Pathways - Jeri Taylor [194]
Jabin jerked his head and Kes hurried from the room into the white glare of the sun. She was grateful to be out of Jabin’s presence, if even for a moment. What were they talking about? Why did the stranger have her sent from the room? Was it possible he wasn’t as kind as she thought, and was even helping Jabin prepare torments for her?
No. He was a good man, she was sure of that. Her mind had told her that immediately, and she trusted the instinct. She could only hope that he had some kind of plan that would spare her from torture, even if he couldn’t get her off the planet. She comforted herself with that thought as the Ogla miners gathered round, making lewd remarks about her as was their wont.
Presently, the visitor came out of the stone structure, squinting in the brightness of the day, searching till he found her. His sweet eyes locked on to her, and she felt her mind reaching out once more. “I feel I can trust you.”
The man walked toward her. “You can,” he said with sincerity. “I am your friend. Come walk with me, and let’s talk.” When they had moved out of earshot of the miners, he said, “I’ve convinced Jabin to let me try to befriend you, so that you’ll reveal the opening of the tunnel to your city. We can keep him at a distance for a while, until I can figure out a way to get you off the planet.”
Kes was so relieved she almost stumbled, her legs suddenly without bone and muscle to support her. The man held tightly to her arm until she steadied herself. “Thank you,” she breathed. “He was going to torture me.”
“I know. I couldn’t let that happen.”
She clutched his arm as though afraid ever to let go. “I don’t know what to call you,” she said.
“I’m Neelix.”
“I’m Kes. What a good man you are.”
“I wish that were true.”
“It is. I knew it the first time I heard you speak. You’re the first good person I’ve met since I came from underground.”
“Tell me about your city. You’ve lived underground all your life? You’ve never been in space?”
Kes hesitated. She felt suddenly foolish when she thought of all the circumstances that had brought her to this wretched pass. She wanted this man to care about her, not to discover what a rash and impetuous child she’d been. So she gave the briefest of accounts, ending with the acknowledgment that coming to the surface was a foolhardy thing to do.
But Neelix patted her hand affectionately. “I think it was courageous of you. And you’re not to worry about it anymore, because together we’ll come up with a way to rescue you.”
For almost two weeks, Neelix visited the encampment frequently, spending long hours with Kes. He told her about himself, and she ached with sorrow when she heard of the horrendous loss of his family. He talked about being addicted to something horrible called “Rhuludian crystals,” and how painful the process was when he was forced off them by a friend—a friend who was now languishing in prison on an alien world.
Kes was happier than she’d ever been, and was only vaguely aware of Jabin, who largely left them alone, though he lurked on the periphery. From time to time Neelix would visit him, reporting the “progress” he was making in winning Kes’s confidence.
Then he told her he had a plan. “It’s risky, sweeting,” he admitted, “but all of life is a risk. I think we can do this.”
“Tell me.”
They were sitting on the remains of an ancient wall, part of the Ocampan city that had been here so many generations ago. Kes liked to prowl among the ruins, imagining what it had been like for her ancestors, when the planet was green and cool, and all of life was lived in the sunlight. There was time for such exploration since Neelix had concocted his plan; Jabin was only too eager to give them time alone. Of course, he found other ways to make Kes’s life a torment: he had taken away her water rations that day, and her mouth was parched, her lips cracked and sore.
“Tomorrow I’ll tell him you’ve agreed to show me the opening—but only me,