Sanctuary 2 (The Foliage Series Book 4)

by Aline Riva

  Jekel stepped closer, taking hold of her hands as he looked into her eyes and broke his news and her heart as Riley looked away.

  “There is no good news.”

  All her anger melted away as confusion clouded her gaze.

  “What? I don't understand...”

  Jekel gave his reply with a heavy heart.

  “I just wanted this to last as long as it could, Joy... it wasn't a permanent cure. We hoped it would be...but it's not.”

  At that moment as pain cut her in half and she gave a sob, all strength seemed to leave her as tears filled her eyes and she realised her hopes for the future were gone.

  “No...Oh no Ash, no...No it's not true...it's not!” she wept, “It can't be...not now, you said it was over, you said you was okay...”

  Then Joy looked to Riley.

  “You should have told me!” she said tearfully.

  Then as she gave another sob, Jekel drew her into a tight embrace and held her, letting her weep and for once not caring that her tears or her make up was quite possibly leaving stains on his precious threads as she pressed her face against his shoulder. Then he let go of her as Joy wiped her eyes and Jekel looked at her pleadingly.

  “Please don't cry like this...not now, not yet. I'm still here! And this day is important...Do something important for me, please...Get back in there, talk to people, be happy, just for tonight...I gave a good speech about unity today – it was my last one. Help me to keep that going?”

  “I don't want to leave you!”

  “I'll be okay,” Jekel promised her, “I just need to have a lie down for a while...I'm tired. I'll come back down in a couple of hours, there's plenty of time - this lot will be here till gone midnight.”

  Then he kissed her cheek.

  “Stop worrying, Joy. We do have plenty of time left. I'm not going anywhere yet.”

  As Jekel turned away and wearily made his way up the stairs, Joy looked angrily to Riley.

  “You should have told me the truth! If he wasn't ready to say it, you should have said something!”

  “He asked me not to!” Riley exclaimed, “What was I supposed to do, go against his dying wish?”

  Then he looked up to see several guests including the journalist standing by the half open door, and he glared at them.

  “This is a private conversation!” he snapped, and didn't bother to slam the door shut as they visibly backed off from his anger. Then he turned back to Joy.

  “I'm sorry, he's my best mate and I've been fighting for years to save him! We both knew this day could come, we didn't want it to, but we knew...even Ash knew the end of the line would come one day. Joy, I can't do any more for him, there's nothing left to try!”

  Joy's face was stained with tears.

  “I can't lose him!”

  In that moment he felt sure he had never known Joy to look so afraid. Riley gave her a tight hug and as he let go she was blinking away more tears.

  “I'm so glad Travis is staying over at the Wired Circuit with Fi and the Flynns, oh, I'm so glad he didn't hear any of that! How is he going to cope with this?”

  “Come along my dear,” said Riley kindly as he reached for the door handle, “Let's do as he asked, peace and unity...If he's not back down in two hours, just go up to him. This isn't easy for any of us...Come on, Joy...Do it for Ash.”

  The next hour passed by slowly for Joy as she anxiously looked at the time, over and over as she thought of her husband, but kept her promise as she socialised with the guests of Riley and Lynch, as they worked on cementing relations between the Valley and the City. Then Joy finally looked at the time again and left Riley speaking with the journalist from Freedom, and hurried up the stairs.

  As she opened the bedroom door, she smiled as she caught sight of everything familiar that assured her all was fine, at least for now – his suit was hanging up on the wardrobe door, his tie was put away and wardrobe was half open, his polished shoes were in the rack with the others, there was a trace of cologne in the air and Ash was in bed, naked with the sheets down to his waist.

  Joy walked over to the bed, thinking how many times she had found him like this in happier times and pulled down those covers to expose his perfect, nude body as she ran her hands over him and woke him with a kiss... Then she noticed he had left his comb on the bed and she picked it up and moved it to the dresser, pausing to close the window to shut out the start of a chill in the air. Joy went back over to the bed and ran her hand over his hair as she leant over him.

