by Marla Monroe
Jeff walked out of the bathroom carrying a towel and something else. He still didn’t seem to notice she had her eyes open. They were open, weren’t they? She could see him, so they had to be open. Why was this happening to her?
He dropped the towel and other things at the foot of the bed before bending over to pull back the covers. His eyes met hers and widened with shock. For a few seconds they just stared at each other.
“Beverly! Thank God you’re awake!”
His relieved smile melted away some of the pain and worry that had settled in her heart. He reached out and touched her cheek then turned away and ran out the door yelling for Caleb.
Beverly sighed and closed her eyes. So much for a sip of water.
“Caleb! She’s awake. Get your ass up here, now!”
Her eyes flew open when he jostled the bed with his return. She tried to speak, but her throat still wasn’t exactly cooperating. At least she managed to swallow around the dryness that plagued her. When he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips, Beverly tried to at least moan. It came out as a cracked whine. She pushed her tongue out of her mouth to try and lick her lips, but it only poked out and sat there. God, she must look like a crazy idiot.
“What is it, baby?” Jeff leaned over presenting her with his ear.
“Beverly?” Caleb’s face came into view when he shoved Jeff aside. “Can you hear me, honey?”
She couldn’t tell him that he didn’t have to yell, but she managed to blink her eyes once in a slow blink. For a minute she was worried she wouldn’t be able to open her eyes back up. That would have taken the cake. Finally awake only to fall asleep once she had their attention.
“I think she’s thirsty. She stuck her tongue out a couple of times.” Jeff reached across Caleb and grabbed something off the table.
The coveted glass of water came into view. She tried to widen her eyes to let them know it was exactly what she wanted. Caleb lifted her shoulders so that she was sitting up to some degree while Jeff held the glass of water to her lips. The first few drops ran down her chin and neck, but finally, she got the hang of it and swallowed the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. Who would have thought water actually had a taste.
When she couldn’t drink any more, they pulled the glass away, lowered her back to the bed, and dried her off. She felt so much better, but she was also tired again. Her eyelids started getting heavy.
“Can you say anything, baby?” Jeff asked, squeezing her hand.
He’d moved to the other side of the bed so that both he and Caleb could sit next to her and hold a hand apiece. They both looked as tired as she felt, and neither man seemed to have shaved lately. How long had she been sick?
“W–what happened?” she finally managed to get out even as her eyes closed.
“Honey, we don’t really know, but we think something scratched or bit you. Do you remember?” Caleb asked.
She could tell she was beginning to drift again. They sounded so far away. She licked her lips, thankful that she could do that now. She shook her head, or at least she thought she did.
“I think she’s sleeping again.” That sounded like Jeff’s voice.
Beverly struggled to say something. What? She couldn’t remember what she was going to say.
“That’s okay. She needs to rest. Now that she’s woken up once. She’ll do it again and stay awake longer next time.” She was positive that was Caleb’s deep voice.
The ringing was back. The stinging in her ankle hadn’t lessened any despite the fact that she was drifting away. She’d tell them about it when she woke up again. Right now, she just wanted to rest.
Chapter Fifteen
The constant stinging in her ankle was driving her crazy. Beverly groaned and opened her eyes to find Caleb sitting on the bed next to her with his eyes closed. She stared up at him then reached out to touch him. Her hand fell halfway there, but it got his attention.
“Hey there, honey. How are you feeling?”
She tried to moisten her lips, but once again her mouth felt like dry sandpaper. She did manage to rasp out a sound that didn’t come anywhere close to being better.
He blinked at her then jumped up and grabbed the glass of water. This time when he helped her up and held the glass to her lips she managed to start drinking right away. It was more sipping, but soon she was almost gulping the lukewarm water. She bet cold water would be even better.
“There you go.” He lowered her back to the bed and returned the glass to the bedside table. “Are you hungry? I can heat up some soup for you. Jeff’s outside tending to the horses, but he’ll be in soon.”
She tried to smile but wasn’t sure she had managed the feat by the puzzled expression on Caleb’s face. No doubt he thought she was brain damaged by now. Maybe she was. And why was her ankle stinging so badly? She struggled to move it to relieve some of the pressure she felt there.
“What is it, Bev? Is something hurting? What can I do?”
The desperation in Caleb’s voice was shocking to her. The man never sounded like that. He always appeared to have everything under control. Nothing bothered him. She wondered if there was something seriously wrong with her. She searched back, trying to remember, but all she could drag into focus was getting the garden planted and meeting their neighbors. Had they watered her garden?
“Garden?” she grunted out.
“Don’t worry about that. You concentrate on getting better. You’ve scared us to death.”
“Water.”
“You want some more to drink?” He reached for the glass.
Beverly shook her head. “Garden.”
His brow wrinkled with confusion. Finally it seemed to dawn on him what she was saying. He set the glass back on the table and squeezed her hand between both of his.
“The garden is fine. We’ve been watering it. The plants pushed through the ground yesterday. Damndest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s too early for them to be up. Jeff has been keeping your diary up for you, too.”
