CHAPTER 15

Reece

D orian was pacing. The man was completely beside himself with worry, and it was causing a domino effect reaction among the rest of us. Bromm was getting anxious, which in turn made Foryk even more moody and alert. The three from the other team were watching Dorian’s movements with varying levels of concern, ranging from mild to verging on intense. The other Yu’Rom mutt looked just about ready to join Dorian and rush back down to where we’d left Arty and Brin.

My concern stemmed more from whatever it was that Brin wanted to speak to Arty about, and why it needed to be a private conversation. Our new security team’s reactions were probably a result of their assignment rather than the cause. The last two were blatantly glaring daggers at me, and I didn’t blame them. I was doubting my actions as well.

I didn’t want to put Arty at risk – or Brin through proximity – but I saw the determination on her face when she pulled him away. She was going to get him alone to have that discussion eventually, but at least this way we knew where they were. I was sure they were safe enough with each other. It wasn’t as if I’d just abandoned him alone, or with those that were targeting him. Brin had achieved a decently high ranking within the IU military, she surely knew how to handle a threat, and I wasn’t so sure they were even in danger. I was the one that had been falsely accused, not Arty. They would be fine.

My only regret was the distance I had put between us. It hadn’t occurred to me in the moment that the elevator would take us away. The fear and anxiety over how others on board this ship would react to us had unreasonably increased at the additional protection from the other team. It was as if the captain had proven we were in more danger than we’d realised through the singular action of providing us with a protection detail. I’d merely intended to put a barrier between us to keep Dorian’s protests at bay, but I had instead inadvertently triggered those fears.

As time ticked on and there was still no sign of either of them, my own anxiety skyrocketed.

Every time the door swished up and someone stepped out, we gathered around to see who it was. And every time we were disappointed that it was someone else. Five times. Six. At one point there was an individual who appeared to resemble Arty and it got our hopes up only to be dashed when it wasn’t him. Then there was a pink Griknot female, only the shade of her skin was a little too dark and her head a little too tall.

Disappointment after disappointment ratcheted up the tension, and soon all seven of us were practically throwing ourselves at the elevator whenever we heard it.

Finally – finally! – the door receded to reveal the man we were waiting on. He was alone, which gave our security team the incentive to shoot more dirty looks my way, and even Foryk joined in on that one. Bromm, however, just seemed relieved that he was well and that the wait was over.

‘Stars above, Arty, that took forever ,’ he whined, and if I hadn’t just seen how nervous he’d been then I never would have guessed he was worried.

Arty didn’t respond with words. He patted Bromm on the arm and pushed his way through us toward the mess hall.

Now that the initial reactions to his arrival had subsided I took note of the way he seemed suddenly withdrawn. His face was paler than usual, shoulders so tense they almost touched his ears, and his strides were stilted and awkward. Something had gone down in that conversation that had spooked him, and he was reverting back to the man I had met last week .

Cold. Distant. Solitary. Closed off.

I didn’t like it one bit.

I rushed to catch up with him, and he was smart enough to wait before entering the mess hall so we wouldn’t be separated. At least that was something.

‘Hey, you okay?’ I asked, reaching out to touch his arm.

He jolted when my fingers brush the sleeve of his shirt and moved out of reach. It stung, but I knew it wasn’t about me so I didn’t let the hurt feelings dig any deeper.

‘I’m fine,’ he said in strong voice that failed to coincide with his body language.

I tutted. ‘What did you tell me about that phrase? I’m fine always means the opposite.’

‘It’s nothing, Reece. Drop it,’ he snapped, and that time I couldn’t prevent my hurt feelings from showing on my face. When he saw, his expression gentled. ‘Please.’

I could see that it was important to him that he process whatever had happened on his own, but I would still make myself available if he needed a friend. ‘Okay, sure.’

His relief was palpable, but still not enough to completely remove the dark cloud surrounding him. Others could sense it too. When we walked inside people kept a wide berth, shooting him nervous looks as if he was about to attack them at any moment if they drew any sort of attention to themselves.

Dorian and his group, whose names we still had to put to the faces, sat with us at a secluded table in the back of the room. I managed to ensure my usual spot beside Arty in spite of his sudden introversion. The distance from everyone else allowed me to relax a little. If anyone came for us, they’d have to cross the room to get here which would be too obvious in such a public setting. No. If someone were going to try to act against us, they would do it more discretely

Which meant nights were going to be more dangerous than days. We’d have to come up with some sort of watch schedule with Dorian’s crew.

In the meantime… ‘So, I know your names, but who’s who?’ Bromm asked, beating me to it.

Dorian pointed to each man with each name he provided, and we introduced ourselves properly. Without the pink whirlwind of a Griknot dragging our attention to something else before we could process the information, I was finally able to put the faces to the names.

Urman and Bromm took turns shooting furtive glances towards Arty, who sat as far from us as he could without actually moving away. He was hunched over his tray and poked at his food, taking the occasional bite and chewing slowly as if he were too deep in thought to really taste it.

Cadmus and Henrik chatted away as if were just a regular day, and it provided a well-needed ambiance for the table. Bromm joined in with the jokes and the laughter, and if no one looked closely they would perceive us as a regular group of cadets eating a meal in the middle of the day, getting to know one another and minding our own business.

That was until the announcement came over the speakers.

