CHAPTER FOUR

 

CHAPTER FOUR: DESTINATION AND QUESTIONS

           

            If I actually had undigested food bubbling in my stomach, it would be catapulting out of my mouth by now. My head was spinning, even though I felt it firmly in contact with my neck… everything was numb but strangely drawing into pain. I had never been real religious, not very sure on what to take on the whole heaven and hell thing. I didn’t think heaven would feel this way, and it certainly didn’t look like hell. Right now it looked like blurry whiteness; something was beating in my ears, making my head hurt even more, my body felt horribly stiff. I was alive?

“How’s her pulse” a low, strategic voice came.

“God?” I murmured, pain vibrating from the simple movement of my tongue and lips.

“Doctor it’s getting fast… over the charts!” I didn’t recognize these voices, too disoriented to distinguish one language between the other…let me die.

“We have to get the bleeding to stop!”

“Apply more pressure and set up for surgery… hurry!” Surgery! The sound of scattering swiveled around, feeling my body being tugged gently and than pressed against. There was a tug on my neck… NO! I won’t let them have it… they can’t. My arm swung to my neck, smashing into another hand. I shoved it away, clasping my necklace that hung my ring. Snapping my eyes open to a world of motley shapes and shades of light.

“IT’S MINE!” a cloth was pressed against my face, shifting into unconsciousness… The bike seat was burning my crotch. The sky was uneasy navy blue as I waited for Ian outside in the parking lot of a small shopping gateway center, somewhere in San Bernardino… at least that was where we were yesterday. Ian never let me worry about locations, I guess that was one of his gestures of love; taking one worry from the pile. But at this particular time, I was not worried about location, I was worried about Ian. Where was he? He was supposed to meet me in the parking lot over a half hour ago. At times like these, that was enough time to completely vanish or have your entire family murdered. My mind played with disturbed photos of what could have happened, more scared than ever before. In the far out distance I could hear some shrieks, too raveled in Ian’s being to take any notes of distance.

“Oh Ian” I whispered to the moon, a little silver slit in the vastness of space, tangled in brilliant stars. My palms sweated uncontrollably on the handlebars, my knuckles blistering from my tight grip, my stomach queasy from Ian’s unknown existence. I tried to keep down the bag of pretzels Ian made me scruff down before going on this scavenging expedition. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me again, over exaggerating the time that had passed, looking down at my watch in paranoia… it was forty seven minutes after two, and we were supposed to meet at two. My nostrils flared; trying to grasp composure… a hand clutched my shoulder. I whirled around, throwing a punch.

“Ouch… s**t” Ian rubbed his cheek.

“Oh my… I’m so sorry… no wait a minute” I socked him in the arm, my eyes itching with tears, anger blemishing within me. There was relief whirling somewhere in the hurricane of emotions within me.

“What the hell? Ouch” I gave him a shove, tripping off my bike, still giving him smacks on the arm “Stop it…” he half laughed and half grunted. He grabbed my wrists, giving me a few shakes before pulling me into his chest. Growling didn’t seem to give him the right message, trying to push away. His laughs were humiliating “what’s wrong babe? Did you really not want to eat those pretzels? I just wanted you to have something in you” he was still chuckling. I jabbed my finger into his side, releasing me. I clenched my fists at my side, his face confused as he stared at me “what’s wrong” he murmured.

“Do you have any clue what time it is?” I hissed, he raised his eyebrows confidently “Yes, fifteen before two” I bit my bottom lip back, so infuriated. He lifted his wrist, turning it over, his face drooping, looking up at me “my bad”. I thrust my bike up, swinging my leg over it, trying to talk my tears out of falling. Going to pedal but Ian’s hand fell upon my shoulder again, walking in front of me, his face only inches from mine. I looked away, trying to look interested at some empty pet saloon. His warm hands cupped my face, forcing me to look into his beautiful eyes, full of remorse “I’m sorry… why are you upset? Were you worried about me” a tear escaped, feeling it chill across my face, reaching up to wipe it away. I looked down at the handlebars to hide anymore running tears.

“No” I sniffled, the anger draining out of me, Ian pulling the plug out. He lifted my chin, a chiding smile on his face.

“Oh really?” he challenged.

“Yes”

“Well because I would be super scared and upset if it was you”
”Sure… you would probably being a little touchdown dance. ‘Yes, she’s gone! No more picking up tampon products’” I laughed weakly, more tears spilling, Ian rubbing them away with his thumb.

