Tool

Chapter Twenty-Two

The hours ticked by, time advancing a little faster as they got closer to their leaving date. Sometimes they played chess. At others they talked, tried to come up with plans, desperately thought of things they could have missed, risks they'd overlooked. But Aurelia was pleased to see that Nicholas was coming around to her viewpoint. The only chance they had was to get the hell out of Lunar, and the most viable alternative meant Earth.

She smiled as she looked down at his sleeping form. She knew Nicholas was hoping that leaving together might mean their relationship would become something more. Who knew? Perhaps it would. One day she possibly could grow to love him. Not in the same way as she'd loved Jonathon, with a deep, burning knowledge that he was the perfect fit for her. But in a companionable way. Gently, Aurelia stroked Nicholas's face. He was a good man.

Zak came again, bringing more supplies. When he heard of their plan, which Nicholas insisted on sharing with him, he nodded. "I've heard rumors of settlements outside the cities. Who can tell? I might make a break for it when the time comes."

Aurelia knew he was referring to the time when he would be injected, too old to be of any use to the military. She hoped he did make a break for it, that he and his human wife made it to Earth one day.

"When are you leaving?"

Nicholas told him.

"I'll be back to bring you more supplies. You'll need them when you get to Earth. Travel packs, that sort of thing."

"Thank you," said Aurelia. He's a kind man, she thought.

Tara came back one afternoon, a huge bag thrown over one shoulder.

"Don't just stand there, Aur; help me!" she said as Aurelia opened the door to find out what all the noise in the basement was about.

"What is all this stuff?"

"Thought we'd better have a dress rehearsal," Tara puffed, thankfully surrendering one handle of the bag to Aurelia. "So I brought clothes for you to try on and some stuff to help Nick look less clone-like."

Trying on the wild and crazy outfits Tara brought was actually fun. Aurelia nearly wet herself seeing Nicholas in a toga-style garment, and he couldn't speak for laughing when she tried on a dress made of living material that writhed around her body as she moved, tickling her terribly. Finally, Nicholas decided on huge, flowing pants in bottle green with a long, almost transparent tunic on top. Aurelia thought she might as well go all out, and she selected a dress that seemed to be made from small elastic strips covering the important parts but not much else. She hoped the dress would detract attention from her face.

Tara pulled out a metal device and told Nicholas to sit.

"Why?" he said, suspiciously.

"Just do it," the girl ordered.

With smooth, professional sweeps, she shaved through his hair until the military crew cut was gone. Nicholas was left with a head bare at the sides and a square chunk of growth at the top. Tara pulled a bottle out of her pocket and sprinkled something on Nicholas's remaining hair, rubbing it in. Very gradually, the topknot turned a shade of green that matched his pants.

"Not bad," said Tara, standing back to admire her work. "What do you think?"

"I love it," said Aurelia. She knew Nicholas was going to feel self-conscious enough without her criticizing his bizarre coif.

"One more thing." Tara rummaged around and found a makeup kit, quickly circling Nicholas's eyes with dark green and painting a flash of silver gray powder over each cheekbone.