Wanderer's Escape Read Online Free

happening to me?”  He started to struggle again, but his head was locked firm.  He could turn to the sides a little, but not move forwards.
    “ Steady.  Steady!” Matt's hands pressed down on his shoulders again.  “If those are connected into your brain then ripping them out could kill you.  Take it easy.”
    Jess felt himself relaxing.  Not at Matt's words.  A warm feeling was spreading through his body, easing the tension from his muscles as it went.  He felt an image, a feeling, pushing into his mind.  It wasn't his thought, wasn't trying to disguise itself as coming from him.  It came from the ship he was sure.  The image was of him being held safely.  Being cared for.  What was happening was to help protect him.  He relaxed some more.
    “It's OK I think.” he said.  “Really.  It's a bit scary, but I'm sure the ship doesn't want to hurt me.  It's doing this for me, to help me somehow.”
    Sal gently stroked the side of his face, studying him closely. 
    “You sure?” she asked.  “It's definitely you saying that?”
    Jess went to answer, then closed his mouth again.  Gave the question some thought.  Then nodded, as much as he was able.
    “Yes.  I'm still me.  The ship is... reaching out to me I guess.  It's trying to connect me and it, but no more.  It's not trying to control me or anything.”
    She stared hard at him for another few seconds before nodding.
    “OK.  But I'm not leaving you on your own.  Matt, go explore.  Tell us what you find.  I'll keep an eye... I mean, I'll keep Jess company.”
    As Matt headed back to the main room she crouched down, reached out, taking Jess's right hand in both of hers.  The way she looked at him brought a lump to his throat.  He only remembered his mother vaguely, but he remembered her using that look.  He gave Sal a smile then closed his eyes, letting the rush of information from the ship wash over him again.
     
     

Chapter Two
    Jess blinked his eyes, waking from a pleasant dream.  He'd been floating in warm water, in a deep blue sea, with a warm sun beating down on him.  A strange dream as he'd never been on a planet, never even seen a lake let alone a sea.
    He stared blankly at the screens and displays in front of him for a few seconds before remembering where he was.  He glanced at the displays again and they seemed to snap into focus, he knew what most of them were at a glance.  Scanner, ships status, generator flux.  Some he still looked at with no understanding but he felt they weren't important, not yet anyway.  He reached a hand up to the back of his head slowly, paused, then touched.  He felt the web of strands still connecting him to the chair.  They were warm to the touch.  Not slimy as he'd half expected.  Slightly rough.  Touching them caused a tingling in his head, not painful but a little unpleasant.  He let his hand drop down again.  The process didn't scare him so much now.  He understood it was necessary, part of the ships efforts to bond with him.
    He heard steps behind him, looked over his right shoulder to see Sal approaching, carrying a steaming mug.
    “Here.  Take this.” she said.  “Careful though, it's hot.  It's also delicious.  Hot chocolate Matt calls it.”
    Jess twisted and took the mug from her.  As he did so he realised his head was no longer held against the back of the seat.
    "I can move.” he said.
    Sal smiled at him.  “You've been out of it for quite a while, four or five hours.  The web has grown some more.  I don't think you can get off the seat but you should be able to move around more.  It doesn't seem to be stuck to your back any more either, just to your head.  How are you feeling.”
    She was still smiling but Jess could see the worry in her eyes, in how she held herself.
    “I don't feel too bad.  Actually I feel pretty good.  Well rested.  All this still feels a bit strange, but I'm sure the ship doesn't mean any harm.  It's doing this for a reason.”
    He