She smiled, or at least she thought she did. This time it seemed to have worked since Caleb smiled back at her.
“There you go. That’s my Beverly. You rest now. I’m going to warm up some soup. Jeff should be back in by then, and he can help you eat. He doesn’t make as big of a mess as I do.” He grimaced as if thinking about it.
Beverly nodded as best she could and closed her eyes again to rest. She was tired, but she didn’t want to go back to sleep yet. She wanted to see Jeff, and she was hungry. How long had she been out? If the plants had come up, it had to have been at least seven or eight days, right? But he’d said they were up too soon. How soon was too soon?
It all eluded her as she remembered that she hadn’t told Caleb that her ankle was bothering her. She’d tell them when they returned with her soup. Noises from downstairs helped keep her focused enough that she didn’t drift off too far. Still, when someone returned to the room sometime later, it took a great deal of effort to open her eyes again.
“Beverly? Wake up, baby. I’ve got your soup here for you.” Jeff’s voice penetrated the comfortable fog in her head.
The bed dipped on one side then the other. They both must be there with her, she thought. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes and found both men sitting next to her with smiles on their faces. Nothing looked so good to her than that. She returned the smile. Her stomach growled a long serenade on how empty it was. Both men laughed.
“Let’s get you sitting up so Jeff can feed you.” Caleb lifted her up and situated several pillows behind her for support.
“It’s mostly broth, baby, but you need to eat all you can. Shouldn’t be too hot. I checked it before I brought it up,” Jeff said.
She opened her mouth and welcomed the salty liquid. The taste exploded over her tongue, and she nearly choked trying to savor it. No more of that. She needed to eat and stop playing around. Caleb had just about knocked her off the bed beating on her back when she’d coughed.
“Be caref
ul, Bev. Don’t choke. You’ll end up with pneumonia if you get it in your lungs.”
Jeff spooned bite after bite into her mouth until she couldn’t manage anymore. She shook her head after the last one she’d taken.
“Enough.” It came out pretty clear.
“Okay. You did really well this time. You managed to eat over half. We can try some more again later.” Jeff wiped her face with a napkin then stood up with the bowl. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to put this up and get you some fresh water.”
She smiled again. Maybe it would be cold. She really wanted some cold water after that salty soup. Caleb sat next to her without saying anything. He stroked her arm and squeezed her hand every once in a while. When Jeff returned, he offered her the water without her trying to ask for it. She had been right. It was delicious after the soup.
“Let’s clean her up, Caleb. She’ll feel better after a bath,” Jeff said.
Caleb nodded. “I’ll run the water. We’ll have to keep her foot dry though.”
Why? She wanted to ask, but for a second she couldn’t make her mouth work again. Finally it cooperated.
“Why?”
“Why what, baby?” Jeff frowned at her. “Don’t you want a bath?”
“Foot. Why foot?” she asked.
“Oh.” The confusion in his expression cleared up. “You have a wound on your ankle, Beverly. Do you remember how it happened?”
She concentrated and tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. Shaking her head, she sighed. Tears burned behind her eyes. What was wrong with her?
“Hey, don’t cry, baby. Everything is going to be fine. You’re on your way to getting better now. We’ll take care of you. Caleb and I will take care of everything.” He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead.
By the time they finished bathing her and drying her off, Beverly was exhausted. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been that tired before. Her ankle still stung, but at least now she knew why, or at least that it was injured somehow. She could see the white bandage around it but not much else. Neither man offered any kind of explanation, so either they didn’t have one or they were keeping something from her. She wasn’t sure their not knowing was any better than their not wanting to tell her about it.
Back in bed with fresh sheets that Jeff had managed to put on the bed while Caleb finished her bath, Beverly tried to arch her neck to see her ankle better. With the gauze wrapped around her leg like that though she wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway. She’d have to get one of the guys to talk to her about it, but she would get them to tell her later. Maybe tomorrow. She was really tired.
* * * *
The men finished up their simple dinner of soup and sandwiches while talking about Beverly waking up. Jeff was glad Caleb had checked in on her when he did. He was pretty sure she had been on the verge of going back to sleep since it took a lot for her to fully emerge again. He felt sure she was on the road to recovery now. It wouldn’t be long until she was up and around again. Even though she was shy and slightly reserved, her warm smiles and bubbly laughter brightened his life. He could feel her making a place in his heart for herself, and he was happy about it. Maybe one day she would feel secure enough with them to open up more.
He glanced over at Caleb as he dried the dishes and put them away. It had been a little bit of a shock to see how affected the other man had been by her condition. At first, he hadn’t seemed nearly as worried as he should have been to Jeff, but later, it was obvious just how much Caleb cared about their wife. His usual composed, almost-detached way of dealing with problems hadn’t lasted more than a few hours once they realized she wasn’t waking up and that something had happened to her. Caleb had been unflappable in all the long months he had known the man until this.
