by D McEntire
Tank glanced over his shoulder when he heard Vane, Rosa, Kern and Marie come down the stairs. Evidentially, the smell of chocolate chip pancakes had gotten everyone moving this afternoon, he mused.
"Where are the WITs?"
Tank watched Kern shake his head. "Still in bed. I didn't hear them when I passed the guest room.
Yep, Tank thought to himself. He definitely needed to get the two out of here. He didn't have time for pansy-assed slackers.
"Got chocolate chip pancakes in the oven keeping warm for you guys," Robyn called from the kitchen while loading dishes into the dishwasher. Tank heard the clink of silverware and plates and knew her to be performing her normal routine of meticulously arranging each item to ensure they got as clean as possible.
Tank silently chuckled. He'd never known anyone absolutely anal when it came to cleaning and anything to do with the kitchen.
"Be there in a sec," Marie answered as the four entered the living room, obviously wanting to check on the children. It seemed everyone felt the same about the two--totally infatuated.
Taking in the sight of his Cell-mates standing in the living room and seemingly hovering around the couch, and listening to Robyn and Trigg in the kitchen, he thought about how the Cell, which had once contained only warrior testosterone, had been gifted with female grace and peace with the arrival of Robyn, Rosa and Marie, and at this moment, an air of innocence and youthful joy had been added with the presence of the children.
Glancing at the two sitting quietly on the couch with the blanket around them, he hated to disturb their peace, but needed answers. He had to contact Headquarters today and apprise Dr. Olivia of the situation.
Casually clearing his throat, he sat next to Si on the couch. "How long were you and your sister in that old building?"
Si turned to him and shrugged. "I don't know. It seemed like a pretty long time."
Tank nodded. "The man who'd put Sonya in that room, can you tell me anything about him?"
The sparkle in Si's eyes as he'd watched the cartoons quickly faded. Lowering them, he stared at his hands resting in his lap.
"He was mean. There was another man, but he didn't come downstairs much, and he didn't bother Sonya. I was glad because the mean man hurt her. She talked to us, but then she didn't talk anymore." His voice was soft and low, but Tank heard the extreme sadness in his words.
Recalling the fact the children had fangs, he wanted to find out how that had happened. Silently, he prayed they had not fed from the Rogues. He decided to broach the subject carefully. "Man, you two sure must've been hungry from the way you put away the food last night and again this morning. Did the men not feed you?"
Si's face lifted abruptly, apprehension shining in his eyes.
"No... Not really. We only had blood from the humans the man upstairs had killed."
Tears filled Si's eyes.
"I know it was wrong, and I know we'll be punished, but it was all we had, honest."
All of a sudden Si's eyes grew wide. Tank could tell a horrible thought had entered the boy's head.
"We didn't touch Sonya. We never would've done that."
Tank slid off the couch and crouched in front of Si, then placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Hey, it's all right. I know you wouldn't have hurt Sonya, especially with the way you protected her from us. I understand you'd done what you had to do to stay alive, and no one blames you for that. You're just children. You'd been trapped with a madman and had to fend for yourselves. You had no choice. What's important is that you and your sister are alive."
Tank offered a reassuring smile. "You're honorable and brave. You cared for and protected your little sister and even Sonya."
Si shook his head tears spilling down his cheeks.
"No, I'm not. I didn't protect Sonya. He hurt her many times, and I didn't stop him."
Tank squeezed Si's shoulders firmly wanting the boy's entire attention focused on what he had to say. "You couldn't have done anything for Sonya. The man's much stronger than you. What would've happened to your sister if you'd been hurt or killed? How long do you think Mya would've survived?"
Si nodded and wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands. He hiccupped a few times then drew in a shuddering breath.
Tank returned to his seat on the couch. He slid his arm about the boy's shoulder to comfort him. "There'll be no more talk about what you think you should've done, all right?"
Si nodded and sniffled once more.
"You know, I bet you'd make a fine Watcher some day, if that's what you want to do when you get older," Tank said, ruffling the boy's hair.
Tank stood, then headed for the small office to make that quick call to Dr. Olivia. He not only needed to advise the Watchers' creator of Sonya and the children, he needed to dump the WITs on another unlucky CO. In his mind, the recent turn of events over rode the importance of their training at his cell.
Sonya's eyelids flickered as she slowly awakened. Her stomach grumbled upon recognizing the scent of pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes.
After stretching her arms above her head, she stilled. The feel of the mattress beneath her body suggested she wasn't in her own bed. A moment of panic struck before she remembered where she was and why.
Taking several deep breaths, Sonya took stock of her body. Everything seemed to function okay. Surprisingly, she didn't feel tired. In fact, she found she had more energy than she'd had in the past several days. Perhaps I just needed the sleep, she told herself.
Stomach continuing to growl impatiently, Sonya rose onto one elbow and tested her equilibrium. When the world didn't tilt or spin, she sat up further.
Though her brain had been slower to awaken than her stomach, thoughts entered her mind, piling on top of one another in a scramble to be at the head of the line. She was in one big mess. One moment she'd been on top of the world after the wonderful performance by her students, and now here she was, at a strange place, in a strange bed, with an even stranger set of circumstances. A man whom she'd thought a friend had attacked her, almost killed her, and another man she didn't know from Adam had brought her here to his home.
