Finally A Bath

Charlotte walked me down the corridors. Some of them were only ten or twelve feet long and had no doors. Others seemed to go on and on and on. 

Doors and view panels to the outside lined them on both sides. The design of this ship was becoming more intriguing the more I saw.

“Is it all straight lines and right angles?”

“No, each hallway is straight, but the ship is actually more of an octagon.”

“But the corners are all ninety degrees to another straight hall, how does that work?”

“Well the halls are in straight lines. But with all of the rooms and machinery that runs this ship it looks way different than the interior would suggest.”

I suppose that makes sense. I didn’t have any clue how to make space travel possible. They obviously did. 

I wonder what kind of planet they came from?

“So I’ve now only been one one planet besides my own. Are there really that many worlds out there?”

We turned a corner into another short hall, then went right into another short corridor. This one only had one door at the end of it.

“There are many, many worlds. Most of the known worlds are under galactic control, or at least the galactic federation claims governance over the majority of planets. Planets like your own are technically under galactic jurisdiction, but very few people on that world know of the galaxy’s existence as a whole. There is at least one major world in each star sector that holds a star port for traveling space craft.”

She hadn’t stopped answering my questions. In fact she had been leading me into more and more questions as we walked. My body was completely healed. 

If it wouldn’t have actually been me, if I didn’t still have the blood stains on me. I wouldn’t have believed I was in such a bloody, broken mess. 

Charlotte opened the door after messing with something on the wall next to the handle. The room inside was awash in a soft blue light.

“I hope you don’t mind, but there’s only one bed. I can sleep in my work chair.”

“Oh, uhm it’s fine. I’m used to sleeping in tight places and I’m ok sleeping on the floor or something.” I really didn’t want to put her out of her own room. She had just healed me and been a huge help with understanding why I was here now.

She was staring at me like I had just grown an arm from my head though.

“Your more than welcome to the bed here. You need some proper rest. And you won’t get much of it any where else.”

I looked around the room a little, a large metal desk and soft looking chair sat in one corner. A computer monitor was powered off and taking up a good portion of the desk space. 

A few papers littered the rest of it. The other side of the room was one big glass panel. And the view was incredible. 

Not twenty feet away and about thirty feet above our heads was the blue-yellow afterburner engine. The enormous black and grey structure had vents and expelled puffs of gas and smoke every few seconds. 

The fire that burnt out the back of it left a trail of light as we moved past stars and chunks of rock. I could see perfectly around to the other side of the ship. 

I found myself almost face to face with my reflection in the glass. I had to stop myself before running face first into it.

“Amazing.” The word was barely more than a soft breath, I almost forgot where I was for a moment.

“It always is.” Charlottes words came from right behind me. I jumped slightly at the sudden closeness. 

I hadn’t even noticed her step up next to me. 

“From here I can watch the entire galaxy go by as we travel.” She was gazing out upon the stars with me now.  

“From shinning super novas, to the pulsating quasars that generate the power of millions of stars. Only to project that power away. Those I think are truly beautiful. All the matter and power gravitate automatically to it, but it rejects the power. But in a way that passes on the power to those who might actually need it. Waves of gasses and proteins find their way to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. There they plant seeds of life. We followed a pulsar beam once, the star bridge passed in and out of its energy beams. The abundance of life, the variety of beings, the resources that created wealth unimaginable. All of it I watched from this room.”

I stood there in silence. Listening to her, letting the emotions she felt ride so openly in her words. I almost wanted to stay and see some of those qustarts thingys.

We stared out past the blazing fire into the void of space for awhile longer, just enjoying the view. For the first time I felt like I had a place where I could have peace. And suddenly the weight of this past month fell heavy on my eye lids.

“Charlotte. I think I might take that offer of a bed now.”

“Of course.” She moved silently over to a small sliding panel on the back wall. As she slid it open, the scent of lavender and raspberry wafted through. She motioned for me to follow her into the next room.

A single bed made up with huge pillows and several heavy blankets took up the entire right side of the smaller area. Another sliding panel was hiding what seemed to be a bathroom. 

