The Way It Is

her - part 2

"We have about four planetary hours before the pod's battery runs out, and our frozen human becomes not so frozen."

"Right. So, where's our exit?"

If I remember right, there are several. Which one do we want?

"Head to the far wall Zea. Look for the door near the energy cells."

"Thank you!"

Well, that is handy.

"Did you hear that?"

My head whips over to look at Britt. Seriously?

"Hear what?"

"That woman's voice. Is that Her?" His eyes look like they will bug out of his head.

"Yes. And I have no idea how she is communicating while in stasis. So please don't ask."

"Blazing stars, I am not built for this shit." He rubs his face with a calloused sweaty hand.

Britt is definitely having a hard time with everything. At first, I couldn't tell, but now that the shock of my healing his mind has passed, I see the strain in his eyes.

This is my fault. I shouldn't have made that connection with him when the visions had started.

It had been selfish, if I am honest. I justified it by telling myself he'd worry if he didn't understand what was going on, but I was afraid to give in to it all alone. Damn me and my cowardice!

I will not run from my shadows or responsibilities anymore. This has settled it for me—time to "man up," as the humans said. I will not let people get hurt just because I want to act like a child and run from things I don't like.

I feel better now that I have decided to do better, but how do I make this right with Britt?

"Britt... "

"As you said, we don't have time. Later Zea."

"Right."

He isn't ready to talk about what we saw. Or hear my apology. Ok. That's ok. We need to finish this then I will apologize. Had he even seen the same vision I had?

Britt pushes Her, our objective, out of the room and following the instructions, we find our door.

Once again, I follow the security protocols. When it opens, a rush of air swirls around us. This door had been sealed shut for a very long time.

I just hope the exit at the other end isn't blocked because that would royally suck Zukrog balls!

Britt scans the dimly lit narrow tunnel ahead. His scanner blinks and beeps at him.

"Clear."

He heads off pushing the pod, jogging at a steady pace. There isn't much weight to something when gravity isn't an issue. I stay close but make sure not to crowd him.

The tunnel turns a few times, snaking around something. I realize it's heading in a very slight but steady incline. We are going up. And hopefully out.

The energy boost I gave Britt must have worked even better than I thought. He keeps a steady pace, and even after twenty minutes of a steady jog, his breathing hasn't even changed.

Did I permanently change him? I feel something close to anxiety twist in my gut. That may not go over well.

My K'ai sent a calming wave of reassurance. We did nothing but help. It is up to Britt if he can handle how we did it. She's right. I just said she! That's new. I have bonded with my K'ai.