Broken Episode One

by Odette C. Bell

  Chapter 9

  He was being… strangely nice. Up until the crash, Josh Cook had been one of the meanest people she’d met. Now it felt like he was a different guy.

  She was appreciating his total personality makeover, yet she got the feeling it wouldn’t last.

  Maybe he’d look out for her for the time being, but as soon as the situation calmed down, she could bet he would become the same rude bully she’d sat next to for the past day.

  Still, she’d enjoy this while it lasted.

  “Watch your step,” he pointed out as they made their way through the corridor. “The floor is pretty weak in this section.”

  She smiled. Okay, she always smiled, but she put a little more effort into it.

  “Right, the main deck should be right around this corner.” Josh shifted around a massive section of cables that had spilled from the wall like guts from a split belly.

  Before she could follow, she heard him sigh in frustration. “Great, it’s blocked ahead,” he managed.

  She ducked her head around the corner to see that, indeed, there was no way through. The wall had collapsed, and though there was a tiny gap between the massive chunks of warped metal, she wouldn’t even be able to push her finger through it, let alone her body.

  “What do we do now?” She asked.

  Josh looked at her, his eyes getting stuck on her arm. “We need to get you some first aid.”

  “Ha?” She looked down at her arm. The gash was deep and bleeding profusely. Though it hurt a bit, she was surprised by how much blood was trickling down her sleeve.

  “Just hold tight. Technically this ship should have a med kit in each service panel; it’s a requirement of accreditation as a transport vessel.” Josh turned from her and started to search along the broken corridor. “Hold that wound,” he snapped at her as he got down on his hands and knees and tried to pry a service panel from the wall.

  She smiled again, then – as instructed – grabbed her arm, pressing the fingers against her gash and wincing as she did.

  Josh grunted as he tried to yank the service panel off, but after a few seconds, it was clear the warped metal was jammed into the walls. So, grabbing onto a broken pipe jutting from the wall for support, he leaned back and kicked the panel instead. The wall shook under his barrage, and soon enough the panel dropped off and clanged to the floor.

  He leaned down and stuck his head and torso into the service duct, despite the fact she could smell it was flooded with some foul gas and the buzz of exposed electrical circuits. He ferreted around a bit before finally pulling out a slim flexi metal case with a medical symbol emblazoned over the top in holographic ink.

  “Alright.” He opened the box, slamming his fist on it when it wouldn’t unclip, then surveyed the contents.

  She walked over to him just in time to watch him swear.

  “What is it?” She asked.

  “Goddamn contraband.” He started to laugh.

  “Sorry?”

  “They’re restricted tri-phasic gun batteries.” Josh chuckled.

  “Ah, why is that funny?”

  “Because I’ve been looking for these. It seems our Captain really is a smuggler. Now if only we hadn’t crash-landed in the freaking Omacka system.”

  “Ah… is there any spray-on skin in there? Because my arm’s still kind of bleeding.” Despite the fact she pressed her fingers hard into her wound, blood seeped between them. She was starting to feel a little light-headed, too.

  “Yeah, yeah, hold on,” he muttered as he carefully removed the gun batteries, counting them as he lay them to his side. “Alright, here we go.” He finally uncovered the legitimate contents of the med pack, pushing to his knees as he grabbed the spray-on skin.

  Mimi sighed in relief but tensed a little as Josh neared. It wasn’t that she thought Josh was going to hurt her – far from it. For some reason his proximity made her skin tingle.

  Without a word, he grabbed her arm with one hand and shook the spray with the other.

  “Wait, isn’t that the wrong color?” Mimi managed nervously.

  Josh gave her a pointed look.

  “Never mind. I guess I’ve always wanted a purple tan…” she trailed off.

  “Hold still,” he commanded.

  With a soft touch that was very much at odds with his character, Joshua Cook proceeded to spray her wound with the specialized compound. As soon as it touched her arm, the whole thing prickled. It felt like her pain had been replaced by thousands of dancing ants. When she shifted uncomfortably, Josh snapped at her to “stay still,” again.

  When he was finished, without a word, he cupped her chin in his hand.

  “What are you doing?” She spluttered.

  He gave a derisive snort. “Relax, Princess, I’m dealing with the cuts on your face.”

  “You can leave them; they’re not very serious,” she stuttered.

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Plus, they could get infected. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but this ain’t exactly the cleanest transport in the galaxy,” he mumbled as he gently applied the spray-on skin to her cheek and neck.

  Though Mimi’s skin prickled as he applied the compound, it was where his fingers held her chin that really tingled. Her stomach too.

  She couldn’t look him in the eye and instead concentrated way too keenly on the patch of wall over his left shoulder.

  “Okay, all done,” he said as he stepped back and pocketed the spray-on skin.

  “Thank you,” she managed, her voice way too high for some reason.

  There was an awkward moment where they looked at each other, then Josh snorted. “Purple really suits you.”

  “Wait, what?” She delicately felt her cheeks.

  “That’s a stand-out statement, that is.” He chuckled meanly to himself. “Now hurry up; we need to find a way out of this tin can so we can have a little chat to the Captain.”

  Mimi didn’t say anything as Josh led her forward with a brief wave.

  He was about to turn mean again, wasn’t he? She could feel it. Now the immediate threat was almost over, Josh Cook was going to become the same cruel man she’d learned to loathe.