wet.
There didn’t actually seem to be any way she could accomplish both, however, so she decided to just disregard the binding and focus on bathing.
The water was salty, which seemed to rule out any possibility that it could be anything but an ocean. It occurred to her after a few minutes that she’d simply assumed it was water and only water, just like she was used to back on Earth, and that it could have any sort of chemicals in it that could be toxic to her—to humans. It didn’t seem to bother the Hirachi, though, and although they were from an entirely different world, she thought—unless he’d been lying—that the insistence by the lizard-man that humans and Hirachi were closely related genetically must mean that what was alright for one was alright for the other.
That was probably dangerous thinking, but she didn’t know much about science.
Genetics, she understood, on the forensics end, at least. Beyond the narrow scope of science directly related to her job, though, she didn’t know a hell of a lot, and didn’t even remember much of what she’d learned in school. It had taken all she could do to memorize the elemental table, the names of the planets and moons in her own solar system—basic science—and she hadn’t had any use for it since so she hadn’t retained a hell of a lot.
The salt stung, which was what had brought about her sudden awareness of and
anxiety about the water, but she was pretty sure it was just a typical salt-on-open-wound reaction. She hadn’t realized how cut up she was from her little adventure until she began scrubbing salt water all over herself.
She hoped to god there wasn’t anything toxic in the plants.
Deborah settled beside her after a few moments. “Do you think that was …
wise?”
Miranda glanced at her. She didn’t have to think hard to figure out what the topic of conversation was. “Probably not.”
Deborah seemed to wrestle with something for a moment. “They’re pissed off
THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 48
because they think you endangered them.”
Miranda turned to stare at her. “Exactly how did they arrive at that brilliant conclusion?”
Deborah’s lips tightened. “We don’t know anything about these monsters,” she
said pointedly. “What’s to say they wouldn’t retaliate on the ones handy if one of us got away?”
Anger swelled in Miranda. It took her a moment to realize that not all of it was defensive. She was offended by Deborah’s reference to the Hirachi as monsters. She didn’t really want to examine that at the moment, though. “Look at it this way,” she said tightly. “I tested the waters. Now we know that we aren’t allowed to leave the compound, that they will come after us and bring us back. We know that, even if furious—and believe me Khan was—they won’t hurt us. They’ve given us food, water, tended our injuries, and Khan insisted on getting clothes for us and some way to test the food to make sure it won’t kill us. I don’t think they’re monsters.”
“I guess all of us should just appreciate you ‘testing’ the waters for us?”
Miranda glared at her. “I don’t think I give a fuck one way or the other, lady! In fact, I’m sure I don’t!”
Miranda’s furious comeback seemed to diffuse Deborah’s anger or, more likely, it set off an alarm, making her aware that she was dealing with an unknown quantity. She swallowed with an effort. “You’re a cop.”
“ Was a cop,” Miranda said pointedly. “I’m way the hell out of my jurisdiction here, to say the least. On Earth, I was a cop. Before we were taken, I had a job. Now , I don’t have a job. I don’t have a duty to anybody here but myself.” She made the announcement loud enough that she was sure everyone could hear and swept them with a narrow eyed, challenging glare. “We’ll all be better off if we try to stick together and not get into backbiting, but we all need to try to accept that this is real life. It might
There didn’t actually seem to be any way she could accomplish both, however, so she decided to just disregard the binding and focus on bathing.
The water was salty, which seemed to rule out any possibility that it could be anything but an ocean. It occurred to her after a few minutes that she’d simply assumed it was water and only water, just like she was used to back on Earth, and that it could have any sort of chemicals in it that could be toxic to her—to humans. It didn’t seem to bother the Hirachi, though, and although they were from an entirely different world, she thought—unless he’d been lying—that the insistence by the lizard-man that humans and Hirachi were closely related genetically must mean that what was alright for one was alright for the other.
That was probably dangerous thinking, but she didn’t know much about science.
Genetics, she understood, on the forensics end, at least. Beyond the narrow scope of science directly related to her job, though, she didn’t know a hell of a lot, and didn’t even remember much of what she’d learned in school. It had taken all she could do to memorize the elemental table, the names of the planets and moons in her own solar system—basic science—and she hadn’t had any use for it since so she hadn’t retained a hell of a lot.
The salt stung, which was what had brought about her sudden awareness of and
anxiety about the water, but she was pretty sure it was just a typical salt-on-open-wound reaction. She hadn’t realized how cut up she was from her little adventure until she began scrubbing salt water all over herself.
She hoped to god there wasn’t anything toxic in the plants.
Deborah settled beside her after a few moments. “Do you think that was …
wise?”
Miranda glanced at her. She didn’t have to think hard to figure out what the topic of conversation was. “Probably not.”
Deborah seemed to wrestle with something for a moment. “They’re pissed off
THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 48
because they think you endangered them.”
Miranda turned to stare at her. “Exactly how did they arrive at that brilliant conclusion?”
Deborah’s lips tightened. “We don’t know anything about these monsters,” she
said pointedly. “What’s to say they wouldn’t retaliate on the ones handy if one of us got away?”
Anger swelled in Miranda. It took her a moment to realize that not all of it was defensive. She was offended by Deborah’s reference to the Hirachi as monsters. She didn’t really want to examine that at the moment, though. “Look at it this way,” she said tightly. “I tested the waters. Now we know that we aren’t allowed to leave the compound, that they will come after us and bring us back. We know that, even if furious—and believe me Khan was—they won’t hurt us. They’ve given us food, water, tended our injuries, and Khan insisted on getting clothes for us and some way to test the food to make sure it won’t kill us. I don’t think they’re monsters.”
“I guess all of us should just appreciate you ‘testing’ the waters for us?”
Miranda glared at her. “I don’t think I give a fuck one way or the other, lady! In fact, I’m sure I don’t!”
Miranda’s furious comeback seemed to diffuse Deborah’s anger or, more likely, it set off an alarm, making her aware that she was dealing with an unknown quantity. She swallowed with an effort. “You’re a cop.”
“ Was a cop,” Miranda said pointedly. “I’m way the hell out of my jurisdiction here, to say the least. On Earth, I was a cop. Before we were taken, I had a job. Now , I don’t have a job. I don’t have a duty to anybody here but myself.” She made the announcement loud enough that she was sure everyone could hear and swept them with a narrow eyed, challenging glare. “We’ll all be better off if we try to stick together and not get into backbiting, but we all need to try to accept that this is real life. It might
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