• I sat in my room. There wasn’t really anything to do. The music played gently from the speakers in the ceiling. I looked to my side. Beside the bed, in a cot, was Jamie. He breathed easily, but he was tangled in the blanket I gave him. It would be a few days before there was a room for him and I had volunteered my room as his accommodation for the time being. But I had forgotten things from the times when we had spent the nights at each others houses; he talked in his sleep and if he wasn’t, he was snoring.
    The sound was like two wood chippers. I wanted to smother him so bad; it was literally giving me a headache trying to force myself not to. I had tossed all night, even held pillows to my ears, but nothing helped. The sound persisted.
    I sat up, glaring in his general direction. I picked up one of the pillows, throwing it. I heard a small groan, then a shuffle. The room was silent. I sighed, but something hard hit me.
    Man, who knew pillows could hurt that much? I fell off the bed. I growled, climbing back and throwing it back at him. This time, instead of standing high on my knees like I did before, I pressed myself against the bed. There was a ‘Whoosh!’ and then a thud. He hit something that fell. I glanced at him as the snoring started again.
    “Come on,” I whispered. I rolled over, standing on my hands and knees. I leaned over, placing my hands on the cot. I pressed forward, reaching out with my hand and plugging his nose. “Wake up, dead man.”
    He snorted, swatting his hands. His hands shot up, fingers pinched and twisted. I twitched and then screamed. He woke up instantly, shouting for the lights. They responded. I glared at him.
    “Hands,” I hissed. “Release your hands slowly and carefully.”
    “Promise that was an accident,” He said quickly.
    “Hands,” I growled.
    “Don’t hit me,” Jamie looked wide eyed. “Wait, is this silk? Where do you get a silk pair of pajama shirts and shorts?”
    “I said if you don’t release your hands,” I glared at him, “I will rip you to pieces.”
    “What size are these?” Jamie looked up with a joking smile.
    “Stop talking about my boobs like they’re clothes!” I shouted. “Now get your hands off of me before I kill you, you married man!”
    “Not until you release my nose,” He said calmly.
    “Oh,” I smirked. “So you’re going to play it that way? Alright,” I let go of his nose. “Now get your hands off.”
    “A few more seconds,” He crooned.
    “In a few more seconds you’ll be dead,” I hissed.
    The door flew open. I froze. Rig, Thorwn and Narrow walked in. I sat up, slapping Jamie. “Damn it, man, stop snoring! It’s annoying! I didn’t even get a wink of sleep!”
    “Why were you screaming,” Rig asked tiredly.
    “Lets see,” I whispered, “well, he was snoring, so I got tired of it and threw a pillow at him. Then he threw it back, but it felt like a brick. Then I threw another one at him and he threw it at me but I dodged it and he went back on snoring. Then I got really tired of it so I shimmied over to his cot and plugged his nose which backfired completely on me.”
    “I don’t see why you screamed,” Rig whispered.
    “Have any of you heard of a purple nurple?” Jamie asked.
    Thorwns’ eyes got wide. He smirked. I glared at him. “Shut up, it hurt like no one’s business,” I hissed. “And besides, what kind of married man instantly lifts his hands when he wakes up?”
    “Excuse me,” Jamie gasped. “But thought I was being strangled. We took the same self defense class. The first thing we do is lift our hands.”
    “Yeah, but pinching and twisting is definitely not part of that whole plan,” I whispered. I crossed my arms before my chest. “OW! Ouch. Jamie, you have a grip on you. Damn, that hurts.”
    “Is it that bad?” Jamie smirked.
    I turned from the boys. I touched my chest, hissing. “Jesus, I feel like you bit me, perv!”
    “If it’s that bad, let me take a look,” Narrow said loudly.
    “What,” I glanced back at him.
    “I said let me take a look,” Narrow stepped forward. “I am your doctor.”
    “Well, I’m also a doctor,” I said quickly.
