Page 7 of Made For The Alien Warrior

Tiegan remained in place, staring at her as if he wanted to scan her insides. He really looked like a human except… not. His eyes were a bright purple with large black pupils. He wore pants that clung to lean but muscular legs. The material was skin-tight, like an upgraded form of spandex. Tattoos ran the length of his massive shoulders and broad chest.

She recoiled, inching over the bed. Was he in some kind of alien gang? What was with the ridged ink all over him?

The other alien tugged on Tiegan’s arm. “Come.”

He reluctantly left the room.

Free from their extraterrestrial stares, Symphony tried to take stock of where she was. It definitely wasn’t the hospital room. Dark cave walls stretched over her head. Sunlight poured through tiny cubbyholes covered in some kind of cellophane.

The blanket had flowers on it. Though the material was unlike any of the fabrics she’d seen before, the pattern was distinctly feminine. Had a human stitched it?

What are you thinking, Symphony?

Footsteps alerted her to someone’s approach. Symphony braced herself to see more delusions, but it was a woman who walked into the room. She wasgorgeous. Dark skin the color of hot cocoa, big, curly hair and a bright smile made Symphony want to snap a picture.

“Are you the psychiatrist?”

“No.” The woman laughed. “I’m Sara.”

“Symphony.”

“Beautiful name.” Sara’s eyes twinkled like stars.

“Thanks. My mother was a cello player before she passed. She said that she always wanted me to be close to music. So naturally I became a scientist.“

Sara laughed. “I’m really glad to hear you making jokes. I wasn’t so levelheaded when I landed here.”

“Landedhere?”

“Yes. Your ship crashed too, didn’t it? Or were you here on this planet all along?”

Ship crash? Planet?“Are you a part of my imagination too?” She groaned as discomfort swept through her stomach. “Why do I feel so horrible?”

“It could be the neural implant. They insisted on inserting the chip right after your surgery.” She slanted a dark look at the door. “I told Rune we should wait, but he said it was better to do it while you were unconscious.”

Words were pouring out of Sara’s mouth, but they weren’t making any sense to Symphony.

“Can you start over?” She waved her left arm. “I need to…” Suddenly, Symphony realized what she’d done and what part of her body she’d done it with.

Her entire being went still. With slow, horrified movements, she glanced down at the arm that was attached to her shoulder. Her left shoulder. The one that had, previously, been a stump.

Her heart spiked and she leaped off the bed, trying to get away from the arm. Instead, she landed hard on the floor with a thump. As she cried out in pain, Tiegan burst into the room. He crossed to where she was sprawled on the ground and reached for her.

She pushed his hand back and then shrieked, staring at the way her arm had moved with her. This wasn’t a prosthetic. She’d tried to use one before, but it had been too clumsy. Having the clunky metal contraption hanging from her arm had drawn more stares than she’d been willing to deal with.

But this didn’t look anything like the prosthetic. It was real, up to the faint black hair sprawling down her elbow. She was so shocked by it, Symphony didn’t react when the blue alien edged closer to her.

“Come. I will put you back on the bedding,” he said. A moment later, she was being lifted up into his arms.

Her face collided with his chest. It had a leathery feel to it. She got an intimate view of his tattoos.

Tiegan dumped her on the bed, almost as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of her. Turning to Sara, he mumbled, “You must be more careful.”

“Thank you, Tiegan.” Sara gave him a curious look. “She was only startled.”

“Should I call the Healer?” Tiegan asked.

“Why do I have an arm? What is this… am I dreaming right now?”