Icehot

5: Jameloc

Oliver woke up and tried to move, but couldn't. It hurt too much. He felt weak and contained, unable to take control of himself, and his legs and arms had fire running through them, aching in pain. So he just lied back down on... on what? Where am I? He lifted his face a tiny bit and realized he was on a white bed with a big, fluffy pillow. The clean smell of a dentist's office came to his nose. Brand new, crisp white sheets were tucked perfectly around his side, almost pinning him down, and the pillow felt like a cloud.

Before he could get a good look, he heard footsteps and for safety, decided to pretend that he was still asleep. He tried to take deep, relaxed breaths, but his heart was racing, and his mind was bombarded with questions. Was he a captive? Was he going to die? Or were these people nice? Would they give him food and water? Who were they? Could they get him back home? Did they know where he was from? Did they know anything? Did he know anything?

Before he could think about any of them in depth, he heard voices and realized there were other people in the room with him. He lay quietly, and listened. "'Ere he is," said one man with a gruff, low voice. "Found him wandrin' towards the gate 'bout noon. We gave him a war'nin shot, and he started runnin'. Thought he was a Marmy at first. Then he slowed, and we realized who 'e was. 'E came from Earth."

"Oh really?" asked a second voice that seemed softer and kinder but had a commanding edge to it.

"Interesting... Do you have any information?" Oliver could tell this guy was smart, and cunning.

"Not much—he lost consciousness just as I saw him. Just collapsed, with lotsa' blood 'n vomit 'n all. I think he saw me tho."

He realized that the man speaking had been the man he'd seen sprinting around the wall, right before he blacked out. How long have I been out? he thought. He heard more footsteps and realized that the two men were coming closer.

A fit of coughing suddenly took him over and he could see his hin, weakened body lurching with each cough that rattled through his frame.

"You must stop moving! Lie down... down..." As he coughed, his whole body began stinging like someone was peeling all of his skin off. His laugh turned into a cry which became a scream—it hurt bad. He sat up abruptly and more pain shot like a bolt of lightning through his body. He continued screaming, letting all of the pain rip out of his mouth, but his scream was cut off when a man in a white suit came running in with a syringe of blue liquid, and, while distracting him and calming him, injected him with the blue liquid.

He couldn't feel the prick of the needle because the rest of his body hurt so much, and then the pain slowly died off and Oliver became woozy. The three men began to shimmer and blur in his sight and he went numb, and blacked out again.

* * * * *

Oliver awoke again in a different room with a young girl standing over him, staring at him.

His eyes crept open like they were playing hide and seek and he jumped back a little when he saw her. When he tried to speak, the word got caught in his throat and chewed it up like he'd swallowed a razor blade because his mouth was so dry.

"Calm down, calm down," the girl said in a soothing voice. She had thick curls of hair the color of dark seaside cliffs that draped behind her slim shoulders and her eyes were a pale green, like the water in a tidepool. She wore a loose beige shirt and crisp new white pants with a black stripe at the hip, and in her hands she held what looked like a mortar and pestle. Never mind: it was a mortar and pestle, and inside it was a deep green mossy-looking medicine.

A low, rumbling hum came from an old fan on the little table next to his bed. He tried to sit up and let out a small whimper, crashing back down onto the bed. Even if it didn't hurt he wouldn't have been able to get up; bandages ran head to toe, covering him like a mummy.