Here's Chapter 2! I'm on a typing roll so expect updates for THIS story every two to five days. The chapter lengths will be as long as I make them but will range from 3,200 to 7,500 words.
ENJOY!
Chapter 2: Unsettling Reality
"You looked inside and then you turned away!" Darkest Part, Red
The sun set before too long, but we made it back to Rey's enclosure within a good time. The stars hadn't come out yet. That meant there was plenty of light and plenty of time to ask as many questions as my mind could make up, but I had to make sure I was ready to answer whatever questions she had.
As Rey put away her speeder, I shuffled about, looking at the downed AT-AT with so much glee. Never in my life did I ever think I would be within striking distance of a vehicle of this caliber and magnitude.
I walked over to one of the legs and took a seat, marveling at how the sands of the planet had actually smoothened the metal a bit, softening it to a substantial level.
I crossed my left leg over my right leg and leaned on my elbows, looking at the belly of the walker where she had gone in.
Something then tickled at the back of my mind.
At first, it seemed like just nagging feeling, but then it blossomed into something altogether. My head went back to pounding like it did hours ago, but this time I couldn't stop it.
Before long, I fell to my knees on the sand, grasping at my head and gasping for breath. What the hell is wrong with me?
Then, it just stopped. No more pain. No more nagging feeling. Just…nothing.
Quickly, I got back to my feet just as Rey came back out, her goggles and hat gone, replaced by her three messy buns on the back of her head and the strands of hair that flew out in different directions as the wind started to blow. The sparkle in her eyes returned, a smile adorning her lips a mere second later, illuminating my own thoughts and causing me to grin goofily.
I held my hands behind my back as I laughed a bit awkwardly, "So, all set?"
Rey nodded, reaching into her attire – which I couldn't decide to call rags, cloth wrappings, or clothes – and pulled out all four of her ration packs, "I've got these!"
I nodded, reaching into my back pockets and pulling mine out, "Same!" Then, I went blank, "So, how do these work?"
Rey waved her hand in a scooping motion, "Come. I'll show you. It's quite simple really."
"Simple is my specialty." I said as I followed her into the belly of the walker.
Not to my surprise, under the tarp that covered the belly was a small enclosure that was full of just the necessities. It was even lacking a few things that people should have. But, like I said, not that surprising.
"Welcome to my home." Rey said, holding her arms out to signify the space she called hers.
I smiled, "Cozy." I grinned playfully, holding up one of the packets, "Now, Rey, show me how this thing works, 'cause I'm getting hungry and this dust is starting to look good. And that's not a good sign."
Rey laughed, taking the bag away from me and directing me to sit just over to the side where a cot was. I did as she instructed and watched as she pulled out a small pan-like device and placed it in front of me. I crossed my legs and titled my head at the thought of such a small little thing turning powder into something edible.
"Oooo!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands to my face, "A mini-pan!"
Rey stuck her tongue out at me, laughing, "Just watch."
I leaned back against the metal wall behind me, crossing my arms, "Oh I am."
Rey reached over to the side of her and held up a cup full of water, "You see this?"
I nodded, regarding the cup with curiosity, "Does it has some type of growth hormone or something?"
Rey laughed, "No. I'm afraid it's not that exciting." She placed the packet within the small pan and poured the water on it.
While reveling in her accent once again, I leaned forward this time, getting a better look at what was happening.
The water swirled around the packet, then started to bubble. Small bubbles formed near the center around the packet before big bubbles completely engulfed it. Within a second of it being taken over, the bubbles retreated, sucking into the packet, and therefore the powder. The plastic coating disappeared and the powder took shape quickly, rising like flour in an oven.
It was a muffin.
"Holy crap!" I uttered, laughing like a little kid, "A freaking muffin!"
Rey smiled and picked up the muffin with her hand, handing it to me an instance later, "Impressed now?"
"Very." I said, looking at the sugar crumble top. It's like a blueberry muffin from the muffin boxes! This is incredible. I never thought I would be so entranced by food. "They don't have this tech where I come from."
Rey placed one of her bags down into the pan and made herself a muffin. After taking a big bite out of it, she gave me a glance, "Speaking of that," She said with a full mouth before swallowing, "where are you from?"
