“Sorry again for cutting you,” I said.
“I’ve had worse shaving,” Chax said.
I found that hard to believe. What did he use to shave with? A shard of glass?
Chax moved to the machine and nodded to it.
“Just tell it what you’d like,” he said.
“Computer,” I said, repeating what he said before. “I’ll have… spaghetti bolognese.”
A moment later, the meal was there. It came with a fork and spoon and a side dish of parmesan cheese.
“Wow,” I said. “It’s even faster than McDonald’s. What is this machine called anyway?”
“It’s a replicator.”
It was all I could do not to wolf it down. If Chax wasn’t there, I would have.
Chax turned away to bring the steak to his side of the table. I took the opportunity to get a better look at him. He wore nothing but his tight pair of dark underwear. His body was ridiculous. Toned muscles popped and flexed in places I didn’t even know muscles existed. He could have been a model for Hugo Boss.
I tried not to gawp but it was difficult.
It wasn’t every day you saw a guy with that physique. Even less often when you were trapped in a room with him.
He had a nice ass too. The type that crossed a room and begged for attention and wouldn’t let up until it got it.
Well, it got mine.
In another time and place, I might have been interested.
But not here. Not with the threat of being trapped in this room for the rest of my life hanging over me. We were going to get out of here, no matter what it took.
He brought a mug of drink over to complement the steak he ordered for me earlier.
“What exactly is a Methusida steak, anyway?” I said.
“It’s a steak made from a creature called a Methusida.”
“You’re kidding?” I said flatly. “I never would have guessed.”
He chuckled.
“Tell me what it looks like,” I said.
He cut off a slice and put it in his mouth.
“It’s a big creature,” he said. “Scary. Not the kind of thing you want to stumble on when you’re going for a walk in the woods. A full-grown Methusida consists of two bodies, each with its own head. They look like a pair of sisters but they’re not. They’re part of the same creature. One is in charge of creative thought, the other of physical actions. Oh, and she has snakes for hair.”
A meatball rolled off my spoon. I thought he was kidding until he said the last part.
“Snakes for hair?” I said. “You’re talking about Medusa.”
“Methusida,” he corrected.
“It’s a mythical creature where I’m from.”
“It’s real where I live. And they’re deadly. But they make delicious steaks.”
I shook my head. It made my meatballs sound very dull in comparison.
“Do you have any idea what we’re supposed to be doing here?” I said.
“I guess they want us to stay here,” Chax said.
“Like a prison? But what for? We didn’t break any rules, did we?”
“A lot of strange things happen in the galaxy,” he said. “If you ask me, we’re pretty lucky. We’ve got a replicator for everything we need and a nice, big comfy bed to sleep in.”
“I have a nice big comfy bed to sleep in,” I said. “You’ve got the floor.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a stranger. And you’re male.”
“The floor looks pretty hard…”
“You can have the blankets. We might have food but we don’t have anything else we need. No towels or soap or toilet paper.”
“That’s okay,” he said, chomping happily on his steak. “We can ask the replicator for it.”
The fork froze halfway to my mouth.
“The replicator?” I said.
“Sure. It can make anything you ask for.”
“You’re joking. I thought it was just for food.”
“Nope.”
I dropped my fork.
“Then why are we sitting here dressed like this?” I said.
I stomped toward the machine.
“Computer,” I said. “I want a nice big hoodie with a front pocket. Grey. And warm.”
A moment later, the hoodie was there. I snatched it up and put it on.
“And pants,” I said. “Jeans. Faded.”
It spat those out too and I put them on.
“I cannot believe you didn’t mention this earlier,” I said.
“Why?” he said. “I was enjoying looking at you.”
I pressed my lips together in agitation and gave him the finger.
“Computer,” I said. “Pants for a male Titan. And a t-shirt.”
The machine produced them. A pair of black pants like an office worker might wear and a plain white t-shirt. Unless I specified what I wanted, the machine would always give me a generic version of the item.
I tossed him the clothes.
“Put them on,” I said.
“I’m eating,” he said.
“So put them on and then eat.”
Chax growled.
“Are all human females so bossy?” he said.
I jabbed him on the chest.
“You don’t know what bossy is, Mister,” I said.
Our eyes met.
I’d intended for it to sound sinister and scary but when we looked at each other, with him still half-naked, my mouth turned dry.
I stepped back and looked away.
“Anyway,” I said. “Eat up. And dress. We’ve got work to do.”
We? Since when did this become “we”? From the moment he appeared in this room. For better or worse, we were stuck together.
I tucked the fork up my sleeve. I’d attack him with it if he tried anything. It was a big step up from the red pen.
“What work?” he said.
“We’re getting out of here.”
“There’s no door.”
“Then we’ll make one with our handy little buddy the replicator machine.”
I asked the replicator to produce a door but nothing happened.
“It can only make things that can fit inside the machine,” Chax said.
“Oh,” I said. “Well, that’s not very advanced, is it?”
I turned back to the machine.
“Then give me a cellphone,” I said.
It created one. I was so excited, I could barely wait for it to finish before picking it up and pressing the buttons.
Nothing happened.
I put it to my ear.
“Hello?” I said.
The damn thing didn’t have any power. I handed it to Chax.
“They’re not going to make it that easy for us to escape,” he said.
“Then what do you suggest we do?” I said.
I was growing frustrated. How
