Page 10 of Berserkr
He handed me an entire pitcher. I slowly began to sit up, dreading the pain in my tired muscles, but he was already there, sliding an arm around my back, supporting me. He sat behind me on the bed so that I could lean against him. His skin was warm and there was that scent again, the salty musk of the sea. I should have insisted on using the wall for support instead, but I was so tired. Not my mind, just my body.
I drank in big gulps, only realising after several sips that the water tasted strangely sweet.
"What is this?" I asked warily.
"Klav has added some essential nutrients to the H2O to help in your recovery. It will improve how you're feeling."
I wanted to question that. Wanted answers. But I also didn't have the energy. I drank some more, then let him take the pitcher away. I was still leaning against his hard, warm chest. I should move. I should lie in bed again. Or even better, I should run as fast as I could, away from this strange place, from this strange man.
"How are you feeling?" he asked again. Even without seeing his face, I could hear the worry in his voice.
"I'm tired. Everything aches. What did you do to me?"
"The medpod stimulated your body to heal itself at a much faster rate than it normally would. That takes a lot of energy. You'll have to eat a lot in the next few days, and I have instructions to make sure you drink lots of H2O. If you need, Klav has given me some painkillers to administer to you."
"Is this real?" I asked weakly. "Am I supposed to believe that you're really an alien and that I'm not hallucinating?"
"Yes. If it helps, there's another Peritan waiting outside to reassure you. She allowed me to wake you by myself before joining us. I'm not supposed to be alone with you."
"That's... scary."
"What is scary?"
"That you're not allowed to be alone with me. Why is that? Are you dangerous?"
He chuckled darkly. "Only to my enemies. And you don't count among those. On the contrary." His eyes turned smouldering. What was it with him? How could he make me tingle all over with a single heated glance?
A knock on the door made him freeze for a second. Then he cleared his throat. "Your chaperone is likely getting worried. Huginn, open the door."
For some reason, I wasn't surprised when the door really did slide open. I was starting to let go of my permanently questioning mind and was just taking it all in my stride. I could ask questions later, once I woke up. Once the hallucinations stopped. Unless this was real and I wasn't going to wake up. Then I'd be in trouble.
A tall redhead entered the room, wearing a silver jumpsuit that looked like an 80s sci-fi film costume. She wore heavy green-rimmed glasses on a freckled nose; freckles that were almost as plentiful as my own.
"Hi, I'm Shona. Steff has asked me to look after you and fill you in on everything. Do you want Rune to leave?"
He tensed, his chest turning even harder than it already was. Had his muscles just grown muscles?
I shrugged. "I don't mind. It's not like he's real."
Shona laughed and jumped on the bed, sitting cross-legged opposite me. The mattress was so huge that it was almost the size of my bedroom back home. You could have entire orgies on here without anyone falling off the bed.
"Ah, you're in the denial phase. I remember that. What's your explanation for it all? Elaborate hoax?"
"Hallucinations," I said weakly.
"That's a common one. Don't worry, you're not alone. When the human mind comes across something it doesn't understand, it'll try and make it fit into its existing framework of understanding. Since you didn't believe in aliens before you came here, your mind is desperately looking for other explanations. I always wonder what would happen if an alien conspiracy theorist was among us. Would she accept everything right away, or would she still doubt it because these aliens don't look like the ones she believed in?" Shona laughed again. "Sorry, I'm a psychologist. Just tell me to shut up when I analyse too much. Anyway, how are you doing? Steff said you had a wee accident last night."
I slowly wriggled my foot. It felt as heavy as the rest of my body, but there was no pain, no limited movement.
"Fine, I think."
"Good. If we were having a therapy session, I wouldn't accept that as an answer, but I'm here to show you a video. After, we'll talk. It might answer some of your questions."
I highly doubted that, but to indulge her, I smiled and nodded.
Shona turned to the guy behind me. "Rune, can you make the intro video appear on the wall screen? I still don't have a good grasp of your technology. I'd probably break something."
"It's impossible to break," he muttered, but he did as she'd asked.