I took a bite out of the muffin and, sure enough, it tasted exactly like a blueberry muffin with a sugar top. I swallowed before answering, "I'm from a planet called Earth. It's a long ways away from here. Probably hundreds of lightyears if not more."
Rey's eyes widened, "That's incredible! Why are you on Jakku then? Your friend just ditched you?"
I cringed a bit, remembering that little story I told. Carefully, I answered, "Well, I was…uh…a bit busy with something and I guess one of my buddies thought it would be funny to leave me here as a joke."
"Not a very funny joke if you ask me." Rey said, taking another bite, glee filling her face.
"Enjoying that muffin are you?" I asked, raising an amused eyebrow at the girl. "Your lips might just fall off if you keep smiling like that."
Rey's cheeks turned red as she sputtered out, "W-Well it's not every day you get the Morityberry muffin. Those are in small supply. Plutt almost never gives them out, but I saw he gave you one and the one he gave me one was a muffin too."
"How can you tell?" I asked, finishing off my muffin in three more big bites.
Rey pulled out a cup and handed me it, "The symbol."
After seeing the water, I drank it gently, sending a cold chill down my spine. Drinking something cold after what felt like so long felt so good. I handed the drink back to Rey and she took her own sip, setting the cup down on the floor where it was easily accessible to both of us.
In that singular moment, I couldn't help but feel elated at her kindness. She had been nothing but nice to me since we ran into each other in the desert. Granted, that was only about six hours or so ago, but it was still longer than most people would have given me. The most someone else would have given me would probably have been five seconds.
But, not Rey.
I dove back into the conversation and let my thoughts slip away gently, the good feeling staying behind to warm my heart, "What symbol?" I pulled out my other three packets and held them out to her, "Any of these have the symbol?"
Rey took another bite of her food before she peered at the three packets. Her eyes lit up, but her mouth stayed shut as she pointed to the packet in the middle.
"That one?" I raised my eyebrow at her and she nodded. I smiled warmly and placed all three packets down, then took her free hand quickly. Without letting her pull away, though she didn't show any signs of doing so anyway, I placed the muffin packet in her hand. "There you go."
Rey swallowed and gave me a look, "James, you don't have to give me this. I'm sure Plutt will mess up again and give me another one at another time. This one is yours."
"And, yet, here I am giving it to you."
"James…"
"Rey…"
Rey's resolve crackled and she beamed, her face reddening again, "Thank you, again."
"You're welcome." I said, patting my stomach and letting out a burp, "Ah, that muffin hit the spot."
Rey smirked at me, then burped twice as loud.
I smirked right back at her, then broke out into a laugh, "That was awesome."
Rey gave a mock bow, "I live to serve."
"And here I thought you lived to eat." I shot back, raising both my eyebrows at her, "Or is it eat to live?"
"You're a funny person, James." Rey giggled, putting away the pan-thingy.
Cracking my knuckles, I looked at the ever dwindling light coming from outside, "And you're a cute one, Rey."
At this point, I froze.
Holy shit! Did I just call Rey cute? I'm so dead.
Rey froze too, her eyes coming to lock with mine as I went to observe the damage, but I only found shock. Shock suddenly melted away into something else. I couldn't quite say what it was, but it was soft and light.
"Thank you." Rey said, sitting down on the cot, "I don't think anyone has ever said that to me before."
"Never?" I asked, very surprised by her statement. There's not one guy, or person even, that's remarked at how beautiful you are? "I find that hard to believe, Rey."
Rey stared at the ground, "I've been a scavenger for as long as I can remember. I've always toughened it out and went through the motions to survive, so people know who I am, but they've never commented about me like that."
"I'm glad to be the first then." I smiled, my own words barely making it off my lips. Shaking like a dog.
Rey looked up, catching my smile, "Me too."
Noticing that the conversation was about to enter an awkward pause, I yawned as the sun finally set, light disappearing into the horizon, "Nighttime already? Damn."
Rey reached up, turning on a small lamp, "It's been a pretty long day, but I have one more question for you."
I nodded, "Of course. Fire away, Rey." I gave a playful wink.
