Into the Black Hole

Chapter 44: Blood and Water

Timour's injuries were worse than Duarte let on. After being submerged in that water tank for days, his right leg became severely infected, and two weeks ago, the doctors on Plato amputated his leg below the knee. Due to complications, he's still in the hospital but recovering quickly. Once the surgery was complete, people were allowed to visit, and apparently, they have been. Last week, he rejected all my requests, but today, he accepted.

Entering the hospital, I spot Timour propped up on one of the beds—the only patient in this particular room. He's covered in a blanket from the waist down and hooked up to a couple machines, but otherwise he looks good, having gained some of his weight back. He chats animatedly with Eshe, who idles near his bed, laughing at something he said. Her black hair hangs down her curved back in a thick braid, while her keen eyes virtually disappear to make room for her broad smile. She's fully healed from exposure to space, not a mark on her skin.

Timour notices me first, and his smile dims, which hurts more than I care to admit. I slow my gait, then Eshe sees me, stating as an excuse, "I gotta go train. Catch you two later."

As she passes by, I ask, "Can I talk to you?"

Surprised, she shrugs. "Sure." We move away from Timour's bed, so he can't overhear the conversation. "What's up?"

"About you giving me your spacesuit—"

Crossing her arms, she rolls her eyes. "If you stopped me to lecture me—"

"No. I stopped you, because I want to say: Thank you. I don't necessarily agree with how you and Commander Renner went about it... but thank you. You didn't have to do that for me, and it took a lot of courage."

She lowers her arms. "Well... it seemed like a good call at the time. I'm strong, I knew I could handle it, it's part of the job... We did all that work to rescue you, and I didn't want it thrown down the drain... and a lot of people care for you."

I look away, curling my lip sarcastically. "Heaven knows why."

She holds up her hands. "Hey, I'm not here to question 'the why.' I simply gather the data, wrangle it, and from there, make the best decision."

"Sounds refreshing. I get so caught up in 'the whys,' I forget what's really important."

"We balance each other out." She smiles, all thirty-two teeth showing. "We should hang out sometime."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I figured you didn't like me."

She laughs. "When I need to be, I'm all business, so don't take anything I said during a mission personally."

"I get that," I understand, because I'm quite snappy during missions too—the difference is that I'm usually corresponding with somebody who I know. Eshe is almost a stranger to me; therefore, our interactions while on Titan are all I have to reference. "And I would love to hang out."

"Great, I'll call you." She hugs me, we say our goodbyes, and she exits the hospital.

Timour's expression is unreadable. I approach him cautiously, because I don't know what to say to him, if I should ask him how he's feeling. I'm scared to.

When I stop about a meter away, he says, "You're probably wondering why I rejected all your requests to visit me."

Okay then, we're getting right to it. "And why you could barely look at me two weeks ago," I add.

He clears his throat. "That too."

"Am I easy to read? I thought I was a pretty good liar."

"Not to me."