“No… never. I need you. I love you” he ducked down so he could meet my downward glance, his face written with his seriousness. I felt so stupid crying, feeling like a little sensitive kid. I tucked my face under the collar of my shirt, trying to calm myself down and hide my blushing cheek. The adrenaline and worry dripping out of my eyes made my insides jumpy and skittish. He tugged my shirt down with force, his lips brushing against mine with a smile. His arms looped around my waist, forcing me to get off the bike and pus into him. I sighed, loving his smell, his clothes still clinging with his usual cologne, a soft spice; the familiar aroma hadn’t gone translucent over time. I rested my head on his muscular chest that he had managed to keep after quitting water polo a year ago. His glorious heart beat against my cheek, smiling; he was okay. “Forgive me?” I giggled.

“No”

“What if I had a good excuse”
”is there a good enough excuse for making your girlfriend nearly puke her brains out worrying about you? You were only an hour late.

“Well… that’s not the point” we hesitantly parted, he lowering his half full backpack next to his bike that was thrown down to the side where he had left it. He gave a weary smile, shuffling his feet.

“What?”

“Hold on… I don’t know how you’ll react to this” I raised my brow, now in uneasiness. He rubbed his lips together, running his hand through his tousled hair, his breathing getting a bit fast. I jumped back, laughing at myself for being startled at his unexpected arm movement. His hand extended toward me. I took it, my hand so small in his and so cold against his warm skin. He gave a small tug so I was a few steps closer to him. “Umm… look… oh god that was a horrible start” his hand fumbled into his pocket, his smile with dreaded panic worried me. He gave a gigantic sigh, his hand coming out of his pocket in a fist “I really love you” I smiled, feeling my cheeks burn a little, incomparable to a few moments ago with my crying.

“I know. I madly love you, too” the words didn’t sound weird and neither did they feel weird. The tone on his face relaxed.

“I know that… and that’s why I wanted to ask you this” his fist opened, revealing a pair of silver… wedding bands! “Will you be my wife…? I understand if this is really uncomfortable for you… and I know it sounds stupid because we won’t be officially married but…” I threw my lips on his, my lips curved onto his that were still locked in the formation of his last word. He wrapped his arms around me, swinging me in circles, our lips locked against each other. My heart exploding, unable to hold the capacity of Ian’s love, the remnants flowing through my entire body. He put me down, his face looking just as light headed as I felt. We stared at each, transfixed on each other’s stare, the kiss and feeling still burning on our flesh. I wrapped my arms around his neck, I felt so short around him, even though I was taller than most of girls at 5’8, he towering over me, around six foot something. He took my hand away from his neck, giving a squeeze.

“So… will you be my lover… my wife?” he held up the rings, scribbled engravings on the side.

“What does it say?” I asked softly, not meaning to get off subject, curiosity getting the best of me. He grinned, showing off his pearly whites.

“Destined to Love and Join” I smiled.

“Did you come with that on your own?”

“Yes… you can’t really read it. It took me forever to find the engraver thing… I already knew what I was going to write… do you like the rings?”

“Yes… but I don’t care about the rings” his arms coiled around me waist, lifting me off the ground “I love you… and of course I’ll be your wife” we kissed quickly, his body tingling with excitement. I slipped his ring on his finger, he than taking my hand, giving a delicate kiss on my hand before slipping the silver band onto my… reality came back too soon. My head felt heavy, unable to lift it and my lids suddenly five tons, light spilling through the thin membrane. I went to take a breath but it came out like a wheeze, bobby pins pricking my lungs. An irritating beep sounded off in the background, getting clearer and clearer. But that didn’t make sense, I was dead… right? The beeps got louder, a few clicks churned that were soon buried by my exhausted scream that split my forehead in half. My body trembled; my stinging skin could taste the outcome of my escape. The smell of lost hope stung my eyes that were too afraid to open and see for themselves. I had been captured; I had failed.
”Ian” it was a disgrace to even say his name, my heart staggered into this cruel realty. I was never going to see Ian again. A few more clicks came but I couldn’t translate them, my lids went blanched and forced me to open my eyes. The light was startling, not just for it’s pureness but for being in a human containment center. Light was extinct in my little room that I was positive I was not in. The tiled ceiling was bleak just like the walls with ill-tasting framed art of meadows and sandy beaches. The window immediately caught my attention, it wasn’t that big but remarkably big enough to show me a sea of pine trees that seemed to run farther than a horizon if not for the cropped, jagged mountain tops planted in a stolid stance, having the wind push a wave of intimidation through the feathery pine needles that looked like they were applauding to the gargantuan sky that even the mountains could not intimidate with a howl of air or incredible bulk. The cleansing blue paraded humility against the sky, a few puffy clouds clung to nothing but were gently being dragged through the air. 

