With Arms Wide Open

Chapter 10

Pain. Throbbing, mind numbing, pain. That was the only way she could describe it. There was a time she would have said it wasn't so bad, perhaps even familiar, but it had been too long since she had last experienced it. Yet, she could have sworn it had never felt this intense, this debilitating.

Ryder opened her eyes and the sunlight couldn't have been any more unwelcome. Desperate for relief she groaned, shoving her head under the pillow, but the unrelenting assault on her brain persisted. With stiff lazy movements she pushed herself upright and scooted to the edge of the bed.

Her feet hit the floor with a thud, the slight sound enough to send crippling echoes through the empty void that was now her head. She whined, holding her face in her hands as every muscle in her body pulled with tension. "What the hell happened?" She croaked, feeling her throat crack.

"You are extremely dehydrated, Ryder. I suggest fluids." Sam said through their private channel.

Ryder cried in pain and pressed her palms to her temples. "Sam please! Not so loud! Perhaps now is not the time to be in my head."

"But I will always be in your head Ryder." He replied.

"Pleeeeease, Sam. Over the node!" She whined, falling back against the bed, curling into the fetal position under the blankets.

"As you wish." He said from across the room.

"Thank you." She muffled.

Huddled in darkness she attempted to piece together the bits of memories from the night before. She could see flashes of people packed together like a can of sardines and Umi smiling with content from more business. She remembered speaking with Umi, and giving her the 'secret formula', but after that it all went blank. The door opened, releasing a sound like scraping metal into the room followed by footsteps.

The flashes disappeared in an instant and she froze, controlling her breath to small shallow inhalations in hopes she would be mistaken for sleeping. Given the amount of pain she was in, she knew the decisions she had made last night were nothing short of poor. And their was one person on the ship that rather enjoyed punishing such behavior.

"Don't think that you can fool me young lady!" Lexi said, making sure her tone was much louder than usual. "Besides, Sam told me you were awake, so give up."

Ryder shifted around uncomfortably. "Sam, you traitor!"

"We are all just concerned, Darling one."

The familiar deep, soothing voice fluttered in her ears, causing her body to relax, but her head to ache. She shifted under the blankets and lifted her sore and weary frame, hoping the sight of her love will at least bring some ounce of comfort. The sun beamed unpleasantly as the blanket slid down her back, exposing the rather distressing state she was in to the world.

Lexi choked down a laugh as Jaal tilted his head curiously, seeing a side of her he had never seen before. She stared back at them, her hair sticking out in every direction but where it normally laid, showcasing a blue dye that tinted her skin in dripping patterns along her cheeks, chin, neck, and chest. Her lips were as dark as a black hole, growing more dark every time the contrast of her partially stained teeth reflected in the sunlight.

Ryder glanced between them through heavy swollen lids. "What?" She asked.

"Well, I suppose this makes up for some of the laborious work I had to endure last night." Lexi sighed.

"Is that...normal?" Jaal asked, taking a step toward her, scanning over her with concern.

"What is it?" Ryder said, running her hands over her face when she felt her hair standing at attention. She quickly pressed in down, running her fingers through the nest of knots that now resided on top of her head. It wasn't till that moment that she noticed the foul taste that lingered in her mouth. She ran her tongue along her lips, feeling the once plump and smooth skin now shriveled and cracked and a daunting chill ran up her spine.