  “Wake up, handsome,” she murmured.

  It was then the expression in her eyes changed, as if this whole life had just been ripped away from her as sure as she knew they would never again share this room or this bed or this life with him again because...The impact of the moment caught her with the force of a speeding train as she saw him lying there, her Ashley Jekel, looking so peaceful and handsome as he lay there with his eyes closed - but he wasn't merely tired from the festival...

  Nor was he sleeping...

  Ash wasn't moving at all.

  Joy caught her breath, turned from the bed and ran out of the room and into the upper hallway, colliding with the polished balcony rail as she leant over it.

  “RILEY!” she screamed.

  What happened next seemed to move in a blur of speed and shock.

  Riley dashed up the stairs and went into the bedroom, then Lynch and Elise and the journalist and several other guests also hurried up, crowding the upper hallway in confusion as they looked into the open doorway of the grand bedroom, where Joy was sat sobbing on a chair by the dresser.

  The bed sheets were folded down to Jekel's hips, he was still on his back and Riley had just stepped back from a series of chest compressions as he had frantically tried to revive him. Then he leant over Jekel again, feeling for a pulse at his throat and finding none. Finally, he shouted for someone to fetch him a portable scanner.

  Less than three minutes passed between the message being relayed and an android medic being summoned from the nearby med centre, and when she arrived Riley snatched the device from her hand.

  “I have to do this for him,” he said, “No one else can do this...He was my best friend... And I know what I'm going to see...”

  Then he turned Jekel's head, swept his hair off the decorative veneer and placed the device on to it, briefly glanced at the wiring within and lifted the device free and turned it off again, handed it back to the medic then paused to tidy Jekel's hair to leave him as he was before. As he straightened his head he paused to lift an eyelid then closed it again, looking to Joy as tears filled his eyes.

  “I'm sorry, he's gone, we've lost him, Joy.”

  “No he's not, he can't be! Help him!” Joy exclaimed as tears ran down her face, streaking make up that covered old scars earned in battle, “Help him, fix him, do something, just do something!”

  “I can't,” Riley said as his voice choked with tears, “He's gone, Joy. The residual power from the unit just faded out. It would have been quick, he wouldn't have felt any pain...I'm so sorry but he is gone and I can't bring him back...”

  As tears stung his eyes Riley leant over Jekel and placed a kiss on his brow, whispering a final farewell to his best friend, then he turned to the medic beside him and instructed her to have Jekel's body moved to the medical centre immediately.

  As soon as Riley had pronounced him dead, Elise hurried over to Joy, embracing her as Lynch looked on, then as he saw the journalist standing beside him and heard the click of her camera, he glared at her, torn between letting fly a flurry of swearing and remembering he was soon to be the new ruling monarch of the Valley.

  “Mr Jekel has just passed away! Please, no pictures...not like this!”

  Then his eyes filed with sorrow as he put his arm around her and led her out of the room, already mindful of his position as future leader even under these terrible circumstances, and took her to one side away from the crowd and spoke to her in a low voice.

  “Allow me
to make a brief statement for your breaking news...It's clear Ashley Jekel was very ill and it must have taken all of his strength to make his last performance. He's had a vital wiring issue for many years due to a war injury and we all knew about it but...this is a shock. None of us expected his announcement at the festival and it seems many of us have been kept in the dark about his worsening condition. I don't think any of us expected this to happen so soon. At least he passed away peacefully. Earlier this evening he said he was tired and left the party – we had no reason to think the end would come so quickly, but it seems death would have been instant and thankfully it was in his sleep. He was a friend of mine, I fought alongside him in times of war and he broke new ground becoming the first cyborg celebrity in this new world. He's had many difficulties because of main cable damage and he fought a very long and very courageous fight to keep going to be here for his family, his friends and his fans...” Lynch paused, then he spoke again, veering to the topic of the practical matter of the fact that there would have to be media coverage upon the death of the new world's first cyborg celebrity:

