Star of Sound

Chapter 7

I WAKE UP as something nudges me in the side. I jump backwards.

"It's me, Sudak."

I relax. Flinx sounds almost normal again, sedate but tired, like I am.

"What happened?" she asks.

I give Sudak a brief account and she concludes with, "Fuck."

If I wasn't so thirsty and miserable, I would've laughed. I didn't know that the translation machine had that word in its databank.

"I'm sorry, but I have to pee... I'll do that in my vomit corner," I say.

"Oh, feel free, I already did the same."

I scramble to my feet and relief myself in the corner, trying not to look too closely at the whitish droppings that must be from Sudak.

"I have another problem," I say after I finish. "I'm terribly thirsty. In such temperatures, I'd only last for a day without water."

Sudak nods her fly-head. "I'm thirsty too."

Sudak scurries to the door. I store the refilled Flinx--who is still quite mottled and will probably remain so--back in Saros's box and the shoulder bag. He sounds even more tired once I sever physical contact to him. Then I join Sudak, who is examining the door.

I hammer my left fist against it.

"Hey! We need water! Hey! Anybody!"

There is no reaction. "Fuck," I say.

We both give up and sit back at the rear wall.

"We're at their mercy, Jaiah."

"Now that Hren is convinced that I'm truly bonded, what will she do? Why did she abduct you too?"

"I don't know."

"Why did she put us in the same room?"

"To hear what we talk about?"

I look at the door. "Sorry, Hren, we don't have world conspiracies to confess."

Sudak chuckles at that.

"My throat really hurts," I say, "I shouldn't talk for a while. The more I talk the more moisture I lose."

"I agree. Let's try to sleep, that expends the least energy."

We lie down onto the floor again, and I hug my shoulder bag.

v

Just as I'm about to doze off, the door opens and the three units of Hren return. Sudak jumps to her feet and poises for attack. Her legs look like elastic springs, her antennae pierce the sky like two spears.

One of Hren's units throws two plastic balls at us. I cannot catch mine and pick it up from the floor. Sudak catches hers with her antennae. She punches the ball with her fangs and sucks.

I stare at my ball. Water is inside, but how do I get to it? Sudak sees my problem, takes my ball with her hands, punches it with her fangs, and hands it back to me.

I eagerly drink, not caring whether the water is drugged or poisoned. It tastes like water. I drink until the fluid swirls in my belly.

Sudak and I stare at Hren. I won't thank her for the water.

"Sudak. I want to know how the human reacts to your death tone," Hren says. Sudak glares back, frozen. One of Hren's units draws a gun and points it at me.

"What?" Sudak stammers.

"He starts to bleed when you issue a sleep command. I want to know what happens to him at the death tone."