Hunted

XXVIII. The Refuge

Serela was in and out of consciousness, hearing small snippets here and there during her bouts with wakefulness.

"How much longer?"

"At lightspeed we should make it there in another hour."

"How is she?"

"Still sleeping."

"Any sign of the First Order following us?"

"No signs on the radar. We've got Dameron and most of the fleet behind us guarding our tail. We should make it there fine."

Periodically, she felt warm hands feel her forehead and check her pulse, but she was too exhausted to even lift her head on her own. Eventually she felt both men unbuckle her from her upright position in one of the seats and carry her, one by the shoulders, the other by the knees. They laid her in a small bed where she was gently strapped in again in case they had to make a turbulent escape when and if the First Order did show themselves.

Serela did not know or care about any of this however. In her sleeping state, she was alone on an island inside of herself, dozing lazily against a tree while the sun shone high above her, it's bright light hurting her eyes and making her sleep longer every time she tried to open them. Sometimes the baby would wake up and begin to move but even that she began to sleep through, and in commiseration perhaps she felt him nestle back down inside of her in soft slumber too.

There was a vague memory of being lifted again, this time onto a stretcher of sorts, and each corner being carried by a pair of strong hands. She smelled fresh air and felt the warmth of real sunlight, trying to open her eyes but she couldn't. The exhaustion and grief was still too all-encompassing.

She heard many voices during this transition, mostly male, but there was an older female voice too, someone who sounded powerful as the other voices asked her for direction while they carried Serela.

"General, where do you want us to take her?"

"She should be brought to the infirmary to be checked and treated before being released into my care. See to it that she and the baby are healthy and then report back to me. When she is awake you may take her to see our other guests before bringing her to me."

Serela groaned slightly, trying to let them know that she heard them, that she wasn't half dead, even though it felt like it.

"That sounds like a good sign," the female voice said, "Take her to the infirmary now."

It wasn't long after that she slipped back into unconsciousness again, retreating to her private island in the middle of an ocean, her last memory of cracking an eye to see the sun, only to watch it eclipsed by the ceiling of another metal building as she was carried inside to await her new fate.

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Drip drip drip. The steady sound of water was what finally woke her from her comatose state with a start. She looked up at the ceiling, breathing heavy and trying to remember what she had dreamt about. This was not the shiny metal prison she had just escaped from, these walls were metal yes, but of a hardier sort. The walls and ceiling were solid, worn metal that looked as if it had stood the test of time for years and years.

Her eyes still felt heavy, like she was on the verge of falling back to sleep again, but the desire to wake up was stronger this time, and she forced them to stay open.

She looked down to the foot of her bed and saw that the wall opposite from her was one long window, it's surface completely covered with various greenery the likes of which she had never seen before. Fronds and vines of every kind obscured her view of anything past the first line of foliage, but it warmed her heart to see green again for the first time in months.