  “Now, off the record... You can have the exclusive for his fans in Freedom... all the pictures you want, and the exclusive on the funeral too – you can even run that picture you just took that I don't approve of - if Joy agrees. I'm sure Ash would have approved, he certainly looked presentable enough as far as he would have been concerned - dying peacefully, naked in a palatial bedroom looking like a sleeping prince! Actually, you might want to use something like that in the breaking news article, he had many female fans here and in the city and I'm sure it would ease their grief to know he went peacefully. You may respectfully use any information you may have heard before his death when he exchanged words with his wife and Professor Riley but I urge you to be sensitive. And please, no questions or interviews tonight, everyone is upset...including me.”

  She nodded.

  “Of course, sir,” she replied, “I will be sensitive about the articles...And thank you for your time, and this opportunity... I won't let you down!” Then she hurried away and Lynch pushed through the crowd, went into the bedroom to join the others, and closed the door firmly behind him.

  Chapter 14 : New beginnings

  True to her word, the reporter, whose name was Melanie Millington, did cover the whole story with great skill. Her coverage of Jekel's death and the Valley's reaction would make her name in journalism. She was there the next day when Joy turned up at the medical centre, tearful and asking to see his body. Millington waited, hoping for more pictures but was turned away and then she went over to the festival, in time to catch the moment that Kade Silk broke down in tears in front of the crowd, and Steph had run on stage to comfort him.

  Miss Millington's coverage of the breaking news of Jekel's death was handled exactly how she had been asked to write it:

  'After making an unforgettable speech about peace and unity at the opening of the Firelight Festival,” she had written, 'Ash Jekel, who had fought a long and hard battle against the essential wiring issue that had threatened his life for many years, has finally lost his fight. Despite resuscitation attempts by his close friend and current ruler of Cyborg Valley Professor Blake Riley, it rapidly became clear no more could be done to revive him and the cause of death was reported to be sudden and catastrophic essential wiring failure.

  He was found by his wife Joy, in bed at the palatial home of King Steel, the covers partly off his nude body, looking at first glance to be sleeping peacefully. Jekel was on his back with his eyes closed, looking immaculate as ever and more like a sleeping prince lost in a dream than a cyborg who had just lost his life due to long standing complications gained in battle many years before.

  The scent of his cologne lingered in the air, his suits were hung up in a wardrobe where the door had been left open, each one of them a memory of a performance in a career that spanned nine ground breaking years. Ashley Jekel, war hero and cyborg celebrity who worked endlessly for peace and unity between the City and the Valley, will never be forgotten, much like the words of his final speech on the opening day of the festival on what would be his last ever appearance on stage...'

  The festival went on for the full four days, because Riley had said it was what Jekel would have wanted – along with a reminder of his last words to the crowd, that he wanted peace and unity to thrive between the Valley and the City.

  And those words did not go forgotten.

  The funeral of Ashley Jekel was broadcast to Freedom, and saw huge crowds both from the Valley and from Freedom line the streets to pay their final respects to the first cyborg celebrity. As the flower laden hearse was driven slowly up to the church yard on the hill, its way was strewn with roses from mourning fans, from Freedom and the Valley alike.

  It was a day that united both sides in mourning and unity, as Lynch had joined Joy and Riley and three members of the Kings Guard, alongside six members of the Freedom City Guard and fired a twelve gun salute over the coffin - the cyborg tribute to a fallen war hero, as Freedom Premier Sylvia Payton looked on and gave a salute. After the crowds had faded away and Lynch, Elise, the Flynns and Riley had walked back to the waiting cars with Joy, as the sun sank on the saddest day the valley had known, it was also a day that would go down in history – never before had both sides been so united on this day of national mourning.

