Free In the End (Starbounders) by Demitria Lunetta

tiny window.
    “Is it morning?” I ask.
    “Afternoon. It’s been almost two days.”
    “What?” I rub my hands over my face. “Two days?” How could I have let myself sleep for so long?
    I move to get down from the bed, but my muscles ache from disuse. I didn’t know I was this exhausted, but it makes sense. I hadn’t slept for days before setting out on my twenty-mile trek to Fort Black. How often had I even stopped to rest?
    Jacks tilts his head. I can see the tattoo of the snake, where it peeks out from under his collar and winds around his neck. “You were having nightmares. Whimpering in your sleep. I was almost afraid to leave you when I went to work yesterday, but Doc said that your body needed rest. That’s why you shut down.” He hands me a fork and a can of baked beans. “I thought you should eat.”
    “Thanks.”
    I’m ravenous. I pull the can tab, my mouth watering at the sweet, tangy smell, and begin to shovel the beans into my mouth. Every bite is delicious.
    Jacks takes a step back and sits at the small table. The room looks a little less messy today. Although the walls are still covered with sketches, the floor has been cleared up.
    I pause midbite. “Where’s my pack?”
    “Here.” He retrieves it from under the bed and tosses it up to me. “I didn’t look in it or anything.”
    I put down the can and quickly check. Nothing missing. The emitter is safe. Its battery is dead, so I switch it off and quickly close the bag. I’ll have to remember to charge it. It’s solar-powered, so I’ll just need to place it in the window during the day.
    I go back to my beans and begin to eat, more slowly this time. “Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to accuse you or anything. I see you’ve cleaned up.”
    “Yeah, it’s good you slept so long. It took me awhile.”
    I think of Baby again, my stomach turning. I hate myself for wasting so much time.
    “Well,” I say, “I’ve got to get out there. Ken’s not coming to me.”
    “Wait.” His tone surprises me—almost nervous. I glance up, and we lock eyes for a moment. “I got you something.”
    Jacks picks up a large book from the table and hands it to me.
    I touch the smooth, worn cover. “ The Complete Works of William Shakespeare ,” I mumble . I open it and thumb through the pages, stopping at one of my father’s favorite plays, The Tempest. My eyes catch a line that gives me chills. “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
    I close the book and stare at the cover, desperately trying not to cry.
    “Thanks,” I manage, shaken by my conflicting emotions of happiness and fear. Love and heartache. “Where did you find this?”
    “The prison library. Well, it’s not the library anymore—people live in there—but all the books are just stacked against the wall. You sounded really sad when you told me that line. I didn’t know it, so I asked the old dude who used to be the librarian. He showed me the book and which pages to read.”
    “You read Macbeth ?”
    “Well, I do know how to read ,” he tells me with a hint of a smirk. I look over, thinking I might have hurt his feelings, but he’s impossible to decipher. “Anyway, I thought it would remind you of your dad. I know”—he pauses and looks out the window—“it’s good to have reminders. That’s all.”
    I stare at the cover again. “I love it. Thank you.”
    “No problem. I should probably admit that I read that part about courage, but then I gave up. It’s kind of hard to understand.”
    I nod. I’m anxious to go start looking for Ken, but I know that I owe Jacks. “It really isn’t that difficult if you concentrate. I’ll show you.”
    His eyes slide toward me and I think he’s going to say something light. But then he gets up and climbs next to me on the bed. He’s so close to me that for a moment I’m paralyzed. After being alone for so long, it’s nice to have someone close to me, someone who isn’t trying to hurt me. I’d forgotten how good