I blink again and again, waiting for his words to make sense. They never do. “Tvr, this is the best news anyone has ever given me.” I look at Adam, who is watching me with a soft smile. “So this is it? We…we’ll both be fine? Just like that?” It doesn’t feel real at all.
“It seems so,” Adam replies, sounding a little shell-shocked himself.
“You will still have to stay here for a few more weeks,” Vailon warns, turning to Adam. “However, provided you continue to cooperate, you won’t have to be confined to one room anymore.”
My heart thumps painfully. “We can explore the ship?” This. This is what I wanted. Freedom for Adam, even if it still comes with a few asterisks. Of course, we could have escaped or I could have asked Steven to break us out of here. We could have been free together, outside of the UGC’s area of influence, officially on the run, but it’s highly unlikely someone would actually chase us. However, that’s not what Adam wanted. He wanted to do right by his people, to be accepted by them, even if it bore the risk of losing his freedom forever. But now that threat is gone. He’s going to be fine. I’m going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fan-fucking-tastic.
“Yes, you’re free to move around the common areas of the ship,” Tvr confirms, but I barely listen. “I recommend visiting the southern bio-dome, there’s…”
Ignoring him, I throw myself at Adam and miscalculate how far I can go without the support of my legs. He catches me before I tumble to the floor, wrapping me in his arms and bringing his mouth to mine. Our kiss is sloppy and desperate, like we’re trying to convince ourselves the other is still here. That everything we just heard is true. That we’re going to be okay.
There’s a chuckle and rustle of moving chairs. “We should probably give them privacy,” Tvr says, amused.
“Probably,” Veilun agrees, less enthusiastic. “Mr. Collins?”
With an annoyed huff, I pull away from Adam to glare at her. She smirks before her expression softens into an actual smile. “The item you’ve been asking about has been delivered to your room. Fully paid for. Congratulations.” She leaves before I can muster a response. I haven’t asked her for anything, have I? No, I’ve barely spoken to her. However…
My eyes widen as I realize there is one thing I’ve been asking the ship’s shopkeepers about, but none of them had it in stock. It was also expensive, especially for someone who doesn’t have a galactic unit to their name. How did she even know? More importantly, why did she make sure I received it?
“What was she talking about?” Adam asks curiously, his hands massaging my back as he holds me.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” If Veilun was talking about what I think she was talking about, then it’s a surprise for Adam. “Let’s head back to our room. Maybe we can look around the ship after that?”
Adam grins. “Don’t you have physical therapy scheduled?”
Dammit, he knows my schedule. “I can miss it this time. I’m sure my therapist won’t mind.” She’ll be livid and will probably murder me next time.
“No way. You’re going. I can come with you, though, if you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind in the slightest, but I promise you’re going to regret that decision.”
Afewhourslater,sore in places that have no business aching after an hour of simple stretches, we finally set off to explore the Salvere. The ship is gargantuan, filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people. Not just the medical staff and their patients, but also lots of support staff live here. Mechanics, shopkeepers, beauty service providers, or cooks and bakers for those who don’t want to eat from dispensers. Most of the menial labor, like cleaning or laundry, is done by automated systems, but even so, a baffling number of people live their entire lives aboard this ship.
I’m back in my hoverchair, mainly because Adam is already getting enough stares, and when he carries me, people think he’s dragging me off to his lair to eat me. After centuries of isolating themselves and not caring about the rumors circulating the galaxy, the Wehdi truly have a terrible reputation.
The second reason, one Adam wouldn’t admit but I can see clearly, is that he’s tired and sore from the physical therapy he attended with me. Even a dangerous predator who spent five years surviving in the jungle crumbles when faced with my therapist. She truly is evil. I’m tempted to tease Adam with a well-meant “I told you so,” but the view that opens before us as we leave our building quickly makes me forget what I was going to say.
It feels like a city. An unfathomably massive open space takes up most of the ship, and the holographic sky projection, complete with a moving sun, drifting clouds, and even the occasional bird, makes it difficult to believe we’re inside a steel box flying through space. Buildings dot the space, some containing living quarters like ours, others housing shops and entertainment venues. Along the sides of the hull are patient wards, surgical suites, doctors’ offices, laboratories, and other spaces that remind everyone this is a hospital first. Out here,though, it feels like walking through the downtown of a regular city.
Aliens walk the streets or glide by on hoverchairs. For a regular community, the number of hoverchair users and people looking sickly or otherwise unhealthy would be vastly disproportionate, but for a flying hospital, it fits. We pass by a playground where a mix of alien children of all shapes and colors play together. Some are wearing casts or bandages, some are missing limbs. Some move slowly, exhaustion etched into their features, while others dart around like squirrels on caffeine. They all look happy, though.
“This is amazing,” I say, reaching for Adam’s hand.
He takes it, his eyes darting as he absorbs everything around us. “It is,” he agrees, his voice a little shaky.
Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed him to come out so soon. He spent five years alone in the jungle, and he’s still deeply worried about the red fog returning and making him hurt someone. Seeing all these people might be too much for him.
“Hey, we can go back if this is too much. I don’t want you to—”
“I’m not nervous about the people. Well, maybe a little,” he adds with a wry smile. “My legs just fucking hurt.”
That tears a laugh from me, so loud it has several heads turning our way. Still, I can’t stop laughing. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be that type of guy, but I totally told you that you’d regret coming with me!”
Adam huffs. “I thought you were exaggerating. Karetelans are not supposed to be mean, but your therapist is—”
“A bitch? Yeah. I have a suspicion she’s just posing as a Karetelan to lure in new victims.” I slide my thumb over Adam’s wrist, reveling in the way he shudders. “She does have results, though. And if that gene therapy works…” I’ll be able to use my hands properly again. I’ll be able to do anything, which brings up the big question. What am I going to do?
I never gave much thought to the future. What was the point? I was going to die anyway. There was no point in wasting money on college, especially since the finances were already tight with all the hospital bills. Plenty of careers would have been accessible to me even with my disability, but I never really considered them.
