Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(66)

Elise seemed to be fitting in just fine with these people. A little too fine for James’s comfort. They were curious about her strange dress and exotic features. No sooner had she set foot on the field than she caught the attention of the tribespeople nearby. A group of children approached her shyly, and one of the bolder ones offered her what looked like a carving. For the first time since she had come to the present, he saw her smile, and it worried him.

Over the course of the night, his concern increased, as she grew more comfortable with them. Once the children overcame their shyness, it became a game for them to show off to her. He even heard her laugh once or twice. It was as if she had already become one of them. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous. What if she chose to stay with them? What if he lost her to them?

James ground his teeth and clenched his fist, his anger rising up through his body. He had to check himself. He didn’t own her. Just because he had brought her back didn’t mean she was his property. That would make him no better than Valta. She should decide where she wanted to stay. If anything, regardless of whether she rejected him or not, it was his responsibility to protect her. Like it had been with Sasha.

His thoughts flashed back to his little sister. She would be roughly Elise’s age now. Probably the same height. Sudden grief almost buckled his knees as the memory of his sister overlapped the visage of his new ward. Was he doomed to fail her as well?

And me? Grace asked, sitting next to him and clinging to his left arm.

And me. The Nazi soldier waved, standing off to the side. He paused. But you don’t really care about me, do you?

“Don’t you two have anything better to do?” James asked.

You’d think so, the imaginary Grace replied.

That’s a question you should be asking yourself, the Nazi said.

James shook her free violently and stood up. It wasn’t the same with Grace and the Nazi. They were already dead. No. That wasn’t true. Elise was exactly like them, except with Elise, he had chosen to bring her back. With all the others, he had chosen to let them die. He was a monster, playing God and choosing who lived based on personal whims. He buried his face in his hands. Even when he tried to do good, bad things happened.

Fucking abyss, he needed a drink. He wondered if these natives had anything that would do the trick.

James looked up and saw Elise looking his way, a concerned expression splashed on her face. She held one of the children in her arms and had a gaggle more following closely behind. Their eyes met, and she immediately put the child down and excused herself. She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” she said. “Are you all right? You’re looking a little unsteady, and a bit pale. Well, more than usual.” She touched his arm. “You’re shaking. Are you sick?”

“Chronmen don’t get sick,” he replied.

“All right, tough guy,” she said, snaking her arm around his right elbow and leading him toward the fire. “Why don’t you stop moping in the dark over there and hang out with everyone else?”

“You like these people?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“They’re good people,” she said. “They just have to warm up to you.”

Elise sat him down on a stone next to the fire, and made a point to introduce him to the people nearby. He was amazed that she already knew many of them by name. They treated him like almost everyone else in this solar system did, just short of open hostility with a mix of caution, fear, and wariness.

The warmth of the fire felt good. James had kept his atmos turned off in order to conserve his levels. Now, he was feeling an assortment of temperatures, from the chill in his toes to the burning itch on his arm closest to the flames. He sat down next to her and stared at the fire. There was something alive and chaotic about a real fire, how it flickered and danced and spit sparks into the night air. Within a few seconds, the fire got too hot for him and he had to shy away from the heat.

Dinner came next, and it was pathetic. Both James and Elise were given dented metal bowls with a handful of berries, cooked vegetables, some strange blackened bits, and a sliver of meat. James’s AI band ran an analysis of his meal: wild berries, mixed leaves, cooked cockroaches, and rat. None of this was new to James. He and Sasha had survived on a diet much like this back on Mnemosyne Station.

Elise made a gagging noise and struggled to choke down the cooked cockroach bits. He didn’t have the heart to tell her what it was. He considered offering her his portion, though that probably would be the last thing she wanted right now. Then he reminded himself that he hadn’t eaten in over a day as well.

As the two of them choked down their meals, he watched what the Elfreth ate. If they were eating the same thing as they were, then he might be able to put to rest his theory of them being cannibals. Fortunately, it seemed tonight was cockroach and rat night for everyone.

All of them were thin, especially the young. Many of the children reminded James of his childhood. Like he had been, each of them was skinny, tired, and hungry, but still young enough not to surrender to the hopelessness. At least not yet. Each of these kids was strong and resilient. They had to be to have survived this long.

“James.” Elise nudged him. “You’re bigger than me. Maybe you should have some of my dinner.” She pushed her plate toward him.

“You need it as much as I do,” he said gruffly.