Welcome to stories from Among the Stars. You're listening to The Last Watch by J.S. Dewas.

Chapter 20

Cavalon woke to find a weapon's belt draped across his chest.

The laser pistol he'd had before had been replaced with a sleeker dark chrome gun of similar size. He had to assume it was a plasma. a His head then sat up slowly, expecting a surge of nausea to overwhelm him, but none came.

His head spun, but once upright he felt normal, decent even.

His raw throat still ached and he didn't think he'd ever find cause to consume food again.

Otherwise he didn't feel half bad.

He rubbed his stomach, grateful it had given up on trying to murder him.

While he'd slept, the once empty room had been transformed into a makeshift med bay.

Six cots sat against the walls, with stacks of aerosteal cases between them, lined with

bio tools, cartridges, and various other medical supplies, but not a sentinel to be seen. He hoped that didn't mean the drudgers had arrived

not that he'd lament missing out on all the fun but

he'd feel a little bad if he'd managed to snooze through the whole thing

he fastened the weapons belt around his waist and walked out into the brightly lit hallway.

At the end of the corridor toward the airlock, Warner and two others stood post.

Cavalon headed the other way toward a light murmur of chatter.

The next doorway stood ajar, and inside the remainder of the Sentinels had taken up shop.

Emory and two other soldiers snoozed on cots in one corner.

Another two chatted quietly between themselves while chewing on bricks of brown gravel

that Kavillon assumed were MREs. The dark-haired woman who'd given

him the shot sat cross-legged against the wall on the other side of the room, cleaning her

gun methodically.

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