Verron_Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  The man with the rifle was only a few feet away and rubbing his crotch when he exploded, bloody meat and bones sprayed Fred who had just arrived on the scene. While he was still dazed by his exploding brother, Fred received a softball sized plasma ball that left a hole where his heart, lungs and spine used to be. Spencer had way to much downhill momentum to retreat and screamed a war-cry as he increased his speed and brandished his knife, determined to kill the girl below. Tala pulled her knife from her boot, she never leaves home without it, and threw it so hard that it entered Spencer’s right eye and exited out the back of his skull, clanging off the rocks behind.

  She grabbed her water-bottle and turned to Brad, who had seen the entire incident, but wasn’t quite coherent enough to decide what he had just witnessed. Tala began to cry as Brad couldn’t form his torn lips around the small opening of the bottle. She held his head back and squirted the water in his mouth. When Brad began to cough, at first she thought the water had gone down the wrong pipe, then she saw that he was coughing up blood. She knew then that all his injuries were not visible. Tala was shaking with tears as she laid Brad’s head back against a boulder and put her arms around his dying body. She had no idea what to do in her panicked state. As she held him close all she could think about was how much she wished she could do what a regeneration chamber could do. Slowly she began to feel The Power radiate through her body. Soon she realized what was happening and began to focus on Brad’s specific injuries. She cautiously reached down and put Brad’s torn facial skin back where it should be, trying to line it up so it covered his teeth and jaw. As she groaned in bitter anguish, she shut her eyes and concentrated with all that was within her to save this man’s life. It seemed like a lifetime, but Tala knew it couldn’t have been more than 15 or 20 minutes, Brad began to stir in her blood covered arms. As she raised her head from his shoulder to look in his eyes, his face looked like it was supposed to look, except for a lot of dirt and blood. Brad pushed himself upward into a more erect position and Tala looked down to see the bone that was protruding from his leg no longer sticking out and the puncture wound closed. She grabbed her water bottle again and offered it to him. He slowly reached for it himself and sprayed the first serving over his face, then drank the rest of the bottle. He managed to sit-up a bit farther then tried to stand. He was shaky, but managed to get to a nearby seat-level boulder. He had lost a good bit of blood and experienced a major physical trauma, but he would be alright.

  After drinking another bottle of water, Brad began to look around at the carnage surrounding him. There was blood, guts and body parts all over the trail and a broken rifle of some sort in the middle of it. Freddie’s body had fallen face-down on top of the remains of Brad’s bike and the left pedal was protruding through the big hole in his back. Spencer had bounced off the walls of the narrow path as he fell out of control for the last forty feet and was staring up at the sky with a big hole all the way through what was once his eye-socket. Brad tried to be funny and quoted one of his favorite comedic lines, “Well, this is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into” and flashed his perfect smile at Tala. She kissed him hard on the lips, blood and dirt and all. She looked around and shook her head, saying, “I guess I better clean this up before we leave.” She looked at his bike and declared, “You’re going nowhere on that ever again. Let me tidy-up a bit and we’ll take the fast way home.” Tala almost barfed at the task ahead, but she made herself do it. She drug Spencer and Fred over to where most of Donnie was. She then pick-up the larger chunks of Donnie and threw them into the same heap. Brad was trying to keep the grim situation as light as possible and would occasionally say, “I think you missed a piece over there.” Once everything was in as much of a pile as she could make, she helped Brad to his feet and took both bikes and threw them over her shoulders. They walked down the path to a safe distance and Tala threw a huge fireball at the area of the attack. Brad had to turn away at the flash of heat. When he looked back every sign of the Edwards brothers ceased to exit. Someone would one day notice the large burned-out spot on the trail and would make a lucky find of a new snake-snare along the trail, but even the Winchester was gone.

