“Who is this Xilis you keep talking about? Is he a friend of mine? Who tried to save him?” I struggled to make sense of all the information I was being given. I knew there was something important I should be doing.
I remained silent for a while and then remembered that a close friend had died. “I want to see her.”
Grandpa Sam cleared his throat and said. “That is not possible Jason. their race burns the bodies the next day after death. They do not preserve the body the way many cultures here on Earth do. There was a ceremony which was taped that you can watch later if you so wish.” While Grandpa Sam and I were talking, the doctor had been examining me. Grandpa Sam turned to the doctor and asked. “Well Albert what’s the prognosis?”
Doctor Smith looked at Grandpa Sam and shook his head. “Right now we have seen nothing that would impede a full recovery for Jason. We will need to get some MRI’s and CAT Scans before we can be sure that there is no organic damage.”
“Who’s Jason?” Why couldn’t I remember things properly?
I looked at the armband that the hospital apparently put on me. I read the name Jason White. That must be me. Now I remembered.
“Oh great I have to stay in this stupid hospital again, being poked and prodded by anyone who has a sharp instrument in their hands.” I grumbled.
“That’s right. You will stay right here until the doctors agree that you can be released.” Katie’s voice came from the door.
My heart leapt in joy as it usually did when Katie was around. Don’t get me wrong I loved Irma for sure but Katie was my first love and my wife and she could wrap me around her fingers any time she wanted to. “Hi, baby.”
She smiled and came over to me. She bent down and kissed me. Then she snagged Irma and pushed her toward me. Make sure you greet your fiancée properly.” I did so and she smiled again. “That’s the proper way to greet your intended Jason. Mia is outside and once we clear the room of bodies you can spend some time with her.”
“That my cue to get out of here Jason.” Grandpa Sam chuckled., “Don’t want to wake the wrath of the angry squaw today.” Katie swung at him and he ducked quickly out of the way. “I am not too old that I can’t out maneuver an angry squaw woman.”
“I’ll give you angry squaw you old misbegotten excuse of a man” I heard the smack of flesh against flesh before I saw Mimi in the room.
“Dangit woman you didn’t need to put English on it you damn near stripped the hide off of me.” I heard the smack of flesh again flesh and then Grandpa Sam was out the door running down the hallway with Mimi chasing him, like a hound dog on the scent.
“Come back here you old useless bag of bones I am not finished beating you!!” Mimi squealed in the hallway.
The room was filled with laughter at the antics of the two old people. Katie stepped outside and came back with an armful of squirming one year old Mia. She deposited her on the bed and said. “There is your daddy Mia. You have been wanting to see him so go to him.”
Mia sat on her hands and knees and looked at me. She cocked her head and then launched herself into my arms. “Daddy!!”
As soon as Mia landed in my arms things were clear to me again. There was something about Mia that made me forget everything else. I could feel my thought process go from murky to clear in the short time she had been in my arms.
“Hey baby girl. Daddy has missed you.” I started crying again since holding Mia in my arms opened all kinds of emotions in me. “Have you been a good girl while Daddy was away?”
“Yes..Mommy Irma plays with me all the time Daddy.” Mia replied.
I was surprised at her command of the English language at her young age then I realized she would be two and a few months. I raised my eyebrow when she made the last comment. “Mommy Irma?”
“Well she will be soon Jason.” Katie spoke up. “It nice to have help with her because she is really a handful.”
“I can imagine that if she has any amount of her Momma in her, since her momma is a handful too.” I ducked as Katie swung at me and everyone in the room burst out laughing again.”Well since I am on medical leave I guess we can hold a wedding now but the honeymoon might have to wait for a while.”
“Momka has everything ready we just need to set the date.” Irma replied as she blushed. “Don’t worry about the honeymoon we have plenty of time for that when you have recovered.”
I looked over to the doctor and asked. “How about it Doc? Do I have to remain here while you poke and prod at me or can I come back for the tests you wish to make?”
Dr. Smith pondered for a moment and said, “I suppose we can do everything as outpatient procedures but I insist on you having medical supervision at all times. This type of injury of completely new to us. If you were anyone else, I would have classified you as brain dead long ago. General White can be really persuasive when he sets his mind to it.”
“What did he threaten you with? A tree over the head or being shoved down a rabbit hole?” I asked with a chuckle.
“I believe partial dismemberment was mentioned.” replied Doctor Smith with a grin on his face.
“That’s my grandfather for you. Good then if you let my wife finish whatever paperwork you have on me I want to go home with my family.” I said. “Are my normal clothing here? I imagine if you dragged me out of the bed with this hospital garment on right now it would be a full moon in the room even though the moon is not in that phase.”
Katie smiled at me and said. “I brought you a set of civilian clothing love. No military type of clothing will be tolerated anymore.”
“That’s fine with me. I am tired of looking like a monkey hiding in the bushes anyways.” I smiled at her as I said this. “I will probably need both of your help getting into the pants, since my legs are not very coordinate right now.” My hands seemed somewhat stronger so I flexed them and then picked up a glass of ice water and drank some. This time the glass remained in my hand. I could feel the strength returning to my arms.
