Page 33 of HaL

After a few more grumbles, he finally turns. For a moment, I think he’s taking me back to the medical wing, but instead, he leads me down a darker hall. That’s when I notice the marks gouged into the walls … deep scratches and grooves that seem to grow more numerous the farther into the mountainside we go.

With every step deeper into the passage, the tension slowly leaves his body. His movements become looser, his breathing steadier, and something about him seems to settle. Whatever this place is, it’s clearly familiar to him. And somehow, that makes me feel safe enough to look around.

“HaL, did you guys carve these openings?”

His voice comes out rough and scratchy.

“After training with my brother, I had grown accustomed to the noise of many, only to return to Hallister and live once again in silence, seeing Troza only occasionally.

One day, while patrolling the edge of the frozen lake, I fell into a crack in the ice, only to discover a vast opening beneath it.

With MeK and SCOUT’s help, we mapped the labyrinth of caverns hidden below. Some were connected, while others linked together through narrow passages. Using some of MeK’s inventions, we began the slow work of carving out a permanent home for my kind. Once the caverns were ready, he devised a procedure that hardened the ice until it became as enduring as stone. What began as little more than a handful of us scattered in the cold darkness soon became something far greater.

Word traveled.

Season after season, more of my kind came, drawn by the safety of these frozen halls. With each new rising, the settlement grew with more voices filling the caverns, all drawn to the warm lights glowing beneath the mountain. What had once seemed an unlikely refuge slowly became something more, a place we could finally call home.”

“I remember you telling me that your people tend to keep to themselves, so I imagine it wasn’t an easy decision for anyone to step outside their comfort zone and take a chance on coming here, relearning everything they had always known.”

“Our race was dying, and even though Hallister is not as large as most planets, the terrain is a natural barrier that my kind have learned to use as camouflage. If you are alone out there and do not want to be found, it is easily done. But when the ones who started gathering soon found their mates, more came, hoping to find the connection we all secretly wanted.”

“You had to have been disappointed that your own had not been revealed.”

“Dawn, until I saw you on ANDI, I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on it. However, the calmness I normally felt after arriving home from Ethra never came. I caught myself searching the skies, an ache inside me reaching out, searching for something I had no idea I was looking for.

Now I know it was because the bond had started the moment I touched you, but I simply did not realize it. I never dreamed you could be mine, little Roja. And now that I am holding you in my arms, I’m having a hard time convincing myself that you are real.”

“Oh, you say that now but give it a couple of years, and you’ll be down at the bar … drinking a tall cold one, ragging on the old ball and chain waiting for you back home.”

HaL stops in front of a doorway at the very end of this passage. His head is tilted slightly sideways, and I can’t help but laugh as I can tell he is trying to replay my words back in his head.

“Sorry sweetcheeks, I didn’t mean to throw all that Earth slang at you. What I meant to say is that in a few years you’ll be sick of me.”

He draws me closer, his fur bristling as a look of raw, shaken fear overtakes his beautiful face.

“Never,” he breathes, his voice trembling with the weight of a vow. “Never. You are a blessing sent to me by the Lord of Light, and I swear, with every rising I am granted, I will spend it providing for you, protecting you, and caring for you as you deserve. From the moment I lifted you from the snow outside that pod, nothing has mattered more to me than keeping you safe in my arms. I would tear down everything I have and sacrifice everything I am if it meant you would be spared. There is nothing in this world more precious to me than you.”

His grip tightens, as though the world itself might try to tear me away.

“You honor the gifts placed in your hands,” he continues, trembling with something between reverence and desperation, “or they are taken from you. And I will not survive another season without you, Dawn. Not now. Not after this … us… the knowing … your smell, the feeling of you in my arms. The sound of your voice and the echo of your laughter. Never again can or will I choose to leave your side.”

“So, what you’re saying hot stuff is that we’re going to stay in the honeymoon phase for life? Because honestly, that sounds like a dream I could get very used to big guy and I’m definitely in if you are too. Now tell me, are you taking me somewhere special, or are we just hanging out here in the hallway? Because right now I can barely feel my nose … and I think I might need you to warm me up, that is, if you’re up to getting all frisky?”

If a Yeti could blush, I believe HaL just did. My laughter echoes through the cavern until I hear a female voice come my way when the door suddenly slides open. “HaL, you sure know how to keep a girl waiting.”

I catch myself turning quickly in his arms, jealousy flaring at the flirty familiarity this woman seems to have with my abominable snowman. Until I see who it is and joy surges through me. “SAGE! How are you here? HaL, sweetie, put me down.”

SAGE’s small holo form bounces excitedly, waiting for HaL to steady me. “Hello, Dawn. I am happy to see you are healing well. Are your legs bothering you?”

“No, the big lug just won’t let me walk.”

“They do provide the best transportation. I have witnessed it multiple times.”

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see a familiar face.”

“I am here because SCOUT thought my assistance might be needed after he scanned the interior of the compound. It’s a good thing I placed an order in advance, since I was able to quickly add some much-needed items to the delivery scheduled to arrive today. If traced, it will show it was placed way before you would have arrived.

Once HaL gave me the okay to spruce this place up, I sent him on his way and grabbed a couple of the cargo bots from the shuttle bay to help me with the heavy stuff. Unfortunately, most of your clothing and personal items from ANDI will not be here for a couple more risings, as I had to hide them in the next few shipments, but I do believe I was able to at least make you comfortable until then.”