A Second Chance

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Tiredly blinking his eyes open, Tomak could see he was instilled in darkness, but with his vision that wasn't an issue. The real problem was his limited movement. He could not only feel a throbbing sensation in his shoulder and leg, but now he was aware of an aching pain in his back and a slight sting emanating from his left mandible.

Overall, he felt weak. The one thing yautja were not.

A growl bubbled forth from his chest as he gently moved his throbbing leg to hang over the side of the pallet, his arm automatically adjusting to support him as he feebly attempted to get up.

Instantly, bright lights flashed into his dilated pupils. On instinct, he jerked himself upright, prepared to fight, but sharp pain shot through his quivering muscles, like a blade churning in his flesh. He roared in agony and rage, then fell backwards onto the soft mattress.

The shadow of his executioner quickly came to stand over him, blocking the light from his eyes. As his own body betrayed him, he waited tensely for his swift demise to come.

In Rae's opinion, the alarm system had worked perfectly!

Just before falling into an exhausted slumber, she managed to get her hands on some fishing line. Then after tying it around his wrists and ankles, she attached them to the light switch. The line was tight enough that with enough movement he would flick the lights on. Of course, for it to work, she had to open up the plate of the light switch and rotate it so the switch itself was upside down. If he moved, the toggle on the wall would flick downward and the luminous gleam of the light fixture would wake her.

And thankfully it did. She watched in fear as the massive alien abruptly sat up, hissing and snarling like a dragon, before delivering a roar that would have jarred her senses had adrenaline not already been rushing through her veins from her abrupt awakening.

He then collapsed on the bedding, like a boulder crashing down on its final resting place. Rae had no doubt the springs in the mattress were crushed from his immense weight, but there were more pressing matters at hand. She was really praying he hadn't impaired the progress she had hoped to achieve in rapid health regeneration. If he had, she wasn't sure she could perform the same stimulated healing she had hours ago. She was limited in her abilities with little control over them. She had doubts of it working on him due to him being, whatever he was, but she was thankful it all worked out in the end.

Running to the bedside, and ignoring the heavy protest of her aching muscles, Rae prepared for the worst. But it was his harsh lion-like eyes that caught her attention more so than his injuries. So full of hatred. It reminded her of someone she knew, someone she never wanted to be reacquainted with again. She forced herself to look away.

In all honesty, she took pity on him. He was either a fugitive of a lab experiment that went terribly wrong or he was not from this world. Either way, he was in an unknown place, injured, and helpless. Well... not completely helpless, she reminded herself. After all, he too inflicted wounds on her as a testimony to that fact.

Anger was a powerful ally. She knew from experience. But she was also aware that given time, that powerful emotion would eventually fatigue you, leaving you alone and broken. But there was something about the way he accepted his fate with dignity that struck her. She could almost tell that as long as he lived, he would not be broken without a fight. Perhaps that's what she liked about him. He was stubborn, much like herself.

As his eyes continued to glare daggers at her, Rae shook her head, "Don't look at me like that," she spoke in a chiding tone. Hoping to impart that she didn't pose a threat, her voice softened tremendously, "If I wanted you dead, I would have left you out there in the cold, not carry your heavy backside up the mountain to perform life-saving surgery on. So, if you could do less glaring, and actually let me assess the extent of your injuries, we might get along better," she insisted. When he didn't move or speak, she sighed. "Please?" she urged, with a slight raise of her eyebrows.