Maybe just get out of the pond.
Boom. Problem solved. She would have a big scary alien to protect and cherish her. The TV dramas and romance novels made it seem so nice. She could do with a bit of cherishing.
Nicky wouldn’t expect that. He mistrusted the aliens and stayed clear of them. He didn’t know about the romance books Thalia read about Mahdfel heroes or the shows she watched with hot alien actors. She kept all of that limited to the privacy of her room.
Yes. Get a Mahdfel. Solid plan.
Thalia cut through between narrow houses, the space just wide enough to wheel a trash can. Down the alley, she skirted puddles and found the spot. She pounded on the door, peeling paint crumbling under her fist. “Let me in. It’s freezing out here.”
The door inched open. “Go away.”
“Come on. I got stuff you like,” she cajoled.
“Stuff you stole?”
“Surplus. It’s good, too. Barely past the expiration date.” Probably. Thalia didn’t check the labels too carefully before she liberated the pills.
The door opened wider. The glow from an old-fashioned flat panel TV framed a short woman with iron-gray hair. “Does Nicky know you’re stealing from him?”
Thalia shrugged her shoulders. “He doesn’t pay me anything but room and board, so he’d be pretty dumb if he didn’t know.”
“He’s too controlling. He gets what he deserves.” Joyce, a retired pharmacist and current dealer in medical and recreational pharmaceuticals, stepped to one side, allowing Thalia to squeeze by.
Grateful for the warmth, Thalia stripped off her damp hoodie and draped it over a radiator. Her backpack rattled as it hit the floor. Joyce puttered about in the kitchen and brought out two cups of herbal tea. Thalia didn’t care for it, but she accepted the cup with a thin smile. Can’t be rude to your best buyer.
“Drink your tea. You look frozen through. Now, let’s see what you brought me,” Joyce said, emptying the contents of the bag onto the table. Her arthritic hands picked over the bottles, and she slipped on her glasses and read the labels closely. Occasionally she opened the cap to peer inside. “Oh, this is too much, girlie. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Technically correct, which was the best kind of correct.
“No. This isn’t your normal pocket money. This is your get-out-town stash.” Joyce peered at her over the rim of her glasses, her eyes a watery blue.
Fuck. She couldn’t lie to an old lady. It was simply wrong.
“Maybe?”
“Two hundred.”
Not enough. Not even close.
“This is worth a grand, and you can sell it for five times that. Don’t insult me,” Thalia said.
“Insult you? Don’t insult me by dragging trouble to my door. Nicky is going to be looking for you, and when he shows up, I don’t want him to catch me holding the goods.” Despite Joyce’s firm tone, she didn’t shove the bottles back into the bag, so that meant she intended to buy but wanted to make Thalia sweat first. “Is there something wrong with my tea?”
Thalia took a swallow of the bitter tea without thinking. How anyone liked the stuff she would never know as green tea always tasted a bit metallic to her. “Nicky doesn’t know about the pills. I was careful. Five hundred.”
“I’m an old woman living on a fixed income.”
Thalia nearly snorted tea out her nose. “Don’t screw me on the price.”
“If you want a better price, you’re free to try your luck with Dirty Donald.”
So not happening and Joyce knew it.
“Four hundred,” Thalia offered, the low price cutting into her wiggle margin. She’d have to make quick cash when she got to her destination, wherever that was. “You know it’s important. I wouldn’t haggle with you otherwise.”
Joyce’s gaze softened. “You’re a sweet girl. Dumb. I wish you never got mixed up with that Nicky.”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.” Get mixed up with a bad man or starve. Those were the options.
“Three-fifty and you can crash on my couch. Tomorrow night, you get on a bus and you never come back. Deal?”
Thalia nodded. That sounded like such a good idea. Sleep had been elusive the last few days, what with the worrying for her life and planning her escape. “You know where I’d like to go?”
“Don’t tell me that.”
She had never seen the ocean. Her entire life, she lived less than seventy miles from the ocean, and she had never been. Fuck, she never set foot outside her city. Tomorrow, she could be on a bus headed to the shore. That appealed to her so much. “I'll send you a postcard.”
Thalia stood up from the table and grabbed the edge, her legs no longer able to support her weight and her head swimming. “What did…the tea…”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but Nicky is looking for you and I can’t afford to be on his bad side. Just go to sleep. It’ll be over when you wake up.”
Thalia struggled to keep her eyes open, but every part of her body felt heavy and sluggish. Sleep seemed like such a good idea.
She slipped under.
Havik
Ren’s week stretched into two, then three, and ultimately lasted for two months. They lived and slept in the ship, despite it being less than suitable for habitation. The water had an alarming rust color, despite replacing the filtration system. From his bunk, Havik could hear rodents scurrying the ventilation overhead. Also, from his bunk, Havik could hear the discordant chimes and bells Ren used for meditation. Still, better to get used to close quarters while he had the opportunity to go outside when Ren wore his patience thin.
Not that being outside the ship offered much in the way of escape. They were still in the junkyard. The ship could barely lift off the ground, much less clear orbit, and they needed parts. Camping in the junkyard offered convenience if nothing else.
Problems plagued the ship from