Rey seemed to make little of it this time and she continued, "You said your planet was called earth right?"
"That's correct."
"What is your planet like?" She asked, crooking her neck a bit in question, "All I've ever known is Jakku. I don't get to hear a lot about other planets. Mostly I just hear about the First Order or the Resistance."
I gave her a look of utter horror, "The First Order?"
"Yes?" Rey questioned as if she had said something wrong.
"You know they're evil right?" I asked. "Just to clarify."
Rey nodded, "Yes. I know. One day, however, I want to meet someone from the Resistance."
"You're a sympathizer?"
"A fan more than anything." Rey said, her voice as light as the night air, "I want to fly more than anything. I have a simulator, but I want to fly a real Starfighter."
"You might just get your chance, Rey." I said softly, remembering that the Millennium Falcon would be flown by her at some point.
The wind suddenly blew fiercely, blowing the tarp back into the walker. It smacked the lamp off the hook and sent it to the ground. But, just before it hit the ground, I reached out my hand and caught the small lamp.
"That was a close one." I muttered, putting the lamp back up on the hook, "That woulda been bad for such a small space as this."
"Agreed." Rey said, then yawned, stretching her limbs.
Taking that as my cue, I stood up, "Well, I better be going now. It's late and–"
Rey reached out, grabbing my arm gently but with enough force to hold me back from taking another step, "It's night, James. Raiders prowl at night, looking to rob anyone they come across."
I blanched, "That bad huh?"
She nodded, "Worse. You should stay here, for your safety."
I smiled, "Don't mind if I do." I made my way over to one of the walls and curled up in a ball, my eyes already starting to close. My energy was spent. Even with eating, I had no strength to spend.
"That doesn't look very comfortable." I heard Rey say.
I shrugged, "Not really, but it's enough."
"Are you sure, James?" She asked.
I sat up for a moment, blinking bleary eyes at her and gave her a thumbs up, "I'm good. Just need to sleep."
Rey smiled back at me, laying down on her cot after turning off the light, "Goodnight, James."
"Night, Rey." I whispered, "Sweet dreams."
Little did I know, however, my dreams would be anything but pleasant.
Slowly, and gingerly, I opened my eyes, the world around me becoming vague and blurry even though I was awake.
I cast my gaze around and saw nothing but white.
White walls.
White floors.
White ceiling.
Everything was white.
I got to my feet, not even trying to move my muscles. In truth, I hadn't even tried to make a move to get up. My body did it all on my own. It was like being a passenger in a car that you were driving: see everything but be powerless to do anything else besides what was on the course.
Then, suddenly, I was thrown backwards, hitting something with my back. My eyes closed involuntarily, and when I opened them I saw a long, metal hallway with lights connected to archway passages.
Suddenly, I was able to control my body again. And, the first thing I did was run forward, looking for an exit as quickly as I could.
The scenery suddenly changed. The metal walls started to flash, then they started to drip. The bright lights shone directly on the liquid coming out of the walls and I was horrified to see the crimson coloration of it.
Then, again, I was flung backwards, feeling icy air smashing against my backside.
However, movement was still on my side. Without thinking, I pushed off the air, flying to the side, rolling out of the air and onto the ground. Dirt met my face pretty quickly once I came to a stop.
"JAMES!"
That was Rey!
"Rey!" I screamed back, getting to my feet, only to have my face punched by a black glove.
I looked up defiantly at the person responsible, but the ground opened up like a giant hole and swallowed me, throwing me into a freefall as I desperately watched the light fade away from sight.
"NOOOO!"
My back smacked up against another set of metal, but this one felt rugged underneath my back. The voice, however, wasn't one I'd heard yet. It was obviously male, but it didn't bring up any memories.
The darkness consumed me once again, but I flung my hands out, getting to my feet an instance later. A ball of white light surrounded me and gradually pushed back the darkness, but small tendrils that resembled tentacles started to seep into the energy field, reaching out for me. For my heart. For my soul.
My head thumped again, causing me to cringe in pain, the ball growing smaller and the darkness getting closer.
"Bastard!" My lips shouted on their own as I struggled to hold back the…the…
"The Dark Side." A disembodied voice said in a whisper. A whisper that passed through my ears and fell onto the wind.
