Wray Read Online Free PDF Page B

only a
small bite of her half, ignoring the urge to stuff the whole thing
in at once. It was a little dry, a little salty, but also a little
sweet in a maple bacon sort of way. Nothing had ever tasted so
good.
    "Ganglian is the name of the species that we
found you with." He told her as they ate.
    "Those stinky, hairy bastards are called
Ganglians?" Kim asked after she swallowed, a rule her mother had
drilled into her about not talking with your mouth full still
worked, even here.
    "Yes." Wray couldn’t help but grin at her
accurate description of the Ganglians. It faded quickly when he
remembered why she was so accurate. "There is water in the
container next to you." He gestured to the other side of the rock
and the pouch he had refilled. Wray watched her closely as she ate;
worried she would be unable to tolerate Tornian food. Nutrient bars
weren't known for their tastiness, they were meant for a warrior's
survival in extreme conditions. He had never heard of a female
eating one.
    Green eyes looked from him to the container
on the floor before she leaned down and picked it up. It reminded
her of those refillable water pouches runners used back on
Earth.
    He was about to tell her how to open it when
she figured it by herself and took a cautious drink. After several
small sips of the cool liquid, she handed it to him.
    “Do you want more to eat?” he asked after he
drank, handing it back to her.
    “There’s enough?” she asked hopefully and saw
Wray hesitate.
    “For you there is.” he told her.
    Kim gave him a considering look. “Why just
for me?”
    “You are female. I am male.” he stated as if
that explained it all.
    “How many were there?” she asked, gesturing
to the bag that held the bars.
    “Six.”
    Kim looked into the bag and counted five
remaining bars. “You said we have been here two days.”
    “That is correct.”
    “You haven’t eaten since we arrived?”
    “You were going to need the nutrition when
you woke.”
    “But so do you.”
    Wray gave her a confused look. “You are
female, you come first.”
    “But…”
    “Have another.” he ordered.
    “Only if you do.” Kim argued back.
    “No.” he shook his head. “You need it
more.”
    “How much longer will we be here?”
    Wray looked towards the cave’s entrance and
while he couldn’t see the storm, he could hear it and frowned.
“Storms this large have been known to last up to a week.”
    “But someone will come?”
    “Yes.” He nodded confidently. “My people will
come for us.”
    Kim looked to the bars and thought about what
he said. In another lifetime, she would have eaten her fill and not
worried about the future, or him, but that was before she lost her
family, before the Ganglians.
    They could be here for another five days and
there were only five bars left. Her gaze traveled to Wray; he would
let her eat them all if she wanted, taking none for himself. Why?
He was just as important as she was. Actually, he was more
important because she had no idea how to survive here.
    “I can wait.”
    “Kim….”
    “You said you would tell me what you
knew.”
    Wray saw the stubbornness return to her eyes
and sighed heavily, somehow knowing she wouldn’t budge.
    “We were just leaving the Kaliszian space
when we intercepted a Ganglian ship leaving Tornian space. When we
boarded the ship, they resisted.” He saw her confusion. “Ganglians never resist. They are cowards with no honor. They thrive on
the pain of others.”
    “Yeah, I figured that out.” Kim said quietly,
remembering how stinky bastard seemed to hiss happily whenever she
would scream. Shivering at the memory, she pulled her knees up to
her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
    “Are you well?” Wray asked, not missing her
shiver.
    “Just… please just keep talking.”
    Wray nodded. “They weren’t always like that,
the Ganglians.” He saw her look at him in surprise. “They were once
a proud and honorable race, committed to protecting those