by G. E. Stills
With her crying at last under control, she wrapped her feet and stood. “Press on,” she said with resolve.
For days, she moved ever further from Planar. Finally, her bleeding swollen feet refused to carry her further. She spotted a cave and crawled inside not caring if there were some wild animal inside that would tear her apart. I deserve to die. If it happens, it happens.
***
Naa’dia jolted awake. Cramps consumed her. Slowly they faded. She rolled from her back and scrambled to her hands and knees. She scurried to the cave entrance barely making it outside before losing the contents of her stomach. Sick from what? I’ve been eating these same berries for days and they haven’t affected me. Her stomach settled. Naa’dia sat back on her haunches.
Brushing the back of her hand over her mouth, she happened to see the skin under her fingernails. She held it out for better investigation. “Impossible.” She held up her other hand. The skin beneath her nails on that hand was just as bright blue. “It cannot be.”
Reaching down, she ripped her t-shirt up around her neck craning her head she examined her breasts. Her nipples were stiff and elongated. Beneath them even under her deep tan, she could see her areolas had darkened. “How? How can this be? I may look human. I may think of myself as human, but my reproductive system is Men-gar. Human and Men-gar DNA is incompatible.”
She sat and tore the leaves covering her feet away so that she could see her toes. The skin beneath her toenails was just as blue. “It’s been well over a year since I was with a Men-gar man. I haven’t been with anyone but Rhody for months.”
Her eyes began to leak. “No matter if it is impossible, I can’t deny the physical evidence. The unmistakable signs. I’m pregnant.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Trevor groaned. He placed his hand to the back of his head. It came away red and sticky. With effort, he sat and drew his gun. It was not the lethal kind but a stun gun. He normally didn’t carry a deadly version here on Teelan.
The room spun for a moment and then stabilized as he climbed to his feet. He dropped to a crouch and panned the room. Assured he was alone he checked the rest of the house. It was empty. He stood in front of the entrance door. “Computer this is Trevor of World Security. Override code 476983, open the door.”
“Command accepted.”
Servos whined, but the door remained closed.
“Unable to accomplish command. Door is sealed shut.”
“Sealed?” Trevor said.
Just then, pounding started on the other side of the door. “Naa’dia. Naa’dia, sweets, the door won’t open,” Rhody called out.
“Rhody this is Trev. Naa’dia is not here. The door is sealed in some way.”
“I see it now, Trev,” Rhody said, “Stand back.”
Trevor stepped back and watched frost form on the door. In seconds, it transitioned beyond that. Next came the sound of breaking glass as the frozen door shattered beneath Rhody’s foot. He rushed into the room. “What the hell is going on?”
“You’re not going to like what I say Rhody, but listen anyway. Naa’dia is Men-gar.”
“What the fuck are you saying, Trev? She’s just as human as we are.”
“No, she is not.”
“Rhody, I have a message from Naa’dia. Will you take delivery at this time?” the house computer asked.
“Yes,” Rhody answered.
Trevor felt the blood drain from his face as the message played. He watched disbelief wash across Rhody’s face.
“Fuck,” Trevor swore. He triggered his implant. “Mom,” he called.
“Kyra here,” she answered.
“Mobilize every one of the shuttles that will fly and all the teleporters we can assemble. Send them all to Freedom stat.
“May I ask why?”
“There is a bomb on it and it is set to go off at noon.”
“Shit,” Kyra cursed, “on it.”
“Lance?” he triggered his implant.
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you at portal control?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Seal it. no one and nothing goes through either way without my say so.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Trevor, Kyra here.”
“Go ahead, Mom,” Trevor said.
“I’ve scrambled everything we have and sent every one of the teleporters I could contact to the Freedom. In addition, I’ve halted the Tormel and placed security at both ends. I’ve contacted Kat. She should be talking to you shortly.”
While Trevor issued crisp orders, he watched emotions wash across Rhody’s face. Disbelief, hurt, sorrow and lastly anger. “Are you okay, brother?” Trevor asked.
“She played me for a fool. Everything she said was a lie. Trev, she said she loved me. Everything she told me is a sham. If we find her I’ll kill the bitch myself.”
“Not if Rhody. When. I already had passage between Earth and Teelan strictly controlled. Now it is halted altogether. Mom has shut down the Tormel. I don’t think she went up in space anyway. Where would she go? Only large ships can open the portals there and I don’t think she could seize an entire ship no matter that she appears to be ungodly strong. There is only one place she can go and that is into the wilds. We’ll find her. For now though, we need to find those bombs.”
The last of the overcrowded shuttles reached a safe range from the Freedom. Teleporters took the hands of the six remaining people and they blipped onto the Liberty Space station.
“Everyone is clear,” Kyra informed him.
“Good.”
The seconds ticked by and then the minutes with no explosion. Fifteen minutes, then a half hour finally an hour passed. Still no explosion.
“Boss,” an agent reported. “We’ve located the bomb on the new plant. Tom has levitated it to a safe distance away.”
“Very well.”
“Trev, the Freedom is my responsibility. Get me on board. I just may know where that bomb is located.”
