17.

*Her body trembled, her breath coming out in harsh puffs as she struggled to adjust her vision as the bright light coming from above kept burning into her retinas every time she fluttered her eyelids open.*

*She tried to move, only to notice that something was restraining her arms and legs, keeping her plastered against a soft but weird surface that kept sticking against her damp skin.*

*A muffled and small cry escaped her as she forcefully opened her eyes and looked over herself, shocked to realize that her body was completely bare, and vulnerable as she laid there, restrained and at the mercy of whomever would stumble upon her.*



*She whimpered yet again, futiely tugging against her restrains when the sound of footsteps suddenly reached her ears, her eyes widening in horror as soon as she noticed the large silhouette of a male-looking figure, determinedly approaching her.*



*Frightened cries flew past her lips as she watched him come closer, and closer, feeling wetness blurr her vision and trail over her face as she struggled to get a better view at his facial features when the soft touch of a hand made contact with her knee, making her scream out as hard as she could.*



Her breath hitched within her throat as her mind subconsciously made her aware of that mild touch against her knee, rousing herself as if she were breaking through the surface of water and meeting those unusual galaxy eyes as soon as her gaze refocused.



She rubbed at her eyes, noticing she had fallen asleep in that exact same crouching position over the bed, her neck mildly hurting and her hips a little bit numb as she stretched out her tensed muscles, all thoughts about that dream completely forgotten as she curiously gazed at the BloodHound now standing before her.



"It is almost time," Emerick briefly announced her, allowing her to spend a few seconds longer to gather her bearings before he offered her his gloved hand, silently inviting her to climb down from the bed.



"You should take a seat and prepare," He added, roaming his stellar gaze over her features in a rather inspecting manner as she hesitated for a few moments longer, staring between his outstretched palm and face before she lastly placed her smaller hand in his, mildly surprised by the incredibly warm feel of his bare fingers gently touching hers.



Even though he had basically scared the living daylights out of her and made her feel so embarrassed after that crazy incident in the bathroom just hours ago, she eventually chose to at least start giving him bits and bits of her trust because whether she liked it or not, it was just like he had previously told her; he was the only one capable of keeping her safe and help her survive on his planet after all.



"We're going to land on Proxima Centauri?" She asked, tangible curiousness underlying her tone as she carefully climbed down from the bed with his help since her body was still a little sore and stared up at his stony expression.



"Yes. Soon," He answered, wasting but a moment to hold her gaze before he averted his attention towards that safety seat awaiting her, silently coaxing her to move towards it as well.



She didn't object and went to seat herself in it whilst he followed her, careful to properly attach that safety shield over her torso before he went to occupy his seat as well.



Silence enveloped them for a few passing seconds, the girl staring through that curved glass pane with a certain sense of foreboding as she casually noticed those two tiny and brightly shining pinkish spheres so far, far away from them, wondering if those were actually Alpha B1 and Alpha B2 when Emerick's masculine voice suddenly broke through the silence, abruptly interrupting her train of thoughts.



"What were you dreaming about?"



She blinked a few times in utter surprise, so taken aback by his question that she entirely failed to think, let alone answer.



"Huh?"



"You were making those scared sounds. I could feel your fear," He commented as she turned her head to look at him, for once noticing visible concern marring his perfectly symmetrical features.



"I-It was nothing. Don't worry about it," She fastly blurted out before she could even think about changing her mind and tell him.



"*Entering Proxima Centauri atmosphere in 10 Earthian minutes,*" That robotic voice overhead suddenly chimed in, effectively interrupting their conversation.



*What? H-how...?*



Her heart-rate increased, anxiety building from within as a furious torrent of thoughts suddenly swarmed inside her mind, making her feel so restless about what was to come.



"Madeleine," She heard Emerick's calm and grave voice, briefly drawing her attention towards him.



"Everything will be okay, I will keep you safe," He vowed as she widely peered into his purple galaxy eyes.



"Just hold on tight and everything will be okay. Try to breathe as slow and deep as possible, otherwise there will not be enough oxygen reaching your brain and you could possibly faint during our descent due to the difference in atmospheric pressure," He instructed, unfortunately only adding fuel to her gradually worsening condition.



"What?"



She didn't get to hear another word from him as suddenly, she could feel her body plummet towards a certain death along with the metal contraption encasing them, a horrified scream breaking through her lips before she could stop it or even try and control herself for that matter, the BloodHound helplessly watching her as she wailed for a few moments longer until the pod suddenly reactivated its anti-gravity shield, remaining suspended but a few centimeters above the ground.



And as soon as he was able to, he disabled his safety shield then rushed to disable hers as well, watching her stare up at him whilst in a half-aware state, her eyelids barely open as she struggled to stay awake and even rise up to her feet when the hatch unsealed itself and slid open, letting fresh air from outside enter the cabin.



She immediately started to violently cough and struggle as her body forced itself to adapt, her hands shooting out to hold onto him like holding on for dear life in her attempt to overcome it.



So he slid one arm under the back of her legs and picked her up in his embrace, worriedly gazing upon her tortured form as he gently carried her outside, pinkish rays of gradually fading and natural light caressing their skin as soon as he stepped past the threshold.



"Holy fuck!" He heard her swear with a half-hoarse voice, noticing her stare in utter bewilderment at their surroundings for a few short-lived moments before she abruptly slid down from his arms. And with an audible heave, she emptied her stomach's contents right next to the pod, over the soft pink and fine-grained sand.