My body froze, falling backwards into the black, finding it to be full of crystal clear liquid. It wouldn't be long before I would drown, dying in my own weakness. Instinctively, I closed my eyes and awaited my fate.
"I want the girl."
My eyes snapped open, my limbs starting to feel again.
"So, it's true? You're just a scavenger?"
I struggled to fight against the darkness once again, my muscles straining.
"I'll take whatever I want from you. And you won't be able to stop me."
That ended it.
The darkness faded away, shattering into glass-like shards that fell down all around me like a meteor shower. But, I was in the center, unhurt. Light circled all around me, blasting through the shards of darkness and creating a new path of light, one that led to something else.
But, the darkness didn't fall. The shards gathered up and formed a hand, towering above me.
Just as I held my hand up to defend myself, I felt ice grab my heart, jolting me.
I snapped up, sweat pouring down my face as my heart thumped in my chest. My hands came up, swiping wildly, but no noise came from my lips. I was silent, but I wanted desperately to cry out a name...one that I didn't know the name of by some way.
My eyes soon adjusted to the dark and I realized where I was: still inside the walker. I looked over to Rey, noting just how peaceful she looked even though she knew that her cycle would repeat again the next day.
A shiver ran up my spine and I sighed, "She is sleeping and so should you."
But, I had been sleeping. Something woke me up.
A nightmare.
Carefully, I crawled out to the tarp and looked out, noting how bright it actually was with the moon in the sky. And the stars shone brightly, creating a blanket of wonders that spanned across the heavens. Each of those – some at least – were actually planets with more people of all types.
"Wow." I whispered, hot air filling my lungs moments after.
"I don't understand any of this." I said a moment later, casting my eye around the scenery before me, "I want to go home."
Even though I had already felt the excitement rush through my body and make my heart jump for a fight, I really just wanted to go home. Back to being normal. Though, I still was normal here, but I was with someone who wouldn't be normal for much longer.
I looked back at Rey, "You'll be important for the future of this galaxy." My eyes trailed to her lips for a single moment, but that was enough to make my heart jump a bit, "While I'm expendable."
The wind blew again, hot air gently flapping against the tarp, creating a gentle sound that wasn't at all irritating. It was soothing. It almost sounded like thunder, but this planet didn't experience rain so much I imagined. It really was like Tatooine.
"J-James." A groggy voice asked from behind.
I gazed back up into Rey's sleepy eyes, her brown hair a tangled mess. I hadn't even realized she unraveled the buns of her hair.
"Hey." I said simply.
She yawned and stretched her arms for a moment before lying her head back down, her eyes focused on my face, "What are you doing up? The sun hasn't even risen yet."
"Can't sleep." I said softly, putting the tarp down and letting the darkness take over the room. But, the tarp flapped again, illuminating the room just enough for Rey and I to see each other.
"Bad dreams?" She asked innocently, blinking her eyes at me. The only thing I saw was compassion.
Without fear, I nodded, "Yeah. I can't remember what about though." Honesty right there. "It escaped me."
"Then you should sleep now that it's over." Rey said, reaching her hand out to me.
I crawled over to where her cot was on the metal shelf and I sat below it. Her warm fingers touched my cheek with such softness that I wondered for a moment what she was doing. But, there was something in such a simple touch that made me smile a bit.
"I've never had a friend before." She whispered, stroking her fingers over my cheek, "So, it's sad to see my first one like this."
I did nothing but lay my head against the metal, "You're sweet, Rey."
"I try." She giggled tiredly, her hand falling from my face onto my shoulder, "Goodnight, again."
"Night." I whispered, my own eyes closing.
Luckily, a dreamless sleep passed over me.
Morning soon came and I found myself alone.
"Rey." I called out, getting up really fast and smacking my head against the top of the metal walker. "Damn it!" I muttered angrily.
Taking much better care, I stepped out of the belly of the beast and looked around, seeing no one, but I heard something. At first, it was just a scratch of metal, but then it turned into something else.
A whistle of wind.
I flashed around, only to find myself knocked into by something solid. Sand flew all about as I thrashed on the ground for a moment before seeing who was standing above me, a metal staff in her hand.