“Miss” I snapped my head back which sent a surge of pain riffling through my body, which was nearly completely bandaged. A highlighter orange cast had swallowed my right arm and there were clear tubes attached to them as well, tracing to the source. A metallic pole holding IV bags above a small machine attached to the pole. The machine was clamped to the lines and clicked harmoniously, I releasing the compressed air in my lungs. It’s not an alien.

“Miss? Miss how are you feeling?”, I peered up at the first human being I’ve seen in seven years, blankly blinking at her in shock, not sure if I was going to cry or suddenly wake up and realize this was all a dream. Her murky lagoon green eyes were rounded in concern but her fair, plump face was weaved in caution. Soft wrinkles were forming on her forehead and bags under her eyes were dark from exhaustion poking harshly. Her strawberry blond hair was slicked back in a messy bun and a stethoscope clung around her neck. Her thin, dainty lips were pressed firmly, waiting for me to answer.

“Fine” I said softly, still mesmerized by her just for being human. The nurse gave a constrained smile, taking her glance to my IV lines, taking notes on her metal clipboard. The drag of the pen on the paper with the crinkle of her purple scrubs whenever she rocked side to side was a symphony to my ears; it was all signs of human behavior. But…this seemed too magnificent to be real. Was this an allusion my mind had cruelly fabricated after I fell asleep in my cell, waiting for the guards to come and take me away to the lab where my body would find its grave in a tank of goop? I shuddered, the heinous images sharp and nauseating to my empty stomach, looking back to the nurse. I wondered if she was really here, a dream, or maybe even an alien in disguise. The aliens had proven superior in technology; it wouldn’t be a surprise if they knew how to hide themselves amongst us.

“Are you human?” I questioned, my voice strained by the knotting pain in my chest and abdomen. Her face scowled confusedly, tucking her clipboard under her arm, shoving her pen into her breast pocket where a plastic name tag was clipped on, ERIANA JETSON. Her once caring eyes now matched her face except they were now austere.

“Yes”

“Then this is all real?” she nodded, her pudgy hand moving towards me, flinching away from her touch, unconsciously, but she ignored it and rested her palm on my hand ,”What happened? Where am I?” She grimaced.

“You’re in a hospital” obviously “You were hit by car a few days ago- that’s all I can tell you”

“What do you mean that’s all you can tell me? Where am I? Please tell me? You don’t understand, I need to know!”

“Don’t get upset, you need your rest” I was growing hysterical, tears biting the edges of my eyes, watching the nurse go blurry.

“Please, I can’t tell you how much I’ve been through to get to this point. If you don’t tell me-“

“Calm yourself down, you’re in no condition to get irrational” she began pulling the sterile sheets up to my chin, tucking the sides in so it restrained my wiggling body, which I quickly realized moving made the pain five times worse.

“Forget it. Just tell me if Ian Carter is here. Please” I sobbed, my heaving made my body crack into an eruption of pain but that was irrelevant to me. I just wanted to hear that Ian was here and alive. That was all that mattered, “I need to know now. I- what is that” the nurse had pulled a syringe out of her fanny pack, biting off the plastic tip off, revealing a shiny, pointy needle. Before I could argue, she jabbed it into my arm, too speechless at the injection to fight back in rage or look for escape. The white ceiling was spotting into black, my head went light and my limbs were floating like the clouds outside the window and then I blacked out.

            Murmurs startled me awake. At least it wasn’t too bright so when I threw my lids up, I wasn’t blinded. My head pounded dizzily, the taste of dry saliva was coated on the sides of my cheeks, and pain blistered on every surface of my body. But I had experienced worse pain before, I could withstand this. I groaned as I pulled my arm to wipe my dewy eyes to see what direction the murmurs where coming from.

“She’s waking up”

“The nurse warned us she was quite upset the first time she woke up. So don’t overwhelm her”

“Quiet” two men and a woman stood in the corner, just by the window that was sheathed with a beige curtain. Human presence was still unfamiliar, maybe even strange, to me so I stared at them, studying their intense faces. The woman was squatty and overweight but seemed like the alpha dog among the tall muscular men next to her. Her long, wavy hair was streaked with age and silver locks protruding against the graying black locks. Her face was caramel and sagged in wrinkles but you could still see her scornful expression clearly and her eyes of coals that still emitted an enraged heat or growing flame. The man closest to her was somewhere between late twenties to mid thirties, his choppy brown hair was brushed back, making his leathery face and wide jaw more prominent. His aloe green eyes had light wrinkles nestling at the sides where smiles and laughter had eroded the skin.

