Raela

Chapter 2: Waking Up

I grinned down at him, my heart filling with joy at seeing him alive and awake after so many hours unconscious. "How are you feeling?"

He made a face at me. "Not all that great. I mean, I'd like to say I'm doing fantastically well, but I'm really not. It feels more like I'm like a soggy potato than a stabbed guy."

I chuckled. "I'd be more worried if you did say you were okay. And you're not a soggy potato." I smiled at him. "I have got to say, I am really glad you're not dead. I don't know what I would have done if you died."

"Yeah, me too," Leni said wryly, quirking his lips. "Hey, if you don't mind, where are we?"

"We're on Feenk's old ship," I replied. "We're in space."

He sighed with relief. "Oh, good."

I saw his chest shudder and suddenly remembered his wound. "We have to check your, um, stab," I said awkwardly. 

His smile fell. "Yeah, I guess you should."

Glancing down his torso, I frowned. "So, um, how should we do this?"

"I'll just pull my shirt up," he offered. "It's not that high up. I think it's in my gut."

My eyebrows shot up. His gut? "How are you still alive?"

"What, are you complaining?"

"No! I'm just... A stab to the gut usually means imminent death. The internal bleeding becomes fatal if left for too long."

He smirked. "I guess that's why we're checking it, isn't it?"

He pulled his shirt up until I gasped. The wound was so much worse than I thought. Dried blood covered the area, and the actual wound itself was puffy and red, inflamed and glistening with the fluids leaking out. 

"Oh, Leni," I breathed. 

"That bad, huh?" he grunted.

I lightly touched the skin around the cut and he cried out in pain. 

"Sorry! Sorry..."

"S'okay," he squeaked. 

I shook my head. "This is... Worse than I thought." His face tightened and my eyes widened. "But, I mean, it's not terrible!" I added quickly. "It's, um, fixable."

"Don't try to make me feel better," he sighed, pulling his shirt back down. "Just tell me I'm going to die and get it over with. Like a band-aid. Just rip it off."

Shaking my head, I sighed. "No, you're not going to die. It's not that bad. I'm just... Contemplating what the best steps to take now would be."

A shadow fell over me. I turned around and saw Cahn standing in the doorway. He glanced over at Leni and a frown crossed over his face. I shot him a pointed look and Cahn looked away as though he'd never glanced over in the first place. 

"What's he doing here?" Leni asked, frowning up at Cahn. "He doesn't like me. He's mean. I don't feel safe around him. He'll probably try to kill me."

I raised an eyebrow at Leni. "Please speak like the eighteen year-old you are and not like a five year-old."

"Kiros, I got stabbed. I think I get the right to speak like a five year old for just a little bit." When I shot him a look, he harrumphed and looked away. "It's true," he mumbled. 

Chuckling, I crossed my arms. "What happened to the stoic, unfeeling Leni that I first met?"

"He got stabbed," Leni mumbled. He tried to push himself up and cried out in pain, falling back onto the cot. "He got stabbed and no longer feels the need to be all 'stoic and unfeeling', as you put it."

I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath through my nose. Seeing him in pain hurt me internally. I had seen enough death in my lifetime; I didn't need to see him suffer too. "We need to get you some good medical attention immediately." Turning around, I stood up and pushed Cahn out of the way of the entrance. "I'm going to go find somewhere to land. A remote planet or something. Maybe an station. Please, do me a favour. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid for a few minutes."

"Why do I have to babysit? He's old enough to take care of himself." Cahn whined. 

Glaring at him, I pointed two fingers at my eyes and then pointed the same fingers at him. "He is stabbed and I'm watching you."

He muttered something under his breath and ran a hand through his pale hair. 

Not wanting to deal with his incredibly annoying divaness, I rolled my eyes. "What was that?" I called, sauntering towards the cockpit. 

"Nothing, your Highness," he said in a mocking tone, sulking into Leni's room.

"That's what I thought."

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Ten hours later, I rubbed my eyes in exhaustion and sat back in my chair. Despite his condition when he woke up, things had increased in intensity; Leni had a fever and his breathing had become ragged and harsh. 

Somehow, I had convinced Cahn to stay with him and keep him company, much to his displeasure. 

"Why do I have to watch him?" he had complained. "He's your boyfriend."

I had glared at him intensely. "He is not my boyfriend. He's just a friend and I owe him big time. And you have to watch him because I'm pretty sure you don't know how to fly a ship."

"And if I do?" Cahn challenged, taking a step forwards as though to look intimidating. 

I smirked and placed a hand on my hip. "If you do, then please, prove it."

He stood rigidly for a few more seconds before glaring at me and turning around. Happy that I had called his bluff, I spun back to the control panel and continued on our path. 

All those hours later, my eyelids were drooping and I felt myself yawning. Minimal sleep was really doing a number on me, I thought. Plus the stress of having a sick and injured friend in the back and a "mentor" who hated me wasn't the best thing to help me relieve my stress. 

I couldn't remember the last time I had had a nice, peaceful sleep. My eyes closed for a second, and I jolted up. I couldn't fall asleep. I had to stay awake to make sure we didn't overshoot our destination. Since it was a racing ship, it didn't have any kind of IPS, or Intergalactic Positioning System, to help us on our journey. Most racing ships were used on courses that were clearly set out, which meant that IPSs were pretty much useless and unnecessary.

I had to stay awake.

Unfortunately, I had no such luck.

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Dear readers,

Yay! Second chapter! Just letting you guys know that exams are coming up for me, so while updates will still be scheduled to be published on Sundays, I may not always get them out. 

I hope you guys can forgive me. I'll do my best, though.

-flygirl1