Page 12 of Vikingr
My appetite disappeared in an instant. What was I doing, sitting here like a good little prisoner? I should be trying to escape.
I got up and walked to the door. It didn’t open. There was no handle, no keypad, nothing to indicate how to open it. I pushed, then pressed my palms against it and tried to slide it open, but no luck. I should have known that he’d lock me in.
“Ship, open the door,” I commanded.
“You lack authorisation,” her impassionate reply came.
“This is an emergency, you have to open the door.”
“Please define the manner of emergency.”
If I told her I was a prisoner, held against my will, would that count? Probably not.
I looked around the small room. With the table and chairs attached to the floor –growingout of it, actually – there was no furniture I could use to try to break through the door. Nothing to start a fire or at least create some smoke. Nothing that could be used as a weapon.
My gaze fell on the mushy risotto and an idea rose in my mind. It likely wouldn’t work, but what did I have to lose?
I hurriedly ate two spoonfuls of the overcooked rice and peas – it tasted surprisingly good despite the bland texture – then clutched my stomach.
“The food has poisoned me! I need medical help! Open the door so I can go to the… medical room.”
“The provided meal is safe for Peritans.”
I glared at the screen before falling back into my acting. For good measure, I let myself drop to the floor, curling up into a ball. It wasn’t hard to make my eyes tear up.
“I have allergies,” I wined. “This is an emergency.”
Seconds passed. Was the AI looking up human allergies? Or had it decided to ignore me?
Without warning, the door slid open. I didn’t waste any time, jumping to my feet and running out of the cabin as fast as I could.
This time,I turned left rather than right, sprinting along the corridor as fast as I could. I ignored the doors on either side, assuming that any escape pods would be clearly marked. There had to be escape pods. I’d not seen much of the ship, but Njal had mentioned a large crew. Surely they needed a way to get off the ship in an emergency.
I took another left turn, and another, running as fast as I could. Every time I rounded a corner, I expected someone to be there, but the ship seemed empty. Was everyone sleeping?
I was out of breath by now and deeply regretted just how out of shape I was. If someone had told me that I'd have to run for my life, I would have accompanied Pam to the gym after all. But it's not like alien abductions are pre-scheduled.
Taking another left turn - why not; it wasn't as if I had any clue where I was running - I came to stop in front of shut double doors spanning the width of the corridor.They didn't open when I approached, not even when I banged my hands against them. I whirled around, desperately looking for another way. I'd passed three doors further down this corridor, but they were the same as the one leading to Njal's cabin. Instinctively, I knew none of them would lead to an escape pod.
"Ship, open this door," I whispered, hoping the AI could hear me.
"Is this part of the medical emergency?" the disembodied voice whispered back, seemingly coming from all around me.
"Yes!"
With a woosh, the doors slid open. A blast of warm air hit me as I started running again. The corridor was similar to the ones I'd passed through before, except for exposed pipes and cables running along the walls. I clutched my side; it felt as if someone was stabbing me. I sucked in deep breaths while sweat ran down my back.
So out of shape. As soon as I got home, I'd enrol at the local gym.
IfI got home.
No, I shouldn't even think that. Of course I'd get home. If I didn't find a way myself, the Albyans would rescue me. I'd be a textbook damsel in distress and who knew, maybe my mate would be one of the rescuers. I could live my very own romance novel.
Yeah, sure. I felt like rolling my eyes at myself.
It was getting warmer the further I proceeded along the corridor. It curved occasionally, but there had been no other doors yet. Njal had called his spaceship small. We clearly had very different concepts of size. I'd been running for a small eternity and still hadn't reached the end of the ship. Unless I was walking in circles, but it didn't feel that way.
My hair was stuck to my face as heat and exhaustion made me sweat like crazy. There had to be an escape pod somewhere. Please.
