e allowed himself to lean against the wall, exhausted. He started back down the corridor, his steps he

to the size of a large teddy bear, curled

Elias

malnutrition that he was forced to remain in this low-en

open his round, dark eyes. Seeing Car

s dry, matted fur. He knew Elias had been guarding the basement

from his pocket. He twisted off th

out instinctively, but then he seemed to realize what it was.

in a slurred, beastly

red, forcing a reassuring tone. He couldn't bring himself to say J

he tube greedily. His small, shrunken belly expanded slightly. A look of pure, blissful sa

t the 5,000 credit balance on her sc

"advanced nutrient solution" into the search bar. The

edits. P

ent away, plus herself. The basic daily energy requirement was enormous. The cheap, ten-credit nutrient packs

She set the purchase

5,000 credits. H

confirm p

ssful. Your order will be delivered b

w it was a necessary investment. This was the cost of buying back a sliver of trust and re

weakness washed over her. Her body was running on

oat. She closed her eyes and forced herself into the state of shallow, hyper-aware sleep she

electronic chime of the villa's m

first floor. On the security monitor, a young man in a Star-Express uniform stood outside the armo

ton. Her voice was cold and ha

. Janna remotely unlocked the main gate, allowing him to push the conta

one look at the icy expression on Janna's face and he wisely kept h

id. Inside, one hundred tubes of advanced nutrient solution we

d drained the contents. The high-concentration energy liquid flowe

subsided almost instantly. Str

eath. Her eyes were

to face he