The Roar (The Roar Series Book 1)

by A. M. White

  “Got it,” he answered. He squeezed my hand and left.

  Cara continued to clean my leg. Her brow furrowed with focus. I placed my hand on her arm and she tried to smile at me. She was worried.

  “Timothy told you we only have one more day, right?” she said.

  “Yeah, I’m glad,” I responded and sank back down on the cot.

  “Me too,” she agreed. “You better hold on till then. This guy we are meeting seems to know what he is doing. He will patch this thing right up.”

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “When he first came in to our village, he asked around looking for us. He knew what we do. I met with him. He said he had heard that a girl was going to be transferred soon. He explained that there was girl that was going to be carrying information that might end all of this. This man claimed to be on the team of doctors that put it in you,” she paused.

  “He did, but how?” I probed. “I don’t even remember them doing it.”

  “It’s the roar. They can erase things with it, that’s how they were going to move you. You would never even know it. They chose a person to do it because there have been some issues with rebels below.

  Some of us don’t think that what is happening is right. If one of the rebels were to find the capsule underground, they could control it or sell it to the highest bidder. They would also have to worry about those that would take it for their own. Whatever is in your leg is very important.”

  “I can’t even wrap my brain around this. So basically, I was going to be used as a transport?” I choked on the words.

  Cara nodded. “The doctor said that he had been recruited as a surgeon. He had spent the past several years gaining the trust of my people. He knew that it would allow him certain privileges, such as information.

  Once they implanted the device inside of you, he escaped. He made his way to us so that we could find you.”

  Timothy entered with several smooth pieces of wood. He laid them next to Cara.

  “Will these do?” He asked, hopeful.

  Cara turned each piece over. She nodded. “I have one more request. I need you to pull apart the other cot.”

  Timothy eyed her. “What for?” he asked.

  “Outside,” she said as she dragged him out.

  I could hear muffled voices arguing, beyond my sight. When they returned, Timothy glanced at me sympathetically and went to work dismantling the cot. Cara walked over to me and took my hand. She opened her mouth to speak.

  I interrupted her, “I know what you have to do. Just do it.”

  Cara bent and kissed me on the cheek. “Your turn to yell at me,” she smirked.

  I frowned, “I’ll try my best to refrain from it.”

  Timothy handed Cara a leg he had recovered from the old cot. He took my hand from her.

  “I’m sorry, Alex,” she apologized in a whisper.

  “Are you sure we have to?” Timothy grumbled.

  Cara nodded and went outside. Timothy handed me his jacket. I twisted it and put it in my mouth. No sense breaking my teeth.

  She returned with a red hot iron. Timothy laid his body across my chest. Cara put her weight on my legs. Then the burn came. It seared through my body. I screamed into the jacket in my mouth. Then the pain subsided for a moment and returned at the other end of the capsule.

  I could smell the flesh burning. It was nauseating; blackness circled my view. It overwhelmed me and I passed out.

  Many hours later, I awoke. Timothy was next to me. His arm cradled my head, his fingers entwined in mine. His eyes popped open with my waking. He stared into my face. I grimaced at the pain I still felt. It wasn’t like before when Cara’s medicine took the pain away.

  “Cara used the last of her concoctions. It didn’t take the pain away?” he whispered.

  I shook my head. I bit my lip to keep from groaning in pain.

  “We were afraid of that,” he breathed.

  I tried to bury the burning. I closed my eyes.

  Cara’s story about the man that paid for me, echoed in my mind. I wondered how much of it Timothy really knew.

  “Talk to me,” I beckoned. “Tell me about the man that paid for me.”

  Timothy took a deep breath. “I never met him. We always think it’s better for one of us to remain anonymous,” he started. “Cara told me about him; he was a surgeon and that you were to be relocated with the device intact. The device holds information that can be used to make things better for your people.”

  “Do you know why they chose me? Of all the people there, I had remained quiet, I did what I was asked, and that wound me into becoming a transport?” I said softly.

