Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  Michelle heard a kettle’s whistle and it reminded her of home. How she missed her mother. Maybe Elliot could make her tea. She always felt better after tea. A few moments later, Elliot returned to the living room carrying a bowl of hot water mixed with the vodka, the clean towels and bandages tucked under his arm. Michelle was disappointed; no tea. Elliot noticed the slightest change in her expression and asked if he could bring her something. Michelle shook her head no, then changed her mind.

  “I thought you were making tea,” she said weakly. How could he have not thought of that himself, Elliot pondered?

  “I’m sorry, I’m a horrible cook,” he said, looking downwards with shame, “but I can clean. I’ll go find some later, ok?” Michelle almost smiled, but it was too much effort.

  “That’s ok. I don’t clean… but I cook,” she said flatly, and Elliot knew that it was a good sign.

  “I’m going to disinfect some scratches you have on your face, and then I want you to let me look at the cut you have, ok?” Michelle had no idea that she had cuts on her face until the alcohol made contact with them. “I assume it’s from the glass…” Michelle begged for him not to talk about it. Poor Michelle, he thought as he gently dabbed at her face. Michelle lifted the towel away from her side to reveal her wound and watched as Elliot took care of it so gently. How could he switch from murder to such tenderness without any effort? He was dangerous. Michelle’s muscles tensed and Elliot locked his eyes with hers. It was a bad idea to love someone like him, she thought while looking into the lakes of his eyes without flinching. Elliot could sense that Michelle was judging him. He had seen that look before, the look of disenchantment. Was she that far gone? No, he wasn’t going to let her slip away that easily to wallow in all this misery by herself. Without really thinking it through he leaned in to kiss her, but Michelle turned her face from him. Elliot swallowed hard; she had rejected him. Michelle wasn’t ready for any of that, and she didn’t know if she ever would be. Elliot’s eyes were so sad; perhaps she should explain herself to him.

  “I can’t put together all the things I have seen and make sense of them,” she said, her eyes still turned to the floor. “He showed me things that hurt me, not just what happened tonight, things from the past. I don’t know really know who you are.” Elliot was puzzled. What did she see, and how much had Hadeno revealed to her about him?

  Elliot leaned back on the sofa. Michelle’s heartbeat hadn’t quickened when he touched her, and when he leaned in to kiss her, her eyes did not dilate and her skin did not flush. Since he had first become involved with her, even from the day he busted her at the school, she had never not wanted him. It was always he who had to be levelheaded and pull away from her. But now she just sat there next to him without any expression, and her body was motionless like a stone.

  “When was the last time you ate?” he asked, taking a hold of Michelle’s wrist to feel her pulse. It was very weak, and he worried because normally he could just hear it without the need to search for it.

  “I don’t know. Maybe last night? I don’t even know what day it is anymore.”

  “It’s Monday, late, probably somewhere around midnight,“ he said, looking around for a clock. “You’re very weak, Michelle, and with everything you’ve been through you need food. Lets go into the kitchen and find something. I’m sure the guys will be in soon.”

  “I’m not hungry. I can’t even think of food. How can you think of food after all this?” Michelle asked him in disgust. Elliot told her that he wasn’t hungry either. But it was more about fuel, and that was the only way to get it. Michelle refused, and asked him when she could go home to her aunt’s. Elliot had almost completely forgotten that Michelle was not her own person yet, she was still somebody’s little girl and they would be expecting her to return. That made him feel even worse.

  “It would have been better if you had never met me… that’s why I asked, begged, for you not to return to Hekademos back then. You are too good for any of this, and look what I’ve done.” Michelle didn’t want to talk about them.

  “What did he mean when he said he found ‘her’? Did you know his father?” Michelle asked to change the subject.

