7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Z’Ree

I found myself drawn to the same hatch over and over. I know it’s stupid. I know it’s a trap. He’ll be waiting there for me and this time, he won’t let me go. But my dehydrated brain has this ridiculous notion that the human might actually be a good person. As if good people just walk around mercenary ships and slave markets.

The bottom line is that he has the water I desperately need. I’ll figure out the price for it later.

There’s a piece of paper glued to the inside of the hatch. Who in the galaxy still uses paper? Curious, I peel it off and bring it closer to the light.

It’s in Omnispeak and it looks like a child wrote it from how misshapen the symbols are. A child, or someone who’s just started learning the language.

“I am sorry for scaring you,” the sign reads. “ There’s food and water for you just by the hatch. Take it. I will not interfere. I’d like to talk to you but I will wait until you are ready.”

I blink at the paper, unsure what to think. It must be a trap, a trick of some kind, but to what end? I rub my forehead, the dull pain behind my eyes intensifying. I need to go out there. I don’t have a choice.

While exploring, I came across a long abandoned locker room, but when I tried the tap in the bathroom, there was no water. It was the same with all of the unoccupied rooms on the lower floors. I know it’s probably a safety measure to prevent the system from losing water, but damn it! I’d give my right eye for a leaky tap.

It’s a somber thought. I’d be lucky if all the human asked for was an eye in exchange for some water. But I’m tired of running. Of hiding. To be honest, I’m tired of absolutely everything. I’m just...tired.

Accepting my fate, I open the hatch, peeking into the dark storage room. The human is not hiding this time. He’s sitting on the opposite side of the room, reading from his datapad and mumbling something to himself. If he notices me, he doesn’t let it show.

Just like the note says, I see bottles of water lined up right in front of me. I could just extend my hand and snatch one. I almost do, but then I hesitate. What if he’s trying to drug me? Or poison me? I’ve had a master like that before who considered it great fun to watch his slaves curled up on the floor in pain, puking their guts out.

I sit just inside the hatch, watching the water as if it could give me the answer I need. When I raise my eyes to the human, I flinch. He hasn’t moved from his spot, but he’s looking at me now.

He presses something on his datapad, then speaks in his soft language.

“It’s good to see you again,” his datapad says. “I’m sorry about last time. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I haven’t received an honest apology in years and now I don’t know what to do with it. My lack of response doesn’t deter him.

“You must be thirsty. This is all for you.” He gestures to the supplies laid out in front of the hatch. Besides water, there are more food packages, a plate with fresh pastries that smell so heavenly my stomach rumbles, and a blanket.

I shake my head. I don’t understand. Why would he bring all of this for me?

“It’s all yours. You can take it and bring it to wherever you’re hiding. No one will bother you, I promise. I talked to the captain and he agreed to leave you alone until you’re ready to come out.”

My eyes bulge. This must be a joke. Leaving a stranger wandering all over the ship unchecked? Who does that?

“You look surprised,” the human says,smiling kindly. “I told you. You’re safe on this ship. I know it’s difficult to believe but it’s true.” He points at the water bottles again. “Are you not thirsty?”

I am. I’m so thirsty I could cry but my dehydrated body won’t form tears anymore. Yet, I can’t bring myself to take the water.

The human watches me, scratching his chin, then realization sparks in his eyes. He has pretty eyes. Light brown, like his hair. There doesn’t seem to be anything cruel in them. “Let me guess,” he says, his melodic voice once again butchered by the datapad’s translation. “You’re worried I put something in the water?”

I don’t dare to nod, afraid he would take it as an insult but he reads the answer in my expression.

“Of course you are,” he concludes. “How about I taste it to show you it’s safe? It’s not very hygienic, but I think we can overlook that fact this one time.”

Hygienic? I’m covered in engine sludge and geodes know what else. Hygiene isn’t even in my vocabulary right now.

He shifts his position, slowly picking himself up off the floor. Every muscle in my body goes rigid, every instinct screaming at me to run, but I ignore them. I can’t keep running. Literally. My body is past the point of total exhaustion and on its merry way to general collapse.

“I will have to come a little closer,” he says, taking the tiniest of steps toward me, then waiting for my reaction. I don’t move. Another smile brightens his expression. “Oh, forgive my manners. My name is Nikolai. I should have introduced myself earlier. Will you tell me your name?”

Will I? Do I even remember my name? Nobody has used it in years.

I want to tell him my name. Perhaps hearing it from someone else’s mouth would make me feel less like a thing and more like a person.

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. My throat feels like a giant hand has gripped it and squeezed, and it has nothing to do with the dehydration. I can’t breathe, I can’t think. The only thing I feel is panic seeping into my bones.

I’m not supposed to speak. Ever. The only sounds I’m allowed to make are humming when I sing or screaming in pain when I’m beaten. Not words. Never.

“Shut up, bitch. Nobody asked you anything.” “Keep your fucking mouth shut or I’ll sew it shut.” “Open your mouth again and I’ll knock out your fucking teeth.”

The voices assault me all at once. Slapping my hands over my ears, I’m desperate to block them out but it does nothing because they’re in my head. They’ll forever be in my head. I want to scream but only a hoarse wail comes out of my mouth.

“It’s okay,” another voice speaks, piercing through the cacophony. It’s mechanical and emotionless, but somewhere behind it, a real person speaks, their soft, dulce voice lilting up and down melodically. “You’re safe now. You’re safe, I promise.”