  “They probably chose you because of those reasons. Alex, I’m not going to let them do anything that will take your life. I promise you that. I’ve already decided that part of the deal will be that I am there when he takes it out,” he promised.

  “Why can’t Cara do it? Couldn’t she sneak into the village, get the supplies she needs, and do it?” I proposed.

  “I asked her the same thing. She is afraid that the capsule might be too close to major blood vessels or nerves for her to do it. She doesn’t want you to bleed out or have permanent nerve damage,” he said. He kissed my shoulder.

  “How does it look now?” I asked.

  “There is going to be scarring. The man will have to deal with that to get to the capsule, but if he put it in, he should be able to pull it out,” Timothy explained.

  My body felt like it was on fire. I momentarily writhed from it. Timothy gasped and pulled me to him. His chest pressed against mine. I panted from the subsiding pain.

  “Timothy, this is getting too much for me. I don’t know if I can take it,” I wept. I seized with another surge of pain.

  Timothy climbed over me. He woke Cara.

  “We have to go. She is hurting too much,” Timothy spoke harshly.

  Cara sprang from the bed and felt my head. “She’s burning up,” she announced.

  “Let’s get the boat and go,” Timothy said.

  They went outside. Their voices were muffled but the concern resonated. Cara came back in and grabbed her pack. Timothy lifted me into his arms. He kissed my lips gently and we were off.

  I was laid in the boat. I felt the rocking of us taking to the river. The sky above was dark, only a sliver of the moon was visible. The motor started up and Timothy took the oars.

  I blinked and shivered. It was the first time I had been cold in days.

  Timothy said something to me. I couldn’t hear him over the motor, so I just nodded, hoping that was the right response. Darkness closed in and my eyes became heavy. I allowed them to sink shut.

  Cara woke me, hours later, to make me drink. I was drenched in my own sweat. I needed to stay hydrated. At least the sweating meant I broke a fever, for now.

  Cara took the oars and Timothy came to me. He placed my head in his lap and gently caressed my face.

  “Stay with me, ok?” He whispered as my eyes shut. I forced them open. “Please stay awake a little while.”

  “Then you’ve got to stop touching me like that,” I whispered. A smile spread across my lips.

  “I keep daydreaming or in this case wake-dreaming about when we get home. You are going to love it. I can’t wait for you to feel the sand and the ocean against your skin,” he said wistfully.

  “Will you go swimming with me?” I asked.

  “Of course,” a tear streamed down his cheek.

  Panic struck me. He was crying because he didn’t know if we would get the chance. I realized how bad I must be for him to be crying. I gripped his pant leg, like physically holding, him would keep me alive.

  “Don’t let me go, Timothy,” I begged. Tears blurred my vision. “There’s too much to do.”

  Flashes of what could be haunted my thoughts.

  “I won’t give you up easily, I swear,” Timothy choked. He held my hand to his lips and gently kissed it. “You are right, there is too much to do. I ha
ve too many things left to share with you.”

  “I love you,” I mumbled sleepily.

  “I love you, too,” he gushed.

  He bent forward enveloping my face with his hands and kissed me deeply. He smiled down at me, his dark eyes oceans of want and hope. “Too much of that left too,” he reminded me.

  I nodded and bit my lip. He began tracing the features of my face again. My leg tugged at me and I winced. He kissed my forehead and kept soothing me with his touch. I drifted off with another wave of fever.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I peacefully dreamt of the ocean. Timothy and Cara splashed each other, giggling, and diving beneath the waves. I lounged on the sand enjoying the sunshine on my skin. My fingers wriggled into the cool sand. As I closed my eyes, I licked my salty lips.

  In the sand, my fingers bumped into something hard. I turned over, facing the ground and brushed away the sand to uncover the object. A finger was uncovered. I gasped but tried to pry it free. It twitched and a whole hand grabbed my arm. I screamed loudly.

