Chapter Fourteen: Jennifer Richards

I'd never felt anything even remotely close to the pain of being impaled. It was like a bruise and a bee sting at the same time, but all the way through my body. Curling up lessened the pain, but not by much. The stretcher acting as my hospital bed was several feet off the ground, so I didn't dare roll around to get more comfortable, a fall would be excruciatingly painful.

I was still shaking slightly from the pain of having the harpoon pulled out the front of my abdomen, the bandages were tight and did little to ease the pain. I panicked slightly every time I heard footsteps anywhere close to me.

I thought Taylor had tried to kill me, and I still couldn't look at him without feeling the need to run. I knew he had saved me, but the fear I felt didn't abate any less with that knowledge.

We couldn't have chosen a worse damn planet to land on. This one had done nothing but try to kill us since the day we arrived. I was not at all eager to find out what it had in store for us next, all I knew was that it wasn't going to be good. I watched a small beetle skitter around the debris and onto the edge of the stretcher. I weakly moved an arm and flicked it off. I wasn't taking any chances, undoubtedly the pest was poisonous or flesh eating.

I tensed a little as someone slowly approached the stretcher from the direction that my back was facing. The visitor set down a small metal plate with meat on it on edge the stretcher just in front of my face. I also observed the fork and knife set on the plate.

I observed the utensils for a second to confirm what I knew.

The 3D printer was functioning. It took me several minutes and half a dozen tries to cut a piece of meat away from the rest. I popped it in my mouth and chewed it. It was tough and flavorless.

How fitting, the planet had a decent view and breathable atmosphere and the pros stopped there. I swallowed the bite in my mouth before setting the fork back on the plate.

I wasn't hungry, probably because my stomach was full of blood. The hair stood up on the back of my neck when I suddenly realized that whoever had delivered the plate hadn't left. I listened closely and could hear the gentle breathing of whoever it was just behind me. A hand gently brushed my shoulder and I felt the warmth of their breath in my ear as they whispered,

"I'm sorry."

Taylor left. I relaxed when he did. I wanted so desperately to get up and talk to him, ask him to stay, but the fear in my chest didn't even let me move. I wondered how he felt, saving my life and seeing my so vulnerable and weak.

He had hated me because of my hard work and success, so maybe we could connect because of my misfortune. We had both been impaled, I could compliment him on how well he took it over me.

I forcefully choked down the rest of the bland meat, then chased it down with some water and painkillers. I heard a soft shuffling beneath me, underneath the stretcher and held my breath, listening closely. It was a soft dragging, followed by a short pause, then continuing. Judging by the noise it made, it was the size of a small cat. I dared not move or make any noise to alert it to my presence. I jolted in surprise at the loud noise of a gunshot and the squishing sound of impact beneath me. I heard the heavy footfalls of Lorries approaching his target to inspect his handiwork.

"What the hell?"

I heard him mutter before a high pitched but guttural growl sounded immediately alongside in his pained screams and his gun going off again, striking the metal near my feet.

My heart pounded as I sucked in a deep breath, grabbing the meat knife that Taylor had left me and swinging my feet to the ground. Fire shot through my abdomen from the movement, causing me to wince. I looked down to Lorries, finding his face hidden by a fuzzy white mass.

I drove the knife into the creature, ripping the knife backwards. Blood stained the fur red and spattered my face, the creature yipped and bounced away from Lorries' thrashing form.

Lorries sprung up, screaming in rage and fired at the creature until it stopped moving. He walked up and kicked it hard, sending it flying into the campfire. I turned my gaze from the burning corpse to Lorries. His left eye was bleeding profusely, and scratches covered the entire left side of his face.

"Lay back down Private, you haven't been cleared for duty."

I collapsed back down onto my stretcher, failing to suppress the pained groan caused by the intense pain from my abdomen. I nearly immediately found myself in the original fetal position I had assumed during my time on the stretcher. I heard Lorries swearing as Victor assessed his wounds in the lab. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I immediately knew it was Taylor. He whispered in my ear again,

"You saved Lorries' life. He may not give you the credit, but I do."

"I love you Henderson."

I didn't mean to say it, but I didn't regret saying it either. His hand retreated from my shoulder when I spoke, making me feel cold suddenly.

"We're not there yet."

His footsteps faded as he headed back towards the ship. My heart fluttered as I realized there was hope for us, I just had to let him get ahead.

I squinted as the overhead sun hit the metal to my left at a particular angle, sending a blinding beam of light straight into my eyes.

I rolled over and stared at the massive pile of collected debris. Sheets of metal, bent supports and warped floor grates all assembled into a large mess. I watched as smaller scraps were thrown on top of the pile, only to slide off and land with a clatter in the small surrounding collection of similar fragments.

I wrapped a strip of gauze around my eyes to block out the light and laid back, the best I could do now was rest.