Did she fall and hit her head on the way home from the school? If only it were that simple, she thought with a heavy sigh.
Leaning forward, she placed her fingertips on her temples. She felt nauseated, but not because she was getting sick again. The nausea stemmed from panic and disbelief. Vampire. How could she possibly be a vampire? Vampires didn't exist.
Sonya scowled at herself. How many times was she going to tell herself that? If they didn't exist, then how did she grow fangs? She wasn't born with them, and they hadn't been there yesterday or earlier this morning when she'd awakened in Tank's bed.
Cautiously, Sonya raised her hand to her mouth. Her incisors were longer than normal, and there was a definite fullness in her mouth. This is something straight out of the Twilight Zone, she thought grimly.
Her mind switched gears to focus on the man whose bed she occupied--Tank. He'd said he'd dreamt of her. Sonya's analytical side scoffed. Dreams. Vampires. This was all too much. She wanted to scream. No, what she really wanted was to return home and forget any of this had ever happened. She'd go home and work on her papers. She needed to get everything ready to begin the next semester when the children returned to the classroom.
Sonya's bladder sounded a warning, insisting on her attention. She had to use the restroom. What was going to be the trick, she told herself, was finding it before her bladder went into full active mode. Placing her bare feet on the floor, she stood, but kept one hand on the headboard in case her legs decided not to cooperate.
Holding out her hand, she discovered a nightstand beside the bed and found the wall behind it. She followed the wall until the molding of a doorjamb halted her hand's motion.
Wherever this door led, it was open, she thought while reaching out further and finding the wood of the door itself. She used it as a guide and stepped forward.
The cold tile under her
feet had the feel of a bathroom floor. Her hand brushed against a countertop, reinforcing her belief she'd found what she sought. With a sigh of relief, she pushed the door partially closed behind her, not wanting it to close fully and risk not being able to reopen it for some reason.
Finished with her toilet needs and elated her bladder no longer felt as though it was going to burst, Sonya washed her hands and hunted for a towel. She knew water from her wet hands dripped everywhere, which frustrated her being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing where anything sat.
After finding a cloth and wiping her hands, she used her fingers to search for a tube of toothpaste. Though an unusual, but quite pleasant, taste lingered on her tongue as if she'd been drinking a fine wine, her teeth felt gritty.
Her prayers were answered. Toothpaste sat in a small cup beside the faucet. Rubbing the minty paste across her teeth with her finger felt amazingly good. She rinsed and dabbed her mouth with the towel.
Sonya straightened and noticed cool air on her bare legs, which reminded her she wasn't wearing her own clothes. A twinge of unease set in at the realization someone had undressed her. Her chest tightened. Tank.
A voice in her head told her to stop fretting and reminded her of how she'd been sick and had vomited several times. No doubt her clothes had been ruined, she told herself. Of course she'd been undressed and cleaned. She would've done the same if the tables had been turned.
Cleaned.
Did Tank bathe her? She could handle knowing he'd seen her in only her undergarments, but the thought of him seeing her naked had her chest tightening all over again, and this time, it brought embarrassment along for the ride.
The urge to wring her hands and fly into an anxiety attack pulled at her, and she knew she had to get out of the bathroom before she flipped out. There was no room in here to pace.
While using her hands to search for the knob, something soft brushed against her skin. Sonya grasped the item and found it to be the same flannel material as the shirt she wore. Upon further investigation, she discovered she held a pair of pants.
A swift yank freed the pants from the hook. Tossing the garment over her shoulder, she opened the door and fumbled her way to the bed.
To her amazement, the pants fit perfectly.
Next was the hard part--finding her way out of the room. Without her cane as a guide, it was highly probable something was going to get knocked over, she thought grimly.
Her cane. Another reason she needed to return home, she thought. She'd find Tank and ask him to take her home.
David popped into her head and the memory of how he'd attacked her. He was still out there somewhere. The realization she could not yet go home made her heart sink in her chest. "When will this ordeal end?" she asked the empty room. Silence was her only reply.
With a sigh, Sonya began the process of locating the door. Arms outstretched, she placed one foot in front of the other, walking slowly in what she hoped was a straight line until she bumped a piece of furniture. Pain shot up her knee and forced a few choice words from her mouth. Ones she never used.
Seconds after her painful introduction to the furniture, she heard the clattering of toppling objects. Sonya grimaced, praying she hadn't already broken Tank's things. Waving her hands in the air, she slowly lowered them until the tips of her fingers touched a small, solid mass. She picked it up and studied it with her hands. Its four legs and long tail told her it was some sort of animal. Though what kind, she wasn't exactly sure.
While returning the figure to the surface of the dresser, her hand bumped against several others. She did her best to place each one in an upright position and hoped Tank hadn't had them intentionally in a certain arrangement.
The thought of a grown man having animal figurines in his room pricked her curiosity. One explanation immediately came to mind. Tank had said there was no female in his life, but that didn't mean he didn't have children.
