Subjects

59 - I Am Not A People

Jeff is definitely not prepared to have people just walk into his room at all hours of the day. Yes, he was already awake because of another dream, but he could have been asleep! Paul will hear about this. Still, he is willing to make a small exception for this woman standing in front of him.

She is very different from the people who work here. Jeff is sure he would have noticed her before. Her pale skin, her serious and only slightly amused expression, the way her eyes assess him and make him feel a little nervous at his bad state. Her clothes are also very different from what people wear here. They look a lot more like what he used to wear when he was in basic training, only on her it looks better. On second thought, she doesn't look at all like she belongs at this place.

She locks the door behind her and steps closer. Jeff suddenly feels that he should move back, she is a little scary. Although, since he has nowhere to go to he stays right where he is. Then she takes out a gun.

"Oh, shit," Jeff mutters.

"Don't move, don't call for help, don't do anything that will force me to pull the trigger," she points the... You know what? Who am I kidding? We all know that 'she' is actually Roa. So yeah, Roa points the gun right at Jeff.

He nods.

"Do you know who I am?" Roa asks.

Jeff shakes his head from side to side.

"I heard that you had help leaving the ship on which you served. I have terminated the ones who helped you, and if you do not cooperate the same will happen to you. Do you understand?"

"Are you talking about Ben and Eva and Angie...?" Roa nods before he finishes the sentence. "You must be Roa, then!"

"Quiet!" Roa steps forward and pushes the cold barrel against his forehead. "How do you know my name?"

Jeff swallows his spit but says nothing.

"How do you know my name?" Roa repeats a little louder, but not loud enough to be heard from the hallway.

"You can kill me, that won't help you."

"It will help me finish my mission a little faster."

"Your mission..." Jeff doesn't move even an inch, but he dares to let the side of his mouth rise just a bit. "Do you think that finishing this mission will change something? You are still a soldier. Once they don't need you anymore, they get rid of you. Do you think working with them will make things better for you? They killed your brother!"

Roa takes a deep breath to make sure the words don't come out shaky. She has to finish this investigation. Whoever this guy is, he is starting to get in her head. "Did you tell anyone what you know?"

"Seriously? Are you still sticking to it? Don't you see what happens to people like us? I am living proof of it!"

Roa stares into his eyes. She is furious, but not at him. At his words, at what they mean. At the stupid technicians making fun of her family. At the scientist who murdered her brother!

"I am not a people," Roa says.

Then she lowers the gun and drops to sit on the bed beside him. What is she even doing? Sparing Angie was one thing. Sparing the others... She needs them. But this guy? What is he to her? Why can't she just finish her task? And how does he know so much about her?

Oh, of course.

He knows the other humans. They must have told him.

Jeff looks at Roa silently. His heart is beating faster than it did in any of the exercises he does here every day. Somehow, he doesn't think she is going to kill him. She spins her small gun in her hand three times before sticking behind her back, as if to prove his assumption.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this," Roa says to the floor in front of her.

"About to do what?" Jeff butts in to the conversation.

"Rebel," Roa turns to Jeff. If she were the type to smile, that will definitely be a smiling moment. "And because of a human, no less!"

Roa gets up from the bed. Jeff, being a smiley person, does smile, and a pretty wide one too.

"Come on, I'm taking you to your friends," Roa unlocks the door and turns around, only to see Jeff still sitting on the bed.

"I still need those," Jeff points to his crutches.

"Right," Roa hands them to him and helps him get up.

"You know, I always thought a wooden leg would suit me better anyway," Jeff thinks about the high-tech prosthetic waiting for him at the lab.

"Why would you want a leg from wood?" Roa seems horrified. "It sounds awfully uncomfortable."

"Yeah, so is having only one leg."

Roa opens the door just a crack and looks out to the hallway. Now there are a few members of the staff walking in and out of the different rooms, serving breakfast. Roa closes the door.

"We need a plan," she leans back on the door.

Jeff takes two steps forward to lean on the wall. Standing up is exhausting.

"Someone should come in to give me breakfast soon," Jeff says. "You can take their lab coat."

The efficiency in which Roa does just that is a little intimidating, but Jeff is impressed. They leave the unconscious worker on the bed (Jeff convinced Roa to move him from the floor) and go out to the hallway. With the lab coat on, Roa can pass as one of the facility's workers.

They decide to use the stairs, in the elevator there are two many people who will ask them questions. The only problem is, Jeff hasn't gotten to the part in his training where he learns to use the stairs.

"I'll take you," Roa says. "Get on my back."

Reluctantly, Jeff agrees. "I am very not happy about this, just so you know."

Jeff wraps his arms around Roa's shoulders and holds the crutches out of her way. Yes, he isn't exactly the smallest person in the world but Roa manages to carry him down the eight flights of stairs. At least she didn't have to climb up, that would be more of a problem.

It seems that nobody noticed the broken back door yet (Roa scoffs at the lame security, again) so they have no problem slipping out. The motorcycle is waiting right where Roa left it. She ties the crutches to it and sits in front of Jeff. Having no spare helmet, she gives him hers. Jeff wants to argue but feels that it is useless.

As they ride out of the city, he thinks how strange his life has become. It started with the alien monster making him lose his leg, and now this terrifying yet attractive alien rescuing him. Who knew?