Now, despite the fact that Beverly was improving, he still hadn’t reverted all the way back to his usually constrained composure. It made him slightly more approachable to people like Beverly. He hoped he didn’t return to that again. Here on Alpha, there wasn’t any reason to appear to always be in control around those who would enjoy your loss of control. Here, the name of the game was survival on the most basic of levels. Maybe Caleb was finding that out.
“I’m going to let everyone know how Beverly is doing. Why don’t you go on up and keep her company if she’s awake,” Jeff suggested.
Caleb stretched and nodded. “Andrew and Danny have been real supportive. They knew exactly what was going on when we talked to them about her. If she keeps progressing like this, we should be able to divide the herd next Monday.”
“I’ll talk to them about it. Tell Beverly I’ll be up soon.”
He watched the other man climb the stairs before walking into the office and adjusting the radio to call up Sloan and his partner first. He’d get a report on what they had accomplished before calling Danny and Andrew. The other two men had started fencing in the area closest to them for the herd. Once they had everything under control with the cattle in their area, they would work on it as much as possible until they had the entire mapped out area enclosed. It would go a long way in keeping out predators and keeping the cows from wandering off.
After a few minutes, Sloan answered his call.
“Hey, Jeff. How is Beverly today?”
“She’s doing much better. She’s been awake off and on all day. She even managed to eat half a bowl of soup.”
“That’s good news. I know you and Caleb are relieved. Has she said anything about what happened?”
“Not yet. She’s still only saying a few words at a time. I’m hoping she’ll be able to talk more tomorrow. I’m anxious to find out what got her so we can do something about it. I don’t want it to happen again.” Jeff worried that she’d gone outside of the fenced-in area while they had been gone. Caleb would have a fit.
“Not to mention that it could still be around and attack one of you. Be careful and keep your eyes open.” Sloan’s worry carried over in his voice.
“We will. How are you doing with the fence?”
They talked for several more minutes about the fence and when they thought they would be able to get their cattle to their land. He could tell the other man was just as eager to get started as he was. He missed being in the saddle and out on the range. The sights and sounds might be different here, but basically it had to be the same.
When he called up Danny and Andrew, Jeff could tell they were stressed about something. He hoped the problem wasn’t because they were trying to handle too many cows.
“How’s Beverly, Jeff?” Danny asked.
“She’s doing a lot better.” Jeff filled him in on her progress before continuing to tell him how the others were doing with the fence project.
“Sounds like everything is working out fine now. I’m really glad your wife is doing so well. It will take some time, but she’ll be right as rain in no time.”
“Thanks, Danny. I’m really sorry we’ve stuck you with everything right now.”
“Hey. She comes first, and we had the same situation ourselves, so don’t let it worry you. The cows are fine. They’ve been strangely calm these last few days.”
Jeff still felt as if there was something bothering the other man. He didn’t know him that well. Not like he knew Sloan and Denton. Having spent most of the six months on the shuttle around them, they were fairly close friends now.
“Is something else going on, Danny? You sound stressed. If it’s not the cattle, what is it?” Jeff finally asked.
Silence echoed from the speakers except for a little static over the radio. He worried that he’d either lost contact with him or the other man was upset that he’d pried into their business. He wasn’t really trying to be nosey. He was concerned. Everyone had to stick together out there. It was too dangerous to remain isolated from everyone else in the area. They all had similar needs, and after the incident with Beverly, they obviously needed to share information on a regular basis.
Finally, Danny spoke again. “It’s kind of
a long story, and…it’s complicated as well.”
Jeff started to tell him that he had plenty of time, but that if it was too personal, he understood. Danny started talking again before he could tell him.
“We’ve got a little girl who is eighteen months old. She wasn’t up when you and Caleb came to get the horses last week.”
“I knew you had a child, but I didn’t know how old she was. How is she doing?” Jeff was almost afraid to ask.
“Great! She’s a wonder.” Danny hesitated for a few seconds. “The thing is, she and all of the other children who have been born so far are…different.”
Jeff felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. “What do you mean, different?”
“They’re more, um, advanced. They seem to be growing at an accelerated rate compared to how the children grew and matured on Earth.”
“Is anyone looking into it?” Jeff had to work at keeping his voice steady.
Here was another piece of information that no one had bothered to fill them in on when they were on their way there. They had to have known about it. Just like they had to have known about the fucking acid some of the damn creatures had in their mouths and blood. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. It took all his concentration to remain calm over the radio. Danny needed to talk. He needed someone to confide in other than his partner.
“Yeah, Doc is working on it with a couple of scientists who are in the city. I’m not sure, but I think one of them is his and Scott’s wife. Anyway, they’re trying to figure out why and what it means in the long run. Right now, she’s healthy as a horse, but we just don’t know what to expect and it’s…” Danny trailed off.
“Scary. I can imagine. Is there anything else other than how fast she’s growing?”
“She has that damn cell or antigen or whatever in her bloodstream that we all have now. More than likely it’s coming from the food since most people haven’t been exposed to the creature’s blood or saliva. Doc thinks theirs is a little different than ours is though. And there’s more of it.”