And that’s when one of them pulls a stun pistol out of his coveralls and shoots me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – DELPHI
I dream about stars. And darkness. But it’s not the sad or scary kind of darkness. It’s the gold and pink kind. Not that that makes any sense, but it’s a dream, so it totally does.
Dark and light are the same thing. And we are stars. Swirling, twirling clouds of gaseous stars.
I wake up smiling, confident that everything is perfect, my wristband buzzing a message.
My next move is a cavernous yawn, my body limp and muscles still exhausted from the ride through the forest.
But was it a forest? Was it some kind of virtual running on sped-up time?
That kinda makes sense. I bet that’s what it was.
I turn over, reaching for Jimmy, and find the bed empty next to me.
“Hmm,” I mumble. “Jimmy?” My voice is weak and low. Like I’ve been sick for a long time and I’m just now returning to reality.
I sit up and call again. “Jimmy?” This time louder.
No answer.
Sun, did he leave me? I swing my legs over the side of the bed, then fall to my knees, my legs still shaky from this afternoon.
What happened to us out there in the woods?
“Jimmy!” I yell, a little bit of panic in my voice.
But then my wristband buzzes a reminder about my message. I look down and realize it’s a message from Flicka.
Jimmy got me out. We’re getting bottled water and then we’re going to Harem Station. I have to power down now or they won’t let me leave the lockup but we should be there to pick you up soon.
“Oh, thank the sun,” I say out loud. “That’s a relief.”
I’m ready to get off this stupid station. It’s weird. And kinda creepy. And the sooner I can get away from Queenie and we can get to Harem Station, the sooner we can go save Tycho.
A sudden wave of guilt washes over me. Poor Tycho. How long have I been gone? It feels like eternity. But I think that’s because of the time shift we experienced today. I just got here yesterday so it’s been less than a day since Queenie got frustrated with me.
If she sent a message to the Loathsome One—and I highly doubt she did since that call Jimmy made was a million credits—then it’s only been a matter of hours since she found out.
“Tycho’s fine,” I tell myself.
But is he?
I’ve been gone months trying to trap Jimmy. Anything could’ve happened since then. When was the last time I even talked to him?
Shit.
Good God, why didn’t I realize this sooner? I have no idea if Tycho is safe. All this time I’ve been relying on the Loathsome One’s word that Tycho would be held unharmed until I returned.
Her word! As if that’s worth anything.
I stand up slowly, letting the muscles in my legs adjust to being used again. And then the whole afternoon floods back to me again.
What was that? Where was that?
I don’t know why I think that planet was real, I just have this gut feeling that it is. And it wasn’t part of the Boss Steed Ride. The ambassador’s confusion made that pretty clear. I should’ve questioned her more. But it’s like… like I was drugged in the forest. My mind was so confused when we came out of it. And then the exhaustion.
But that might’ve been from the weird sex.
Was it weird?
OK. Yeah. It was.
I mean, I’ve had sex with plenty of men. I’ve come lots of times. Some of them pretty spectacular, even if the man I was with wasn’t.
But I’ve never had sex like that before.
Was it creepy? Or romantic?
I’m not sure.
Maybe we just need to do it again to check?
I chuckle at my suggestion because sure… we need to fuck again—maybe a dozen more times—just so we can understand this connection Jimmy and I have.
Sounds fun!
I take a few hesitant steps forward, reaching for the door to prop myself up as my legs find their way back to functionality again.
Another yawn overtakes me. But I pull the door open and step into the hallway, suddenly famished as well as tired.
We had a very nice lunch at the cabin. Lots of things I didn’t recognize. Meats and cheeses, and vegetables. But Jimmy was familiar with most of it and he made me the most awesome sandwich out of the sliced meats. He said they were fake meats, but I wouldn’t even know the difference, really. All our protein sources back in Cygnian System were synthetic. Only the fruits were grown organically and that’s because we need them to remain healthy and preserve our glow.
There were lots of tushberries in the lunch spread. And passion limes.
It was delicious. All of it. And I ate until I thought I would burst.