Dazz Read Free

Beyond that, she noticed one bright light on the white ceiling.
    She wiggled her fingers and toes, noticing that nothing hurt.  Strange!  The last thing she remembered was that her eyes were swollen shut and her body hurt everywhere in agony.   How did I get here? She wondered for just a moment.
    Feeling around inside the chamber, her fingers found a latch.  It took a little time, but once she released it, the glass door sprang open and Chloe took a deep breath of open, clean air. 
    After climbing out of the chamber, she landed softly on her bare feet.  She expected pain, but felt only mild soreness.  Shaking out her arms and legs, she noted they worked fine and she felt strong.   She glanced back at the medi-chamber, amazed at how it had completely healed her body in such a short amount of time.  She didn’t even feel hungry anymore, she felt…normal…almost as if she could take on the world. 
    “Okay, I need to get out of here,” she mumbled even though she didn’t know where here was.  At least she wasn’t in a dark cell still chained to the floor.  When that thought passed through her mind, one lone tear came to her eye, but she hastily wiped it away.  She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself; she’d do that when she was safe, and hopefully back home.  Right now, she needed to be strong.
    Looking around the sterile room, yep, definitely a hospital of some type , she needed a way to escape before her captors---or rescuers--- came back. 
    She scanned the entire room but only saw the one door.  Not knowing where she was or who might be waiting for her, she didn’t want to just walk out like she had on the Tureis ship.  That had ended badly. 
    With her hands on her hips, she let out a frustrated sigh while looking up . “Why me?” she silently asked herself.  That’s when she saw it---a covered vent near the top of the wall.  “Yes!” she thought, elated.  Studying it more closely, she knew it would be a tight fit, but it could work.
    Chloe pulled over a chair and placed it near the wall underneath the vent.  When she stepped on top of it, she still wasn’t high enough to reach the vent.  Dammit!   At five-feet-ten, she considered herself tall for a woman.
    A small table in the corner caught Chloe’s eye.  It stood a little bit taller than the chair she was using.  It took some doing, but she finally maneuvered the table near the wall.  When she climbed on top of it, she stretched her body until her fingers barely reached the vent, but she still wasn’t high enough.
    Chloe hopped down off the table and grabbed the chair.  After placing it on the table, she climbed back up and could now easily reach the vent. She grabbed the grate that covered the opening and pulled as hard as she could.  With one last grunt, the grate swung free and fell to the metal floor, making a loud, clanking noise.
    Worried that someone would hear and come to investigate the noise, she grabbed hold of some type of seam inside of the vent.  It took more strength than she’d anticipated, but she finally pulled herself through the narrow opening.
    Surprisingly, she found the ventilation shaft widened just beyond the opening, and she was able to move through it on hands and knees.
    Lying on her back and breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and rested for just a second before turning onto her hands and knees.
    Chloe slowly crawled through the vent shaft until she found another grate and peered through it.  Ah…I’m on an Azziarin ship! She thought, as she watched while one Azziarin talked with another.
    Two males sat in the room, one behind a desk, the other in a chair facing him.  The one in the chair took a sip of something and it made Chloe’s mouth water.
    “Has the female woken up yet?”
    “No, the last time I checked, she was still in the medi-chamber.  Stavven said it would be at least two more standard days until she wakes, but her body was healing at a faster rate.”
    Chloe’s