“That’s okay, Rhody, we’ll find it.”
“Trev…please. It’s because of me and my stupid emotions this situation exits. Please.”
“Okay, Rhody, but remember she made fools of us all.” Trevor triggered his implant. “Lance?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need a volunteer to take Rhody to the Freedom. It may be a one way trip.” He studied Rhody as he said one way. Rhody didn’t even flinch.
“I’ll be right there.”
Seconds later, Lance blipped into the living room. He took Rhody’s hand and they blipped away.
The minutes crawled by tensely. “Rhody found it. He’s levitating it away from us now,” Lance reported.
Trevor sighed in relief and collapsed into a chair. “Two bombs safely removed. No one killed. Now to find that fucking bitch.”
Hours passed and the bombs still didn’t explode. A volunteer group of technicians snared one and took it to a safe place to examine. “Trevor, this is John, one of the volunteers examining the bomb. Sir, this bomb won’t explode unless it receives a signal from somewhere.”
A sinking feeling clutched at Trevor’s stomach. Then she can still blow them up if she has a controller. His implant buzzed the attention signal.
“Trevor, this is Kat. A kid turned in a bag he found while playing in the woods. I’m checking it now.” A moment of silence then she continued. “I think this belonged to our Men-gar terrorist.”
“Tell me, Kat, is there some type of control unit in the bag?” He crossed his fingers.
“Yes, yes there is.”
“Isolate it. I think that unit triggers the bombs.”
“There’s a number of items in here. I’ll have them further examined.”
“Carefully, Aunt Kat. Very carefully.”
“Will do.”
Tr
evor smoothed his hand over his face wiping away the sweat. Things were happening so fast.
***
Trevor stood on the sandy beach looking at the wreckage in the trees. Lance was beside him and stated his report.
“We know she didn’t die in the crash. We found her tracks and followed her bloody footprints to a cliff overhang. She was barefoot.”
“I know. She left in a hurry.” After she knocked me cold. Why didn’t she kill me when she had the chance? It would have only taken seconds.
“We think she spent the night there.” Lance went on. “Unfortunately we lost her trail from there. Surveillance from space hasn’t netted anything yet.”
“I think she’s too smart to step into the open. We’ll just have to hope that infrared spots her heat signature.”
“Yeah, but it might locate animals too.”
Trevor sighed in exasperation. “I know. I feel like we’re back to square one in our search.”
For the first time, Rhody standing beside Trevor spoke, “Her picture is being broadcast on every media and circulated in handouts. If she tries to get back in one of the cities we’ll know. We have the bitch’s bomb making stuff. If she stays out here.” Rhody shrugged. “She can’t do much harm. Maybe she died. She was barefoot and only wearing my shirt.”
“I don’t think Naa’dia is dead,” Trevor said her name for the first time in a long time. “She’s damned resourceful. I still don’t know why she didn’t kill me when she had the chance.”
“Maybe she got spooked.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. From seeing her other victims I get the impression Naa’dia is cool, calculating and ruthless.”
“And that doesn’t sound a bit like the woman I knew,” Rhody said.
“Maybe she changed,” Lance speculated.
“Or she is a damn good actor,” Rhody said.
“Maybe, maybe both of you are right. I can’t place my finger on it. I get foggy visions. It’s like we’re dealing with two different Naa’dias’. The one that came to Earth originally and the one we’re dealing with now. The first one was cold and ruthless, but the one now… To my knowledge, she hasn’t killed a single person since she’s been here on Teelan. Not one. Think about it. She could have killed me. She could have killed the man she stole the ground car from. She didn’t. She could have blow up Freedom and the new plant. Investigation has confirmed my suspicions. She planted the bombs on Freedom and the new plant when she first came here months ago. And yet she didn’t,” Trevor said.
***
Naa’dia tore another chunk of meat away for the carcass of her latest kill and put the stick back suspended over the fire. Seems like I’m always hungry these days. She glanced down at her swollen belly. Could be because I’m eating for two?
Humidity and heat had rotted her t-shirt. The hide loincloth and top she wore replaced it. The garments were scratchy, but she felt they were better than going out each day to hunt and gather berries in the nude. Rough and ugly hide shoes encased her feet.
She reached out and grabbed another hide piece. She worked it and bent it to keep the piece flexible. She had peed on it earlier then dried it over smoke. This one will be better. Softer. Less scratchy. I’m learning.
Naa’dia glanced to one corner of the cave at her fur covered sleeping mat. “That is a vast improvement over sleeping on a cold stone floor.” She brushed a blonde and blue lock away from her face. For a moment, she allowed memories to escape. She missed a soft bed and even more the feel of Rhody’s naked skin pressed against hers.
That was five months ago. Those days are gone. They were in another life. A wonderful all too brief life. Brutally she forced her memories back into the recesses of her mind.
If my estimation is right in another two months I will be at term.
“Then what,” a niggling voice whispered in her head.
“I’ll face the then when it arrives,” she answered, while hanging her head in sorrow.
***
“It’s been five months and we haven’t found so much as a clue of the Men-gar’s whereabouts,” Rhody complained. Rhody shifted on the couch waiting for him to answer.
