by Dan Glover
After Nate spread the blanket out and seated himself, he patted a spot next to him inviting her to sit too. Her hearts fluttered when he kissed her tentatively at first and then more boldly.
Chapter 25—Suspicions
"Goddamn it all."
Hector poked himself in the left eye with the earpiece while attempting to put on his glasses. The two of them were still stuck in Moscow with Lily and her unknown companion moving farther away from them with each passing day.
Karen couldn't walk unaided. He was beginning to suspect she was milking her injuries although the attending physician assured him in his busted English that broken and cracked ribs were a serious matter that might take as long as three to four weeks to heal enough that they could resume traveling.
The concussion he suffered was still causing him double vision and nausea unless he kept wearing those stupid-looking glasses. He wiped away persistent tears leaking from his wounded eyeball that ran down his cheek as he adjusted the frames to fit his ears.
"We're never going to catch up to them if you don't start getting your fat ass out of that goddamned wheelchair, Karen. Christ, I can almost see you bloating up from lack of exercise."
"Eat some shit, Hector."
Hector sensed Karen was keeping something from him but he couldn't understand why she'd want to do that to him. He was her mentor. He helped her obtain a position in a top-notch medical facility as soon as she graduated from the university. Most physicians had to intern as a resident for at least a half a dozen years before they could even hope for such a prestigious assignment.
The contents of blood sample she took from Karl Simkovich—the man who was infected with the same parasitic disease as the others—was bothering Hector. Karl died the following day, just as she said he would. Hector was certain Karen saw something in that sample. The way she reacted was a dead giveaway. She forgot how well he knew her propensity towards showing excitement. She was horrid at poker.
"At least try out these crutches the nurse brought in today. Come on, Karen. I'll walk with you and catch you if you fall."
"Right, as if you can even see to catch me."
"You know where they're going, don’t you."
"Who are you talking about now, Hector?"
"That creature and whoever it was who hit me... you know something you're not telling me."
"And just how the hell do you figure I know anything like that? I've been laid up in this hospital ever since we were attacked."
"She told you something before her escape."
"She? Are you finally admitting Lily is actually a woman?"
"You know what I mean. You two were always talking. Christ, I remember mornings when I came into the compound and you were still there from the day before talking to that thing. She told you where she's going. I know she did."
"Yes, and I told you... she is going home to Lake Baikal. Do you think I'm lying to you now?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure what to think any longer, Karen. I used to trust you. Now I am having these doubts. I'm starting to believe you have your own agenda."
"Why are you doing this to me, Hector? You know I've given my all to the CDC for the past fifteen years. Christ, I even slept with my boss. I love you, you stupid turd. And now you're all but accusing me of treason? Why would you do that? Is it that lump you took on the head?"
"You're right. I'm not thinking straight. It's all this sitting around. I feel as if we should be pursuing these thugs instead of waiting here to heal."
"We know where they're going, Hector. We'll find them. We have to get our legs underneath ourselves first, though. Do you really think we could win a confrontation with them in the shape we're in?"
Hector sighed as he bent over to kiss Karen. She turned her cheek to meet his lips. Despite their present predicament he found he was horny but thought better of cupping her breast after his attempted kiss failed.
Up close he saw it in her downcast eyes. She was hiding something from him, something important. He wondered momentarily if she might be a danger to him but just as quickly brushed the thought aside. Karen might well have her own plans but she was not a murderess.
He wondered what he ever saw in her. She wasn't an attractive woman by any stretch of the imagination. Her breasts were too small and her ass was too big. She was a lousy lay. In all the years of making love with her he didn’t think she orgasmed even one time. She had smarts enough but she often used her intelligence in ways unbefitting of a senior physician in a world-class organization.
He realized he was as guilty as she in all of this. She was his first and only lover. He knew he would never be mistaken for Al Pacino. He recognized her faults through the filter of his own. He found himself hoping against the increasingly high odds that they could recapture the creature, get it back to the compound, and resume their studies.
He considered the wisdom of proposing to Karen. If he did so a year ago he was certain she would have said yes. Now, he wondered. Still, such a commitment may help to repair their tenuous relationship even if he didn’t go through with it in the end. She might confide in him again the way she once did.
Leaving Karen's hospital room he walked out of the building and a couple blocks toward downtown where he remembered passing a jewelry store during one of his nocturnal walks.
Chapter 26—Roses
Lauren felt lost the moment Lily and Nate drove away.
Other than the short trip to the Centers for Disease Control headquarters she hadn’t been apart from her lover for more than a few minutes at a time in many years... though she yearned to travel along with them she understood she must remain behind to protect the People.
Changes were coming. Her dreams of the music showed her a future filled with laughter and strange children. That did not trouble her. In fact, she looked forward to the new days. Sharing Lily with her other lovers caused Lauren no jealousy either. Among her kind it had always been common to have multiple lovers.