So at least this part of the ship would seem like a normal house to me. Where the rest almost felt like a dungeon.

Charlotte pulled one pillow and a few of the top layers of blanket away and set them by the door.

“I’ll stay with you until you sleep. Just so I can make sure that your injuries have all healed properly.”

She was so kind. It was hard to believe I was still under the control of the beast, alpha J.

“Thank you. Is this the bathroom?” I pointed at the sliding door next to the bed.

“Yes, feel free to bathe if you wish. Most of your body is either covered in blood, or other fluid.” Her voice was toneless, but a hint of a smirk appeared. Maybe she was only acting kind.

“I didn’t really have much options while being chained and tortured.” I let ice seep into my words. I didn’t enjoy being laughed at and mocked.

“No I can’t imagine how awful that all was. I know Master J doesn’t play nicely with new things.”

“Will he come looking for me now that I’m healed?”

“No. I told him that your injuries were so severe that you needed a few days of isolation and treatment before he could see you again.”

So she had bought me some time to not be tortured at least. I guess I’ll have to make the most of my time.

“So I’m just supposed to stay here in your room then?”

“If you choose. There’s about six other rooms in this section of the ship that I claim as my own personal area. You are more than welcome to visit these as well. But I must warn against being seen by anyone else or wandering to far away. If Master J realizes I lied, it won’t just be you bound in chains I’m afraid.”

I walked into the bathroom, the sliding door reveling the large tub already full of water. There was a small fountain that was pouring more water in. The soft gurgle of water was the only sound. I hadn’t heard it through the door.

“You must really enjoy this room.”

“I do. I’ve had to fight off several others who would take it from me.”

“Did you have to kill them?”

“I rarely need to go that far. The only time I’ve killed for this room was when I first claimed it.”

“So even though J runs this ship, you all fight for personal spaces?”

“Not just personal spaces. But food, water, materials. Everything. Alpha J runs his pack with the rule of ‘might is right’. Anyone who wants anything must take it. And if you don’t want to give it up, you better defend it. When he first took power of his pack, he had to fend off challenges to his throne and all his claims daily. Often multiple times and multiple groups a day. No ones ever bested him though. And no one dares try anymore.”

“So you all just give in to his will?”

“They say repeating the same thing over and over while expecting different results, is insanity.”

“Hahahaha!” I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. “Insanity? Following along with a sadistic ruler who thinks nothing of others except that their pawns, that is insanity.”

Charlotte just looked at me. I looked back, taking in her appearance fully. The soft silver fur that curled close to her face. The black ears that barely poked out from the side of her head. She had a slack face and I could tell she was trying to figure me out the same I was of her.

I turned back to the tub. I could feel my heart beginning to speed up. My face flushed a little. Something about her made me feel like punching the wall. 

I reached a hand out for the water instead. It was hot. Not burning. But it warmed my skin and made my whole arm tingle slightly.

“What’s in this?”

“It’s a special liquid that has many healing properties. It can even help you get in touch with the spiritual energies around us. It helps close off your physical senses so that you can focus more on your mental ones.”

That was a bunch of mumbo jumbo crap if I ever heard any.

“But it’ll help get me clean? I won’t ruin it?”

“Of course. It filters through the ships waste system and returns here perfectly clean. I will leave you to wash.” This was the first time that she had clipped off an answer so short. She simply turned and walked out. Closing the door behind her.

“I don’t have any clothes!” I yelled a little bit. Getting frustrated for some reason. I had been in these rags that used to be pants and my completely destroyed shirt for a month now. 

It stuck to me all over. Only this over sized coat covered me and kept me from actually being nude.

The door slid open slightly and a pile of clothes landed on the floor. Before they hit the ground, the door shut.

Well then. Did I make her upset somehow? I looked down at the clothes pile, a blue hoodie that had to be way too big for Charlotte. And definitely would be huge on me as well. And a weird looking pair of.. shorts? Skirt? Why did it have buttons on the front and the back?

