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Meditation was soothing to me, and I tried to meditate every day. My tribe practiced meditation. I learned how when I was a child and continued the practice into adulthood. It was important to connect spiritually with the forces around me. It kept me centered, focused, and peaceful.
Tonight, however, I was having trouble. Every time I tried to let go of my thoughts, I would see Julia’s face, afraid and in pain. I opened my eyes to clear the image and rolled out my shoulders. Then I tried again. And again, her face kept creeping into my mind.
My right hand tingled, and I compressed my lips into a thin line, confused. I pressed my thumb into my right palm and tried to rub out the sensation. It didn’t work. I took it as a sign and gave up meditating. I wouldn’t be able to clear my mind, and I was tired. I could try again later.
Flopping onto my back, I rubbed my forehead and sighed. Obviously, the universe brought Julia to me for a reason. I didn’t believe in coincidences. It was no coincidence my ship malfunctioned, and I was behind schedule setting everything up. If I had arrived on schedule, I wouldn’t have been out in time to see Julia and her captors. It was providence, of a sort.
The question wasn’t whether I was supposed to meet Julia or not; it was what I was supposed to do now. Was she here so I could help her? Or so she could help me? Perhaps both. Things had a way of happening exactly as they needed to and when they were supposed to.
There was no sense dwelling on it.I’m not going to figure anything out tonight. She has been brought into my life for a reason. That reason will eventually become apparent. For now, I just need to help her.
With that decided, I drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
Julia
I sat up with a start, my heart pounding. My shoulder screamed at me in protest, and I scooted up the bed until my back was resting against the wall. I looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to remember what happened. I didn’t remember them moving me to an actual room. Last I remembered, I was tied up on the floor of a spaceship.
No. Something else happened.
Focusing on my breathing, I tried to stop panicking. I filled my lungs up and let the air slowly release. I counted out the second it took to breathe in, hold, and release.
There was something on my forehead. I touched it, surprised it was a bandage. Someone had dressed my wounds.
Too confused, I backtracked in my mind, trying to pull memories out of the fog in my brain. They dumped me in an empty room on a ship. They interrogated me, wanting to know if I or anyone else had looked on the drive. They wanted to know everything I knew about the investigation, all the information we had.
I had wanted to hold out through their questions, but it was pointless. We hadn’t looked at the drive, and we had no other leads. We had no real suspects and no information. Being quiet wouldn’t have protected anyone, so I told them the truth.
That didn’t stop them from hurting me.
I blocked that part out, not wanting to think about it. Eventually, once they were sure I wasn’t lying, they’d stopped. The next step was to kill me. They had no more use for me, and I’d seen their faces. They’d never allow me to live.
My memory stalled there. I pressed both hands to my temples, trying to remember. They had taken me from the ship, I remembered that. There was so much dust and sand. And then…
And then someone showed up.
Like magic, he’d suddenly appeared, stepping from the swirling sand. He moved with grace and ease as he fought my captors, rescuing me from their grasp. I could barely see what was happening because of the sand in my eyes, but I had seen enough.
His face. I remembered his face. He had a mask over the lower half of it, and goggles covering his eyes. I remembered him taking them off and seeing startlingly clear, very concerned, brown eyes.
Everything else came flooding back. He’d brought me back to his ship, treated my wounds, and fed me. Then he’d carried me to a bed and assured me that, for the moment, I was safe. He was the only reason I was alive.
I sat forward, testing out my muscles. My shoulder hurt, but it felt miles better than the day before. I had a few aches, cuts, and bruises, but I felt overall okay. Dirt caked every inch of me, making my nose crinkle. I scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up slowly, prepared in case I wasn’t strong enough to stand.
Thankfully, my muscles supported me. I was a little shaky, but I could manage. I took a careful step forward, and then another. I smiled, though it fled quickly. Just because I was momentarily safe and mobile didn’t mean I was out of the woods yet.
Cautiously, I made my way to the door. It slid open, and I took a deep breath before stepping into the hallway. I looked around, trying to get my bearings. It was a narrow hallway with closed doors lining both sides. The ship didn’t seem very big because I could see the cockpit at the end of the hall to the right. There were no other intersecting hallways, so I guessed it was probably a one-man vessel. To the left, the hall ended in an open space, and I decided to head there first.
My legs seemed to get stronger the more I moved. I kept a steadying hand against the wall while I walked. Soon, I reached the end of the hallway and it opened into a den of sorts. There were seats along the left wall, but against the right were several large storage containers and a desk. Electronic gadgets littered the top of the desk, and papers stuck out of the drawers.
In the middle of the floor sat my rescuer. He was sitting cross-legged with his arms resting on his knees and his eyes closed. It looked like he was meditating. I hesitated, not wanting to disturb him. Instead, I took the opportunity to study him.
His face was rectangular, with low cheekbones and a wide nose that suited him well. He had a thin face, with a wide forehead and a hint of fuzz on his chin. It wasn’t unattractive. Far from it. Brown and blond dreadlocks were tied back and trailed down to his breastbone. They were thick, ropey, and slightly frizzy. Brown pants and a long-sleeved, dark red shirt covered most of him.
“How are you feeling?”
His voice made me jump, and I blushed, but with his eyes closed he didn’t see it. I cleared my throat and leaned against the doorway. “Better.” My throat hurt, and my voice sounded scratchy. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”
