Blank Slates

Chapter 28

She awoke to the sound of loud voices just outside the door, two unfamiliar males and one all too familiar female. Fear instantly seized her nerves, and before she could give a second thought, she rolled off the bed and dropped to the floor, ducking behind one of the countertops. Her head was pounding, but she forced herself to ignore the pain and focus on the situation at hand. She watched as three people entered, glancing around the room furtively. One was a tall and strong man who seemed to carry himself with a confident and commanding aura, immediately making him stand out as the leader among his companions. He wore a devilish smile and a glint of mischief sparkled in his deep blue eyes. The second was another man, this one with short red curls all over his head and of a skinnier build. His shifty eyes scanned the room carefully as he peered over the larger man's shoulder, clearly on edge. The third was Inara, her dark brown hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, stopping just at her sleeveless top which showed off her pale, slender arms. She appeared neither pleased nor agitated, but stayed close to the two men, as if waiting for them to say something.

Her breath hitched from where she was hiding as she watched them begin to rifle through the cabinets, tugging violently on the ones that were locked.

"Damn, looks like Doc locked his shit up this time," the blond remarked, following his statement with a slew of curses.

The red head examined the cabinet doors closely. "I could probably pick it if you give me a few minutes. Hold up."

Her hands gripped the edge of the counter, her heart racing in her chest. Why were they trying to steal the medicine? Should she stop them? She knew that she shouldn't just sit back and watch, but at the same time, there was nothing she could do, especially against the three of them. She'd just have to wait until Doc got back, hopefully sooner than later.

Inara's sharp eyes unexpectedly sweeping across the rest of the room caused her to duck behind the counter again, wrapping her arms around herself to try to stop herself from shaking.

"What is it?" one of the men questioned.

Inara frowned. "I think someone's here."

The sound of a blade getting unsheathed made her blood run cold. As quickly and quietly as she could, she crawled on the floor to put more distance between her and the intruders and to find a better place to hide. Turning a corner, she found two doors, the closed one leading to Doc's personal quarters and the slightly ajar one leading to a large storage closet. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught one last small glimpse of Inara before scrambling into the closet, squeezing herself through the open gap. She was about to shut the door but froze as the other girl appeared in view, not looking in her direction but near enough to hear the door close. Her heart still hammering in her chest, she backed deeper into the closet with her eyes glued ahead of her. Inara held a silver blade in her hand, the metal glinting in the light as she further searched the room.

"You're just being paranoid," one of the men scoffed, his sudden voice causing her to jump.

"I know what I'm doing, Tycho," Inara sneered in return, approaching the closet with painful slowness.

Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she feared it was audible to the others in the room. As she was scooting further into the closet, her back collided with something and it fell to the floor with a clatter. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening as fear immediately paralyzed her, permeating every fiber of her being. It must've been a miracle that the moment Inara's hand touched the door handle, Doc's voice rang out, his anger and annoyance filling every crevice in the room. Inara promptly backed away from the door, sheathing her knife and disappearing from sight, much to the hidden girl's relief.