    “I assure you,” Narrow snickered, “I’m not going to say anything about this, Discovery. It’ll be between me and you. Besides, if it’s that tender, then he might have damaged something.”
    I didn’t say anything, just glanced at the other wide eyed boys. “Well,” I stuttered. “Get out!”
    Jamie sighed. “I wanted to get back to sleep.”
    “I’ll give you five seconds before my fist meets your crotch,” I growled. Jamie jumped up quickly. He rushed the other guys out as he left. I turned back to Narrow. “Uh, well…”
    “Lift your shirt,” Narrow whispered. I did as he told me, slowly. It felt odd. I had never been naked before a guy. It was something I felt would never happen.
    “Your hands are cold,” I yipped.
    “I know, sorry,” he whispered. “Well, it seems that there’s a little swelling. Texture is good, firmness, growth,” he smirked. “Looks like you’ve grown.”
    “What?” I glared at him.
    “Sorry,” he said quickly. “Well, he did bruise you a little, but the swelling should go down after a while.” He stood, looking around. “I have a question; sense you’re a doctor, would you mind helping me in the clinic for a few? We ran across a distress signal a while ago and picked up a very odd character. He’s complaining about something I don’t know about.”
    I pulled my shirt back on. “Let me get a few things on and I’ll meet you.”

    It was something odd. The man was black haired with pale skin, extremely pale. I cringed when I saw him. His eyes were cold and seemed to only have one purpose; to send shots of fear up my spine. I checked his breathing, which also scared me; he was barely breathing at all. His pulse was almost not there and his temperature was below ninety.
    “He’s a very strange case,” I adjusted my glasses as I whispered to Narrow. “What did he say was bothering him?”
    “His hands hurt,” Narrow shrugged. “I think it’s from some form of Arthritis.”
    I glanced at him, “How old is he?”
    “Fifty nine,” Narrow said.
    “What?” I looked at the man. He looked nothing over thirty. His broad shoulders and thin face seemed to confuse me. He even walked like he was a younger man. I watched him approach. “Uh, sir, what is your name?”
    “Joseph,” He said with a smile.
    My heart felt like it froze. A sudden weight engulfed my chest. I looked up at him with wide eyes. “Really?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he replied.
    “Uh, call me Doctor J,” I said quickly. I didn’t want him to know my real name. Something about him just didn’t sit well with me. “So what’s bothering you again?”
    “Well, I’ve been out there stranded in my cruiser for days and my hands have been worked to the bone trying to get it running again,” he lifted his hands. “But I’ve been shocked a few times, so I think that I might have hit something I shouldn’t have or whatever.”
    “Try wiggling your fingers,” I said slowly. The door closed. I looked back, Narrow had left. I sighed, watching the pale man move his fingers. “Alright, now touch your toes,” he bent over, “And stand up, touch your head,” he did what I said. “Now rub your stomach and pat your head while jumping on one foot.”
    “What does this have to do with my hands?” Joseph asked.
    “To be honest,” I looked at him from the top of my glasses. “It’s to make sure you’re not drunk. Well, your hands seem to be responding fine. I’d suggest you give them a rest for a few days before working on anything important.”
    “But I have an important job to do today,” Joseph sighed. “And I need to get it done or my boss will kill me.”
    I turned from him, jotting down notes on his chart. “Sorry, Joseph, but these are doctors orders. He’ll have to get over it.”
    There was silence. I turned around slowly. Joseph was right behind me. I froze. “Actually, maybe you could help me.”
    “I would,” I glanced at the clock, “but it’s three in the morning. I haven’t slept for a while. I think I should go back to bed.”
    “It’ll only take a minute,” Joseph said with a smirk. “Please?”
    I sighed. “Alright. Just a minute. What do you need me to do?”
    “Follow me to the dock,” Joseph grabbed my hand, dragging me along. “It’s just a small thing, I promise.”
    “Then can we slow down,” I asked as we rounded a tight corner.