  “I really have no idea Michelle. I’ve never met his father, or mine. We’re not brothers. The only thing I can figure out is that he simply lost his mind and was talking about an old legend. A woman that is just like us. We’ve all sought her at one point or another. The information about her is very scarce. I think one of our kind just made her up out of pure loneliness. She doesn’t exist. It’s a fantasy. I know; I searched for years.” Michelle wondered why Elliot wanted to find this woman so badly, and immediately asked him if they were all looking for women like themselves, and only went with humans because there was nothing else. But Elliot told her that to stop asking questions and get some rest instead.

  “If you’re not going to eat, you should try and get some sleep to gain some strength back. I can’t take you back home in this condition.”

  “I can’t. I’m scared that when I close my eyes I’ll see it all over again,” she said, nervously. Elliot told her that he could help her fall asleep like he had done before and she wouldn’t need to think about anything. Michelle looked at him with suspicion and that stung him even more profoundly than her refusing his kiss. She didn’t trust him.

  “You know I came here for you. Why would I do anything to hurt you? You have to trust me because I can’t stand it when you look at me like that.” Elliot could no longer hold it in.

  “How do I know that you won’t…” she avoid his eyes, “you know… because I have this Pulse thing, get me pregnant while I’m asleep. How do I know that’s not the only reason you’re here?” Michelle’s voice shook. Her fears made perfect sense.

  “Because I can’t have any more children, ever.” There. He’d said it. Matter-of-factly. His words sounded forced, maybe even callus, but how else would she believe him. Michelle heard him plain and clear, and her thoughts immediately turned to how something like that would affect her if things between them were back to the way they had been. She had never had to think about children before, she just knew that one day she’d have them. Elliot went on to explain that that was why she would never have to worry about the so-called curse, which wasn’t really a curse; it was just that some of them referred to it as such. It had to do with the difficulties that human women had in delivering their babies, especially male offspring. Many died in childbirth, just as Elliot’s mother had. The ones that survived were usually the ones that carried The Pulse in their blood, but even with that it was never a sure thing.

  “Ok, I’ll let you do it. But I don’t want to wake up and have it be morning and I’m still in this hell.” Elliot reassured her. He placed a pillow under her on the couch and helped her lean back. He tried to smile at her, although his heart was still full of worry and regret. He placed his hand on her forehead and his eyes began changing color. Michelle didn’t look at him and smile in wonder as she had done many times before. Instead she just stared at the ceiling. His eyes scared her; he was a creature and she was human.

  Michelle felt a weightlessness sensation and her muscles began loosening up in a domino effect. Elliot said her name softly because he wanted her to look at him at least once to see that his eyes were back to normal before she fell asleep. Maybe now that she was relaxed she could see him for who he was, the same person she loved. He watched Michelle’s eyes struggle to focus on his face as he smiled down at her.

  “I love you,” he said, but Michelle’s eyes closed before she could focus them. Her head tilted back and her lips released their tension, letting her mouth relax so it could open up for the extra airflow she needed. Elliot thought that she looked like a child angel out of a beautiful painting when she slept. He kissed her ever so gently on her lips, placing his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes in prayer.

  Haneul and Mikoto stood by the couch and stared down at Michelle as she slept peacefully. She’d been out for hal
f an hour and Elliot was in the bathroom washing his sword and short spear. Ando was in the kitchen sewing up Devin’s arm with the silk thread from Mikoto.

  “One of them got away on horseback,” Ando told Elliot as he watched him wrap his weapons in a towel and lay them on the dining table.

  “We can track the horse trail, but he’s probably already switched to a car by now. He could be anywhere,” Devin pointed out, wincing every time Ando splashed his wound with alcohol. Elliot agreed that there was no point. Hadeno had seemed to be the main ringleader and he was definitely dead. Rion whistled in astonishment as he stepped out of the bedroom. He had just returned from the dungeon where he had surveyed the ghastly leftovers of what used to be Hadeno. He walked over to where Michelle was sleeping, forcing Haneul and Mikoto to relinquish their spot.

  “She witnessed all that first hand?” he asked shaking his head poignantly.