My eyes are closed. Some fucking genius I am, completely losing it in the presence of a person who might be set on hurting me. Nikolai isn’t doing anything sinister, though. He didn’t even approach me while I was clearly panicking even though it looks like he wants to. There’s pain and understanding in his eyes. Is he sad on my behalf? This is surreal.

He crouches down a few feet away from the hatch I’m in. “Everything is going to get better now, I promise. When you are ready, we can remove that collar from around your neck.”

My hand flies to my throat, touching the cold, heavy collar there. I’ve worn it for so long it feels like a part of me now. A constant reminder of what I am. Removing it is a wasted effort. Whoever owns me next will just snap a new one around my neck.

Nikolai reaches for the nearest bottle of water and pops the lid open. “ Za zdorovie! (Cheers!)” he says with a somewhat cheeky smile before putting the bottle to his mouth.

Captivated, I watch his throat work as he swallows the precious liquid, my own throat growing even dryer.

“See? No drugs. Just good old fashioned water. Here.” He places the water as close to me as he can without changing his position.

I don’t hesitate anymore. I pull the scarf away from my mouth, snatch the bottle, and a nanosecond later, I’m gulping it down, my aching throat screaming as the ice cold liquid flows into it.

Oh. So good.

Too soon, the bottle is empty. I peer at Nikolai, who is already tasting a second bottle for me. “Take it slow,” he cautions. “You’ll get sick if you drink too much at once.”

I do happen to know that and I try really hard to follow his advice, yet I end up chugging back the second bottle as quickly as the first one. I shoot Nikolai a cautious look, worried he’s angry at me for disobeying his order. He merely chuckles and sets another bottle down in front of me.

This time, I do take it slow. Sip by sip, savoring the taste of the water as if it is the most expensive cocktail in the galaxy.

Nikolai’s resulting smile is one of encouragement rather than the malice I’m used to. “That’s better. Do you want me to taste the food first, too? I should warn you, though. These rolls are so delicious that I might just eat them whole instead of merely tasting them.”

My lips twitch into a hesitant smile. It’s such an unfamiliar feeling to smile that I raise a hand up to touch my mouth in surprise. Maybe I’m not smiling. Maybe I’ve had a stroke. It feels good, though, so I let it be.

“It’s good to see you smile,” Nikolai says. I’m beginning to hate how lifelessly his datapad translates his words. I feel robbed by it. It’s been years since anyone has said anything remotely nice to me, yet I can’t even enjoy it because I can’t understand his human language and his interpreting program is shit.

He sees me glaring at the device and frowns. “Sorry about this device but I’ve only been learning Omnispeak for three weeks. I can say a few phrases but I’m far from being able to maintain a conversation. I’m guessing you don’t have the Earth languages update in your nodes?”

I shake my head.

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” he says, not sounding one bit angry about it. I can hardly remember what it’s like to not be yelled at constantly. “Here.” He pushes a plate with fresh seka rolls toward me. “I bit into each one to ensure it was safe. It was a tedious task, but I suffered through it heroically.”

It takes me a second too long to realize he’s joking. My smile is real this time, my facial muscles aching from disuse.

Against my better judgment, I’ve decided that I like Nikolai. I wish I could convince my mouth to speak. I’d tell him he can be my new master. For him, I’d be the most obedient slave ever. He would never have to punish me.

I know it’s just a dream. He’s not even the captain of this ship. The crew would never allow him to keep something as precious as me to himself. But it’s a nice dream, a welcome change from my usual hopelessness and nightmares.

Nikolai keeps talking as I eat, telling me how he was kidnapped by slavers himself and saved by the current crew of this ship. That they are good people who have devoted their lives to fighting against slavery. To be honest, it sounds a little too good to be true. However, Nikolai doesn’t seem to be lying.

In my many years as a slave, I’ve become proficient in reading body language. Detecting the slightest nuance in my master’s mood was often the only thing saving me from receiving a beating. Of course, it didn’t work every time.

Images from the past start slipping into my mind and I realize I’m dozing off. I shake my head, willing myself to stay awake. I might like Nikolai, I might even trust him a tiny bit, but not enough to fall asleep here next to him. I shove the last of the seka rolls into my mouth, stifling a yawn.

Nikolai doesn’t say anything, just hands me a blanket. “I want you to know that you can sleep in here if you want. I know you probably won’t, but I’m offering, nonetheless. I have a hammock over there that makes a decent bed.”

I glance in the direction he’s indicating, realizing that he’s talking about the fabric cocoon I saw earlier. It’s tempting but I shake my head.

“Okay. It’s your choice. Just take the blanket, please, and the water. I’ll be back tomorrow with more fresh food. Is there anything you particularly like to eat? Anything you don’t like?”

Having no idea what to respond, I just shake my head again. Food I don’t like? Good geodes! If it’s edible, I’ll eat it. I’ve been starved so often I think I’ve lost the ability to be picky with my food.

Nikolai smiles. “Good. I’ll try to pick out something good then.” He hesitates before continuing, “Will you come back tomorrow?”

I don’t have to. He’s given me enough food and water to last me a day or two at least. I could stay tucked away in my little nook and…do what? Watch my thoughts spiral out of control? Relive my terrible memories? Slowly lose my mind in the darkness? I think not.

I nod, surprised by the delight in his smile.