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I took a nap this afternoon and managed to sleep so now I'm going to be up all night. It's cliché crap but at least I'm distracted .
II
When the after-shock ended Kevin asked, “You still with me, Joe?”
“Yes, but not for much… Can you learn my name, please? Remember it. I have no one else -- even out there. There’s nobody.”
Those words had the weight of a last request. Kevin would almost rather have had another beam land on top of him. He wasn’t the last request type. He was the type you wanted around because he was fun and looked good on holovid. Most of all because of who his mother was.
He wanted to say something to falsely reassuring to Joe. Then he felt something warm drip onto his neck. Even in the dark he knew Joe, the person who had saved his life {for the moment, anyway} was bleeding on him. He recalled a joke he’d heard recently about alien blood and he wondered what color it was. He gulped stale dusty air before saying, “Yes, I’ll remember. If I’m around for 10 minutes or 100 years longer than you.”
He didn’t get the chance to wonder what a name “not meant for ears” sounded like. The moment he said the words, he knew. It didn’t sound like anything. It felt wonderful.
II
When the after-shock ended Kevin asked, “You still with me, Joe?”
“Yes, but not for much… Can you learn my name, please? Remember it. I have no one else -- even out there. There’s nobody.”
Those words had the weight of a last request. Kevin would almost rather have had another beam land on top of him. He wasn’t the last request type. He was the type you wanted around because he was fun and looked good on holovid. Most of all because of who his mother was.
He wanted to say something to falsely reassuring to Joe. Then he felt something warm drip onto his neck. Even in the dark he knew Joe, the person who had saved his life {for the moment, anyway} was bleeding on him. He recalled a joke he’d heard recently about alien blood and he wondered what color it was. He gulped stale dusty air before saying, “Yes, I’ll remember. If I’m around for 10 minutes or 100 years longer than you.”
He didn’t get the chance to wonder what a name “not meant for ears” sounded like. The moment he said the words, he knew. It didn’t sound like anything. It felt wonderful.