  “Yes,” Elliot answered somberly, walking out of the kitchen. “She stabbed him first. I think she might have saved my life, if I don’t actually die from this thing.” He lifted his shirt to look at his bloody bandage.

  “An unfortunate affair,” Rion said, pulling the throw off Michelle’s forehead to get a better look at her face. She made a sound and rolled over, pulling the cover back over her head. They all knew the consequences of humans becoming too deeply immersed in their world. And in this situation, they all knew that the girl would never be the same. They always had to tread lightly around people, and poor Michelle had been thrust into the heart of their madness with only a few answers to help her along. Nobody had planned it that way, which was always the problem. They all agreed that Michelle was going to need a lot of help; the issue was that they were the only ones she could turn too for that support. Rion looked at Elliot and Elliot looked away. He knew that Rion was still disappointed in him for getting involved with her in the first place, and now he would blame him for breaking the girl. Elliot silently vowed that he would be there to take care of her from now on. He’d never leave her.

  “Lets get her out of here,” Elliot said picking Michelle up off the couch and gently cradling her in his arms.

  It was past two am and Michelle was sound asleep in one of Mikoto’s many bedrooms. Rion was the only one missing, as he had stayed behind to help oversee the damage control crew. A satisfied Haneul pointed out to the rest that it was he that had foreseen the need for new mattresses, and now Michelle’s presence validated his insistence on the matter. In the bathroom, Devin checked Elliot’s wound in horror. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us right away that it was from your own sword.” He lightly touched it, asking Elliot if he could feel anything, but he couldn’t. “At least mine came from a regular blade. I managed to kick his sword away just in time.” But Elliot was confused because he had seen the blood on his sword with his own eyes when he first encountered Hadeno.

  “It could have been from the other guy I was fighting,” Mikoto said. “Hadeno stepped in to help him just as I finished him off. There was blood spraying everywhere. But then I guess he must have seen Haneul heading up towards the house and run to check on Michelle.” Elliot shut the conversation out of his mind and wondered if his days were numbered. Staying alive for thousands of years only to be killed by his own sword; the irony. Under different circumstances he might have preferred death and everlasting rest, but now he had someone that needed him. He couldn’t leave her alone after everything she had been through.

  “What do you think?” he asked Devin while the others looked on in concern.

  “Well, medicine has advanced quite a bit since the last time I tried for a cure. I thought I’d never have to deal with this again,” Devin replied in frustration. “I’ll need a modern operating room. Maybe I can remove the dead tissue, you know, to stop it from spreading, but I can’t say for sure. I’m sorry Elliot.”

  “I have a doctor friend in New York. He has a state-of-the-art surgical facility. I’ll persuade him to let us use it,” Elliot said with minimal enthusiasm. Everyone agreed that he and Devin should get on the next plane bound to the States, and Ando found a flight leaving in less than three hours that still had two seats available. Elliot protested that he couldn’t leave Michelle; he had promised her and he wasn’t going to let her down again. But the rest of the guys argued that between all of them they could probably manage to take care of her for a few hours before taking her back to her aunt’s. Elliot checked in on Michelle right before departing. He gently sat next to her on the bed and stroked her hair. He hated the idea of waking her up, but he decided that it was better than having her wake up in a strange place without him there. He leaned in real close to her face and said her name a couple of times, but when she didn’t respond he kissed her on her face until he saw her brow wrinkle.

  “Michelle, sweetie, I have to go to the hospital to get some stitches. I’ll see you back home in just a few days.” Elliot wasn’t sure if she was awake enough to hear him. He found her hand and squeezed it. “I love you, and I’m not leaving you, you hear? Ando and Haneul are here to take care of you, and Mikoto too, oh you haven’t met him yet. You’ll like him, he’s very funny.” Elliot turned to leave but just then Michelle’s eyes blinked into the darkness and she tightened her grip around his hand.

  “Are we home?” she asked, half dazed. Elliot leaned over her and kissed her forehead again.