The gardens lent a comfort to Lauren that was as everlasting as life itself. Going into the midst of the redbud trees and blooming trillium she was reminded of a time some years ago when she was interrupted while working here.
"I am so sorry to bother you but we need to ask something of you, Lady Lauren. I think Lady Lily has explained her plan to you, has she not?"
Karen and Marilyn approached her while she tended to the gardens on a soft and rainy early April day. Lauren preferred the rain to the sunshine as the glow of the day star burned her skin and blinded her eyes if she stayed within its light for too long.
"Yes... she said you will be coming to talk to me about this plan of Lily's. Tell me... what is it you require of me?"
"We need to harvest one of your eggs."
Karen did the talking while Marilyn stood silently listening. Lauren got an impression something was brewing in this woman's mind that could prove ill for the People. She decided to be cautious around her for the time being.
"This I do not understand."
"Lily has talked to Natalia about bearing a child. This child will be a mixture of our species and yours. We plan on taking the nucleus from your egg and implanting it into a modified egg of Natalia's before inserting it into her womb where it will grow into a child."
"I cannot give you what you ask. I have had a baby once. I can no longer reproduce. This is the way of our kind."
"Lily told us. We believe your body still holds a store of eggs even if they can no longer be fertilized. We are not using your egg to reproduce. We will remove part of your genetic material to insert into Natalia's egg."
"Why does Lily not lend you the use of her egg?"
"Lily's plan precludes that possibility."
"She is to be a mother in the future."
"Perhaps she is but she didn’t share that information with me... all I know is that you are the only other member of your species. Will you help us?"
"If this is something I can provide, by all means I will help. When do we start?"
"We're ready when you are, Lady Lauren."
"Allow me one hour to finish my work, please. I will meet you where you say."
"We'll be in the laboratory we've set up in the carriage house behind the castle."
As the two women walked away Lauren cleared her mind to finish her pruning. Each spring she manicured the roses trimming away the dead wood of winter so that fresh blooms would appear. The work was exacting. It allowed her to focus her attention completely upon the present. It was at these moments that her prescient moments arose.
The floribunda honey perfumes and Elle hybrid tea roses flourished in the poor Scottish soil if they were fed a tincture of water poured over used coffee grounds and composted cow manure. The climbers did well even in the shade. She wondered if perhaps they were stretching to the sunshine or if like her they did not enjoy the brightness of the day star.
As she worked her mind stilled. A vision flashed before her eyes as vividly as if it was actually occurring. She saw a world populated by a happy and contented race, a blend of her own folk and the People who were so brutish and quarrelsome.
Beautiful Lake Baikal couldn’t contain this new race. Instead, they frolicked in the depths of the oceans while they made homes along the coastal regions of all the continents. Orchardton Hall was quiet and yet the center of all this activity.
Even the Earth couldn’t contain this new race of beings. The stars were waiting and the universe was big enough for all.
The vision faded as she stood to stretch the cramps from her legs yet the memory remained. Until this moment she saw the end of her kind as a harbinger of doom for the whole planet. Now she was filled once again with hope for the future.
She walked around back of the castle where Karen and Marilyn waited.
Now, many years later, the labor of her love resulted in a man who was unlike any being yet born. He was her son. This she knew beyond a doubt, and though Nate called Natalia his mother she saw the way he looked at her.
The trips of Nate's worried Lauren. She sensed he was searching for something that he couldn't find here yet the world was dangerous outside the confines of Orchardton Hall. Though the most hazardous of beings had perished—human beings—perilous times awaited the unwary traveler. She would not cease to worry until Lily and Nate returned from their sojourn to the coast.
"We are going to find a boat which we can sail across the ocean, Lady Lauren."
Nate was sending off such powerful waves of excitement that she almost felt good about his plans despite knowing the harrowing times sailors faced upon the open sea. The salt water repulsed her. Even wading in it caused her pain.
"How long will you be away with Lady Lily, my darling Nate?"
"No more than a couple of days, Lady Lauren. I wish you could accompany us."
"My place is here, sweet Nate. This is where I am most happy."
Now, if only she could convince herself.
Chapter 27—Surprises
She had always had a low sense of self esteem.
A month ago they were attacked at the train depot in Moscow. Today they finally walked out of the hospital together after having gathered enough strength to continue their pursuit.
"Marry me, Karen."
Hector surprised her by presenting an engagement ring to her at dinner. In years past she dreamed of matrimony... now she was only disgusted by the thought of spending the rest of her life with a man like Hector. He made her sick. Still, she knew better than to deny him outright.
"Jesus Christ, Hector... what brought this on?"
She didn’t have to feign surprise. She had no idea he planned on proposing to her. In fact, he seemed surly most days, accusing her of faking her injuries so their intended target could make a clean getaway.
"I love you, Karen. You know that. These past few weeks have made me realize how deeply I care for you. Marry me."
