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Laying down, he curled himself around her. She was smaller than him, so it was easy to cover all of her. He trailed a hand across her arm, wanting to comfort but afraid to wake her.

Her chest rose and fell, her heart beating in a fast rhythmic pump, like his own. Shallow breaths turned to quiet whimpers then into cries. Her legs jerked every so often like she was trying to move.

“It’s all right, Dani. You are safe,” he said quietly. “Safe.”

“S-st…d-don…” she spoke in her sleep.

He petted her silky hair. This place must have taken its toll on her at last.

“St…Stop,” she said. “H-hurt.”

He understood enough. Stop…no….hurt…pain. Something harmed her in her dreams. He thought about waking her. What good was rest when plagued by bad dreams? Still, he tried to comfort her, seeing if they might pass.

“C-Cry…” she whispered.

“No one will hurt you, Dani.”

“Kry…Kryxis.” Her legs jerked again.

He stilled. She was dreaming of him? Perhaps she’d heard him. Maybe she saw him now and he’d come to save her in her dream?

“Kryxis,” she whimpered. Her body shuddered. “St-stop.”

He tensed, hearts sinking to his stomach. Did he hear her right?

“P-please, Kryx…don’t. Hurt…hurt…” she cried, her face burying closer to the blanket.

He lay there listening, too shocked at first to move. He was about to shake her awake but stopped himself, afraid he would only make things worse if she saw him over her. Instead, he covered her in his arms and let her ride out the nightmare of him. His eyes narrowed, staring at nothing. But in his mind’s eye, he saw her face lighting up in the plant room.

He would see that again. This time for him.

Somehow, he would.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dani

She woke with a start, eyes shooting open as if someone had startled her awake.

For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Couldn’t remember. The lights were dim above her, and there was something rough rubbing against her. But she was warm.

Blinking a few times, she lifted her head...and saw the blanket was over her. Peering around she saw that she was alone.

Carefully, she sat up. She remembered now. She was in that pit Kryxis had made from the server compartment, emptied to make a bed. Shrugging the blanket off, she rose. The room was also empty.

She frowned. Kryxis hadn’t come to wake her. Had he forgotten? Or had he allowed her to sleep longer?

She climbed out of the pit and sat back in a seat, taking the compressor off her ankle to see if it had improved. She rolled her ankle one way than another and found it a bit stiff, but thepain was considerably better. She put the compressor back on for good measure then began to dress.

Tying up her boots, she straightened and checked the monitor. Myrell and Garret were still inside the room, Myrell laying down and Garret typing at one of the computers. The door was still barricaded.

Checking her watch, she saw it had been more than an hour. Kryxis had let her sleep longer than she asked. She would have been annoyed but in reality, she felt much better now, much more alert and ready to go.

She checked the other cameras out of curiosity. The research sector was definitely infested. On her own, it would be impossible. But with Kryxis…they could get inside and make it out unscathed. She was certain.

She left the computer station and headed for the stairs. Down in the dark passage, she crept back into Kryxis’ museum of things.

“Kryxis?” she called out. She searched around, noticing his workstation filled with little bits of metal and tools, but he was nowhere to be seen.