"Rey!" I shouted, a bit freaked. "You scared the crap outta me! I nearly had a heart attack."
"It's always good to start off the morning with a good scare." Rey winked at me, stabbing her staff in the side of one of the walker's legs as she pulled out a bag of rations with her free hand.
"Breakfast?" I asked, looking up at her from my place in the sand. I'm sure I looked like nothing more than a little child who was just knocked down beside the train set.
Rey nodded, walking over to the tarp then facing me, "Are you gonna sit there the whole day or are you going to get up?" With only that sentence in the air, she walked inside the walker.
I crossed my arms and shouted, "I'm just gonna sit here now that you said that!"
Immediately after, my head exploded in pain.
I gave a small shout as I grabbed my head with both hands. That did nothing to ease away the pain though. It felt like something was squeezing it with metal claws, like it would pop at any second.
But, then it disappeared.
What the hell is with this head shit? I thought angrily as it subsided.
That had been the second or third time it had happened in not even a day. It felt terrible, but there was something about it that felt like it was being done intentionally by someone else. But, then again, it also felt distant. That distance, however, did nothing to lessen any of the pain.
The pain was real.
Yet again.
I stood up on my feet as Rey came out, the muffin in her hand. She sat down against the walker leg with the pan-plate-thing and motioned me to sit next to her.
I did as she asked, slumping down into the sand again, "That looks good."
She broke off a piece and offered it to me, "Here, have some."
I opened my mouth and pointed with my fingers, making a noise that said was supposed to sound like "feed me".
Rey giggled and threw the piece into my mouth, "There!"
I chewed it slowly, relishing the oh-so familiar taste. Swallowing, I spoke, "Thanks." I gave her a playful shove, almost making her drop the muffin.
She did a double take and stared at me, hard, "That was almost my food."
I gave a sheepish look, "Uh…I'm sorry?" I grinned as big as I could a moment after.
Rey looked like she was going to either hit me or burst into laughter when sound caught both of our ears. It was a strangled and erratic beeping noise that was strangely familiar to…
R2! I thought, making the connection. That's BB-8!
"Did you hear that?" Rey asked, her eyes zipping to where the sound was coming from.
I nodded, getting to my feet the second she did, "I did. Wanna check it out?"
Rey smirked at me, "Read my mind."
"I'm good at that." I shrugged, holding my arms out toward the noise, "Ladies first."
"Thank you." Rey gave a mock bow before dashing forward, plucking her staff out of the sand and rushing towards the captured droid. If memory served me correctly, BB-8 got caught while getting away.
Away from what was the question.
I started after the British-accented beauty, then stopped dead in my tracks. The hot wind blew over my shoulder, whispering past my ear the thing I had already put together.
It's started.
I broke into a sprint at hearing more beeps and whistles in a strange, techno sound. The Force Awakens has officially started. Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. That means Finn, the Falcon, all of it. And soon. Damn, not ready for this. I'm gonna nerd out.
I made it over a dune of sand, spotting a massive creature and a small creature with goggles atop it. Rey was right beside the creature, arguing fiercely with the small dude, while BB-8 sat there with its body covered in black netting.
I carefully made my way down the dune's front end and ran up beside Rey, "Problems?"
"It's Teedo." She gave an upset frown, then proceeded to yell at the creature in a different language that was every form of foreign to my ears. I'm not even sure I heard it correctly it sounded so weird.
I bent down to BB-8, starting to untangle it, "And?"
"He's a scumbag trader." Rey bit through her teeth, obviously irritated with yet another person on this desert ball of a planet. "Knowing him he was gonna strip this one down for parts."
Shrugging, I got the droid free, letting it roll behind me, "Well, it's free."
Teedo, as the thing was called, shouted, waving his arms up in the air in what I could only guess was a crude attempt to curse Rey. But, those curses stopped when Rey brandished her staff, holding it at the ready just in case the dealer had something else in mind.
Never realized that I might need a weapon till now. I thought to myself as I eyed her piece.
Teedo grumbled, lowering his hands. He yelled out a command of some sort and the massive creature he was riding stalked on forward, heavy footprints etching into the sand. Prints that would be gone in the hour due to the shifting of the sand.
