𝔸𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 » 𝕆𝕓𝕚-𝕎𝕒𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕓𝕚

Chapter 19

Now

Obi-Wan feels cold. Everything around him feels like he is drowning in the vastness of open space. He struggles to breathe, despite the air being there; he knows the area around him is warm, but the cold of his body makes the warmth not feel like enough. He can't see anything even though his eyes are open and straining to see anything.

He hears himself cough, ragged and terribly hoarse, but at least he can hear it.

"Easy. Here." A voice speaks from beside Obi-Wan making him jump. He hasn't heard anyone else near him or even sensed it.

Before he knows it, something is getting pressed to his mouth and poured in. Obi-Wan tries to fight it until he feels the liquid splash across his dry tongue and he tastes the flavorless yet distinguishable liquid. It takes all his power not to chug the whole bottle.

"Very slow," his helper instructs, "you don't want to overdo it and make yourself sick."

After drinking the water carefully, and rubbing his shaking hands down his face and over his eyes, he feels a bit more together. He clears his throat and says, "who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?" The man asks, sounding hurt.

"I can't see you," Obi-Wan says, trying to hide his concern but failing. Everything around him is so dim and blurry that he can merely see shapes and nothing more.

"Oh, your sight will come back. It's just the post-carbonite sickness." The shape of the stranger shrugs.

"What a relief," Obi-Wan replies, but whether it's sarcastic or sincere he isn't sure.

A particularly harsh shiver shoots down Obi-Wans spine and he grips his arms over his chest. "Why is it so cold?" He doesn't know much about carbon-freezing but surely it's not natural to feel as cold as he does now.

"You've been frozen. Cold comes with the territory. Your body is also going into shock so it's going to get worse—"

"Worse?" Obi-Wan chokes.

"—before it gets better. Luckily, I came prepared."

There is some rustling beside him and suddenly a sharp pain in his neck. "Ow," Obi-Wan gasps and tries to move away but his arm is held in place. A moment later, he is released.

"That will help with the sickness."

"A warning would be nice." But even as he says it, he can feel the injection working its magic; his shivering subsides and his limbs don't feel like jelly.

"We need to move." His companion stands up and pulls Obi-Wan with him. His knees give out and Obi-Wan stumbles into his helper before being rightened once more. He can stand, just not without a little help. The stranger has to support Obi-Wan by the waist to get him walking.

They rush... somewhere. Obi-Wan struggles along with only this person as his guide and physical support.

"You still haven't answered my question," Obi-Wan accuses when they round another corner. His eyesight is either slowly improving or they're in a brightly lit hall. He can't tell.

"Which one?"

"Who are you?"

They suddenly come to a halt as alarms begin to sound all around them and the white hall transitions into a red hall.

"Are we on a ship?"

"You could say that. We need to move faster. Can you walk on your own yet?" Instead of waiting for an answer the stranger releases him, and Obi-Wan is surprised he doesn't sway.