Page 11 of LeX

Hesitantly,Ipick up the device, turning it one way, then the other. “Whereare the leads?”

“Theyare not necessary according to the construction plansSCOUTdownloaded into my system.Thiswill sit on the top of your cranium like a hat.”

Intrigued,Imade my way back over to whatIhave deemed ‘my’ chair next toRylie.Idecide that whileIam sitting here reading, we should do another transfusion.OnceIverify everything is hooked up and working properly,Iopen the holo pad and continue on with the story.

“Keepthose big paws of yours to yourself!They’reso large they could tear my wings plumb off.Pleasedon’t take offense to that, but your size is alarming.Iwant you to knowI’mvery grateful for you taking me in and offering to help me.IknowIwouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for you.Myspirit would have been returned to theSpiritMotherto be born again another year, but it seemsIhave been blessed with an adventure outside my own world.”Shetaps her finger against her head and looks up at the ceiling like she is thinking about something.

“You’re122 years old?Imean …Idon’t want to be too forward here, andIdon’t know a single thing about fairies, if that’s even what you are, but you sure have held up well to be that old!”IknowIhave this stupid grin on my face, but she walked right into that one in my opinion.She’salso absolutely beautiful, even being just three inches tall.

Thenext thingIknow,Ifeel likeIam in two places at once.

Chapter Seven

RYLIE

Thesoundof an odd voice has me sitting up, but asIlook around,Ican’t seem to find where it’s coming from.Thelong, thin limbs of the treeIam lying under still blow freely in the light breeze.Itsyellow flowers opening and shutting randomly up and down its limbs is mesmerizing and so is the light flickering through the spaces between them.

Crossingmy legs in front of me,Igaze out at the fields surrounding this tree, just noticing there aren’t any others around.Justthis big, magnificent tree standing all alone…but wait.Weren’tthere trees of different colors before?Fora moment, my mind questions whereIam, but the unease quickly leaves as the voice once again seems to whisper all around me.

“Hello?”

Iinstantly regret saying anything aloud because the voice stops.Curiousas to what surrounds me,Iget up and push the long limbs out of my way asIstep past the protection of the tree.Wildflowersdance around me asIslowly made my way across the field, keeping the tree constantly in sight.Fascinatedby the diverse textures and shades,Idelicately touch the blossoms.I’mcaptivated by another oddly colored bloom and pause to inhale its fragrance.

Whenthe voice suddenly returns,Ijerk in surprise.Stopping,Itry to grasp exactly what it’s saying, but it’s simply words in no particular order, just the soothing sound of another in all this beauty.Timedoesn’t seem to have meaning here.Idon’t know howIknow this, butI’mnot in a hurry, or under a deadline, or even scared.I’mjust here; shouldn’tthat bother me?Unsure,Ishrug that thought off.Iglance behind me to make sure the large yellow tree is still visible, only to realize it hasn’t moved, despite me walking for a while.

Thevoice gets quiet again and for some reason that bothers me.I’menjoying the deep rumble even if most of the words are not clear.Outof nowhere, a small stream appears, andIkneel down closer, letting the cool water run across my fingers.Ashadow moves across the ground, andIlook up only to find a ghostly silhouette standing on the other side of the water.Startled,Istart to step back untilIhear … that voice.

“Please, don’t leave.IpromiseIwon’t hurt you.”

Suddenly, my arm feels cold, andIam so tired …Ifeel likeIhave been walking for miles.Ignoringthe odd presence,Ilook back at the tree, a place in my mind that is safe.Thefaint feeling of something touching my arm has me looking back at the shadow, but it hasn’t moved.

“Areyou the voice?”

“Iam.Wouldyou like me to read to you some more?”

“Idon’t know whatIwish for you to do.”Turningaway,Istart moving back to the tree, confused.Thereis something wrong, butIcan’t seem to figure out what.EverytimeIthink my mindhas found the solution it becomes foggy again.Ina blink,I’mback under my tree, sitting down tiredly.

Layingdown on my side,Isigh heavily asIfight to keep my eyes open.Ifall asleep with a small smile on my face as the voice fades away again.

Chapter Eight

LEX

Somehow,Iknow the moment she pulls away from me andIjerk the sensory monitor off with a huge smile on my face.Shesaw me, even though she was nothing but a shadow to me,Iknew the momentIconnected with her in her mind.

AlthoughIcould sense her confusion and weariness, she still understood whatIwas saying.Ifeel likeIwant to run through the ship, yelling like a youngling.Ihad no idea how muchIneeded this connection, and despite the inconvenience of my hardened shaft at this moment, this is a major breakthrough.Mybody’s instant reaction to the sound of her voice was unexpected, but a relief at the same time.Sheis in there;Ijust have to give her a reason to wake up.

Puttingthe holo pad down,Idisconnect the transfusion machine only to notice whenIam taking the needle out of her port, that her skin around that spot has turned yellow.Myfirst thought is that this is just a sign of bruising untilInotice it in other places.

Inbetween her fingers, the crease of her elbows, all around her collarbone, up the back of her neck, and around the edges of her face near her hairline is turning a pale yellow.Acouple of darkspotsIdon’t remember her having on her cheek has me reaching up to wipe them away, only to find that they are hard.Gently,Irake my fingers over what appears to be old skin and become horrified whenIsee what looks like two small scales.

“WhathaveIdone?”

Ina panic,Istart every testIcan perform non-invasively.Whatis happening to her?Isthis reversible?Ifnot, when she rouses, how will she react to the changesIcan clearly see upon her?Thehover bed alerts me that she no longer requires its advanced services and that she can be moved to a normal medical station.Iam slightly confused, because just this rising she still had multiple injuries that were still healing.Whathas accelerated her healing?Ismy blood doing this to her?Thelist of questions keeps multiplying in my mind.

Liftingthe bottom of the warming pad,Imake myself concentrate on what was a broken ankle and not the feel of her skin in my hands, asIrefuse to take advantage of her unconscious state.Eventhough she was naked whenIbrought her in,Iwas so focused on her injuries,Itruly didn’t see anything else.Thecurrent scans show her completely recovered; this leaves me in amazement.I’dbecome so focused on getting her out of that coma,Ineglected the few broken extremities she obtained in the pod other than putting them in a healing cast.Technically, there should still be several rotations before they are fully healed, and all this new data has me puzzled.Releasingher cast from the pulsators,Istand there for a moment pondering what the correct process is moving forward.

NowthatIhave found a way to connect directly withRyliein the world she has created for herself,Iam fighting the urge to push her to awareness or even to the realization that where she is … isn’t real.Wouldit damage her mind if she was to discoverthat it was all make believe?Wouldshe turn from me forever, refusing to rise from her perpetual stasis?Runninga weary hand across my face,Istep back, trying to look at this situation professionally and not personally.Technically,Ineed to get her physical form comfortable first.

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