Page 48 of Indentured Companion
“Boss, she doesn’t seem to be faking it. Her vitals are all over the place.” I’m curled up on my side and listen intently. “We might need to get her to sickbay to sedate her.”
“No!” I howl up at the camera. “Any drugs you give me will be in my blood and hurt him! He-he will already be weak because of our separation. You could kill him! No drugs. D-do you hear me? No dru-ah.” I arch against the floor and scream in pain. It’s getting worse. I feel like I’m dying. Like my veins are trying to rip themselves free from my bones. Fuck. I’m cold but I’m on fire and pouring with sweat.
The door opens and I loll my head to the right to look at the man now standing over me. My vision is blurry and my brow is beading with sweat, but I can tell he’s a Sacron. His is wearing black leather boots, brown trousers, a blue sash slung across his hips, and a billowing white shirt. He has crimson skin, four arms, all of which are reaching down to scoop me up. As he adjusts me into his arms to hold like a bride, I see his irises are yellow with orange streaks. His neck frills are huge, have yellow spines, and they are flared with alarm like a leathery mane.
“I’m taking you to our sickbay.” He speaks to me and turns to carry me towards an elevator.
“Take me back.” I beg him, shaking with pain. “I need the Dynast.”
“Youlooklike you need rehab. What has he been giving you?” I scowl through my agony at the nerve of this fucker. He’s passing judgement on Vrajan?
“Symbiosis.”
“Is that a drug.”
“It’s a biological harmonyyouhave interrupted, because you have no idea what you’re doing.” He shoots me a look like I might have a point. At least he doesn’t appear to be a stupid kidnapper.
“Look, as soon as we have our payment from our employers, we’re going to give you ba-”
“How long have I been here, because depending on that answer, I might not live long enough for you to get paid.” My body punctuates the point with another sledgehammer of agony to my head. I wail like a banshee, and even with four arms, he struggles not to drop me. His frills are wide around his head and he is horrified at what he’s seeing. He isnotas scared asIam, trust me. Fuck. I’m dying. I’m actually dying. He steps out of the elevator and starts jogging towards his destination. Absently I notice there are other Sacron peering out of various rooms as we pass them at speed, but I can’t focus on them. The world is difficult to perceive through the pain tearing through me. “M-my body is shutting down.”
“Hold on.” He barks down at me like an order. “We’ll sedate you and help you detox from whatever this is.”
“You have no fucking clue what you’re taking about.” I seethe, scared and furious, and this fucker’s the cause. I struggle to lock into his yellow eyes, but I manage it. “I’m supposed to be weened off gently from his venom. Slowly. Y-you’ve forced me to go cold turkey and my organs are dying. You’re killing me.” He scowls and lowers me to a metal table. It’s freezing, but it barely touches the sides of the barrel, with how much pain I’m in.
“Like I said? We’ll sedate you and-”
“Unless you’re a doctor with experience in Korvis symbiosis in the feeding companion, you have no fucking clue if what you give me will kill me.” The crimson Sacron pauses his hands over the medical station beside me. “And even if it doesn’t? It might kill the Dynast. No drugs.” I need Vrajan. I need his bite. His venom. His touch. I need him.
“But-” He turns with a syringe in his hand, and I manage to fling a hand out to slap it from his.
“NO DRUGS!” I scream and spasm through another tsunami of torture in my veins. I’m sweating so badly it’s leaving damp spots on my dress.
“Boss? What’s all the commotion?” Huh? I turn my head and see my sister stood in the doorway to this sickbay. Great. I reallyamdying. I’m hallucinating. Her blue eyes are wide as she looks at me, and the rainbow coloured shawl she’s wearing slides down to the floor. “…?!?!?”
“Cas, go back outside.” He booms with anger at my hallucination to leave…but then, ifhecan see her…then she isn’t a hallucination.
“Cassie?” I whimper, and she snaps out of her shocked trance.
“Val!” She cries out and runs towards me. Her hands are cool against my damp cheeks as she comes to my side and examine me. “Oh my God. Wh-what happened?!” I want to answer her, but pain claws through my eyes and chest and I cry out in agony. I writhe in her arms, and she almost cries harder than I do. “What the hell happened to my sister?!”
“Your…sister? She’s yoursister?!” Cassie looks to the red Sacron with horror…and then betrayal.
“Did you…take that hostage job? Did youkidnapmysister?”
“Cas, I didn’t know.” He sounds panicked and tries to touch Cassie’s shoulder, but she shrugs him off. “I swear to you, if I knew she was your sister, we wouldneverhave-”
“Don’t fucking touch me.” Woah. I can’t remember my sister swearing, but she has a scowl that is as formidable as mine normally are. “Valerie is my sister, but even if she wasn’t, she would have been someone else’s sister. Someone else’s daughter. You promised me you wouldn’t take the job.”
“I am Captain of this crew, and I will take on whatever job is in the best interes-”
She slaps him. If I could have, I would have grinned and given her a high five. “…Cas, please I-” He reaches for her, and she raises her hand ready for another slap.
“I can’t put into words how much you have broken my heart right now,Captain.”He seems to sway on his feet with the impact of her words. “But right now my sister needs medical attention. Get us to a doctor, right now.”
“No doctor.” I take hold of Cassie’s arm, struggling to focus on her through the fog creeping into my mind. I think I’m about to pass out, which terrifies me, as I’m not sure I’ll wake up again. “I need the Dynast. No drugs. Just him. I’ll die, Cas. W-we both will.”
“What?!” Fresh tears well up in her eyes. I see old pain there flare to life. For her, this might be like losing mother all over again. “N-no. No you can’t die Val. You’re all the family I have left. You can’t. I-I won’t let you.”