  Tala was about to make a gateway to Verron when Brad noticed two backpacks and six moving heavy canvass bags beside the trail. Tala approached the squirming bags and opened the first one, spilling a dozen angry rattlesnakes onto the ground. The snakes were more concerned about getting away than they were biting someone and slithered off as fast as they could. She dumped the rest of the bags and marveled at the beauty of the colors on the Gila Monsters. Once the snakes and lizards were gone Brad approached and looked inside one of the backpacks. There was enough meth to get the entire population of Las Vegas high. They tossed the bags into the middle of the already burned-out circle and Tala once again incinerated the last of the evidence. The drug dealer in Las Vegas, who owned the cabin and was expecting his delivery, would send some men out to look for the Edwards boys in a few days. No one would ever know where they went.

  Tala, without asking, made a jump to Brad’s truck, where they deposited the bikes in the back, then made a gateway to the J. Verron Medical Center. She managed to catch Tlase in her office and asked if she would give Brad a quick check-up, explaining he had just been in a bicycle wreck. It was obvious from the blood and dirt on them both that there had been some trouble. Without questioning her request, Tlase placed Brad in an examination scanner. It looked a lot like an open MRI, except this machine would analyze and diagnose any of over 500,000 injuries and diseases in minutes. Brad went into a changing room and emerged in one of those ridiculous hospital gowns and laid-down on the machine. Immediately after his diagnostics had finished they headed to Tala’s house for a shower and change of clothes and something to eat; Tala was about to pass-out from hunger. As they exited the gateway in Tala’s backyard, Tigger came out from behind the storage building where he slept, followed by a beast that was as big as the storage building. Brad knew better than to try and throw himself between Tala and the approaching beast and asked, “Friend of yours?” Tala replied, “His names Ben and he’s a sweetheart, aren’t ya Ben?” To Brad’s surprise the big behemoth groaned an agreement. Tala opened a big box on the back porch and handed Brad two coconuts and took two for her. She walked over to Ben and allowed him to eat the whole nut right from her hand. Brad cautiously followed her example and was surprised when the big thing gently licked his hand in thanks. She explained that he was a Tree Bear, that they eat trees for their main diet and that she had known this one since it was a cub, adding, “He actually is Daniel’s friend, but he knows where the food is.”

  Tala opened the backdoor to announce herself and found an empty house. She felt suddenly awkward alone in the house with Brad and needing a shower and clean cloths. Brad could feel her tension and informed her, “You go clean-up first and I’ll hang outside with Ben and Tigger. Tigger has eaten, hasn’t he?” The situation was quickly resolved when Daniel knocked on the back door and walked in. He grinned at the couple and let them know, “The folks are at Uncle Paul’s, both our families and Uncle Joe and Grandpa. I was headed that way myself when I heard Ben bellow and then saw your lights come on. You two look awful.” Tala quickly explained what had happened and why they looked so bad. Daniel was staring at his little cousin in wonder at what she had done, not at the exploding bad-guy or the plasma ball, any of them could do that, but at the healing. The only one he knew who had done that so far had been Uncle Paul, he didn’t yet know about Katelyn. Daniel solved the uncomfortable situation by offering Brad his shower and a change of clothes, since they were about the same size. They headed next door and Tala grabbed a cold Turkey leg from the fridge and ate it as she headed upstairs to clean-up. She was sitting in the kitchen all shiny and clean, eating a big Turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato and washing it down with a big glass of cold milk when Brad and Daniel came into the kitchen. Tala thought Brad looked adorable in the black jeans, black Triumph T-shirt, and boots with his
blond hair and blue eyes. He really was the same size as Daniel and they fit him perfectly. They were about to go get into Daniel’s transport and changed their mind. Daniel looked at Brad and he knew what they were thinking. He laughed and told him, “Go ahead, it’s quicker. Nothing surprises me after today.”