Rey lowered her staff, "I really don't like that guy."
BB-8 beeped loudly, rolling around in the sand with its impossible-like double ball design. If the droid had a mouth I was sure it would be smiling in relief right about now.
I laid a gentle hand on the droids dome, "Calm down…" I almost used the name of the droid without it being publicly known yet. "…droid. You're safe now." I finished quickly.
Rey walked over in its path, "Nima Outpost is that way. Stay away from the ridge coming up. You can't miss it."
I gave the droid a pat on the dome, "Guessing that you haven't been too well."
The droid warbled out a response, wheeling a bit back and forth in the sand away from my hand then back to it like it was walking a line.
Rey gave it a strange look, "Obviously you're lost."
I turned to her, standing up in the process, "You can understand it?"
Rey nodded, "I taught myself several languages."
"Droid being one of them." I said as a conformation to myself, "I guess it doesn't surprise me."
Rey rolled her eyes lightheartedly, bending down to the droid's level, "Where do you come from?"
BB-8 whistled, its top dome swiveling in a half circle before coming back, techno blips emanating seconds later.
I crossed my arms, "You catch that?"
Rey nodded, "Classified? Really? Well, what are you doing then?"
"Classified? Here on Jakku?" I asked more to myself then BB-8, but the droid ignored me anyway so there was no response to me.
Another beep, low and calm as if remorseful. I don't know if Rey picked up on the tone, but I sure did. It sounded dejected and full of…well, it wasn't full of hope.
Can droids actually feel hope? I asked myself silently, looking at BB-8.
The orange and white ball droid wobbled back and forth, beeping again and again as if telling a story, but Rey only spoke one word, "Waiting, huh? I know all about that."
"What are you waiting for, Rey?" I asked gently, realizing she hadn't said anything about it before. That was the first time she had even said that word, to my knowledge. Who exactly are you? Or do you even know?
Rey's gaze flew to my eyes, a softness in them that was sad but firm, "For my family. They'll be back…someday."
I let the subject drop after that. Quickly, I switched gears completely, shifting the conversation back onto the Resistance droid, "Well, I think you should stick with us for a bit. What exactly are you waiting for?"
Rey answered immediately without having to listen, "His master."
Poe. Was my only thought.
That meant that something happened on Jakku and BB-8 escaped it, but Poe got left behind. The third trailer for the movie depicted that BB-8 was the droid co-pilot of Poe's X-Wing, which meant that BB-8 belonged to him.
So, that means the First Order has Poe. I thought, gazing upon the droid a frown on my face. The frown wasn't meant to be frightening thought, but it seemed like BB-8 wheeled back up just a fraction of an inch at it.
"Well, just chill with us till he gets back. He said he'd come back for you right?" I asked.
BB-8 tilted its head up to me, beeping once in conformation.
I nodded, "Then I'm sure he will." I turned to Rey, laying a hand on her shoulder, "He'll just come with us for a little while."
Rey seemed hesitant, but she nodded, smiling at my hand, "I'm heading to Nima Outpost anyway. I need to trade in the rest of my parts…to stockpile." She winked at me this time.
I grumbled, letting my hand go, "Oh, ha ha. Very funny."
"I didn't say anything!" Rey laughed, going back to BB-8, "Let's go."
When we got to Nima Outpost, we waiting in line again, but this time BB-8 accompanied us. The wait wasn't long and soon we were in front of Unkar Plutt once again in all of his hideous glory. He gave me a shrewd look of contempt before looking over one of Rey's parts, "This is worth…one quart portion."
"But last week they were worth a portion each." Rey argued defiantly, upset at the change.
I frowned at the big alien, "Consistency, man. Don't go back."
"I'm afraid it isn't your turn, outsider!" Plutt bellowed, making me shut my mouth slowly, my eyes still valiantly holding a glare that would have made my mother very proud.
Plutt's focus on me shifted to BB-8, "That droid though, where did you get him?"
Rey instinctively turned to BB-8, but then came back to face the man, "I found him."
Plutt almost smiled. Almost. "I'll give you…" He laid up a mountain load of ration packets on the counter, "…sixty portions."
