Chapter 50
Cassie
“Eleri and S’samph are growing an egg. I just found out yesterday.” Cassie sat against the tank talking to something that looked like a cactus. “Canary was a latil’e-human hybrid. I didn’t know her very well though.”
?rim’s energy core still pulsed a steady rhythm at the center of the forming body structure. She knew it wasn’t really him. Aglao said it was possible he reformed physically, but nothing else. Cassie wasn’t sure what she would do if she was forced to look at him and he wasn’t even there.
It had been almost two weeks since S’samph had assumed responsibility for her. He had taken the door to the room off its hinges after she kept locking it. Eleri brought up a tray with some food twice a day. K’kaen sat with her and told her stories about his home planet.
The thud of footsteps drew her attention away from the tank.
“You are still alive. Did you eat?”
Cassie glared at S’samph who ignored her and glanced at her mostly full plate of food for his answer.
“Let me see your arms.”
Her face burned at the indignity of it all as she held out her forearms for inspection. S’samph’s frill lifted. “It is time for your daily physical activity to improve human stress hormone levels.”
“No.” Cassie finally spoke after days of stubborn silence.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I don’t want to go outside. It’s pouring rain.”
“Then I will carry you.”
Eleri appeared in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “S’samph, what did we say about manhandling humans?”
“I am not a man. There is no manhandling. It’s time for Cassie’s mandated outside movement time. She is refusing.”
“It’s the middle of flooding. Do you want her to get soaked and freeze to death?”
“The IA mental health modules indicated outdoor physical activity was essential.”
“Can I have my door back?”
“No,” they both responded in unison. Cassie got the thin blanket from the bed and threw it over her head before retreating behind the tank.
Eventually, S’samph relented and left her alone in the tank room. She knew he or someone else would be back. Every two hours, someone came to check on her, even in the middle of the night. At least it wasn’t every thirty minutes anymore.
Cassie shook the blanket off and turned back to the cactus clump of blue crystals. “I’m going to open the window, ok? I want to see the rain.”
She stood on the bed to open the small window. Water droplets blew in, hitting her in the face. The air smelled clean, but there was no lightning on Cassiaq-IV.
Later that afternoon, Cassie decided she’d had enough. She emerged from her doorless room with a purpose. Eleri covered her mouth, poorly hiding a shocked expression. Cassie couldn’t blame her exactly. It was the first time she’d left her room voluntarily in weeks.
“Is everything ok, Cassie? Do you need something?”
“I want to talk to S’samph.”
“He’s at his office. He should be back this evening if you can wait until then.”
Cassie shook her head. It had to be now. Before she lost her momentum. If she waited until this evening, the clarity and anger would fade.
“If she wants to go, I can take her.” K’kaen jumped off the counter where he was sitting. “I’ll get the boat. Stay inside where it’s dry.”
“You need a rain cover.” Eleri handed her one hanging by the doorway of the clinic. Cassie accepted it, still not entirely sure what she was going to say, but she needed some sort of compromise. She’d tolerated the invasiveness for long enough.
K’kaen had brought the boat up to the clinic’s entrance and offered a hand and his tail to help her balance long enough to step inside.
They floated in silence down the flooded main street.
It only took a few minutes to get between the clinic and the security office, but the rain made it feel so much longer.
Even with the rain cover, Cassie could still feel water seeping into her clothes and her boots.
After K’kaen dropped her off and went to dock the skiff, she sloshed her way into S’samph’s office.
He muttered under his breath as he input something into his outdated holoterminal.
Cassie lingered in the doorway, already feeling some of her earlier determination waning.
Finally, S’samph glanced up from his work, frill lifting as he stared at her.
“You’re soaked, Cassie.” His eyes narrowed as he reached under his desk for the same towel he’d given her that day after the canal and tossed it at her.
It hit her directly in the face. Cassie spat out a mouthful of towel and then used it to mop up some of the rain from her hair.
He didn’t say anything else, just waited for her to get her bearings.
She put the damp towel down on the chair before she sat.
“We need to talk.”
“We are talking.”
“I want my door back.” It sounded childish when she said it. She wished she had half of Rhea’s ability to speak her mind with presence.
“You came all the way out here in the middle of flooding to ask for your door back?”
“I want you to stop looking at my arms.”
“How am I supposed to monitor your status if I don’t?” He tapped his claws on the work table.
“It makes me feel like I’m not a person.” Her eyes were filling with tears. This conversation wasn’t going the way she’d hoped. She planned to come in here with composure and thoughtful points. But now she was just cold and wet and crying.
“I can’t give you the door back, Cassie, but I will stop checking your arms if you promise to tell me or Eleri after you’ve harmed yourself. I am documenting the frequency.”
Cassie frowned at the admission, even though she wasn’t surprised. She knew he was making notes. Every time she refused to eat. Every time she didn’t get out of bed. Every time she was bleeding. “Can I have a curtain?”
“A curtain for what?”
“For the doorway?”
“A clear one?”
“No.”
S’samph was quiet for a moment. “I can put up a curtain. But you will voluntarily leave your room every two hours. That means taking your meals outside of the room.”
“Ok. What about when I’m sleeping?”
“Nighttime checks will continue on schedule.”
“I can’t sleep if you or K’kaen keep waking me up.”
“As soon as you convince me there won’t be a body to find in the morning, you will have your sleep back.”
Cassie hung her head. “This isn’t helping.”
“I am sorry you don’t feel like a person. It was not my intention.”
“I get it.” She grabbed a corner of the towel to wipe the tears away from her face. “Keeping me alive is a lot of work.”
“It is.” He stood from his desk. “Now you should go back to the clinic and get dry. I don’t want to see you in my office dripping water everywhere ever again.”