Beauty and the Fleet (Intergalactic Fairy Tales Book 2) by Robert McKay Page B

herself of happiness. She would focus on escape, and once she did, she would live life to its fullest.
    When the flow of blood started to slow, and the mattress had become more red than grey, she finally got the replay of her life everyone talked about. It wasn't all-inclusive or linear like she'd always imagined. Instead, she saw glimpses. There was the pride she'd felt at being promoted early to flight school, and the drunken and raucous nights with Torch and the rest of his gang, but mostly there was love. There were all the times when she'd partied a bit too hard and Hands had been so sweet, carrying her back to her bunk, never minding when she slapped him and insisted she could take care of herself. He would let her walk until she fell down and then pick her up again. Mostly though, there was her father. Long evenings spent in companionable silence while they read books by the fire and then longer nights where they discussed their favorite parts of what they'd read. It had been a very simple life, but it was a good one. In the end, she even heard her father whispering her name to rouse her from sleep and send her off to bed.
    Dying wasn't as painful as she'd imagined. Her wrists burned. It was a bit cold and the air smelled a bit tangy, like an astringent. Strange that none of the people she'd talked to about near-death experiences ever mentioned that. It pulled her away from the sweet silence of the abyss and was ruining her last reminiscence. And then her father was calling her again and she smiled to herself, once again drifting into the darkness.
    "Beatrix."
    His voice was more insistent and less familiar, and then suddenly all too familiar. Not her father at all. The beast.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     
     
    Waking up to that voice was really starting to piss Beatrix off. The strange smell and coldness made sense when she woke up in a hospital room, an IV stuck in her arm. Her thin hospital gown might as well have been paper for all that it did to make her feel warm and protected. White gauze bandages covered her wrists. Strangely there were no straps or cuffs holding her to the bed. If she wanted to, she could get up and run out the door. The beast sat in a chair next to her bed, but he didn't appear to be armed.
    "What's to keep me from running out that door?" Beatrix asked, wary of things that looked too good to be true.
    "Nothing," said the beast, his expression mild.
    Beatrix sat up like a shot and immediately regretted it. Her vision blurred and went dark at the edges. The room spun sickeningly. When her vision cleared again, she was lying back on the bed, which held her up at a forty-five degree angle.
    "Oh, there is the small matter of your recovery from massive blood loss that may hinder your escape attempts. We didn't have any compatible blood to replace it with, so you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Slowly, over time."
    "Oh joy, you won't let me die and I'm too weak to escape. So now I get to stay alive to watch you torture my friends," said Beatrix, venom dripping from her words.
    "Quite the contrary. Your antics, and the failed bonding of Partners to subjects two and three, have given us quite a bit more autonomy than we had previously. Our voice of dissent about your handling is finally being taken seriously. We believe you will find your time here much more pleasant now that we are given final say as to your care." The beast looked smug, an expression that seemed quite at home on his vaguely feline features.
    "Wait, failed bonding with subjects two and three?" asked Beatrix
    "Yes, both of them rejected their Partners. They seem to be recovering well now." The beast's yellow, vertically slitted eyes watched Beatrix closely, like she was a form of entertainment.
    "Hands is okay, and Gadget too?" asked Beatrix, too tired to hide the desperation in her voice.
    The beast nodded, a slight smile revealing just the tips of his pointed canines. "Yes, we believe that's what you call subjects two and