Starfish

Eight

Her eyes opened. The room was painfully bright, and anything beyond a few inches was fuzzy. Where am I? She tried to turn her head, to look around, but her neck wouldn't move. What's happening? Her mind dragged; ideas were hard to catch and hold on to. Why can't I move? She tried to speak, but the only noise she could manage was a thin whine. A huge dark shape detached itself from the wall, and a face – was it a face? It looked like a monster with its huge orange eyes and green skin – hovered over her. It spoke to her in a language she didn't understand, except for a few words. "Doctor Ma'atanoa?"

Is it talking to me? Did I pass my review? She vaguely recalled sitting in front of a huge desk, bigger than any desk she had ever seen. The face in front of her shone a light into her eyes and she squeezed them shut. This time the words made sense, swimming out of the murk and growing clearer with each syllable. It was a female voice, soft and friendly. "Pupillary response is negative but she's responding to stimuli, that's good!" Another voice, this one booming and anxious, thundered somewhere distant. "Is she all right? Let me in, she is my responsibility!"

The large green face shook itself, smiling. "Do you know him? He's been out there yelling all afternoon." Suddenly it blew in her face and Nina winced. "Excellent! Blink twice if you can understand me." Nina blinked twice. "Wonderful. Now, you're probably feeling a bit confused, some memory loss, and you've probably noticed you can't move. Don't be too alarmed, you've been bitten by a baby sand-skimmer. Do you remember that?"

What's a sand-skimmer? Why do the words sound funny? Who's yelling?

"Hello, Doctor Ma'atanoa, I need an answer. Blink twice if you know what a sand-skimmer is." The face, despite it's strange proportions – too long and too big to be human, with large eyes and narrow nostrils – turned to concern. "Do you know where you are?"

A memory surfaced, a huge green woman waving at a camera and smiling. "Aloha!" The green face sharpened slightly, and Nina recognized the shape of it. Not the woman, but the species. Dreen! She's speaking Dreen! I'm on Dreenai! The weeks suddenly rolled back, memories of stepping off the shuttle onto an alien world and living among its huge semi-aquatic people came flooding back. Athe, Meem, Boda, Doctor Ardus... Nina blinked rapidly, pairing blinks together. Yes! Yes!

"Oh, good! I was worried for a moment. As I said, you've been bitten by a baby sand-skimmer, you've just started to come around from the paralysis. In a few hours you should be able to move again, but you'll be weak. That could last anywhere from several more hours to a few days – I'm not entirely sure, since you're a human. Did you get all that?"

Blink-blink. Yes. Damn, what a mess.

"Great. Now, this is a university infirmary so we're not exactly set up for long-term care, but it would be a good idea to keep you overnight for observation. I have an attendant to stay with you all night in case you run into trouble. Would that be all right?"

Nina shrugged inwardly. Not like I can do anything else. Blink-blink.

"Thank you, Doctor. I know it's not an ideal situation, but-" An angry bellow interrupted the Dreen. "Nia! Let me in! Is Ni- is Doctor Ma'atanoa all right?" This time she recognized the voice – it belonged to a certain blue-eyed biologist. The green face before her rolled its eyes. "Sea gods, somebody's worried about you, aren't they? You know, it might not be a terrible idea to let him in, just for a minute, before he batters down the door. He already broke a worktable in the lab."

Nina blinked twice. He broke a table? Why? The green face left, swooping up and out of her sight. Nina heard a curtain being pulled to the side and a door open. "If I let you in, you have to be quiet."