  The three of them arrived just as the entire family was sitting down to supper. When they entered the room Danyel quickly leaped from her seat to greet her youngest daughter and her boyfriend. Marcus, in his usual joking manner, asked “OK. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time? Brad can’t you keep an eye on her.” He had no idea he would hit a sensitive nerve with his joking and was alarmed when Tala began to cry on her Mother’s shoulder and exclaim, “It was awful. I wish I hadn’t done it, but they gave me no choice. I didn’t know what else to do.” Marcus rushed to Tala’s side and embraced his sobbing daughter giving Brad an angry glare. Tala noticed and rushed to his defense, saying, “Dad! It wasn’t Brad’s fault. They almost killed him.” With the wisdom of a Great-grandmother, Alene told Tala, “Perhaps you better sit down and join us for supper and when you’ve calmed down a bit, tell us exactly what it is your talking about, your making no sense whatsoever.” Tala, Brad and Daniel grabbed an empty chair and soon the new serving cyborgs, a gift from Uduak, brought dishes and eating utensils for the new arrivals. By the time Tala had eaten a small salad and guzzled down some tea, she was ready to begin from the start. She did not summarize, something this important needed to be done in a concise manner. By the time she finished, Danyel was sobbing, “My poor baby.” Marcus was proclaiming, “That’s my girl!” Grandpa Kary and Daniel were giving her the, “They got what they deserved.” And Uncle Paul simply told her, “It’s never easy up close like that. I would have done exactly what you did. I’m proud you kept your wits and cleaned up the mess.” He looked at Marcus and Danyel and added, “You’ve got some remarkable girls. Both Katelyn and Tala have used a skill that has not been used in thousands of years. I was the first when I healed Zeus. Tlase and Zimuel assured me, it was an extremely rare occurrence. Now to have both Katelyn and Tala do it within a few weeks of each other is truly amazing.” He turned to Tala, “I assume you had Brad checked-out?” Brad jumped in and declared, “This girl is remarkable, she took-out the bad guys, saved my life, cleaned-up the mess and remembered to take me directly to Dr. Tlase. I’d be dead right now if not for her.”

  Ever since the children of Michael and Marcus had founded the Dragon Guard, the parents had known their children could do some pretty remarkable things, but they had never been the topic of diner conversation until tonight. Danyel, after hearing the last comment made, asked, “And what exactly has Katelyn done? I hardly see the girls anymore. Are you telling me that Katelyn can heal people too?” Paul then proceeded to tell those at the table the details of Katelyn’s war on drugs and gangs. Michael knew because he has the highest security clearance on Verron. Marcus knew because Katelyn told him everything. Kary knew because he had been developing and building the weapons these kids had been using all over the universe. Rachael and Danyel on the other hand, did not know just what their children had been up to, oh, they knew about the wars and space battles; they’d have to be blind when the whole planet was involved, but to think of these other conflicts made them see their children in a totally different light. Daniel wasn’t about to let Tala and Katelyn be the only ones who would be accused of keeping things from Mama. He jumped into the conversation and told them about what he and Chase did in Israel and the attack on the hotel. Both parents knew it was too late to make their kids stay home and be like normal children. It was time that both Mothers and the Queen Mother knew that these 12 members of the Dragon Guard were dedicated to God, King Verron, the Nation of Verron and the protection and service of anyone weaker than them, which was about everyone. By the time they finished the blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream Tala was feeling much better and couldn’t wait for the Earth Christmas break, when the Dragon Guard would be back on Verron. She had a lot to tell them.

