Page 89 of Star-Born Anomaly
Terror choked the breath right out of her until her vision spotted.
The memory paused, then sped up in fast forward. Wynn gasped a breath as she sat in the shuttle with other children; she curled into a ball while others taunted her; then she was in her house, being tossed into the air by her father. Squeals of delight echoed so loudly, her chest ached.
Further she traveled, to grade school, secondary school, and beyond. Her post-secondary education whirred by in a blink, then everything slowed.
She was right back at her outpost, everything as crystal clear as the day she’d lived it the first time. Muttering to herself, she frantically pulled on a UV-suit, her hands shaking. Rain splattered against the decontamination room’s doors like someone threw buckets against them.
And she was going out in that, to help the stranger to the outpost.
A cold sweat broke out across Wynn’s skin.Stars above.Whoever was in charge could watch everything that transpired between her and Iax in real time.
She didn’t think her terror could increase even more, but in this moment, her dread for him exceeded her worry for herself. The damage was already done for her, but for him? They would hunt him down.
She had to do something.
The memory kept playing; the doors opened to allow her outside. She didn’t understand how she’d completed the task the first time, with the wind and rain slapping against her body so violently.
Everything accelerated a moment, past where she tucked her shoulder under his armpit, then helped him to the door. It slowed again as they went through decontamination, stripping as they went, then sped up again to where she lowered his naked body onto Foster’s bed. Then she was back again, treating his wounds as best she could, and making him comfortable.
Events jumped ahead, and she woke the next morning, went in search of him. When she found the bed empty, the memory jerked erratically, then paused. Wynn stood on the verge of the lab’s door, not moving forward or back.
“What’s happening?” she whispered, not sure she wanted the answer.
The memory jerked forward, then back, then forward again.
Then, all at once, the memory stopped. The images faded away.
And Wynn stood alone in a small white box. Her arm throbbed where she’d dug her nails in, blood beading on her skin.
Now that they’d discovered the truth about her, she knew the worst was yet to come.
Chapter thirty-two
Alow murmur of voices pulsed against Sawyer’s back. The galley wasn’t full, but enough defenders and other warship personnel occupied the space to give him a buffer of anonymity. His off-duty uniform blended in with others, even when he took a little longer at the terminal than he should.
“What are you doing?” Colonel Biggs’s question rolled over his shoulders.
He’d lost her two decks above, choosing to use one of the smaller galleys aft of the ship instead of the main ones fore, but he’d known his alone time wouldn’t last long.
Without turning around, he tapped twice on his selection. “Ordering breakfast.” The dispensary hummed while it worked, then the back panel opened to reveal his steaming pile of proteins mixed with the ideal amount of greens, and a cup of water. He picked up both and turned.
Biggs blocked his path, her hands loose at her sides and her eyes narrowed. “You were trying to access our main systems.”
He lifted his plate and cup. “Nope. Getting food.” He skirted her with a step to the side, and slid into a seat near one of the starboard portholes, the view a curtain of stars.
It took her a moment, but Biggs followed, sitting opposite him and crossing her arms over her chest.
“You should grab something,” he said, gesturing to the dispensary with his fork. “You look hangry.” He took a bite of the hot mess that was his meal.
She glowered as he ate.
Shaking his head at her, he flipped over his hand and touched his thumb to his pinkie to activate the local newsreels while he ate. There was nothing about his trip to the planet, even in passing, though one weather report surfaced above the rest when he searched for news on Earth specifically. That monster of a hurricane continued to ravage New Asia, disrupting travel, sensor data, and routine activities. Missing person reports followed.
Bored with the same old news, he set his fork down and took a swig of water.
The colonel hadn’t moved, even her eyes, in the entire time he’d dedicated to ignoring her.
“Wouldn’t your day be better spent doing something else?” he asked.
