Kur’tok tensed. He huffed, burying his nose in my hair. “Maybe.”
‘Maybe’ wasn’t ‘no.’
I smiled. “Okay. G’night.”
“Goodnight, my beloved flesh-bag.”
I woke to a shriek that pierced the peaceful silence.
Kur’tok bolted awake, alarmed and ready to punch anyone who stepped foot into the den. But his anger fizzled when he remembered who the shrill sound belonged to. Scowling, he rose to his feet and pulled me up to mine.
“Let’s go, diplomacy freak,” Kur’tok grumbled.
I sighed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Conflict resolutionthisearly in the morning? Can’t I at least get a kiss first?”
Kur’tok swiftly planted a kiss on my lips, then dragged me outside.
The scene almost made me want to crawl back into bed. Assistant 23 was curled up like a pillbug, trembling on the ground. Arr’tow and Haz’rull stood over him, confused at why he kept making that high-pitched keening sound, and why he was shaking like a leaf.
“All we did was say hello,” Arr’tow pointed out.
“Lemme talk to him,” I said. Kneeling by Assistant 23, I examined his face shield up close. It was too dark and reflective to see his real face. “Hey! Remember me?”
“No!” Assistant 23 cried. “But I remember everyone else!”
“Well, that’s good. No long-term memory problems, at least.”
“You’re all gonna kill me!” Assistant 23 cried.
“Relax. Nobody’s going to—”
Assistant 23 groaned, dramatic and loud, smothering anything I had to say. “It’s all my fault! I should’ve stopped him! Why didn’t I? Stupid, stupid!”
He slapped himself in the face shield with ratty hazmat gloves.
“Dude, cut it out,” I said, prying his hands away from his face. Geez, this guy was more melodramatic than Levi. “You’re fine. No one’s going to kill you. And will you stop it with the self-deprecating crap? You’re as bad as Kur’tok.”
“Excuse me?” Kur’tok grumbled.
Assistant 23 stilled when he heard Kur’tok’s voice. It was hard to tell exactly with the tinted face shield, but he seemed to stare right at the big red Maeleon. Suddenly, he burst into tears.
“Kur’tok, I’m so sorry!” Assistant 23 wailed, slumping miserably on the ground like a slug. “I should’ve stopped Unit44, but he kept pulling rank on me, saying I was just a dumb intern and I should shut my mouth and lethimtake care of everything. Then he messed up your brain and made you dothatand—oh, god!”
The three Maeleons and I stood there awkwardly as Assistant 23 crumbled into a sobbing mess. I felt bad for him, but my instincts said he just needed to get it all out. How many years of guilt festered inside him?
Speaking of festering guilt, I turned to Kur’tok to see his reaction. He must’ve felt a lot of complicated emotions. He looked slightly less annoyed at Assistant 23, but didn’t warm up to him, either.
“Stand up,” Kur’tok said gruffly.
Assistant 23 sniffled. He woozily got to his feet. He was taller than me—which wasn’t saying much—and looked skinny beneath the baggy suit. That wasn’t a surprise. Unlike me and my crew, he didn’t live with Maeleons, and therefore had no help to survive. How had he sustained himself all this time?
“Stop crying,” Kur’tok snapped.
Assistant 23’s wail cut short. He sniffled again.
Kur’tok took a moment to gather his words. It was a stark difference to when I first met him and he’d blurted out anything and everything without a filter.
“What you just said. Is it true?” Kur’tok finally asked. “About wanting to stop Unit 44?”