  A few days later Lynch, Elise and Fi walked up the hill to Sanctuary and headed for the mansion that would soon be his home when he took over from Riley, and as he approached the motor home, he looked at it sadly, then on reaching it, gave it an affectionate pat.

  “I'm going to miss this vehicle so much,” he said.

  “What? This old heap of junk?” Elise exclaimed, “I won't miss it any more than I'll miss living over the pub!”

  “I'm going to miss it all,” Lynch replied.

  Elise smiled as her eyes sparkled.

  “But think about it – his Majesty-General Felix Lynch, King of the Valley, living in a mansion...”

  He met her gaze and tried not to smile, but then he did.

  “Okay...maybe it will be exciting.”

  She laughed.

  “You know it will be!”

  “And I get to be a princess!” exclaimed Fi.

  Then her smile faded as the door to the mid section of the vehicle opened up, and she went over and looked up at Travis.

  “I'll miss you.”

  “And I'll miss you too,” he replied, “But you can come and visit.”

  “One day,” Elise reminded her, “When you're older...” then she exchanged a glance with Felix and he nodded.

  “Definitely,” he told Elise.

  Sadness briefly shaded her gaze as Elise saw Joy join her son in the doorway.

  “I just wish you could stay,” she said.

  Joy smiled.

  “Moving on,”she replied, “It's the best way.”

  Then Joy moved aside as Travis went back inside and Riley joined her in the door way on the way out and blinked away tears.

  “I hate goodbyes,” he said, “But I'm glad you've got Melissa and Dorian with you.”

  “Got to keep my family together,” she said, and Riley smiled through his tears and hugged her.

  “You take care out there. It's a long way to your new home.”

  “It certainly is,” Joy replied, then Riley stepped down from the vehicle.

  “I'll miss you all,” Joy told them as she glanced to Lynch and Elise, “I don't know what was harder yesterday – saying goodbye to Kait and Flynn or having Kade Silk come up here this morning!”

  And at the mention of Kade's name, laughter came from within the motor home.

  “Take care,” Riley said again.

  “I always do,” Joy assured him.

  “And look after your family,” Lynch added.

  Joy laughed softly.

  “I'll take care of everyone. I always will!”

  Then she closed the door, and moments later as the engine started up, T
ravis smiled brightly and waved to Fi. And they all stood together in the driveway, watching as the motor home drove away from Sanctuary for the last time.

  Then Riley turned to Lynch and smiled.

  “Right, I'm off to go back to what I do best – fixing cyborgs!”

  “And me and Elise will be off to the house to get settled in,” he replied, glancing to Elise, “I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to most – becoming King or marrying you. It's the first royal wedding this Valley has ever seen!”

  Elise laughed softly.

  “I never thought I'd see the day. I couldn't calculate the possibility of marriage to you actually happening, even in the android side of my brain... Who would have thought it, Felix Lynch looking forward to getting married?”

  He smiled, then he held out his hand.

  “Come on, future Queen Elise,” he said, and then he held out his other hand, “And you, Princess Fi...Let's go and enjoy some time in our new palace!”

  Then he linked hands with his family and General Felix Lynch, soon to be King of Cyborg Valley, led them towards their new home, the mansion house at Sanctuary.

  As the motor home headed off down the highway on a long, long journey, Joy smiled as she looked ahead to a clear horizon that made her think of a future to look forward to. At the back of the vehicle, Travis was sat at the table playing cards with Melissa, while somewhere near the mid section, Dorian was busy folding sheets and placing them in a linen cupboard.

  And now they were clear of the Valley, Ash Jekel came out of stealth mode.

  As he sat in the seat beside her, he glanced back at Dorian folding the sheets and then looked to Joy in alarm.

  “Don't let him do that!” he said as his hazel eyes widened, “He stinks of Howler! He'll make all our sheets smell! And while we're on the subject, one of us need to remind him this motor home is refurbished and comes with plenty of running water – and he needs to shower more than twice a day!”