Lost in Time

Volume 4 Part 2: Sickly and Sodden

Vol 4 Part 2: Sickly and Sodden

"Nia! Nia, wake up!" A voice, distant and desperate, yowled in Nia's ear. It sounded like the blast of thunder from across a ravine. A vigorous force shook her and the thrum of pain that grew tenfold in a screeching crescendo in a heartbeat jerked her from the deep sleep she'd fallen into. She awoke with a start, hissing as the sudden movement sent the tempest of pain into overdrive.

Walter was leaning over her, his other hand holding a duffel bag or something strapped over his shoulder. His gaze was drawn elsewhere as he shook her awake. She mewled and pushed his hand away. Rueful, she checked if he'd opened any small piece of the wound on her shoulder.

The lantern was burning low. Must have been running out of fuel. What fuel did they use in lamps again in this time? Did they still burn fossil fuels? She couldn't care less. It took her a while for the surroundings to zoom into focus, for the crashing sounds landing on her eardrums to really make it through.

Hell was breaking loose.

"Nia. We need to go. Now!" Walter's voice reached her as the growl of a flustered lion. She didn't have to ask what was going on. She could see, more like hear it.

Wind was screeching outside, rippling through leaves like a mad devil finally released into the realm of innocent souls. Rain was pouring in torrents. Frequent flashes of lightning would light up the stark cover of darkness in the night teeming with overcast skies.

The door to the shambolic cabin was rattling, threatening to hurtle off its hinges with each tug from the elements. Drips of cold water found their way into the room through the leaking roof. That roof would probably not hold for long if the infernal wrath of the skies kept lashing at it like this.

Yeah they had to move. Fast

She picked herself up with the agility her body couldn't allow her at the moment and her step faltered, bumping into Walter. Her shoulder was killing her. Her whole arm was a hot zone. It could be that she was just getting up, and it is darkest just before sunrise. Or she could be getting worse.

The second prospect sent shudders rippling through her.

They had to find a doctor. Or in the least someone with a medical experience more than Walter, and hopefully a remedy better than medieval leaves of sphagnum moss. Walter held her up, looking into the faint glint of gilded light in her eyes. She knew he knew what she was thinking. She was furious with her body for betraying her. And she hated the fact that they were in a place she couldn't do much about it.

Back on The Nebulus, Nyra, the ship's physician would have had her shoulder under reconstruction in the bio-chamber as soon as she docked. Nanografts would have set about repairing the destroyed tissue as tubes pumped her blood with regenerative fluids to heal her from inside. The whole thing would have taken less than a day and she'd be good as new. If it were a bullet wound, echolocation and magnetic extraction would have removed it in one minute, and then fillers would have replaced the hole with synthetic tissue carved out of her DNA, before nanografts stitched it up real nice.

So, yeah. Walter could tell what she was thinking. That this place sucked. That Earth and deep space were not that different on the fundamental levels. They were both jungles. People, animals, plants- they were clustered into warring factions that were constantly at each other's throats. The same way they had to fight to stay alive in space. Everything they met was an enemy first before anything else.

Well, at least in space, he was a captain and she was First Officer of a dreadnought of pure potent power. Out here, they were at the bottom of the food chain. Even the rabbit she had for dinner ranked above her. At least it could run.