Chapter 7
Iwasn’t sure how much time had passed. I watched at least four movies and the meal cart has passed by three times, so it’s at least been a whole day. I guessed the Vepar running the meal cart decided he better not kill me and on his last pass through he reluctantly pushed a small pitcher of water through the glass. I gratefully accepted it and gulped down the whole thing immediately. I was glad not to have to resort to the sink water since I wasn’t sure if it was normal water or not. I had seen Derrial, Thane, and Corran drink water before, but there was so much I didn’t know about the Vepar that I didn’t want to run the risk.
My thirst quenched, I settled back onto the cot, picking up the tablet to figure out another movie to watch. Just then the lights in the hallway outside the cells dimmed. I looked around, wondering what was going on. I gave a small scream when a blurred figure suddenly appeared in my cell. Was it a Khonsu?
I shrunk against my wall, convinced this was the end. Suddenly, Derrial’s face briefly appeared. He held up a finger to signal for me to be quiet. His face disappeared after a moment, returning to the near invisible blurred form.
What was going on? That Khonsu had impersonated Derrial the first time I had met him. Was this something like that? Could the Khonsu infiltrate the prison? When Derrial’s face appeared again, looking frustrated, I decided to just go for it. Maybe he was breaking me out?
I held out my hand and the blurred form seemed to absorb it. I all of a sudden felt like I was weightless. I tried to look at my body and it was like I had disappeared. Something flickered out of the corner of my eye and I looked in amazement at an image that looked like me, that was lounging on the cot I had just abandoned. The fake me laid down on the pillowless cot and pulled the blanket up to her neck.
I felt arms wrap around my waist just then and all of a sudden I was moving, carried along by the blurred figure that I hoped was Derrial. I watched in amazement as we floated through the cell glass, down the hallway, and out of the room holding the cells.
We continued to move down more and more hallways until we left the building all together through what I assumed was the back entrance. I gaped in amazement as we passed through another large field of gorgeous flowers, this time all of them purple in color. They seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and I was only able to take my eyes away from them when we entered a forest. A forest that looked far different from the forests I was used to on Earth.
For one thing, all of the trees were different colors like I had seen when I exited the ship. I gasped when some of the trees started changing color right before my eyes. What was once a patch of bright, yellow-colored trees, there stood trees in a vibrant red color.
We continued blurring through the forest. I had lost all sense of fear as there were so many things to see. Small animals skittered around the forest floor. While some of them had resemblances to animals on Earth, they all had something different that set them apart. What looked like a squirrel from the back, actually only had one giant eyeball on its head. Somehow it made it even cuter.
We suddenly came to a stop in what looked like just another portion of the forest. I felt gravity again and found myself leaning over to throw up from the sensation. Hands held back my hair and softly rubbed my back until I was done. Looking up at my travel companion, I was pleased to see that it did still look like Derrial standing in front of me.
Nevertheless I took a step back from him. “What did you cook for me the morning I woke up at your house?” I asked, wanting to make sure that it really was him.
He grinned. “Pancakes with strawberries. I would have made you blueberries but I believe there was a little accident,” he said with a wink.
I gave a sigh of relief, convinced it was him. “You got me out!” I exclaimed, spinning around and enjoying the feel of fresh air after spending the last day surrounded by the stale air of my cell.
“We told you we would,” he said softly, staring at me rather intensely.
“What are we doing out here?” I asked, looking around. “It’s amazing by the way,” I couldn’t help but add.
Derrial gave me a smirk and reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a tiny black disk the size of a silver dollar. He threw it on the ground and stepped back, pulling me with him. We both stared at the disk for a second until I started to feel foolish.
I turned my head to ask Derrial what exactly we were waiting for when I heard a small popping sound. Turning my head to see what had happened, I stumbled backwards in shock. Right where the disk has been sitting, now stood a black, dome like structure.
I was speechless, and didn’t even say anything when Derrial pulled me with him to the front of the structure. Just like with the Vepar spacecraft, an opening appeared in front of us and Derrial guided me inside.
I looked around in wonder. We were in a room the size of a hotel room. There was a king size bed directly in front of us. On another wall was a table with two stools in front of it. Next to the table was a machine that resembled a refrigerator with the exception there was a touchpad in the front of it. There was an opaque glass wall to the left of us set up in front of the other wall. Through the glass I could see a toilet and a sink.
Vepar technology was amazing.
I twirled around, taking it all in. “I can’t believe everything you’ve been holding out on me,” I finally said to Derrial.
He was leaning against the now doorless wall we had just come through, staring at me in that amused way of his, like he was watching a child discover something new. “It does all seem pretty amazing through your eyes,” he finally said.
I stopped gaping and looked at him closely for the first time. He looked...exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than normal. “Is everything okay?” I finally asked.
He pushed away from the wall and started to prowl towards me until he was standing right in front of me. I backed away until my legs ran into the bed.
“What are we doing here? Why did we have to sneak out?” I asked, feeling heat start to spread all over my body.
“Are you feeling hungry?” he asked. At first I thought he meant food, but then I realized he was talking about my unfortunate newfound bloodlust. I realized that I was starting to experience the initial signs of that; the shakiness, the feeling that I was going to faint.
But I didn’t want to admit that. I was still so angry at the three of them, still so confused about what was going on, what their plans for me were.
“I’m fine,” I said in a breathier voice than I would have liked.
“Are you sure?” he said, getting even closer. His lips hovered right above mine, and it was taking all of my self-control to prevent myself from making up the distance.