What business is it of yours?
Yes, what business was it of hers? She was being absurd. She was a guest here, nothing more.
Finding the door next to the furniture she'd met earlier and no doubt sported bruises because of, she breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as she grasped the knob, a faint voice caught her attention.
"Sonya."
Sonya stiffened and stood very still. Had she imagined it?
The sound of her name whispered in the room once again.
"Sonya."
Unable to make out its direction, she slowly turned to face the room while keeping her hand on the knob for fear of losing its place. "Who's there?"
No one answered.
Her breath quickened as unease set in. When she had awakened, she hadn't sensed anyone in the room, but she knew better than to assume anything. There was the possibility someone was here with her.
"Sonya."
An overwhelming dread filled the air around her, making her desperate to get out of the room. She knew the voice wasn't Tank's. His was low, deep, soothing. This one held an unmistakable note of malevolence.
Whirling around to face the door once more, she turned the knob and yanked the door open. Her mind fervently prayed she'd indeed found the exit and wasn't entering a closet.
With the door standing ajar, voices caught her attention, and she let out a long breath until she realized they emanated from below, telling her she was on an upper floor. A new challenge awaited--stairs. Her biggest fear. One misstep could send her tumbling down, risking grave injury.
Scooting to her right, her outstretched hand touched a wall. She allowed the rough surface to guide her forward.
"Sonya," called the voice again.
Sonya halted. Was someone playing tricks on her? She couldn't tell if the voice was inside her head or if she actually heard it through her ears.
Sliding her hand once more, she took several steps forward until the grainy texture changed to cool metal and she knew she'd found another door.
Sonya followed its smooth surface until she hit a long bar, which she figured to be the door release. Since she hadn't yet found the stairs, her mind reasoned they most likely lay on the other side. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the bar.
A searing pain struck her arms and face immediately as the metal bar left her hands. She stumbled backward until her body hit the wall. An anguished cry tore through her throat and out her mouth at the intense heat slamming into the front of her body. The burning of her flesh assaulted her nostrils. Her body was on fire.
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Chapter Nine
Si seemed to settle down after their talk, Tank noticed as he returned to the living room. He handed the papers from Headquarters outlining the trainees' new assignment to Kern, then sat on the couch next to the boy. He knew rehashing everything that had taken place during their time at the sanatorium had deeply upset the child, but one glance at Mya showed she hadn't paid attention to the discussion, her attention entirely fixed on the television and the cartoon playing on the screen.
A yellow sponge and a pink starfish were blowing bubbles, which seemed to annoy the neighbor--a grey squid. Mya grinned behind her thumb and Si laughed loudly. Without warning, Mya stiffened and stood on the couch cushions. Tank watched in confusion as she gave a startled cry while pointing at the balcony and the door, which opened to the fire escape.
Following the direction in which Mya pointed, Tank saw Sonya standing before the doorway to the fire escape. He felt his heart plummet to the floor and time seemed to come to a crawl. All that existed was Sonya pressing the bar in slow motion and releasing the door.
With a fierce growl that reverberated throughout the entire room, Tank moved in a blur, leaping to the second floor. He cleared the balcony railing as Sonya screamed from the pain of daylight touching her skin.
Tank pulled her against his chest, then turned and sheltered her from the light pouring in through the open doorway. He grunted in pain and gritted his teeth as he pushed them both forward in the direction of his room.
Tank quickly ushered Sonya inside, thankful for the cool darkness that greeted them. Sonya's body trembled beneath his arms. Turning her to face him, he lightly ran his hands over her arms, making sure no little fires continued to burn her skin from the agent in their blood which quickly scorched and burned when exposed to sunlight.
"Sonya," he ground out, trying to get ahold of the fear still gripping him from the sight of her in grave danger. The thought of losing her, right before his eyes, almost made him ill. "Tell me where you're burned."
Tank knew what was going to happen next, and he braced himself. As the initial shock and fear began to wear off from the adrenaline rush dying down, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she started to cry.
"That door should have been locked." Tank couldn't suppress his growl of anger. Though inside his mind raged and his hands shook uncontrollably, he tried to be gentle while he pushed up the sleeves of the shirt to see her arms.
Robyn rushed into the room carrying a bottle of salve to soothe the pain while Sonya's flesh healed.
"Oh, God. It's all my fault. I forgot to lock the door the last time I came in from the roof. I'm so sorry, Sonya."
Robyn was in tears, but Tank didn't have time to deal with her right now or care who was to blame. He held his tongue and kept his anger in check. Although it was a careless mistake, he knew Robyn wouldn't have intentionally left the door unlocked, especially with the children in the house. The thought struck him hard. He paused in his inspection of Sonya's arms and closed his eyes. It could have happened to one of the children.
The realization must have also occurred to Robyn. When he opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, he saw her face had gone sickly pale. In one swift move she sat the bottle of salve on the dresser and bolted to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Before the echo of the slamming door died, Tank heard Trigg's heavy boots bound up the stairs. He watched the warrior slip into his bedroom. No doubt the man felt the desperate need to comfort his mate, Tank thought. Although Sonya was not his, that same urge was there for him as well.