Rex Easly--The Wilde Side

[Garrett Jax]

Chapter Two

Rex awakened to find himself alone in a strange bed, his broken arm, immobilized. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting of the room. The window on the wall told him he was still in space, recovering in what appeared to be the medical facilities of a floating station. He no longer hurt. The drip bag hanging at his side was obviously doing its job. Nothing in the medical bay revealed where he was, who these people were or what their intentions might be.

The sound of doors opening drew his attention forward. The woman from the attack was there at the threshold. She wore that same comforting smile as she approached.

She placed her hand on his forehead. “So, how are you feeling today, Mister Easly?

Her touch was so soothing. “Much better, thanks to you.”

Her eyes brightened considerably. “Good to hear.” She placed a chair by his bed. “Are you feeling up to a conversation?”

Rex regarded her carefully. He was in his mid-forties and he would have bet his whole pension she was not even half that. Yet somehow, her demeanor placed her years beyond even him. Whatever her age, no one could deny she was a beautiful creature. It didn’t matter how attractive she was, however, she had to answer for her crimes.

He sat up in his bed, eyes glaring. “A conversation?” he asked. “Yes. I think a conversation would be quite acceptable given the circumstances.”

“You are angry,” she said. “That is understandable.” She placed her hand on his chest.

Her touch immediately calmed him. Why he wasn’t raging at her right now, he couldn’t answer. The liner he boarded was now floating in space as a metallic husk. The passengers, most likely killed or captured. And here he was, trying to recover from his injuries. Of course he was angry. Yet, there was something about this woman that overcame his rage, calmed him and brought about peace of mind.

“Why did you attack us?” he asked.

“That is a fair question,” she replied. “It deserves a fair answer, however you will not like what you hear.”

He grunted. “Of that, I’m sure.”

His sarcasm flowed right past her. Her eyes appeared to search inward for the right words. After a few brief moments, her face became expressionless and she began to speak. “We came upon your ship and demanded the Captain to release you to us. He refused and attacked us. We fired back, boarded the vessel and took you. Fortunately, you were not seriously harmed in the attack.”

“What about all the people on that ship?” he demanded. The horrors of the event washed over him. “How could you just kill them? My God! The lady on the bridge...you killed her?”

Concerned etched the woman’s face. “The lady was near death, suffering. There was nothing we could do for her. We acted mercifully.”

“Mercifully?” Rex laughed.

“We did not wish to harm your people or your ship,” she said. They fired upon us first, we defended ourselves. We only brought harm to those who brought it to us.”

“Who are you?”

The woman stood up and smiled. “My name is Lorelei.” She moved her hand to his shoulder and squeezed softly. “Who are we? Well, recover from your injuries and we will speak later.”
With that, she walked out of the medical bay.

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