  Hands jutted from the sand around me, grabbing, and scratching at my skin. I turned to see Timothy and Cara running toward where I was pinned. I struggled among the hands.

  They pulled me down into the sand. My skin tore from a hundred fingernails. I sunk down till my knees and arms were beneath the surface.

  When Timothy reached me, he kicked at the hands. A few of them let go. He yanked at my shoulders, screaming. Cara stood over me pulling at my waist. It was no use they had a hold of me beyond what could be seen.

  The tearing of my skin continued, especially on my leg. They were wasting no time pulling the capsule from me. The rest of my body was disposable.

  I shot upright, heaving, from my dream. The pain in my leg didn’t subside. It felt like the capsule was forcing its way out.

  I screamed, “Help me!”

  Timothy held my leg and pushed back the pants.

  “Cara!” He cried. His face was panic stricken.

  She climbed over me. I felt pressure and prying; it made me scream louder.

  “What?” I writhed, “Tell me!”

  “It’s partially made its way out,” Cara cried.

  “Get it out!” I yelled. Sweat from fever and pain stung my eyes.

  “I can’t Alex, it’s like I feared. It’s embedded in the muscle. If I start pulling it out here, it can permanently screw you up, big time,” she stammered.

  I felt pressure again near the exposing capsule. The pain entered my brain and made the outline of my vision black. I screamed until I was hoarse.

  I heard Timothy yelling at Cara. His voice was muffled by the throbbing in my head. Another poke to my leg followed. My face contorted. I felt like my whole body was being ripped open. Then I blacked out.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “It’s Timothy and Cara!” Timothy bellowed.

  My eyes half opened. My vision had become tunneled. I tried to make out the shoreline.

  Timothy waved his red jacket over his head. The sputter of the engine pounded in my skull. Yells echoed from the shore.

  “Tell the doctor to get ready now!” Cara screamed.

  I blinked and drifted off.

  My body rose from the boat. I felt Timothy’s arms around me. My head bounced from the jolts of his running. Beads of sweat dripped from my brow.

  I caught glimpses of people in my peripherals, hands over their mouths or gaping at us. Timothy shoved past people in the street. Roofs passed and the smell of smoke tickled my nose.

  I turned my head and vomited.

  Timothy didn’t pause. I could feel his heart pounding in his chest. My eyes rolled into the back of my head.

  “Stay with me,” Timothy panted.

  There was a surge forward when he kicked open a door. He stumbled into what appeared to be a makeshift hospital room. Timothy swept his arm over a table, clearing it and laid me down.

  “Doc,” Timothy yelled.

  A short, pudgy, middle-aged man materialized from behind a curtain at the end of the room. The man adjusted his glasses and clasped his hands together. He looked down upon me.

  “And here she is,” the doctor said astonished at the sight of me. “Thank you, you may go, young man.”

  Timothy shook his head. “I’m not leaving her. You are going to get that thing out of her and save her,” Timothy protested.

  “Now, that wasn’t part of the deal,” the doctor said calmly. He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the pant leg away.

  “It is part of the deal now. If you don’t, I swear, I will break your neck with my own hands,” Timothy sneered.

  “I thought you were more professional than that,” the doctor sputtered. He scratched at his ragged beard and narrowed his eyes.

  Timothy left my side and rounded the table.

  “Don’t you dare chastise me for not being professional, you moron. I will make sure that when I break your neck it looks quite professional,” Timothy raged. He pushed over a table with utensils on it.

  I gathered my strength and raised my head. Both of them stopped and stared at me. The doctor looked at me over the top of his glasses.

  “Please,” I gurgled.

  The doctor held my stare for a moment. He huffed and threw his hands in the air. I dropped back onto the table.

  “Give me a minute. I’ll need a few more things,” he answered.

  Timothy returned to my side and put his hand on my forehead. He traced the lines of my face with his fingers.

