object when he slid it around my wrist and clicked it into place. The other ring was slid around the bed rail and I blinked in surprise when both rings turned red the moment he clicked the second ring shut.
I studied the ring around my wrist before pulling experimentally. It immediately tightened and I flinched, convinced that the red meant it would burn me, but the metal remained cool to the touch.
The lab coat Draax said something to me, it was clear he was reprimanding me for pulling at the ring, but I ignored him. Both rings were completely smooth with no lock I could pick. There had to be some type of mechanism that opened it, but I couldn’t see even a seam on either ring.
I pulled again and the ring tightened further until it was cutting into my skin. Lab coat Draax huffed loudly and gave the other two Draax a can you believe this idiot look before running his finger along the underside of the ring.
It loosened and he very clearly admonished me in his own language before turning away. The copper eyed Draax said something to him and he turned back, staring at my hand before shrugging.
The copper eyed Draax pointed at the blood and I could hear the irritation in his voice when he spoke. The other Draax walked across the room and returned with some gauze and a bandage. He wiped away the blood and slapped the bandage over the hole before giving the copper eyed Draax an are you happy look?
The Draax pointed to the bag of serum and the one who’d bandaged my hand immediately shook his head. The copper eyed Draax spoke rapidly, his hands jabbing in the air as he pointed to me and to the serum again. It was clear he wanted me hooked up to the IV again.
Lab coat Draax continued to shake his head and the copper eyed Draax’s voice rose in anger. A deeper scowl crossed the lab coat Draax’s face and he pointed at the door before making a shooing motion.
Copper eyed Draax brushed past him and stalked to the far side of the room. He opened up what looked like a fridge and returned with a bottle of pink liquid. Lab coat Draax said something but he ignored him and opened the bottle before holding it out to me.
I took the bottle, sniffing at the opening even though I knew what it was. What else could it be? Nothing on Earth was that glorious pink colour. The sweet smell of the gallberry juice filled my nostrils. It smelled a little like fresh almost overripe strawberries.
The copper eyed Draax made a drinking motion. I stared at lab coat Draax who rolled his eyes. I drank quickly, my eyes widening when the sweet liquid slid down my throat. I drank two big swallows before sucking in a breath and staring wide-eyed at the three Draax.
Oh my God, gallberry juice was fucking amazing.
I sucked back the rest of the bottle like I was dying of thirst, afraid that lab coat Draax might snatch it from me before I could finish it. I resisted my urge to lick the rim of the bottle as the three Draax watched me. My face felt flushed, energy was rushing through my body, and I was pretty certain I could run a marathon if they asked me to.
I immediately wanted more, and I stared longingly at the fridge and then at the copper eyed Drax, but blue eyed Draax put his hand on his arm and said something before tugging him in the direction of the door. With a final look at me, the copper eyed Draax followed his friend out of the room.
Lab coat Draax returned to the counter and, ignoring me completely, studied the test tubes in front of him again. I stuck my finger in the narrow neck of the bottle and skimmed out some of the drops of juice that clung to it before sucking them off my finger. I set the bottle on the table next to the bed and coughed a few times, but he didn’t turn around. I pulled up the sheet with my free hand, huddling under it as I studied the cuff around my wrist. I traced my finger around the smooth ring and pressed experimentally on the underside, but I couldn’t feel a spot where the metal felt any different.
I searched for a hidden mechanism in my cuff for almost fifteen minutes.