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When the bowl was empty, I set it aside. Her eyelids drooped and she swayed again. She righted herself quickly. I wiped her mouth again.
“Thank you.” Her voice sounded better, though she coughed again when she spoke.
I nodded. “You’re welcome. I think you need some rest. Would you like to sleep?”
Slowly her eyes lifted to meet mine. I don’t know what she was looking for, but her eyes searched my face for several moments. Finally, she nodded. “They’ll come back for me.”
“I assumed so. It’ll rain for a long time. They won’t come out in that. You’re safe right now.”
That seemed to satisfy her. “Sleep would be nice.”
When she slid off the table, I reached out to help her. She tried to put weight on her feet, but they crumpled. I lifted her into my arms. Her body tensed, but she didn’t complain or try to stop me. I carried her from the lab down to the bedroom, kicked the door open, and placed her onto the bed.
She winced and I felt bad, but I was trying to be as gentle as possible. I tugged her shoes off and set them on the floor, and then drew the blanket up to her shoulders. Her eyes watched me, not quite as sharp and alert as before, as if she was already fighting off sleep.
I smoothed the hair from her face and smiled softly. “Sleep. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“Thank you.” Her mouth curved, as though she was trying to smile, but it never fully formed.
When I turned to leave, she spoke again. “I’m Julia.”
Her voice was low, but I caught the words. I smiled at her again over my shoulder. “My name is Ethan. Rest, Julia.”
With that, her eyes closed. I left the room quietly and shut the door behind me. I stood in the hallway for several long moments, thinking. That had certainly been an unforeseen turn of events.
I was hopeful that when Julia awoke next, she would be able to tell me what was going on and why these people wanted her dead. I knew the more information we had, the better prepared we would be. I didn’t want to fight, but I wouldn’t back down or run away. Julia was obviously the victim here, and I was now involved whether I wanted to be or not. I wouldn’t turn my back on someone in need, not even a cop.
With that decided, I moved through the ship until I reached the cockpit. Andy had a display pulled up of the sensors. He typed away on a screen, and I dropped into the seat next to him. “How’s it coming?”
He didn’t spare me a glance. “The sensors are currently scrambled. I am attempting to program the estimated level of electromagnetic interference from the storm so the computer can compensate. I am uncertain if it will work. However, it is a plausible theory, and while it may not cause the sensors to function fully, it may work to a degree, giving us a slight edge.”
So, the ship’s sensors are probably going to be useless. Getting them to work again had been a long shot anyway. As soon as the rain stopped, those men would come back, and with my equipment set up not far from the cave it would be like a homing beacon. Even if they didn’t have functioning sensors, it wouldn’t be hard to find the cave. I hadn’t chosen this spot for its concealing capabilities; I had chosen it because it would provide sufficient shelter from the rain.
Stress started to creep up on me, and I forced my muscles to relax. Stressing out wouldn’t help anything. “Do what you can. If you can think of anything else that might help, let me know. I’m going to shower and rest. I want you to remain vigilant to anything approaching outside the ship. If you see even a possible sign of a human or danger, wake me up immediately.”
Andy nodded. “I will do that. How is our guest?”
I scratched at the back of my head, sighing when I felt dirt press under my fingernails. Sand made everything uncomfortable. “Julia is sleeping. I want her to sleep as long as she can to regain her strength. She is rather weak.”
“What are we going to do with her when she wakes?”
I pressed my lips together. “Protect her, Andy. We’re going to protect her. And help her. Understood?”
“Yes, Ethan.”
Confident Andy could look after things, I stood up and headed for my room. As far as androids went, Andy was top-notch. We had been working together for a year now, and I had learned to rely on him. It wasn’t the same as having a human partner, but sometimes, like now, it came in handy. He could stand watch all night and would know long before I did if someone was close to the ship.
I stepped through my bedroom and into the attached bathroom. I stripped off the dirty, dusty clothes and dropped them into the bin. I turned on the water and stepped under the cold spray, scrubbing away at my skin and hair. There was sand everywhere. I didn’t mind the stormy weather so much—could enjoy it even—but I loathed sand. It was unpleasant and virtually impossible to get rid of.
Eventually, I scrubbed my skin clean, until it was back to its normal brown tone. I watched the water turn from murky to clear as it hit the floor. That would have to be clean enough for now.
Stepping out, I toweled off before pulling on fresh clothes. I pulled a shirt over my head and tugged the sleeves down to be sure they covered my arms. I wasn’t embarrassed by my tattoos, but it would probably be best not to show them to Julia immediately.
I fingered my necklace thoughtfully. I could take it off while she was on board. Put it away so she wouldn’t see it and ask questions. But I never took it off. And it didn’t define me as a person. If she saw it, she could ask me about it or she could choose to ignore it. But, given her precarious circumstances, if she saw it, she might feel unsafe or threatened. I wasn’t a threat to her, and if I was going to help her then I would need her trust. Not her suspicion.
Pressing my lips together, I dropped the necklace under my shirt again.Just for now.
I left the bathroom and crawled onto the bed. I sat cross-legged in the middle of it and closed my eyes. I breathed deeply, slowly pulling air into my lungs and pushing it back out. I focused on clearing my mind of all distractions.