Trevor gazed into Rhody’s hate filled eyes. “Rhody, I’d say we’ll find her but in all honesty, I can’t. Finding one woman on a basically unsettled planet is a huge and daunting task.”
“Even with our capabilities?”
“Even with them. I sometimes wonder if we could find Naa’dia even if she wanted to be found. I can say with assurance, if she tries to enter Teelan’s population centers she will be discovered. If she stays out there in the woods.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“I hate her. I hate that she used me and then tossed me away like a piece of garbage.”
“You know I have visions, Rhody. Lately I’ve been trying to concentrate on seeing Naa’dia. First to enable us to locate her of course, but I’ve also been trying to put pieces together and really understand the woman. How she thinks. What she’s doing. Maybe that will give us a clue as to where she is. Anyway, I sometimes get feelings and not just hazy visions. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think she really does love you.”
“What! No damn way. She tried to kill my brother. Don’t you remember…brother?”
“No, no she didn’t. She could have, but she didn’t. And the bombs. She knew there was no way they would explode. She didn’t even have the transmitter. I think she just used that to distract us and allow time for her to escape.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“I don’t really know. When she first came here, she was a ruthless killer but—”
“But what?”
“Maybe for some reason she changed.” Trevor considered for a moment. “Rhody, I want you to meet someone else that Naa’dia hurt badly, nearly destroyed. Someone that has become very dear to me. Naa’dia didn’t kill her, which she could have easily.”
The two of them took a ground car to Kiesar and Kat’s lab. He wouldn’t tell Rhody any more than what he had already. Tantara met them at the front door.
“How’s the patient?” he asked.
“She’s doing better than expected. You’ll see. By the way, hi Rhody.” Tantara smiled.
“Hi.”
Tantara led them to a room and indicated they take a seat. When she returned, Kat was with her and so was Lina. To his surprise, Lina was walking on her own. In unsteady, jerky motions, but she was walking without assistance.
Her pretty green eyes seemed more animated. Not twinkling and bright with intelligence, but not with the vacant stare he had seen on last visit.
“Hello, Lina,” Trevor said. “I brought someone with me that I would like you to meet. His name is Rhody.”
Rhody jumped up crossed the room and stuck out his hand. “Hi Lina, nice to meet you.”
The woman gazed at his extended hand, then gazed up at him. “Row-day,” she said.
Trevor’s jaw dropped open. From the looks on their faces, Kat and Tantara were just as astonished.
“That is the first word she has spoken,” Kat said.
“Row-day,” Lina said again.
The group soon discovered that Lina was not finished surprising them. She lifted her hands to place them on Rhody’s. “Row-day, meet Row-day.”
Lina dropped her hands and stared blankly at the wall across the room again.
Kat and Tantara looked at each other and then turned their attention to Rhody. Kat finally spoke. “Rhody, Lina seems to have a connection to you. I’d like it very much if you’d come here each day and work with her. I’m guessing, but I think just maybe you can help restore her to a functional person. What do you say?”
“I say I would like to, but I have a factory to run.”
“Do you have capable assistants?”
“Yes, but I don�
�t think the people in charge of Freedom would let me have extended time off.”
“You forget who your Aunt Kat is. They will do as I say. There is no worry there.”
“Then when do I start?” Rhody smiled. “I like Lina.”
“You already have. Starting tomorrow, you will be here each day starting at eight and stay for as long as I say. What do you think of that, nephew?”
“See you at eight, boss lady.”
Kat snorted. “Well at least you didn’t call me old lady.”
“No, but I was thinking it.” Rhody grinned and the rest of them broke into laughter.
Trevor stepped over to Rhody and clapped him on the back. “I can’t thank you enough. Lina is very special to me.”
“She appears to be a very special lady. I hope I can help her.”
After they visited for a while longer, Tantara helped Lina to her feet. They turned to leave when Lina faced Rhody. “Row-day, red hair, pretty.” For a moment, Lina’s eyes lit up. “Row-day see Li-na again?”
Tantara led Lina out the door. Kat turned to Rhody. “Oh yes you are definitely the medicine she needs. Her miracle. See you tomorrow.”
***
Trevor could not believe his eyes when he stopped at Kat’s lab at the end of two weeks. Rhody sat on a couch with Lina beside him. Lina was holding his hand.
“Lina, do you remember Trevor?”
Lina looked up at him. “Tray-vor. Li’na remembers Tray-vor. He nice man.”
In shock, he watched Lina stand and hold out her hand. Her motions were less mechanical, more natural.
“Hello, Tray-vor,” she said.
After shaking hands, Lina sat and took Rhody’s hand once more.
Kat joined them. “Lina’s progress is remarkable. Nothing short of a miracle. She is talking and doing more each day. She feeds herself and has even started to help dressing herself.” Kat winked at Rhody. “Lina is enamored with Rhody. Wants him near all the time and holds his hand much of that time.”
A faint smile touched Lina’s lips quirking up one corner at Kat’s words. “Lina like Rhody. He is special to Lina.”
CHAPTER TWELVE