  “It’ll be okay, I swear it,” he promised again.

  The doctor returned with a needle and a cart of supplies in tow. He pushed some liquid from the syringe. Then he plunged it into my arm, roughly.

  Their voices became murmured. There was a blur of movement. Timothy and the doctor melted into dark shadows. The pain dulled into an ember. The light of the room dimmed from the anesthetic.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I smelled him before my eyes opened. Timothy’s hand held mine. My fingers twitched between his.

  “Get the doctor, now!” Timothy yelled.

  The shuffling of footsteps followed.

  Timothy held my hand to his mouth. My eyes focused in on his face, it crumpled, and he sobbed. He kissed my face over and over, crying tears on me.

  “I made it,” I whispered.

  Timothy stopped and lifted the upper half of my body into an embrace.

  “You did. Thank you, you did,” he cried.

  I noticed my surroundings were not the same as the room the surgery was conducted. I lay on a soft bed with sheets. They felt like heaven.

  The room was bright in spite of the wooden walls. A few dried herbs hung from the ceiling near the door. Vases held bright wildflowers, scattered around the room.

  Timothy blushed and explained, “I couldn’t go far so I made myself busy.”

  “How long has it been?” I licked my lips.

  Timothy held a small cup to my lips and poured water into my mouth. It ran along my dry tongue. I forced myself to swallow past the knot in my throat.

  “About five days,” he answered.

  “Mmm,” I moaned.

  My head sank back against the pillow. That seemed like a long time to be under.

  “It was complicated, the removal. Then the doctor had an extensive infection to bring you back from,” Timothy shared. He nuzzled into my neck. “How does your leg feel?”

  I shrugged. I slowly bent my knee to test it.

  “It is sore but nothing compared to before,” I noted.

  The doctor rushed into the room, not even stopping to knock. Timothy regarded him with a nod and stood back to give him room.

  The doctor pulled a stethoscope from his pocket. “Hello, my dear. Let’s have a look at you,” he said.

  My face reddened and I seethed, “I haven’t forgotten that my living was of no matter to you.”

  He eyed me and said, “You weren’t in good condition when we first met. I apologize for my demeanor, I
’ve never been known for my bedside manner.”

  “No kidding,” I spat.

  Timothy interrupted, “Alex, try to remember that you are here because of Doctor Jameson. He worked hard to save you.”

  I chuckled, “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

  Doctor Jameson listened to my heart and made his way around my body, feeling and poking.

  “Well, I’m glad to say that Timothy will not be breaking my neck anytime soon,” he announced. He tucked the stethoscope back into his pocket. “I suggest that she stay in bed for at least another day. Then, she should be able to move around. Did you make the crutches?”

  “Yes.” He responded.

  Timothy smiled and retrieved them proudly for us to see. They were hand carved, quite beautifully, in fact. The wood polished and smoothed.

  “Good job young man,” the doctor replied. “I am going to head back to my lab. I am still trying to figure out how to run electricity to the device in this God forsaken place.”

  “I will be able to help with that as soon as I get her on her feet,” Timothy remarked.

  The doctor nodded in appreciation. ”That would be welcomed. Your sister has been trying to secure a generator for me but she is turning up empty handed.

  It is of upmost importance that I get the plans from the device soon. I fear that your kind will try to replicate it, quickly. Especially if they have given up on finding her,” he motioned to me.

  He told us to come to him if any difficulty arose and left.

  Timothy crawled into the bed and held me tight. “You have changed everything.”

  Epilogue

  Timothy walked beside me as I hobbled. It was hard to use the crutches in the sand. As good of a job as Timothy did making them, I hated them. I had been using them for a couple of days now.

  Cara had procured more of her healing cream upon our arrival at the camp. She had given me a vial and told me to apply it to the incision once a day after I awoke from surgery.

  I secretly limped around without the crutches when no one was looking. Her healing concoction worked wonders. Still, Timothy insisted that I use them.