Parasites by Samuels Matthew

Author:Samuels, Matthew
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The next morning Kael surfaces, feeling groggy. He’d not slept well, waking up at intervals, feeling claustrophobic in his small cabin, something that’s never bothered him before. He wipes his eyes and heads out to the small washing area, seeing Alessia in the cockpit and dimly registering Basteel’s snoring from behind the other closed door.

Cleansed of crystal grime and sweat, he fixes breakfast as quietly as possible. Slyph is awake and – of course – reviewing data on her tablet, but Tam is still asleep until Basteel lumbers out of his room into the washroom. Kael feels a pang of sympathy as he sits bolt upright and looks around, presumably wondering if it was all a dream, but he can see his shoulders relax through the thin sheet. A moment later, the engineer emerges from the partition and wipes his eyes blearily.

“Um, Kael,” he says sleepily. “Do you have any ... well, would I be able to borrow some...?”

Kael slaps his forehead. “Sorry Tam, that was thoughtless of me. Of course, I’ll find you some spare clothes right now. Help yourself to some food.”

He gestures to the kitchen and opens cupboards with breakfast supplies inside, hurrying back to his room and pulling out a few new coveralls and underwear for Tam. By the time he gets back, the emaciated engineer is already sat at the counter spooning food into his mouth, giving Kael a shamefaced look. Kael grins at him and slings the clothing onto the now-vacant bed, fixing himself some food as well.

“Thanks,” Tam manages between mouthfuls and Kael nods in acknowledgment.

What would it be like, Kael thinks, to be stranded like that? Lyran habits are hard to shake; that’s probably why Slyph and Tam are still alive, conserving resources even in the face of total abandonment. Would he hunker down and wait it out, surviving as best he could? Probably, he thinks to himself. Alessia, on the other hand, would be tempted to find a solution, some slim chance that would fix everything, regardless of habit, training, Lyran codes of conduct.

But on some level he understands; the need to have hope for the future of some kind is a powerful urge, even at the end of the universe. He snorts quietly, cutting off his own thought process as it turns maudlin. Tam glances at him as if he’s said something, but he just shakes his head and returns to his breakfast.

By the time Kael has finished – and Tam has had second helpings – Alessia and Basteel are both up and about, eating while they check ammunition, course information and reports due to be filed. Slyph is still sat hunched up on the bed, completely immersed in her tablet device, pausing only to drink or take bites of a ration bar. Kael gives her a look to see if he can get her attention, but gives up after a moment.

Alessia swings back into the pilot’s chair and takes the car from the sanctuary of the huge crystal wave, back towards where they shot down the dragon.

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