5
Chapter 49
"Got any threes?"
The crewmen groaned…and reluctantly handed over the card.
She was an Andorian; her pale blue flesh was tainted with engine grease and pure bodily grime.
The crewman receiving grinned in smug success; he was a human male…dark skin. He spoke with an accent of middle-eastern origin.
His dark, chocolate brown eyes glinted in the dim light of the failing overheads; his pupils were almost haunting from direct sight. Their pure color was unnerving.
The young man glanced at his cards…his eyes dashing back and forth between the characters.
"Uhmmmm…hum hum,"
The Andorian flashed him a slightly irritated expression. She puffed out her lips in frustration.
The pair sat in the remnants of a cargo bay; piles of debris and fallen canisters created a wall around them.
They'd set up their game atop a fallen crate; they sat on fairly level chunks of bulkhead.
"Got any…"
The young man heaved in indecision; the Andorian rolled her eyes and set her cards down on her lap.
"Where's Johnny?" she asked casually.
The young man's eyes never left his cards; he started pointing at one…and intently focusing on it.
"Dunno,"
"He said he'd be here,"
"Ya,"
The Andorian shifted in her seat.
"I'm getting bored…would you just call it already!"
The young man glanced up.
"Uhhhh…"
Her eyes sparkled with agitation.
"Got any…queens?"
She tossed the card at him haphazardly.
"I hope he's okay…"
The young man began examining his cards carefully just before.
"Uhhhh…"
She flashed him a dirty look.
"Are you listening to me!?"
The young man casually glanced up.
"Johnny's always late…"
She let out a sigh.
"Okay…okay…"
She picked up her cards for a brief instance then set them back down; she started drumming her fingers on her knee.
"I mean…with everything going on…you never know…"
The young man glanced up again…this time his eyes focusing a bit more on her.
"Uhmmmm…what?"
"So much crap has been happening…I'll bet something has happened to him,"
The young man set his cards down and looked her straight in the eyes; he squished his mouth to the side in curiosity.
"Tev…"
Tev averted her eyes and glanced down at her fingernails. She let out a groan of affirmation.
"Tevvvvvvvvv…"
She sighed again and set her cards down on the crate.
"They say he doesn't even come out of his room,"
The young man squinted his eyes in confusion.
"What?"
She sighed again.
"The captain…commander…whatever,"
He held out his hand in a "so what?" gesture.
"Yeahhhhh…"
She started squeezing her fingers anxiously.
"I thought he was like…the guy,"
The young man finally nodded his head in understanding.
"I thought he was cool too…we all did,"
"But he's just a mess,"
Tev became increasingly anxious as they spoke.
"Were all fucked,"
The young man thought it over for a moment…rolling his eyes around in pontification.
"Yup,"
Johnny finally entered the cargo bay…waving his hand in greeting.
He pulled up a chunk…and flopped his arms down a bit gorilla-like.
"Yo," he said quietly nodding.
The pair glanced at him; he looked from Tev to the young man, and back to Tev.
He started rubbing his fingers together in front of his face.
"Deal me?"
"I wanna finish first,"
The young man glanced at Tev.
"Got any 4s?"
"Dammit!" Tev tossed her last card at him. She folded her arms and started sulking.
After David had taken a nice long hot shower, he stepped out onto the filthy floor of his bathroom.
After drying himself of with his towel…he wrapped it around his body.
He grabbed his razor and a container of shaving cream; he set them down in front of the sink.
He twisted the hot water knob…and let the liquid pool up.
Although it was second nature…he felt like he hadn't done it in ages.
He filled the palm of his hand with shaving cream; he glanced up at himself in the mirror.
David froze there for a moment; he hadn't looked at himself in a mirror in quite a long time.
For days now…he'd carefully averted his eyes every time he passed one.
His eyes looked a bit puffy; his skin was worn from stress.
A thick layer of stubble covered his chin.
David looked straight into the reflection of his own eyes; what he saw was haunting.
He saw himself for the first time…since he was a small child.
The eyes…and the face that stared back at him were finally, truly…familiar.