Vitalis Omnibus Read Online Free PDF

“Just me...us, I guess.”
    “Well, that’s my story,” Kira said. “There’s a lot of holes in it, but it’s all I’ve got. I’m scared shitless of what always seems to happen to me, but I’ve never told anybody before either.  Maybe I just needed to trust somebody to make it go away. Or maybe I’ll never see you again.”
    Eric nodded, and then looked away. When he looked back at her, he focused on her eyes and said, “I’m fucking crazy, but I believe you. Everything you’ve just said, I believe. I’m willing to risk it for you. Not anybody else, just you, Kira.”
    Kira found herself smiling. The smile faded quickly. “Why are you looking at me like that ?”
    “Just trying to make sure every part of you hears me, so that way I’m burned into your memory to keep you from pulling the blackout again.”
    “Oh!” Kira smiled again. “I hope it works!”
    He let out a laugh. “Me , too. Now, come on; we’ve got a date with some hibernation bunks.”
    “Don’t suppose the Captain would let us share one?”
    Eric laughed. “Don’t even ask, trust me! The good thing is the time will pass quickly.”
    “Do we have time for me to apologize for running out on you?”
    “I bet we can squeeze it—mmph!”
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    Kira woke up slowly, coming out of a fog that she had to fight her way out of. She remembered something about a conversation she had with another woman, but she could never see her face. As the light intensified , her memory of the dream faded.
    “Kira? You with us?”
    Kira groaned and opened her eyes, squinting even though the lights had been turned low. A familiar figure loomed above her. She smiled in spite of herself and removed the attachments that allowed her body to enter the hibernation sleep. A moment later he was helping her out of the tube and handing her a robe.
    “Want to help me out of my bed too?” Tarn called with a nasty leer in his voice. Thumb protruding between index and middle finger, Eric gave Tarn the universal gesture everyone throughout the Coalition worlds had only one definition for. Tarn laughed again.
    “Be at your stations in fifteen minutes. I want to know what our status is,” Captain Sharp ordered. He headed off to his own quarters to change, leaving the rest to make do in the communal locker room.
    “If you hurry , you can get there before the men,” Eric urged.
    Kira’s eyes widened. She winked at him and hurried off, thankful that her body was responding to a normal wakeup instead of the forced one. Until she stubbed her toe going through a hatch, that is. Limping, she still made it to the locker room before the others and slapped her hand across the occupied button. Breathing an unnecessary sigh of relief, she let the robe fall and turned to the full length mirror. She studied herself, noting how growth during hibernation was effectively halted.
    Then again she’d always been exceptionally lucky when it came to her body. She seldom needed to use any depilatory creams, for example. Aside from her long hair that was currently d yed red, her body didn’t seem to grow any. She’d wanted to get that checked out at a doctor’s office but the opportunity had never presented itself. Her fingernails and toenails were similar; they seemed to grow to a set length but never beyond. She’d gotten used to it over the years but it still seemed bizarre.
    Kira looked up, looking in her own eyes. She jumped and spun around, looking for the dark shape that was behind her. There was no one there. She looked around, her heart beating quickly in her chest, but still no one was there. She turned her head to glance in the mirror again but all was as it should be.
    Kira straightened, and then wondered why she had been crouched so low she was almost on her hands and knees. She’d been comfortable, but why would she want to duck? She shook her head again and walked to her locker, intent on dressing quickly. She definitely wanted a shower before