Disclaimer: Ooman is the sole work of blacktalon117 and the producers of the movies
Pain.
It was all Nova could feel as she came awake slowly.
Burning sharp, it clawed through her, making her return to consciousness slow and halting. She couldn't open her eyes, they were too heavy.
She panted as waves of pain hit.
She wanted to fall asleep again, and leave this agony for later, but she had to know what they had done to her this time.
With the strength she had left, Nova forced her eyes to open. For the first few seconds, all she could do was stare at the roof of her cell, the sound of her harsh panting ringing in her sensitive ears. Bracing herself she lifted her head slowly, clenching her teeth to ward off the strain that the simple action caused. The breath she had left her in a rush when she finally gazed down the length of her body.
Blood.
She was bleeding.
The red stain spreading through her white robe, as she watched with disbelieving eyes.
The funny thing was that now she could see it, she could also feel it pooling around her hips.
"Wh-what did they do to me?"
The words barely left her lips, brokenly whispered, she didn't even realize she had spoken. Her panting was sharp now, ragged, her body shook with every exhale. In fact her whole body was shaking. Overloaded with pain, Nova dimly registered that her body was going into shock, but that didn't stop her from reaching down to lift up her gown. She had to see what they had done to her body with her own eyes. With a shaking hand she lifted the blood soaked garment inch by inch and when she saw the extent of what had been done to her, she wished she hadn't.
In half, her body had been cleaved in half, a row of neat stitches was all that was holding her skin together, just above her hips. She didn't have to see all of it to know the stitches extended to her back and sides, a perfect circle.
A perfect fucking circle that meant her body had been separated, cut through the width.
'Oh, Jesus Christ. Did they sever my spine?'
The thought was erratic, and panicked as it filtered into her brain.
She was crying now, tears running quietly down her face, her body shaking and she couldn't stop any of it. When the first sob clawed its way out of her throat, she was in too much pain to stop it.
Too much pain.
She had wanted to die, but not like this.
Not with this torture.
She had wanted to go quietly in her drugged sleep, not with panicked noises watching blood leak from her middle.
A sound suddenly broke through the erratic noises of her sobs, a deep rumble. Forgetting the agony in a split second of surprise, Nova turned her head, searching for the sudden foreign sound.
It was the alien.
He sat, crouched at the divider facing her, his hands on the glass for balance. The noise was coming from him.
The deep bass rumble.
Another rumble started up and Nova turned her head to see a smaller version of the alien standing, facing her, making the same noise.
What were they doing?
They were...purring at her, no to her.
Nova let her head fall back as her eyes searched out the larger alien, the one who's warmth she had stolen earlier that day. His yellow eyes locked with hers, and she had the feeling that he knew what was being done to her was wrong, and he liked it even less than she did.
She wasn't quite sure how she managed it, but she found herself edging towards the divider. Leaving a trail or red in her wake, she crawled to him.
When she collapsed against the glass facing him, his purring kicked up a notch.
Filling her head with wonderful vibrations. It calmed her in a way she never thought possible. Her pain forgotten, but most certainly still there. She reached out, resting her hand on the glass over his. If it was at all possible, the purring grew louder, as she studied the differences in their hands. His taloned palm dwarfed hers, she knew that this creature should frighten her, put her on edge, but all she could feel when she returned her eyes to his, seeing the intelligences behind them. ...was safe.
"Do you know that I'm dying?" She whispered to him.
The purring faltered for a second, his yellow eyes seemed to harden, boring into her brown ones with more intensity than she could comprehend at the moment.
'He knows.'
She didn't know how he knew her words, but he did and he was communicating with her as best he could, in his own way. The purring resumed at its loud octave again, making her smile in spite of the pain.
Smile.
Nova hadn't done that in years.
"I could give my heart to you, Big guy. Loving you would be easy."
The words were out before she even realized what she was saying. When they did register in her brain, she had to remind herself to breathe, as she searched his alien face for a reaction.
He blinked several times, his head tilting to the side, regarding her with what she realized was a frown.
Had she confused him? Maybe he didn't understand her words after all. His purring softened, but didn't stop. She took that as a good sign.
"I hope they don't hurt you as much as they hurt me," she whispered, surprising herself with the conviction in her tone.
"I wish I was strong, so I could protect us both. I used to be strong you know, I wasn't always this pathetic...weak." She continued, watching him.
His purring grew loud again, his wide forehead smoothing, not frowning anymore.
"I hope you can understand me," she sighed. "I know I'm not going crazy, seeing too much in your face, in your expressions, in your eyes. You have a very interesting mouth by the way."
When she said that the aliens, bottom mandibles flared, while the top two drew in. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was smiling. The thought made her smile.
With a start, Nova realized that she wasn't in as much pain any more. Surprised, she glanced down, she had finally stopped bleeding.
"Maybe I will live for a little bit longer after all."
The aliens purring picked up an octave. Whether that was meant to reassure her or confirm her statement, she didn't know, but the comfort the noise gave Nova was worth more than her weight in gold.
The comfort she was feeling, however, was short lived as yellow gas started to fill the aliens cell.