Mimi’s voice came from the doorway. “Do not try anything out of the ordinary with your mind Jason. You are not ready for that yet”
“Ok Mimi.” I knew what she was saying because I still had trouble accessing parts of my mind that were available before. the operation. “I just want to go home and relax for a while. It’s been a long time since I have had any free time for my family.” I realized something and asked. “Irma is the remodeling on the house finished?”
“Yes it’s finished but I made a lot of changes and expanded it to accommodate the size of our family now. I had them connect to the house next door and included that in the floor plan.” She saw the look of alarm on my face and continued. “Don’t worry there were more apartments in the town that I bought with the money you earned playing the market. I am not as good as you but we still manage to earn more money so we are very well off right now.”
Katie stepped next to her and put her arm around her and said. “This lady has a good head on her shoulder. You chose well Jason. Even though you didn’t know she was from the Second Family”
I smiled back at the both of them and said. “Let’s get me dressed and get home. It’s time for me to start living again.”
The weeks passed and I regained control over most of my mental facilities. I still could not mind-speak and I began to worry about it to myself. I said nothing to my family about my worries.
The house Irma had guided the construction of was the largest home I had ever seen before. It had a total of sixteen bed rooms and the great-hall was so large you could fit the house of my grandparents in it and still have room for a baseball diamond. I had a very large office off the great room and spent most of my time in the office reading reports about the new nation we created.
There were still some places who were resisting the formation of one nation but slowly but surely they joined the fold, so to speak. Reports of violence and degradation of the population in North and South American filtered into the news and the people were more aware of the p
roblem we would be facing.
Chapter 28 - Duty is a dirty Word
While I was at home I found out I had been promoted to the rank of General in Opfree. My grandfather had resigned to take a post as military advisor in the new government. Even though Opfree was a civilian unit it still used the military ranks to designate the people in leadership positions. I was furious over this development and had a scalding argument with my Grandfather. “Are you out of your mind Grandpa? There has to be someone better fit for the job than I am.”
“Do I have to remind you who was awarded the highest civilian honors for his part in operation Black Cloud?” Grandpa Sam reminded me in a low and controlled voice.
“You mean the award I let Mia play with?” I snapped. “I didn’t need or want any recognition for an operation I failed at!”
“Dammit Jason you are not responsible for Moevin’s death! She died protecting you, who their race sees as the only hope for a final victory against the Artillians.” Grandpa replied in a lower tone than before.
It was hard to argue with my grandfather because he was a master at manipulating conversations toward the outcome he desired.”Fine! I gave in. But I am in no shape now to take on this type of responsibility.”
“I realize this Jason which is why your second in command is running things while you are out on medical leave.” Grandpa Sam replied. “Ricky is only eighteen but he has a solid head on his shoulders.”
“Ricky? You mean my brother Ricky is over here now? How did you manage to get him out of the North American Coalition?” I asked with an astonished look on my face. I had not seen Ricky since I left home to live with Grandpa Sam. Ricky was four years younger than I was.
“We have our ways Pasche. You don’t think we would leave our people over there without a solid support system. Katie’s father is head of all operations in the Coalition.” Grandpa said with a smile on his face. “We all have to step up at this time to do our duty.”
“Duty?” I spat out the word like it was laced with poison. “Duty got me where I am now and duty cost the life of my closest friend.” I had visited the memorial center where Moevin was laid to rest. Her death was weighing heavily on my mind.
Grandpa Sam got up and walked over to me. “Pasche,” his voice was gentle “you have to stop blaming yourself for Moevin’s death. She did what she did to protect you. She knows how important you are to the cause. How many thousands of years did they fight the Artillians? In all that time it never occurred to them that you could merge minds and fight them mentally. Blackthorn was saved because of the idea you had Jason. He now leads the Paneuro military force now. He has sent you many letters thanking you for saving him. You have never replied to him.”
I had never replied to him because the letters lay in the drawer of my desk unopened. “I did not realize he was still here in country. “
“None of the Americans who were here when the boarders to the American Coalition closed wanted to return home. They love freedom too much. For example a young private named Jones remained here and was detached from the military service at the same time we absorbed all foreign units into the new Paneuro military organization. He is waiting for his boss to return to work then he will join you as your personal aide and bodyguard.”
“Jones is still around? Well I’ll be damned. Where is he staying now?” I asked.
Last I heard he had a small one room apartment outside the complex you were security chef at.” Grandpa Sam replied.
“Get him down here, he can have one of my empty apartments.” I told Grandpa Sam. “Just how much control do I have over Opfree?” I asked.
Grandpa Sam cocked an eyebrow and replied. “Total control, why?”
“Good because the new headquarters will be located right over there.” I pointed out the window to the empty field across the road. “Can you swing the funds for the construction?”
Grandpa Sam smiled and said as he clamped a hand on my shoulder. “Consider it done son. Welcome back.”