Oh….

My tail would fit perfectly under one of the buttons. As I pick it up to examine it, there’s a small opening under where the button would clasp. 

Huh, I guess a species of wolf-human hybrids would have come up with ways of making their own comfortable clothes. I always just had to either wear baggy shorts that didn’t pinch my tail too hard. Or cut a slit in the pants I was given.

I dropped the jacket away from the clean clothes. It was covered in blood and dirt. I also didn’t want to keep being reminded of how I got it. 

The mirror on the wall showed me just how much my body had changed since I’d been kidnapped. I wiped a blood smear with my hand across my reflection. I didn’t want to see how wasted away I looked. I just turned and climbed into the tub.

My eyes opened wide. My whole body seemed to float away. It felt like static coursing through me. Everything tingled and my senses went completely numb. 

I almost panicked. But the raw energy that flooded into me and made me aware of the smallest details around me caused me to stare blankly upward. 

I lost track of my physical self. I could swear I was floating as a mental focus above my own body. Expanding throughout the small bath room.

ZAP!!

“Ahhrrghhh!” I yelled out. What the hell was that?

“Fenrir?!” The door slide opened and slammed. Revealing a startled Charlotte.

“Something shocked me!”

“What?” She was at my side and examining me with one step and without hesitation.

I had just started to adjust to the senses I had while in the tub, when a small white-blue flash zapped through the room. 

It seriously freaked me out. I had jumped up onto the side of the tub and pulled my entire body away from the water. 

Balancing here was becoming more difficult as my mind caught back up to my physical self. The water was sloshing, I was dripping, and Charlotte, she was standing there staring at me. 

Her face was only about a foot from my body. Being up on the side of the tub, her eyes were level with, and locked onto my chest. My bare chest.

“I don’t see anything wrong with you though. Or the tub.”

My face was heating up and my heart raced again. Dammit I had just calmed down, why can’t I keep myself under control? I had no idea why her looking at me made my body lose itself.

“Was it a magical reaction when you altered your physical being to focus on the spiritual?” Charlotte muttered. “Maybe it’s best not to use my tub if you react….uhm, poorly, with it.”

“Poorly?” I scoffed. “Your tub tries to kill me and I get blamed?”

“Your the only one who’s ever gotten such a reaction from it. I’ve had many others in this tub, none have ever had what I would call a violent reaction to it. They all seem to find peace and tranquility. A certain balance of you will. But not a fear for life.”

“Well then I guess I’m just fucking special huh?”

I was not. I was now ready to be done with this. She had explanations for everything. Her long winded answers always seemed to be full of information. 

Useless and useful depending on how you heard it. This had to be the most useless yet.

“Why don’t you dry off, get dressed, and then get some sleep for now.”

“Fine.”

I sat down on the bed, the blue glow from the window faded slightly as Charlotte closed the sliding door. 

Leaving me alone and unbound for the first time in what seemed like years. I pulled back a few layers of blankets and worked my way up to some pillows that looked comfy. 

The softness and warmth made me breath out a sigh. This was the best bed I’ve ever had. I couldn’t even tell if there’s was a mattress under all the blankets, or just more soft pillows. 

I found a soft, stuffed, and slightly worn out bear. It was half my size, and it seemed to emit a slight warmth. I curled up beside it for now. The warm helping me relax. 

I listened for Charlotte out in the next room, but everything was silent. For the first time I was completely alone, I knew there were other people outside, but this room made me feel isolated. 

And for the first time since it happened, I remembered Evan. I could clearly see what had happened to him on that car. It had been in search of me. And now I knew that the whole city had probably been butchered or enslaved. 

These wolves didn’t see humans as anything more than prey. Or livestock really. I couldn’t keep the tears from falling. Soon my watery eyes were flooding over and my emotions went from sad to angry. 

I had to come up with a way to beat J. If he wasn’t actually going to kill me yet, I know that I have a chance to beat him. And if he does end up killing me, then at least I get out of this hell. 

Hopefully the next one isn’t as bad.