The last vow

Chapter 11 - Bulma

Bulma turned on her mattress for what must have been the twentieth time since the beginning of the curfew. She cursed out loud the lizard, which she held entirely responsible for her misfortune. She was cold, her back hurt, and she didn't have a shower in over two days. And anyone knowing Bulma Brief a bit knew that she didn't tolerate going to bed without her daily selfcare, and that she even less tolerated beds when they weren't comfortable. The mattress beneath her body wasn't thick enough to keep her hips from touching the metal floor she'd been lying on, and the small sheet she'd been given as a blanket didn't do much good against the 15 degrees Celsius which permanently reigned in the dormitory. The huge Saiyan who had forced them to strip had not been joking when he said that Frieza preferred to keep cool temperatures on the ship.

Unable to rest, the young woman turned around again, heaving a long sigh.

"Chi-Chi" she whispered towards the figure to her left.

There was no response. She curled up under her sheet to find a position that would allow her to limit heat loss.

"Chi-Chi" Bulma repeated a little louder. "Are you asleep? I just can't... I'm completely frozen."

The figure beside her began to move in the darkness.

"Impossible." replied Chi-Chi with a growl. "How do you expect me to sleep if you sigh and ask me the same questions every five minutes?"

Bulma smiled at her friend. Although she wished Chi-Chi hadn't been taken on the ship, the reassurance of hearing her disapproving voice felt good. Far from her home, her family and her comfort, having her best friend by her side made the experience of being a hostage a little more tolerable. And she knew the feeling was mutual.

Determined not to let Chi-Chi fall asleep before her, the young woman moved on her mattress to get closer. The dormitory they were placed in was large, and most of the hostages had already left for their new duties. There was little risk that her saying would be heard, but she still wanted to take the necessary precautions.

"Do you think the south entrance is guarded like the one we got in?" Bulma asked her friend.

"Bulma Brief" replied the latter. "You are still making plans to escape, don't you? Stop it." Chi-Chi growled sleepily.

"Why not? I want to return to Earth. I'm so cold! And I need a shower! And my flannel pajamas! I'm not going to stay here and do nothing about it!"

"Damn... You can't be serious... Do you really think it's time to be a princess?"

Bulma tightened her sheet around her body, offended at having to justify herself. In the last days, she had done her best to suppress her complaints and comply with the demands of the soldiers who kept them captive. But time was starting to take its toll, and with all the adaptation she had to face, her personality was coming back at a gallop.

"I'm not precious!" she growled. "I have justifiable demands, and I want my rights to be respected, that's all. I will not accept being treated like this for long. I'm tired of being locked in this dorm without anyone telling us anything. And look who's talking, Chi-Chi! I know you also think about escaping."

Her friend's silence was revealing. Although more rational than the blue-haired woman, she too had this feeling of revolt bubbling inside her since they had been forced onto this ship.

Bulma took the opportunity to share her ideas with her.

"The South door is only guarded during the meals distribution." she added. "We could take advantage of periods of guard change to sneak out. I bet I could easily find a space pod and pilot it."

"And where are you going to find this space pod, huh?" Chi-Chi said quietly. "Bulma, we don't know anything about this ship, and we're talking about Frieza's Imperial ship, here. I am sure that there are plenty of surveillance cameras and that it is equipped with a high-performance security system. And even if there are no soldiers at the south gate, this place is teeming with guys ready to jump on us if we escape. It's a suicide mission."