“Hello” the man on the other end said,”I’m Frank “he talked to me as if I was a child, cautiously walking to the side of my bed, locking my sight onto his every movement. He was a little bit older than middle aged and shorter than the other man. He was a bit pudgy but still looked incredibly intimidating even with his serene, blue eyes that shone with a lifetime of worries, love, pain, and anger. He gave me a grin, something I hadn’t seen for awhile, revealing his teeth that were jagged on the bottom row. A bushy moustache topped his grin and matched his ruffled gray and bleak blonde hair. “That’s Shaun and Tanya” on cue, the other man and woman walked over. I hadn’t noticed the clipboards in their hands. It was nearly impossible to fear these people or fathom being hurt by them. We were all human; there was no need for violence. “We have a few questions for you. Is that alright” again, he spoke with a childish tone. Was it my injured form or maybe the welling of my eyes that had weathered them down to treat me like a fragile doll? My windpipe was coated with strain and shyness so I just nodded, not sure what questions they would have for me. The worthless conversation I had had with the nurse had drained me out and had taken time away from me; I was going to put off my questions for later when someone was ready to listen and answer.

“Good. Let us know if you can’t remember or you are too tired to speak” I nodded again, feeling ashamed and stupid for not speaking. Little things like the twitter of someone else’s voice or constant sniffle had been things I had drooled over on sleepless nights when I positively thought I would go crazy and die before I would even taste freedom or see Ian’s face- Ian.

            “Okay, first, what is your name?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, my heart is jumping erratically at how close he is. I wasn’t ready to trust anyone yet, especially someone interrogating me. My skin prickled under an invisible lamplight, already knowing where this questionnaire was going.

“Samantha Richards” I whispered, surprised that I managed to utter the first syllable. My throat was scratchy and when my lips and tongue touched and moved to form the words, they grated against one another like skin on asphalt.

“Do you need water?” piped in the other man, Shaun, as the other two jotted down something on their clipboards (more than likely my name).

“Yes please” I murmured, my voice just as rustic as before. He gave a weary smile and motioned to the door, opening it up to a crowd of people, all craning their necks to look at me.

“CASSANDRA? CASSANDRA!” a woman shouted before the door slammed shut.

“Who are those-“

“Do you know how old you are” inserted Tanya, her sharp attention for my reply cut into me, hindering my quick answer for a moment. Her voice was rough, giving you the impression she had spent her youth smoking cigars.

“I think twenty four years old. What is the date?”

“Can you tell us what state you are in?” she fired back, ignoring my question.

“California. Am I in Big Bear?”

“Where did you live before the invasion?”

“Lake Forest. Why do you need to know-“

“Do you know why you are in this hospital” before I could answer Shaun returned, holding two Dixie cups of water.

“Here we are” he sighed, gently sliding one of his arms under my head, flinching at this touch that he ignored or hadn’t noticed. He pressed the cup to my lips, slowly pouring in the ice cold water that could have been worth a handful of diamonds to me. “If only we had more medical supplies. … Is that better” I nodded, my head feeling a little bit clearer but would cloud up again if Tanya continued asking questions. I made eye contact with Shaun, focusing harshly on the marble green eyes swamping around the shriveling pupils so the other two would give me a break from answering questions. Shaun seemed sweet, gentle like a baby rabbit in a dewy meadow.

“Are all those people human, too?” I murmured to him, hoping Tanya wouldn’t cut him off, “I’m in Big Bear right?”

“Yes you are”

“Shaun!” hissed Tanya, giving a subtle glance at her to see a devilish glare cast over her dark eyes, a hint of panic transfused in her voice. Her eyes darted towards me; there was no sympathy for my cripple form or any forgiveness for my innocent question. “She could be an alien” the words slammed into me. Anger fused at my dull nerves, rippling through my body like a tirade of bullets until all the pain and shock translated into comprehensible words that flaked off my tongue in fire.

“HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BEING ONE OF THEM? THOSE THINGS!” I screamed, my lungs ripping as my body sunk in exhaustion. Tears overwhelmed my eyes, pain caved in, but I was still angry and embarrassed. Images that Tanya couldn’t imagine a fragment of punched into my mind, seven years of living in horror and trying to survive grueling conditions under pain that should have killed me, and now I was being accused of the thing that had inflicted all that on me and the entire human race. “YOU don’t-“I paused, my pounding head had me nearly going unconscious.

“Calm down, calm down” cooed Shaun putting a hand on my forehead.

“Don’t touch me!” I croaked, flinching away that splintered my neck into agony.

“See, it’s an alien. We need to send it back or kill it”

“Don’t you say that!”

“Tanya, shut up”

“What’s going on?” I groaned, my sight blurry but I recognized the voice even though I had heard it briefly in what seemed a long time ago.

“Sorry Eriana” a cold hand pressed against my forehead just as a cold disk pressed again my chest.

“This patient is in critical condition. If you can’t stay calm, then get out” the nurse haughtily said, which surprised me. Her tone had seemed so nice and peaceful before, completely incapable of being aggressive.

“We’re sorry. We’ll behave” chided Frank, hearing the scribble of a pen.

“Is this thing human?” blurted Tanya, imagining myself slapping her.

“Of course. This is ridiculous. That was a fluke and it was years ago”

“Doesn’t mean it can’t happen again and it isn’t here”

“What ever, keep it down or you’re out of here” she sniffed, storming out of the room. An uncomfortable silence wafted into the room as each one of us looked at one another with hostile glances.

“Why do you think I’m an alien?” I whispered, because that was all I could utter out of my tired lungs. Frank rubbed his palm on his forehead for a moment, seeming frustrated at something. I wondered if it was Tanya. Then he pulled a few cards from his back pocket, thrusting them in my face.

“Can you tell us where you got these marks?” the photos showed snapshots of my scared body, “The scars are peculiar”

“I wouldn’t call them peculiar” I growled, the photos made my scars burn, trying to forget how I had gotten the horrible scars in the first place.

“Sorry- what made those scars?” I gritted my teeth, already in much pain, the last thing I wanted to do was think about it. Frank dropped his hand, noticing my unappeased face, shoving the photos back in his pocket while Tanya snickered.

“Can you tell us what caused this one?” Shaun pulled a photo out, a picture of my bony shoulder blade, the blade pointing out of the moonlight skin. The scar was defiantly different than my other ones and had been the most excruciating and memorable of all my punishments. It was a soft pink, like the underbelly of a newborn puppy, and it webbed out into crackling branches across my back, looking like a net stretched across my backside.
”The aliens are really advance in technology” I paused to catch my breath, closing my eyes from the image,” It was some contraption that they clipped onto their palm. It had little fingers that stuck to theirs. Basically looked like a skeleton hand” I paused, my throat itched and my head was ready for a breakdown “if they touched you with it- it hurt so bad” I whimpered “It felt like I had been electrocuted in fire. It hurt for several days. It was a punishment for breaking a test tube of my blood”. Looking back at the photo, I was shocked to see how much the scar had faded, would it be soon until it would nearly disappear?

            I glanced at them, watching their curves of their lips to prepare myself for another question or accusation and hoping they would leave soon, even though I craved more interaction; interaction, however, that didn’t involve me pulverizing myself from morbid memories, lashing yells, and twists of my body.

“You aren’t going to ask me any questions, right?” something about Shaun made me glance over to him when I said this. These few minutes of him standing next to my bed had been enough to trust him even though I still didn’t like how he tried to touch me. His eyes went soft, his jaw relaxed just as he let his arms sink from across his chest.

“We won’t ask anymore questions, Samantha” it was so nice to hear my name again; a sense of rest surrounded me, slowly draping down to suffocate me into sleep, “Right, Frank?” My eyes widened at the uncertainty, looking to Frank who had tucked his clipboard under his arm, his expression set on me in oddity.

“Yes, we’re done” Tanya gave an unapproved grunt but it was ignored.

“Tanya, start sending out the flyers. Someone is bound to know her” I was too tired to ask about what they were saying, watching the sterile light dim and my lids cave over my eyes.

“Pleasant dreams, Samantha”

 

 

Author's Note

Please ignore grammar problems. I know they're there and have countless times looked over and edited my work but still can't fix every single one. I would appreciate comments (good or bad) and would love ideas since I'm constantly on writer's block.

SONG OF THE CHAPTER: "What's This?"- Flyleaf

Reviews

[Ben]

Very good. I love your writing!