  The Verron family left the dishes for the cyborgs and drones and headed into the music room that was located where the formal sitting room used to be. This was a Gospel and Bluegrass kind of night and Brad sat listening in amazement as the entire family, except Michael, who couldn’t sing to save his life, sang and played guitars, the dobro, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and string bass. No electrical instruments were used and it sounded great. Brad had always listened to contemporary and even a little RAP, but felt the conviction of every message in the songs as they sang. He especially loved when Tala, Alene, Paul and Kary sang acapella an Isaac’s song I Have a Father Who Can, with Tala on lead vocal. They did a few of those and then switched back to Bluegrass with Tala on mandolin. With no banjo player there for the night Paul and Kary later convinced Tala to play five-string banjo. She rarely played the banjo but was actually pretty good on it. On this particular night she was better than just good, she was exceptional. Kary openly accused her of holding back before and just showing off for Brad tonight. After doing Sally Goodin, and Don Reno’s Follow the Leader, she finished with Don Reno’s Ten Minute Banjo Jam with Papaw Kary playing mandolin and Daniel on the fiddle, Paul on the guitar; Brad was tapping his feet and having the time of this life, the events of the day far from his mind. He thought to himself, “These people sure know how to deal with their problems and have fun together.” Then he had a sad moment, thinking, “It won’t be anything like this next weekend at home.” He suddenly dreaded the country-club Thanksgiving dinner and dance at the clubhouse. Then he smiled, thinking, “I bet this group would liven things up.” While listening to the MJs play and sing for the family, it was an excuse to stay up past their bedtime, Brad and Tala continued to stuff themselves on leftovers. The ham that was served for dinner was better than any Brad had ever eaten. To be honest, he had been raised like most Californians to believe Beef and Pork were some sort of tainted meat. Tala made him a sandwich with sugar cured ham, fresh sliced tomatoes, mayo and lettuce with just a hint of honey-mustard sauce, and a helping of Uncle Paul’s baked-beans. They were both getting their strength back after the ordeal in Nevada.

  There were lots of sad goodbyes from the parents and Grandparents and kisses from both sleepy MJs when it was time for Brad and Tala to get back to Nevada. Paul told her he would do some digging and see if he could figure out who the characters were that attacked them and not to worry about what she had been forced to do. Everyone invited Brad back for Thanksgiving and were just as disappointed as he was that he would be home in California instead; he did promise to be back for Christmas. Tala made a gateway back to Brad’s pick-up truck. The place where they had left it was so isolated they could have left the keys in it and it would still be there when they returned. There had been a sand storm while they had been away and the usually spotless 4x4 looked like a junk-heap. The blood on Brad’s bike was mixed with the caked-up sand and made it impossible to tell how bloody his bike was. I was definitely totaled. He would have to buy another bike when he went home; this one was going into the compactor at Area 51, for more reasons than one.

  It was well past midnight when Brad started the truck and slowly began to negotiate the treacherous path down the mountain in the dark. He was watching the drop-off to his right so intently he didn’t notice at first that it was no longer there. Instead he was moving slowly down the Extraterrestrial Highway a mile from the turn-off to Area 51. He looked at Tala snuggled-up under his arm as he drove and chuckled, asking, “Would you at least let me know when you’re going to do that?”

  The men at the security checkpoint looked in the back of the truck and saw Brad’s wreck of a $3000 mountain bike, asking, “Captain, was anyone hurt? You’ll never ride that again.” Brad lied, replying, “I managed to bail-out before it went over a cliff. It would have been a bad day if I had gone with it.” The staff-sergeant who was NCOIC for the evening, informed Brad, “Under the circumstance, we’ll just ignore the fact that yo
u’re arriving after curfew. It looks like you brought your excuse with you.”

  Ever since the four aliens arrived at Cape Canaveral, and the press had spread pictures of them over every newspaper, magazine, television news channel and internet social media, people from all over the world began to swarm the Cape looking for a peek at the extraterrestrials. Paul had to assign a security detail to Pavel, Ina, Cali, Camil and Hon, not because they couldn’t take care of themselves, but because the paparazzi would not allow them any privacy. The weekend trip to Disney had been their last fun weekend without security. Now two ex-Seals patrolled the Indian and Banana Rivers when Ina and 99 went sailing, two others go fishing with Camil and Cali and one more accompanies Hon when he goes out in his newly acquired offshore race boat. He found a great deal on a 40 foot custom made off-shore racing boat named Four-Play, with a forty-foot length and four 400 HP engines. He decided he would have an R4 come pick it up when it was time to leave. Bill was already beginning construction on a 100 foot fishing boat for Cali and Camil for when they returned to Verron.