For a long moment, Rey stared at the mountain. Here was a girl who knew how to survive and knew when to walk away, but the stomach sometimes growls louder than the mind.
Eventually, Rey shook her head, just taking the one, "Actually…the droid's not for sale."
I smiled wide as she walked on by towards me, then towards the market place, "I'm proud of you Rey." I nudged her with my shoulder, "That took a lot of guts to not take the offer."
She looked at me with a ghost of a smile, "That could have held me up for a long time. I could have taken some time to actually relax."
"Relaxing is overrated." I brushed it off, casting a glance back at the droid who was wheeling right behind, "BB-8 is happy you didn't sell it!"
Rey gave me a nudge back, her shoulder brushing across mine, "You're right."
We continued to walk through the marketplace for a while, looking at what everybody was offering. Rey walked me through her favorite spots and where there was plenty of fruit. Fruit seemed to be something they sold in pairs instead of separately.
I was tempted to just take one as a joke and see what happened, but I thought better of it and shuffled away from the stands.
Suddenly, BB-8 let out a wail of terror like it was being strangled.
Without dillydallying, Rey and I turned on heel and saw the attacker, a sandy clothed figure with goggles atop his head and a thick-ish build.
"Hey! No!" Rey nearly screamed, dashing forward and using her staff to shove him off of BB-8.
I went to help, but got grabbed from the behind. I could feel the warm breath of someone who hadn't brushed his teeth in a long time and I cringed, feeling my stomach turn. Bracing myself, I wrenched my elbow free and drove it into the man's eye, hitting the socket dead-on.
Gotcha! Bastard! I thought victoriously as I slid into a fighting stance. I wasn't defenseless. My friends in the ROTC had learned from the Combat Master - as they called him - and they taught me a very advanced from of hand-to-hand combat. It was designed to hurt - a lot- but not kill.
The man stumbled, pulling out a knife of some sort. He made a lung at me, but I turned to the side, letting him tumble by. It was only a second later did I realize he actually did hit me. A medium sized gash opened up on my forearm, crimson liquid running down my arm and dripping onto the sand below.
The pain was there, but it wasn't as severe as I thought it would be.
The man lunged at me again, but this time I grabbed his knife hand. With my other hand, I balled it into a fist and slammed it down on his wrist, breaking it in one smooth move.
The robber had no time to react as I brought my leg down in a sweep, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground where he smacked his head hard. Sand was still sand, but it still hurt to hit your head on it. Hell, pillows hurt if you had enough momentum while heading downwards.
I pulled back, looking at Rey, my adrenaline still pumping like a horse that was running a marathon.
Now, in the trailer, I had seen Rey use her staff to kick the shit out of one of these dudes before, but that didn't even come close to it when she really kicked the shit out of this guy. With her staff in both hands, she drove it into his stomach, turning him slightly to the side before bashing it across his face and sending him to the ground.
"He's not gonna get up for a long time." I muttered to myself, wincing when I felt the pain come back to me. Damn it...
Rey got BB-8 completely untangled from the knapsack. After that, she faced me, only to give a shriek, "James! Your arm!"
I sighed, "It ain't that bad."
Rey reached into her outfit and ripped a piece of fabric off of her clothes. She held her hand out, "Arm."
I did as she asked, "Here."
Gently, she wrapped it in the fabric, then checked to make sure it wasn't soaking through. Once thoroughly pleased with the inspection, she took a step back, stabbing her staff in the ground, "Those were Plutt's men."
"Bastard trying to make sure we gave up the droid, huh?" I grumbled, holding forearm delicately, "Guys like him don't know how to take no for an answer." I shook my head in distaste. From one universe to the next, there were still horrid people who only cared about profit and getting their way as opposed to the way of the people.
Rey nodded, "I think we should…" She trailed off as BB-8 started beeping the same tune frantically as if trying to tell us something.
When we approached the droid, Rey bent down to it, listening intently. Then, in an instant, she was on her feet, her staff in her hand as her eyes darted away from the astromech and to something else.
I followed her eyesight and found what she was staring at. The second my eyes locked on him, I almost said his name.
Finn.
