Chapter 32 - One of Us
July
“What were you thinking?”
“Oh, well—I’m sorry if, after the mayhem of risking my life to save yours, and being chased and forced to spend hours in a tunnel, I forgot to mention a little, well-known detail too—has she always been so nosy?”
“Shut up, Mack, she could be—”
“Mind your tone. All of you…”
The voices shouting in my head pause, but soon an annoying ringing noise takes their place.
“She could have died, for fuck’s sake. And don’t play the hero card with me. You probably begged Merya to take you along.”
Nope. Ringing and voices can apparently coexist inside my poor head.
“What the hell are you two doing?”
“Can you please just stay quiet?” At last, my voice joins the others, husky and weak, even if all I want to do is shout at whoever is around me, despite black being all I can see.
A gentle touch on my hand makes my body tangible again after the sudden awakening. My mind floats for a few seconds before rediscovering the existence of my limbs.
“I can’t see anything,” I mutter, struggling to form the words, gaining a giggle to my left and a disappointed growl to the right.
“Come on, Galen, she’s alive; drop the Who did this to you-look.”
The same fingertips that have woken my skin run up my arm, tracing a path from my wrist to my shoulder, pinching here and there.“Can you feel this?”
“Merya?” I think I’m smiling when I call her name, but I can’t say if it’s all in my head. “Yes, yes, I can.”
“Well, the good news is, your nervous system and hearing are not damaged.”
“What about the bad news?” I mumble, my lips peeling off my teeth in a wince of pain when I try to move my head.
“Just stand still.”
A shorter explanation than I hoped for. This cannot be a good sign.
Steps approach me. “Let me do it, please.”
Galen…
A sigh. “Sure, but it will hurt the same, whether I do it or—okay, okay. Suit yourself.”
I’m resting on something rough, slightly bent to accommodate my weight. My hands search for something familiar and find a stretch of plastic looped over metal bars—some sort of camping cot.
My breath stops when a warm, soft hand caresses my forehead, followed by Galen’s reassuring voice, “Sof, I need you to trust me. Try not to move, please.” Not that I could manage much movement right now, with this stupid headache and a half-senseless body.
“High-voltage barriers protect HQ. You barely touched it, and you’re lucky your brain is still functioning.” Galen’s touch travels down towards my eyes, one fingertip at a time.
“I planned it to perfection—”
“Shut up, Fumo.” Merya hisses, very close to me. I think she’s tried to keep her voice low, but my head perceives it like an army of stomping elephants.
My neck is one of the last parts of my body to have regained sensation. “Why can’t I feel my eyes?” I curl my fingers to contain the sudden shock of pain. My mouth is dry, and when I try to swallow, my throat stings.
“That’s what I like to call the gem of my creation—”
“Get out, Mack, now!” Galen’s snarl hurts every fibre of my brain.
“I’m sorry, Sof, I didn’t mean…” I must have winced in pain because his voice drops suddenly, but I can’t be sure because I have no perception of the space where my eyes and eyebrows should be.
“Get on with it. We need her up as soon as possible,” Merya whispers. “July, hold my hand and squeeze if you need to.”
Galen’s fingers move further down my forehead. And then—they’ve gone.
The scream is not comparable to anything else I’ve experienced so far.
It rips my heart from the inside, clawing at my nerves and skin, lacerating every cell in my body, and setting my head on fire.
Even my hand, holding onto Merya’s, is in pain.
Or is it because I’m clenching too hard?
Am I crushing her hand, and is it Merya’s scream I’m hearing?
I try to sit up, but someone pins me down on the cot, and my back arches so much I fear my spine will snap.
“Focus on your pain and use it to breathe. Breathe the pain in and out.”
“We should have waited a bit longer; she’s too weak.”
A door quickly opens and slams shut. “What on Horigos is going on? We heard her scream two levels below.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Galen barks, his fingers twitching against my skin.
I clench my jaw, preparing for another wave of pain. But, the same way they started - unexpected and unannounced - the spasms stop; I jolt upright, touching my face to check my eyes haven’t fallen out.
“Easy, Sof.” Galen is by my side, holding an empty syringe. “Open your eyes slowly. Your sight may be blurred, but it’s just a temporary side effect.” He averts his eyes only for a second, to discard the used needle in a plastic bag on the floor.
I do as he suggests. My neck is so stiff I have to throw my legs over the cot and turn my whole body to face the rest of the people in the room.
“What happ—” I wince at the sensation of needles in my throat.
Someone rushes to the cot and gingerly brings something to my lips. “Here, drink some of this. It will soothe the pain, but try not to speak too much for the next hour or so.”
“Thanks,” I’m not sure if I’m smiling—but I really hope so. “Coffee?” I ask dubiously, as if expecting a magic potion instead.
“You’re favourite—I was told.”
By the sound of his voice, the person kneeling in front of me is a man. Perhaps the stranger I saw with Jyn outside HQ. But it’s just a canvas of smeared greens and browns and whites.
“We haven’t been officially introduced.”
“Because we have more important matters to discuss.” Galen’s voice draws my attention away from the stranger.
Heavy boots approach, followed by a resolute remark.“Ahem.”
“Yes, Mack?” both Galen and the stranger ask curtly.
A short, nervous laugh, then, “Sorry, knights in shining armour, I just wanted to say, well…Not that my barrier is something to be sorry for, but…”
I know what he’s trying to say, and turning my head toward the tall blur standing behind the stranger, I utter hoarsely, “It’s all right, Fumo. Apologies accepted.”
The hazy figure claps once, or so I believe, his movements are too quick and too energetic. “Amazing, she called me by my war name—she’s officially one of us. Welcome to New Hera, July Sofia Crimson!”
For a split second, everything and everyone seems to freeze.
“Aaaand—that’s my cue. I’m just. Going. Yes. I’ll be downstairs if you need me…Gone.” The Mack-mass seems to retreat towards what I think is the door.
“Good idea,” the stranger replies, huffing a laugh. So natural and so real it squeezes something inside my chest.
There are other people in the background, including Merya.
Galen, however, ignores them and sits next to me. “You need some rest. I’ll kick them out.”
I begin to smile, but a sudden, soft kiss on my cheek shuts down all my thoughts, but one. The memory of Roden’s hand on my cheek, back in the monitors room, flashes behind my eyes, unstable as if not receiving enough signal. How about I show you the truth?
Maybe it’s the lack of sight, maybe my body is completely drained, or perhaps my senses are all messed up.
Galen’s demonstration of affection makes my heart hammer in my chest, as if he’s never kissed me before.
And hearts only beat this fast in excitement—or fear.