She found herself wanting to believe him. But there was something in his eyes... a telltale sign, maybe... that gave him away. She couldn't put a finger on it, exactly. Maybe it was the way he couldn’t hold her gaze with his. Of course, he had always been like that. Still, when a man asked a woman to spend the rest of her life with him she expected more.
"I'll have to think about it. Give me some time, Hector."
"Well, at least wear my ring."
He reached over to take her hand in his but she involuntarily pulled away from his touch. His skin was clammy, cold, and wet, like a cadaver freshly dead.
"No... I mean, not yet. Keep it for me, Hector."
The look in his eyes was not one of hurt so much as one of being discovered. She knew at that instant that Hector was using marriage not as an act of love but as a ploy to gain a hold upon her. The glasses he wore made him look like Truman Capote.
"I don’t understand why you won't put it on."
He had the look of a hurt little boy who had just been told Santa Claus did not exist and his voice was breaking, as if he was actually wounded by her refusal. For just a moment she thought of accepting the ring but she knew what that gesture signified.
"I'm afraid I will lose it, Hector. Keep it safe for me, please."
She watched him reluctantly pocket the jewelry box before picking up the chilled wine on the table in front of them and filling both their glasses.
"A toast then... here is to the future Mr. and Mrs. Hector Ramirez."
She choked on her wine... the audacity of the man. She didn’t consent to marry him. She silently seethed at his willfulness though she was not surprised by it. When he first recruited her for a position with the Centers of Disease Control he played the same game... offering her the job and then not giving her a chance to turn it down.
She was a young girl and flattered that a man like Hector Ramirez saw so much promise in her. She fought her way through medical school competing against males who always seemed to have the upper hand when it came to being groomed for all the best employment opportunities leaving women like her to fiddle over the dregs.
Now she was being offered a dream job with a highly attractive salary working in a government-funded laboratory where no expense would be spared. Despite the fact that she was top of her class she never expected being tendered an open-ended contract with guaranteed salary increases as well as excellent retirement benefits.
"I would like the chance to discuss your offer with my parents first, Dr. Ramirez."
"Call me Hector. I'm sure your folks will be amazed that you've been recruited into the CDC at such a young age. They'll be so proud of you, Karen. Don't waste this opportunity... we will not proffer a second chance to you."
"Are you saying I have to give you my answer right now?"
"Just so, Karen... I'm sure you've already decided anyhow. Am I correct?"
"I want the job, Dr. Ramirez... I mean, Hector."
"Good for you, Karen... you will not regret this. Now, if I can get you to sign right here..."
Hector attempted to seduce her later that night. He was clumsy, as if it was his first time too.
"I'm a virgin, Hector."
"That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Karen. Can you help me with your bra? I can't seem to get it unhooked."
She reached behind her back to undo it. When she revealed her breasts she saw a look of disappointment flower across his face.
"I thought they'd be bigger."
She crossed her arms over them, embarrassed now and ashamed at what she has allowed this man to do. She only met him earlier in the day and now suddenly she was preparing to allow him to penetrate her.
"I should go."
She got up and began to dress.
"Oh no, please don’t go, Karen. I shouldn’t have said that. I'm sorry. You really have gorgeous breasts."
"Yeah, I'm sure I do."
Red-faced, she pulled on her shirt, stuck her bra in her purse, got up, and walked out of Hector's motel room. Back in her apartment she took off her clothes to shower. As the water streamed over her body she broke down a
nd cried over what just transpired.
She knew she wasn’t the prettiest girl around. Hell, she wasn’t good-looking by a long shot. She made herself up and paid for expensive haircuts and bought the latest fashions but no matter how she tried she always seemed to look frumpy. She was twenty five years old and she had never even been asked on a date. The few times, like tonight, when a man tried to have his way with her, she invariably ended up running out on him.
The water was cold. The stupid water heater never allowed for more than a five minute shower. She shut off the shower and grabbed a towel. After drying off she dropped the towel and stood in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
She had inverted nipples and her breasts sagged even though they were no more than a handful. Her belly bulged and her hips were way too wide. She tried pulling her posture up straight but the effort soon exhausted her and besides it did no good... standing sideways her ass looked enormous and her thighs thunderous.
"I should have let him screw me."
She spoke to her reflection in the mirror but when she didn’t receive an answer she picked up the towel, wrapped it around her, and went to her bedroom. She wasn’t tired... still, she put the towel on top of the bottom sheet and crawled under the covers anyway, naked flesh against the naked top sheet.
"The hell with it."
She climbed out of bed, dressed without underwear, and drove back to the motel. Hector's light was still on. She knocked on the door. When he opened it she was all over him without a word, kissing him, fondling him over the top of his pants. She undressed while he did the same.
They made love silently as if neither of them wanted to break the hush that had fallen over the room. When he started to turn off the light she put a hand on his to stop him. She wanted to see his face. She dreamed of this moment and now it was here. She wanted to remember everything.