you can defend in that scenario. Is that a reasonable compromise?"

He growls low in his throat.

"Yes, though I don't like it and would prefer you safely moved every day to a new tree. We can't risk her waking up and falling from a tree and so our options are more limited."

My brow furrows. "There can't be many options nearby or you would have found something when you came here the first time."

"I can hear far and we can continually move back within range to check on her. We have much we can explore."

It seems like evolution handed me a very short stick.

"Of course you can, Superkitty," I grumble good-naturedly.

"I'll assume that means something amazing."

"Only the best nickname anyone could ever get!"

He blinks at me, intelligent enough to know I'm pulling his tail.

Our banter helps me put things in better perspective. My arm is healing rapidly after having a bullet lodged in it. It should have taken weeks to heal this much. Silver has the added benefit of the chamber keeping her still as the nanites work.

Things aren't perfect, but I've kept my promise to her.

We'll get her to a safer place soon and I'm sure we'll keep finding more women and doing the same for them. I feel lighter, my breath coming easier and muscles I didn't even know I was clenching start to loosen.

Hope never felt so good.

Thivoll is still looking at me with his cat in the cream look. When I give him a cheeky grin in response, he chuffs and then snaps his teeth at me. He chuffs even more when I jump in alarm.

"I really should pull your tail," I grumble at him.

He stops chuffing. "Is that meant to be some sort of punishment?"

"Oh yeah, you're right. I should not, not, not pull your tail, you wicked Superkitty."

He snaps his teeth again. "You are in danger of losing teddy bearing privileges."

I chuckle at him. "You are on permanent teddy bear duty, regardless of tail-pulling, Thivoll. Get used to it."

He purrs. "They aren't mutually exclusive. But I'm glad you agree I won this argument."

I don't have a ready reply. He got me.

My expression must let him know it because he cuts his eyes at me, blinks slowly, and then pushes back out.

I'm still chuckling as I crawl my way back out of the brambles he pushed through like they were tickly feathers.