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

fun,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “I feel good enough to help wherever you need me. Just let me know.”

“As much as I want to get going, Stacy was right,” I said as Tong finished his work and replaced the monitor. “We shouldn’t travel at night, even if Jezra can control those mist monsters. If Legion isn’t attacking the Orion right now, we have some time. I don’t know how much good I’d be in a fight right now.”

“You need food and rest.” Tong jumped to his feet and hurried out of the medical room. He called over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, just a moment.”

“This place is crazy,” Ricky said with a cough.

“Brother, you have no idea,” I answered. “How much do you remember after getting shot?”

“Just bits and pieces,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “Something like being in the crawler then driving through mists and a pyramid. Then I woke up here with Arun looking after me. I thought I was in heaven.”

“I bet you did,” I said, laughing. I reached a hand to my ribs with a grimace. It seemed the pain meds Tong gave me had their limits. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much.”

“Man, look at us,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “Two mechanics from the slums now side by side in an alien pyramid. What the heck happened?”

“You got me,” I said, letting a long exhale escape my lips. “In all seriousness, you should know Arun seemed pretty twisted up about you. I don’t want to give you any false hope, but—”

“You’re saying I’ve got a chance?” Ricky looked over at me from my left. “Dean, don’t mess with me here. Was she like crying? How worried about me was she exactly?”

“I mean, I didn’t see her cry, but she was worried for sure,” I said.

“Excellent,” Ricky said, his lips curving up to form a dopey smile.

“Here we go.” Tong returned, interrupting our conversation with two huge trays of food. There was no spaghetti-looking, tuna-smelling stuff on this one. Mutt looked up from his place by my reclined chair and licked his chops.

Tong placed a tray on my lap after sitting my chair up, then did the same to Ricky. The one thing I needed more than sleep was food. Ricky and I tore into the meal like savages.

Tong tried to hide a look of wonder, or maybe he was appalled, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care either. There were some leafy greens on the plate that I ate more because I figured it was good for me than for the actual taste. A thick slab of meat almost tasted like steak if I closed my eyes. There was pudding-like stuff that wasn’t half bad and a pitcher of something that tasted like fruit punch.

All in all, it was a meal fit for a king. By the time I was done with mine, I felt like a new man.

Tong cleared away our trays for us and dimmed the lights.

“Rest now,” Tong said. “After a full night’s sleep and a shower in the morning, both of you will feel so much better. Again, I want to apologize for Jezra’s behavior. So many years awake on her own has twisted her brain into something that does not see properly.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told Tong. “You just keep your eye on her and don’t let her get behind you. We’ll all have her under a microscope from now on.”

“Agreed,” Tong said, exiting the room.

After the alien left, I closed my eyes, ready to pass out into a coma.

Ricky let out a huge burp next to me. “Hey, Dean are you awake?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“Oh, good,” he replied. “Can I ask you something?”

“I already told you I think you have a shot with Arun,” I said. “Just ask her out already and you’ll know for sure.”

“Yeah, after we fight back the living virus, get out of this mad mist, and defeat the Rung,” Ricky countered.

“Fair point,” I said.

“But that wasn’t what I was going to ask you,” Ricky said. “Do you think we have a chance of getting out of this alive? You think we’ll ever see Earth again?”

“That’s a big question, brother,” I said. I opened my eyes to the dull light in the room. “I don’t know if we’re ever going to get back to Earth, but I’m sure not going down to Legion or the Rung without a fight.”

“Me either,” Ricky said as if that was exactly what he needed to hear. “I dream about Earth sometimes. You know? Maybe they’re not even dreams sometimes. It’s like if I have my eyes closed for too long, my subconscious just drifts back home. Not like home had any real value. I mean, we lived in the slums in those apartments outside of the yard. Does that make sense at all?”

“I think so,” I said, staring at the ceiling. “I guess we just have to move on. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting, but we’ll die in the present if we live in the past. That’s a lesson I’m still learning myself. Don’t think I have it all figured out, but maybe Lou and Jezra are rubbing off on me. Maybe there is some kind of plan behind all of this. At least I’d like to think so. Ricky? Rick?”

I looked over to see Ricky’s eyes closed. Steady snores drifted from his mouth.

“We’ll be alright, Rick,” I mumbled as I closed my own eyes. “We’ll be alright.”

25

It felt like I had only slept for a matter of minutes before someone gently shook my shoulder.

I opened my eyes to see Stacy above me.

“Hey, champ,” she said with a smile, looking down at me. “You think you can stand?”

“Yeah, yeah, is everything okay?” I asked.

“Everything is fine, or as fine as it gets around here,” Stacy said, helping me sit up.

I grimaced at the action. My body felt like one giant bruise.

“How we looking?” I asked. “What time is it?”

“You’ve slept for