“I am not fully back yet but I can oversee the construction and hopefully be one hundred percent fit before they finish it.” I replied.
“You don’t know how fast we can work grandson. most of the politicians are scared out of their wits now that they know what’s going on in the world. They can’t move fast enough to get the Opfree organization up and running.”
“I don’t want any government interference. Opfree is to remain private and not affiliated with any country. This organization is for mankind as a whole and we won’t bend down to some local government,” I stated.
“That’s exactly the way I presented the idea of Opfree to the new government and they passed the bill and budget allocations unanimously.” Grandpa Sam smiled as he informed me this. “Well Grandson as much as I enjoy chewing the fat with you I have to return to work. Damn government bean counters want to know why I want twelve billion euros to strengthen our naval forces.”
“Have fun with the bean counters. By the way what limit have they set on the Opfree allocations? “ I asked.
“None, you have a blank check from the government. Try to keep things within reason though we don’t want them to get bent out of shape.” Grandpa Sam smiled at me as he said this. “Talk to you later.”
I watched him leave the room and sat at my desk for a while before I opened the drawer and pulled out the letters I had received from Blackthorn. I found the last dated postmark and opened the letter.
Dear Mr. White,
I understand you are recovering from injuries sustained while attempting to save me from the arms of the Death Walkers. I wish to say thank you on behalf of my family for your part in the rescue attempt. My only regret is that beings perished during the operation. I know that no amount of words can compensate the loss of a fallen comrade but having experienced such a loss myself over the period of my military service I can assure you that, while it will always hurt there will be a day where the hurt is not as vivid as it is now.
My wife knows now what was going on with me and I explained to her what the human race was facing and she sends her thanks and blessings to you as well. I know this battle for our survival will be long and drawn out and that was can never relax our vigilance. I pledge the rest of my life to the fight against these alien life forms and may I remain forever in your debt. If you ever need anything from me, Mr. White, all you need to do is ask. and it is yours.
Sincerely
General Nathan Blackthorn
Commander Paneuro Western Division
I closed the letter and placed the envelope in the drawer where I hold all my keepsakes. For the first time I felt good about what I had done and the death of Moevin did not weigh so heavily on my shoulders. Granted it still hurt but I realize that many will be sacrificed in this war. If we were ever to succeed it would be on the tail of many losses.
I looked up when Irma came to the door of my office. “Love your brother is on the house line.”
I nodded and picked up the phone. “Ricky? How are you doing I haven’t seen you in years.!”
“As well as can be expected with everything that has happened the past few years, Jason. Grandpa Sam just called me and said I should haul my lazy butt to you so we can start planning the new headquarters. We are moving from Frankfurt?”
“Yes. I want the Headquarters away from a major metropolitan zone for security purposes and I think we can guard it better here. Not to mention the building is just across the road from my house.” We both laughed at that. “Grab an architect from the city and drag his butt down here tomorrow and we can begin the planning. I will let Mimi know you are coming and we can throw family reunion of sorts.”
“This is fine with me. I happen to know this hot little number down there by the name of Sonja.” He replied.
I wondered if it was the same one I met the day I had met Irma. “Bring her along I am sure Mimi will cook more than we need as usual. And Ricky, I am sorry I was not there when you guys needed me.”
“No pr
oblem Jason, everything turned out fine for us and I liked living at Uncle Terry’s place.” Ricky replied. “I will see you about noon tomorrow.”
“Noon? I have more work finished by five in the morning than most people do all day.” I replied with a chuckle.
“Sorry brother but I have a staff meeting at nine. I scheduled it when I heard we were moving the headquarters so I have to co ordinate things on this end too. See you at noon. Love Ya, Jason.”
“Love you back little brother.” I smiled at the way he initiated the little game we used to play as kids. I held the handset of the phone in my hands for a few moments lost in thought then replaced the handset to the cradle.
After a few moments I placed a call to my broker to inform him how I wanted to play the stocks the next day. With the wages I received as the commander of Opfree and my dealings in the stock market, I was better than well off. My family lacked for nothing. Even my extended family benefited from my earnings. I had paid off the house for Irma’s parents and presented them with the deed on their anniversary. My future mother-in-law was ecstatic when I did this. My father-in-law was a bit balky but in the end he went along with it and we celebrated in traditional German fashion. Only the fact I was recovering from injuries got me out of the traditional drinking we always did together.
I worked for a while in my office with tentative plans for the operation in the American Coalition territory. Based on the intelligence reports we were receiving, our groups over their remained undetected. I was really bothered about the fact that my sister was still over there. She had already gone through enough in her life without having to experience this too.
The Death Walkers were out in force in the Coalition. Stories of terror drifted out of the area which reminded me of the stories from the second world war. Freedom was nonexistent in the land now and absolute government control of every facet of the citizens life was the norm.
Mysterious disappearances had already begun. I could only guess where they were being held. No, it would not be easy removing the influence of the Death Walkers from the Coalition controlled areas.
Rise of the Death Walkers (The Circle of Heritage Saga) Page 28