    “Oh, no it has to be done now,” Joseph whispered.
    I followed as quickly as possible. We entered the Challengers’ docking bay. There, in the center was a small craft that looked like it could fit about twenty people. He dragged me aboard.
    “Alright,” he smiled. “There’s this little box on the top shelf,” he pointed toward one of the silver cabinets above the passenger seating. “Just bring it down for me and open it.”
    I sighed. “I really think you could’ve done it yourself,” I stood one the seat, groping around for the box. “I mean, it’s a box.”
    “Just open it,” Joseph said quickly.
    I stepped back with the box in my hands. “Is it that important?” I asked, opening the lid slowly. It sprung in my hands, shooting out a mist of purple gas. I gagged on it, dropping the box quickly. “What the-” I coughed, feeling my legs give out. “What was that?!”
    “Give it some time,” Joseph laughed. “Oh, this was a rather fun mission, huh, Discovery? Boomer will be happy with me! Heh! He might even give me a promotion!”
    I shuttered. “You little duche,” I hissed.
    “Now hold tight,” He picked me up, strapping me to one of the seats.
    I glared at him as he walked to the pilots’ room. My hands shook so bad I couldn’t grip the belt wrapped around me. I turned, finding the door still open. Outside, Rig and Thorwn had just stepped in the port, heading toward the vessel. I thought quickly, but only came to one conclusion.
    “RIG!” I screamed my head off. They stopped. “THORWN! HELP ME! I’M IN HERE!” Whatever kept them from moving was suddenly gone. Joseph exploded from the pilots’ room and rushed to the door. He swung it closed. He glared at me.
    “No help for you,” He growled. “You’re going back to Boomer, girl and you’ll like it.”
    “I’ll never like that idiot,” I hissed.
    Joseph rolled his eyes. He walked back into the command center. “Get ready to leave this place,” he called.
    “They’ll never open the gates for you,” I shouted.
    “Who said anything about them opening the gates?” I heard him laugh.
    I frowned. If they didn’t open the gates, then he was either planning on crashing through them or blasting-
    “You can’t!” I screamed. “No! That would kill everyone on the deck! Please, you can’t do that!”
    The craft powered up. I fidgeted with the belt. I felt my strength coming back quickly, but not quick enough. I squeezed at the buttons. Nothing was working. There was a pounding on the door. I concentrated hard on the seat belt. After a few seconds it dropped, completely ripped to shreds. I pushed myself forward, stumbling on the ground. The craft shuttered under me. I crawled toward the door.
    “Hey!” Joseph jumped on me. I screamed; not only was I being crushed by a body builder again, but my hand was caught in the door handle. I pulled at it and it dropped.
    “Help!” I shouted. The craft was about five feet from the ground. I cursed. Joseph rolled me over, hands suddenly tight around my neck. I gagged again, eyes wide. This was what Jamie was talking about.
    I brought my arms up, striking him in the chin. I broke his grasp around my neck and then threw him over to the side. I tried getting up, but my whole body was trembling badly. I groaned, struggling to crawl. The craft began teetering. Thorwn had jumped up and gotten a hold of the ladder to the doorway.
    “What the hell,” he growled, reaching out and grabbing my hand. I slumped forward. “Can you move?”
    “I wish,” I shouted over the roar of the engine.
    “Hold on,” He pulled me forward, arms wrapped around my waist. I looked down at the ground, only around eight feet from where we were. Rig was steadying himself under it. “Happy falling.”
    “Wha-!?” I screamed as Thorwn let go. I knew it was only a few feet, but when you’re drugged, it seems like an eternity. Rig caught me as if I weighed nothing. I wrapped my shaky arms around his neck.
    After a moment, the craft landed. Rig backed up as Thorwn escorted Joseph out of the vessel. The black haired man glared at me. I only wondered how he got past everyone in the first place, and if he could have done it; who was to say no one else could?