‘ Good afternoon crew and cadets ,’ Captain Hironimus’s bodiless voice carried through the room. ‘ I have two announcements. First, as you may know by now, an assault has occurred on this ship, and accusations and speculations have no doubt reached you. I can confidently confirm that I am personally leading the investigation. I already have multiple people in custody for their involvement in the crime, and there will be consequences for anyone else involved. The investigation remains open.

‘Secondly, we are due to dock at Nova Academy in one more week, but due to the ongoing investigation, no one is permitted to leave the ship. IU Law Enforcement will be assisting with the investigation, and we will remain on board until the unsub is identified and apprehended. If you have any information, we ask that you please come forward. That is all .’

Every eye in the room swivelled to stare at me. Arty scooted closer, the action seemingly subconscious, ready to act as a buffer between any attacks physical or otherwise. His hand came to rest on my knee and he gave me a gentle squeeze. His reassurance was nice but useless. He was a skinny, willowy male, and I doubted he’d be able to protect himself, let alone me. Not that there was anything wrong with him feeling protective, but I didn’t want him to get hurt because I was being targeted.

I exchanged glances with both teams as the tone in the room devolved from curiosity to anger. No doubt everyone was annoyed over not only the attacker still roaming free, but they believed he was sitting in their midst like nothing had happened, unbothered by the disruption to everyone’s lives. Catching Dorian’s eye, our silent conversation came to the same conclusion. We needed to get out of here before the situation escalated to something physical.

Sensing the change in the room and the decision that had been made, Arty gave us both a quick, jerky nod in agreement. As one we stood, leaving our trays behind to avoid having to walk through the room twice. They coalesced around me, silently shielding me with their bodies.

I thought we were going to make it without receiving more than some dirty glares and muttered barbs, but as soon as my hand touched the scanner a flat metal object flew through the air, smacking off the back of Urman’s head.

‘Damn. Missed,’ came the snarky retort from the cadet who’d thrown the tray. The remark was followed by jeers and more insults hurled at us, and I hurriedly led the way out of the room. But the attempts still came. Just as the door slid shut, a barrage of trays and food smashed against it. I could see vegetables, meat and sauces dripping down the small round window.

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait for the elevator. It was already waiting on our deck, so we quickly climbed in and stood still for the scanner to read us all. When we were on our way down, Urman lifted a hand to the back of his head and rubbed it in small circles.

‘Ow,’ he said.

‘You okay, man?’ asked Dorian.

‘Yeah, just a bump.’

Henrik stepped forward to take a look, parting Urman’s hair for a better view. ‘You’ll have a bit of a bruise. Looks like the corner clipped you, but you’ll survive.’ Huh. I hadn’t pegged him as the nursing type, but I wasn’t upset that I was wrong.

‘Like I said. Just a bump.’

The door receded upwards and we clambered out. We congregated in my team’s room, the others following without discussion or complaint. As soon as the door shut behind the last man I took in the two teams with Arty sat sulkily in a corner and Urman rubbing the bump on his head. I spoke up in a small, defeated voice.

‘I’m sorry.’

Cadmus, whom I’d previously pegged as a self-absorbed ass, surprised me with his response. ‘What for?’ he frowned.

‘None of this would be happening if it weren’t for me,’ I admitted, slumping onto Arty’s bed. It was the closest, and mine was a top bunk.

‘Nope. No pity parties. None of this is your fault. There’s no real reason why you’re being targeted, but we all know you’re innocent. We just have to wait it out until they find the real guy responsible,’ Bromm chastised, plopping down beside me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I stiffened at the contact, and before today I would have expected to eventually relax into it. Instead, I scooted further away, his arm dropping along with his expression.

That set off Foryk, but since no one had done anything wrong there was nothing to pummel to a pulp, so he settled for releasing a long, low growl. I simply did not want to be touched. I hadn’t been the victim of the assault, but for some reason I still felt utterly violated.

‘Stop it,’ Arty chided, and I was taken aback by the out-of-character anger brewing behind his eyes and how quickly it overtook his previous mood. ‘I know this situation sucks, but this isn’t helping anyone. Reece, I know you feel guilty but Bromm is right. You’ve done nothing wrong and owe no one any apologies or explanations. What we need is to find a way to move forward while keeping everyone safe. We’re all targets now, whether we like it or not.’

He was right, I knew it, but that didn’t mean it was so easy to swallow. Still, I appreciated him sticking up for me even though he was feeling down himself. The more I got to know him, the more I realised that he was probably one of the most selfless individuals I had ever met. I sincerely hoped he would let me hold on to the friendship we were slowly building.

‘And how do you propose we do that?’ asked Urman.

‘A watch schedule,’ Dorian and Arty spoke in unison, and their united front went a long way to lower tensions, snap me out of my funk, and start the real conversation we needed to have.

‘We should ask the captain if there are any larger rooms available. It wouldn’t be difficult for someone to figure out where we sleep at night, and it would be a lot safer with all eight of us in one room. There isn’t enough space in these dorms,’ Dorian proposed.

‘Okay, but what about tonight?’ asked Bromm. ‘We might be able to squeeze us all in here, but it would be a tight fit and not very comfortable.’

‘You make a valid point, but let’s contact the captain before making any more plans. We can decide what to do once we know where we’re sleeping tonight,’ Dorian conceded.

‘I can do that,’ Arty offered. The fact that he was participating in the conversation gave me hope that he’d pull through the funk he’d been in since his chat with Brin. I wanted the Arty back that I’d started to know. It wouldn’t do to have the both of us sulking.

‘Perfect. While you’ve got that covered, let’s talk watch shifts,’ Dorian continued.