Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

“Perfectly shaped head, huh?” Stacy asked as she rummaged through one of the black crates in the back of the crawler. “How many concussions did you have when you were a gladiator?”

“Too many,” I answered honestly.

“I’m going to have to clean the wound first,” Stacy said, finding a bottle of disinfectant, a needle, and thread from the medical kit she rummaged through. “It’s not going to tickle. Do you want something for the pain?”

“No time, and if we get ambushed again, I don’t want to be slow from the meds,” I said, gritting my teeth. I searched the ground looking for something to bite down on. I wasn’t sure if it really worked, but over the years when I was treated for my wounds using a Heal Aid, biting down on something helped. Like I could channel my pain into that single act. It was probably in my head, but either way, it worked.

I leaned down and grabbed a short stick that had fallen from one of the trees. It was as thick as two of my fingers and not much longer. I placed it in between my teeth and bit down.

“Go ahead,” I mumbled outside the bit in my mouth.

“Here we go,” Stacy said.

The cold liquid cleaning the wound felt good for about point zero five seconds. Then it turned to fire. It felt like someone poured molten lava on the back of my skull.

I grimaced, letting out a big breath of air in a near growl, then bit down on the piece of wood between my teeth, grimacing.

“You’ve got this,” Stacy coached me. “Just wiping clean the wound now and then we’ll start to sew. It’s not often I have a captive audience like this that can’t talk back. It’ll be like a free trip to the shrink for me. Hmmm, what do I need to get off my chest?”

I knew what Stacy was doing. She was talking to me to try and get my mind off the searing hot pain coming from the back of my skull. It didn’t work, but I appreciated the sentiment.

“Well, we’ll need to get you another earpiece, since yours was knocked off in the battle royale with Legion,” Stacy said, going down a mental checklist. “You should get something in your stomach and definitely water after this. You can sleep in the back of the crawler until we get to the communication section of the Orion.”

Each time Stacy put the needle in my skin, I could feel a tiny icepick digging away at the meat at the back of my skull. Pain was something I was familiar with. You didn’t get as far as I had in the gladiator world without your fair share of injuries and scars.

Stacy went on doing her best to distract me from the pain. I took my mind away from the agony in the back of my skull by focusing on her voice more than the words. When the pain became too much, I bit down on that unlucky piece of wood like Mutt would on a Christmas ham.

“There we go,” Stacy said, removing her hands from my head to examine her handiwork. Looks like some kind of screwed-up lightning bolt design, but you’re good to go.”

I ignored the lightning bolt reference. Somehow, I knew Lou would have jumped at the analogy, bringing together a parallel of what they meant.

“Thanks,” I said, spitting out the piece of wood that now had bite marks in it. I went over to the back of the crawler and found a towel and a canteen, letting the water run over the cloth. The cuts on my face stung when I touched the wet rag to it, but it was a familiar pain.

“There’s food in that large case in the back right corner of the crawler bed,” Stacy pointed out. “You sure you’re good to go with us for the rest of this mission? No one is going to fault you for wanting to head back to the Orion.”

She tried to hide it, but I could sense there was a deep concern in her voice. She was worried for me. If it was up to her, she probably would see me sent back to the Orion for proper treatment and a day or two of downtime.

“Not a chance,” I said, grabbing a protein bar from the case of food supplies and sitting down in the back of the crawler. “Just get the crawler moving. I’ll be good to go after a nap.”

Ricky, Arun, and Tong filled the cab of the crawler. I could hear the Remboshi going on and on about facts of his planet. I might have been more interested in listening in if I wasn’t so tired from the day’s events already.

People forgot how taxing fighting could actually be. That was why there were rounds in most organized fighting. After a handful of minutes going all out in a fight, the human body was fatigued to the point of quitting altogether.

I worked on chewing the protein bar quickly, just wanting to get the food in my stomach before I closed my eyes.

Mutt and Stacy jumped into the back of the crawler with me. Mutt’s nose sniffed the air hard. He looked at the rest of the protein bar in my hand. I tossed it his way. It didn’t even hit the ground.

Stacy closed the back gate of the crawler. Ricky gunned the engine and pulled forward with a slight jerk.

“I’m on lookout,” Stacy said, finding a standing position next to the rear of the cabin. She patted the blaster at her hip. “We’ll be okay. You get some rest.”

I found a spare jacket in one of the crates in the crawler. The rocking of the crawler bed lulled me to sleep with a dream I wouldn’t remember when I woke.

12

I stood in a massive dining room, a large table with elegant chairs in front