Awakened by the Giant Read online

  “Here—let me help you into the garment I simulated for you,” Calden said practically. He held out the black fabric, showing it to her.

  “What’s that?” Maddy asked, frowning. “Did you make me a dress?”

  “It’s actually the smallest version of the undershirt that I wear that I could get the simulator to make.” He pointed at himself—he was still wearing the sleeveless black t-shirt he’d had on under his lab coat as well as black trousers and comfortable looking black moccasin-type boots that laced up to his knees.

  He really was pretty muscular for a scientist, Maddy couldn’t help thinking. The black t-shirt revealed well-developed arms and a broad chest as it clung lovingly to his six-pack abs. She wondered if he worked out in between science experiments or what.

  Then she realized what she was doing—admiring another man and an alien man at that—when she’d just found out that her husband was dead. A rush of shame and guilt came over her and she looked away in confusion.

  “Oh—okay.” She nodded jerkily. “Let me have it and I’ll put it on.”

  He hesitated. “Perhaps I’d better help you with it. It might be difficult to get over your head without the use of your hands.”

  Maddy saw that he had a point. Though she didn’t like it much, she was going to be at least semi-dependent on the big Kindred until she got her hands fixed. They must have been injured in the crash and the slime bath he’d had her in was helping to regrow the nerves or something.

  “All right,” she said reluctantly. “Just put it over my head and I’ll drop the towel when you do and put my arms through the holes.”

  She thought for a moment that he was going to protest again that he didn’t think of her in a sexual way so it didn’t matter if he saw her body but he only nodded.

  “All right. Here.”

  He dropped the black fabric shirt over her head and Maddy put her arms up, letting the dark blue towel puddle at her feet. She managed to get her arms through the large holes, all right, but when the shirt settled over her, the rounded neck-line proved to be much too big. It sagged down towards her belly button, leaving her breasts completely bare.

  “Oh!” Maddy tried to cover herself with her arms, feeling her cheeks get hot again. “I, uh know you said this was the smallest thing you could make but I think it’s still too big,” she told Calden.

  “Hmm.” The big Kindred frowned. “This does pose a problem. Maybe if we turned the undershirt around? It’s higher in the back than in the front, I believe.”

  He turned himself so she could see what he was talking about, showing a broad, muscular back which matched his front. Maddy saw that his long hair—which was in many tiny braids—was gathered in a loose bunch at the back of his head. Some of the braids were bound with intricate metal bands that looked almost tribal in nature. It made her wonder about his people and his background—it seemed likely that he hadn’t always lived in a cold, clinical setting where emotions were forbidden.

  “All right,” she said again, when she caught her eyes wandering down to his firm, muscular ass. “Let’s try turning this thing around.”

  “I’ll help you.” Carefully, Calden lifted the straps of the shirt-dress, as Maddy thought of it—since it did fall almost to her knees—and turned it around so that the back of it was to her front.

  The solution worked—kind of. For though the front of the shirt now covered her breasts, the back of it sagged nearly to her behind, showing the top of her ass. Also, Maddy could tell that the moment she moved her arms the too-big straps were going to slip right off her shoulders and she’d be flashing him again.

  “Hmmm….” Calden stepped back, frowning. Clearly he could see the problem as well.

  “Maybe if we belted it?” Maddy suggested. “Or maybe you could just wash the clothes you found me in,” she said hopefully. “Where are they, anyway?”

  “Oh, those clothes were non-functional,” Calden said—perhaps just a little too quickly. “Here—I think I can help,” he added. He took the hem of his own shirt and carefully ripped away a strip from the bottom, leaving a ragged edge which he didn’t seem to care about. “Let’s try this,” he said and stooped to wrap the strip of stretchy material around Maddy’s waist.

  The result was functional if not very fashionable. The shirt-dress fit her now—rather like an oversized sun dress—though it still had the tendency to slip off one shoulder or the other. Also, the arm holes were so big Maddy had to keep her arms pressed to her sides. If she forgot and lifted them, she would flash whoever was looking with a side-boob shot that showed pretty much everything.

  She wished desperately for a bra and panties to go with the saggy garment—it felt horribly weird to be running around in a stranger’s shirt with no underwear underneath it. But she told herself to be grateful for what she had. At least she wasn’t naked anymore and it was nice of Calden to go to so much trouble to make her some clothes.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking up at him. “I appreciate having something to wear.”

  “It’s not very good for your size,” he said frowning. “But I will tinker with the simulator some more and try again later.”

  “Thank you,” Maddy said again. “Um…what now?” she asked. “I mean—what do we do next?”

  Calden arched an eyebrow at her.

  “I thought you wanted a tour of the station. So that you could verify that none of your former crewmates are aboard.”

  “Oh yes—yes, I do,” Maddy said, lifting her chin and warming to the idea. She felt in her gut that Calden was telling her the truth but she wanted to see for herself just the same. “And after that can you fix my hands?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I will. Come.”

  He led the way to the flat silver door panel and it whooshed open at his approach. The big Kindred stepped out into the hallway beyond and Maddy followed him.

  Immediately she wanted to draw back.

  Walking down the long, curving corridor was one of the strange, gray-green, scaly aliens she’d seen when she first woke up in the slime tank. One of the Mentats, she supposed. It turned its blank black eyes on her and swung its four arms as it walked with a peculiar crouching gait because its knees bent backwards, like the hind legs of a horse.

  Also, it was huge. Not quite as tall as Calden but well over seven feet, just the same. It was a lot bigger and stranger than Maddy liked and she was pretty sure it wasn’t the only one around here.

  As though to confirm her thought, two more of the Mentats came around the bend of the corridor, swinging their arms expressively as they spoke in harsh, rough voices.

  “What’s wrong?” Calden had turned his head and he must have seen the expression of fear on her face.

  “I just…I don’t…” Maddy shook her head, her eyes glued to the Mentats.

  “Those two are Yon-lurk and Gurk-lime. They are my work colleagues,” Calden explained. “They will not hurt you, Madeline.”

  “All right—fine.” Maddy took a deep breath and stepped out into the hall beside him. Sure enough, the two Mentats cast curious glances at her but they didn’t offer any threat—just nodded at Calden and walked on.

  Maddy lifted her chin. I can do this. I can deal with being on an alien space station. We always knew when we blasted off in the Kennedy that meeting extraterrestrial life forms was a possibility. At least these aren’t hostile like the Scourge we were running away from. I can handle it.

  But just as they were about in the middle of the broad, curving hallway, a door opposite them opened and a whole crowd of the scaly, backwards-kneed aliens came out. Maddy suddenly found herself caught up in a bunch of them, jostled this way and that with many-fingered hands waving in her face and their harsh voices rumbling all around her.

  “Calden? Calden!” She felt panic overtaking her but just as her heart was thundering in her ears and her palms were breaking out in a cold sweat, the big Kindred appeared again at her side and swept her up into his arms.

  He tucked he