  “We’ll be home soon.” He put his hand on her forehead and concentrated. The last thing she asked was if Rion was there too, and then she was back asleep.

  When Michelle awoke to the bright sunbeams that filtered through the drapes, she had no idea where she was and hoped that she had not been taken hostage again. Oh no she thought, the nightmare had stayed with her, although the events of the previous evening felt like they had happened eons ago. She slowly climbed out of bed and was happily surprised to see her clean clothes hanging over the back of a small straw chair. Then what was she wearing? It was a finely embroidered gold and blue robe with black piping and a dragon motif. She patted down the silky fabric; it was as weightless as a shroud.

  Michelle walked down the unfamiliar hallway and saw that there were many bedrooms, but they were all empty. She headed to the end the hall and peered around the corner to see a long-haired Japanese guy sitting next to a table, packing a samurai sword into what looked to be a travel case. Michelle thought that maybe she was still in her dream, until she spotted Haneul lounging on a bamboo couch, and saw Ando walk into the room from the kitchen, she guessed, carrying some sort of fish sandwich. That she could smell all the way from where she stood. He was the first to see her, and he smiled at her with his eyes and nodded because his mouth was full with a large bite he had just taken. After he swallowed, he laughed and told Mikoto that Michelle looked much better in his robe than he did. Mikoto turned around to see Michelle for the first time and jumped up to greet her. He bowed down formally in front of her and properly introduced himself. Michelle wasn’t sure how to respond, so she half-bowed and introduced herself.

  “Thank you for letting me wear your robe. It’s beautiful and so soft,” she said.

  “Yeah, it’s made for women not men,” Haneul jabbed at Mikoto, still yawning, and bid Michelle a good morning. Mikoto gave Haneul a sour look. He had been teasing him about his beautiful hand embroidered kimonos since they first met; it still got on his nerves even after all those years.

  “You’re just jealous that our Japanese artists are revered and unlike you we don’t all run around wearing farmer’s clothes,” Mikoto replied. Michelle asked where Elliot was, and the guys told her the truth, omitting only what Elliot had instructed them to leave out.

  “How are you feeling?” It was Ando’s turn to change the subject.

  “I’m all right I guess. A little dizzy, that’s all. Where are we and what time is it?”

  Haneul told her it was about nine in the morning, and that he had already made breakfast. Michelle was grateful because she was hungry, but told him not to get up because she co
uld help herself. Haneul wondered for the thousandth time why all Western women were so determined to do everything on their own, as if they were proving something.

  Michelle returned from the bedroom dressed in her own clothes and went into the kitchen to forage. She looked around, but didn’t see any breakfast, to her dismay. She did smell something pretty strong coming out of the oven, and when she opened it she was greeted by a blast of salty fishy steam. Her stomach turned, and she desperately hoped that whatever it was, it wasn’t what Haneul was implying to mean breakfast. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings by not being able to stomach an early morning seafood concoction.

  “What is this?” she called from the kitchen with high hopes.

  “It’s Jook,” Haneul answered, although Mikoto immediately chimed in, letting her know that it wasn’t Jook at all, but a poor man’s imitation of the thicker richer Japanese Okayu. Haneul ignored Mikoto’s obvious derision and walked to the kitchen. “Don’t listen to him. He always goes on like that, but it’s rice porridge and very therapeutic. In my country we give it to people that have upset stomachs, or even to older people and babies who can’t chew other things. Great, Michelle thought, fish porridge! “I thought it would be a good introduction of food for your stomach,” he added thoughtfully. Haneul had always been so graceful to her; what if she threw up while trying to eat it? Ando walked into the kitchen just in time to tell her that he had asked Haneul to set some plain porridge aside, just in case.

  “You can add honey or fruit, whatever you like. I pour milk over it when I want it sweet.” Michelle could have run into Ando’s arms to thank him, or bow to him in complete gratitude, because his words were like poetry to her ears.