Transmissions || Dustin Bates

Antigravity

The next day, it was noon and Shay still wasn't awake. I had gotten bored with sitting in my lab, so I found the other two sitting in the living room near their rooms, watching the news. I sat down in the chair near them, their eyes following me.

"Hey, Bates." Adam welcomed me, his eyes going back to the TV.

"Hey, guys," I said with a smile, also watching.

"What time is it?" Brock asked, as always. Ever since he noticed that I actually paid attention to my watch and used it as more than a swipetech port to check my social media platforms, he asked me a lot for the time, rarely just swiping over his own port to check.

"Twelve o' five," I answered, looking back up. He sighed, reclining his head back.

"I guess she really got wore out yesterday. I hate when she has to go through that." Adam sighed, leaning forward to put his head in his hands. Brock nodded. "I'm going to go get her to wake up. She needs to be among friends." He walked away, back the hall towards where we knew Shay would be. I looked at Brock.

"What happened? She made me leave, so, I have no idea."

"When the Senate needs information, they get it any way they can. Force tends to be a viable option. I mean, it's rare that a captive comes out alive. But this is war." I always saw Brock as a very innocent person, but in those moments, I saw the guilt that stayed in his soul, eating away at any bit of vindication. They were all guilty of murder, hands stained red with the blood of countless different species. "The Senators don't like to get their hands dirty. So, somebody has to do it. Why not use the weapons they created? And Shay is one of the most powerful weapons they have." He sat back sighing.

"She isn't just a weapon," I whispered, thinking back to everything she had told me yesterday. I had been seeing her as a leader, not a person. She made herself seem so cold to everyone but her team that I forgot she was a person with more than just rumors in her past. When she started to chip back the layers of paint she had put on herself, I got to see a glimpse of the real Shaylee Diaz. I liked the real Shay more than Captain Diaz.

"I know that. She's so much more. You don't even know the half of it, Dustin." Brock looked down. "So, so much more." A somber feeling set over the room like a damp blanket. Brock knew something I didn't and I knew more than I knew two days ago. I was starting to get to know the person in place of the rumors and facade. I was too focused into my thoughts to hear two people sit down on the couch next to Brock- well, one person sat, one person flopped.

Shaylee had set herself down in between Brock and Adam, curling up into Brock's side, nudging his arm with her nose until he gave in to putting his arm around her and allowing her to cuddle up into his chest. He played with her black hair, still curled. I had no idea how it always stayed so perfectly in loose curls. Maybe she had a perm or something.

"Afternoon," Brock greeted her, still letting his fingers run through her hair. She mumbled something back, wrapping her arm around his waist. He smiled, looking down at her.

Nobody really said anything, attention on the news, or on Brock's steady breathing in Shay's case. I noticed her fingers gently tracing patterns into his side. Her relationships with these people confused me a little. I didn't expect her to be so physical with people after what she had told me yesterday, but I supposed that it came with a lot of trust that they would never touch her like that.

"I'll be right back. I need to go check on Ron," I said, pulling myself up out of the comfortable chair.

"I'll come with you." I turned to the couch to see Shay untangling herself from Brock, pulling her soft, white blanket with her like a cape over her shoulders. She followed me down the hallway, my boots echoing through the halls while her feet just pitter-pattered behind me.

We reached the door to the medical bay, me opening the door and letting her in first. She stopped at the doorway, her blanket falling off her shoulders before she ran, tackling her best friend in a hug. I looked to see Ron sitting up, looking a little dazed and groggy. All the same, he had a protective arm around the back of his best friend, gently touching the ends of her hair as she clutched him tightly.

"Hey, there, DeChant," I greeted him, smiling. He smiled back, still holding onto Shay as I paged the rest. Moments later, the other two were prying Shay off so they could have a turn to hug their friend. Even I hugged him in those brief moments Shay was not in protect mode. The other three sat on the bed next to Ron's as I unhooked him from the wires that had been keeping him monitored.

"So, how long was I out?" He asked, looking relatively okay for someone who had been out of life for a while.

"I'd say maybe ten days," I replied, checking his blood pressure.

"Nice," he hissed, nodding. He looked at Shay, smiling at her. She smiled back and he winked, letting her know he was fine. I didn't notice she was on edge, but the more I looked, the more I saw she was. I moved back from the bed after everything was off of him.

"I think you just had a lot of whatever made you sleep in your system and it took a while to get out. You should be fine. I'd just suggest taking it easy for a couple of days. Then again, I'm an engineer, not a doctor." I joked, patting his back. He smiled back at me.

"Cool. I'm ready to get out of here. If it's really been ten days, I need a shower and to take a shit." I laughed, helping him off the bed. Shay was immediately at his side, helping him out of the room. I looked at the other two.

"So then," Adam said, leaning back. He looked up at the ceiling before sighing. "I'm going to paint." With that, he flung himself upward and walked out, leaving me and Brock alone. We stood in a not so awkward silence for a few moments, just looking around.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested, nodding to me.

I followed him out of the compound, out to the green grass of our front yard, pasted the gates that kept people out, and then out into the streets of the city. We walked in silence, the bright sun beating down on us. I was happy in the silence, just glad to be outside. I felt like I would trap myself in my lab constantly, hiding away among my work. It was nice to be outside, though. I breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh air. I was content.

"So, what did you learn from the interrogation?" Brock didn't look at me, only around at the empty streets. That was one of the few perks that we had from living miles outside of the city.

"Well, the Grottan believed in the F.E.C, that it was here. Believed that it was based here." I kicked a rock softly. Being outside made me miss my runs, just going out to see what was around me.

"That's crazy. I mean, the F.E.C isn't real. Who believes in Carnivores and ripping information from Engineers?" Brock laughed, shaking his head. "Somethin' parents tell their kids to keep them from doing something dangerous." I didn't say a word. I never did. 

I never said anything about the night I thought I saw someone rip out a man's throat with their teeth as a teen. I never said anything about the nightmares of the same thing happening to me. I never said a single goddamn thing about how terrified I was of them. 

"Maybe. Maybe it holds some truth," I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets. He shrugged, too.

"Maybe. Who knows? Anything is possible. I mean, look at Shay! She's getting used to you!" He exclaimed, nudging my arm. I smiled, shaking my head.

"Yeah, guess she is."

"Maybe it might lead to something more. Thomson use to be married in her younger years. Married the captain of one of her first squads. Maybe you and Shay..."

"No, I don't think she'd be into that." Brock knocked my shoulder with his.

"Don't think like that. Have hope. I see the way you look at her."

"No, no, she wouldn't be into me like that. She doesn't see me that way."

"You mean the way you see her?"

I stayed silent. I had no retort. I had no excuse. I had nothing but the truth that was hanging in the air.

"The way I see her... power, beauty, graceful, dangerous, command, leadership, gentleness, strength, intelligence, and so much more I have yet to learn," I breathed, not meeting his eyes. He put an arm around my shoulders, grinning.

"Good. Let's go get some food. My treat."