Poppy Wilde and the Wild Thing

by L A Moore

  “Yes, yes to all of it. I want to marry you and have your children and live happily ever after.” Poppy replied, still grinning.

  “What has come over you?” Ari asked, smiling but serious.

  “Just all this! You know it’s just opened my eyes on how short life can be, and I don’t want to wait anymore; I just want to live. Does that make sense?” Poppy asked.

  “Yes, and no. You’re the one who has to think everything through and wait until the time is just right. Are you sure right now is the right time to plan a wedding?” Ari asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry her, he did, very much so. It was more to do with the fact that he didn’t want her to regret her decision to marry him later.

  “Are you saying you don’t want to marry me?” Poppy asked, getting panicked and very upset.

  “NO! Gods no! I’m not saying that at all. I just don’t want you to regret your decision later, you know. It’s a big decision to make and, after everything you have been through, I guess I expected you to throw the ring at me and be done with me, not say ‘hey let’s plan the wedding’!” Ari said.

  Poppy was hurt and her eyes began to water. “You don’t want to marry me!” she wailed as tears really began to flow.

  “Oh honey, no, I do want to marry you, I do; more than anything in the whole world I want to marry you. I’d do it right now, right here if it meant you were happy, but I just want to be sure this is really and truly what you want.” Ari said, rushing in to hug her and sooth her.

  Poppy calmed down and began sniffling. “Ok.”

  “Ok what?” Ari asked.

  “Ok, let’s get married then. I already planned the most beautiful fall wedding so let’s get married.” Poppy said.

  Ari pulled back and looked into her eyes, making sure there was no doubt there but found none staring back at him. “Ok then, let’s get married, but first, let’s get you well and out of the hospital.” He replied.

  Poppy laughed “I guess I do need to get better first.” She said, blushing at her blunder.

  The Doctor came in that evening and gave Poppy a thorough look over and checked her wound. “I’m afraid this isn’t looking as well as I had hoped. It’s still showing signs of an infection setting in. No doubt from the bacteria that got into it from your ordeal. I’m prescribing a high antibiotic for you in the hopes it will clear up, but I must warn you, if it doesn’t work you stand to lose a good portion of your leg. I’ll have no choice but to cut away the infected area and, possibly, your whole leg, depending on how bad the infection gets.” The Doctor said gravely.

  The Doctor, who was a tall, chunky, elderly man reminded Poppy of someone’s Grandfather, not a Doctor and he had just waltzed in and told her she might lose a limb as if he were discussing the weather. Panic began to well inside her but she wasn’t going to show it in front of the Doctor. When he left, she bid him good bye and good riddance.

  “Can you believe that guy? He just waltzes in here and says’ hey you might lose your leg’ like ‘oh did you know it’s raining outside?’!” Poppy asked.

  “Yeah, I suppose there’s not really a good way to drop a bomb like that.” Ari said, to Poppy’s chagrin.

  “Are you seriously taking his side?” Poppy asked incredulously.

  “NO, no ma’am I am not, that guy was a jerk, a total ass hat!” Ari said quickly to cover himself.

  “Yes he was, and I’m not losing my leg either; I’ve decided it’s going to get better and I’ll be fine.” Poppy said matter of factly, as if all it took was a decision on her part.

  Ari didn’t point out to her that it would take more than that to fix her leg. He did, however, tell her that Avianna faced the same risk and in that she was not alone.

  It took a little cajoling from Ari’s part, and more than a little begging on the girl’s part, but they finally managed to talk the staff into putting them into a shared room so they could support each other through their healing. This arrangement seemed to work as both women began to cry tears of joy and relief the moment they saw one another. The Nurses pushed them close enough for them to hug and then settled them in place with a nightstand between them.

  Chapter 80

  The Sheriff came soon after that and excused Ari while he talked to Poppy. Her story was much the same as Avianna’s, with the exception of what occurred once Avianna escaped. She told him all the same things that Avianna had and, in the end, the Sheriff got all the information he needed. He informed them that he found the cabins but that Samuel was still at large. This bit made the women shudder with fear, but the Sheriff assured them they were safe in the hospital and that when they went home they would have a detail stationed outside their house, just in case he came back, which the Sheriff didn’t think he would. It was his opinion that Samuel had fled town, but he was going to keep investigating until he was sure he had indeed fled town.

  Neither woman slept well that night. Each of them was filled with nightmares that would make even the sturdiest of horror buffs shake with fear.

  Ari didn’t sleep well either. With much insisting, both women pushed him to go home and get some good rest, take a shower, and change clothes so that he would feel better, reminding him that he needed to take care of himself as well. However it was harder for him to sleep now that Poppy wasn’t with him. So much had occurred over the last few days that he had hardly had time to sleep, so finally going to bed without her was torture. He lay awake long into the night and, when he finally passed into slumber, he tossed and turned and writhed about the bed like a snake having nightmare after nightmare.

  The next morning Ari showered, dressed, and made a strong cup of coffee in a travel mug and headed to the hospital, stopping only for doughnuts for the girls. He got there just after the Doctor and when he entered the room, he found a crying Poppy and an alarmed Avianna trying her best to cajole her.

  “What happened?” Ari asked, setting the doughnuts on the nightstand between them and going over to Poppy, who was the most visibly upset between the two.

  “The Doctor just said I’m not responding to treatments.” Poppy said, bawling now.

  “Ok, so we just find another option, another medicine, a study, anything; we will find an answer I swear to you.” Ari promised.

  “Do you promise? Because my life will be over if I lose my leg.” Poppy asked, still crying.

  “I swear I’ll look right now!” Ari said and began looking for other medications that were good for infections, and studies and trials for others. He found three viable options. The first was a medication the hospital hadn’t tried yet, and so his first step was to insist they give it to her despite the cost. He had to go round and round with the financial department, but in the end he paid for the medication out of pocket in advance in case her insurance wouldn’t cover it, and they reluctantly gave her the medication with warnings that it wasn’t likely to really help.

  Chapter 81

  Forty eight hours later they got the news they had been dreading; the medication wasn’t working, the infection was getting worse. They now had to give her pain meds to handle the pain again and fluids to keep her hydrated and was changing her bandages three times a day using every topical they could. The second option was then to reopen and cleanse the wound again using a trial antiseptic that Ari had had to beg to get Poppy in on. It meant another surgery of sorts and Poppy wasn’t happy, but was willing to do whatever it took to keep her leg.

  Chapter 82

  Twenty four hours later it appeared to be helping. The affected skin had been trimmed away and the wound was looking good again. Forty eight hours later it was back to looking infected. Nothing was killing the infection and they had run out of options. Meanwhile, Avianna was healing nicely and was even up and walking. Poppy was envious of her and began to be grumpy with her and finally requested a private room again. She refused to see Ari and refused to see Avianna. She fell into a deep depression and spent her days lying in her bed staring at the ceiling and crying. She had insisted on remai
ning on the antibiotics for a few more days to see if they would work and the Doctor agreed, only because she begged him.

  It was a week later when Ari stormed into the room despite the Nurse and demanded to see Poppy.

  “I will see her one way or another!” He stated as he marched into the room, shoving the Nurse out of his way.

  “Get out of here I don’t want you to see me like this!” Poppy declared.

  “See you like what? You’re doing nothing but laying about feeling sorry for yourself! My God woman, I am trying to do what a partner should do, I am trying to be here for you, I am trying to love you through this, and help you and you’re pushing me away!” Ari shouted.

  Poppy was taken aback by his shouting. In all the time she had known him, he had never once shouted at her quite like this. Sure, they had had fights but they were tamer than this. She wasn’t sure how to take it and she wasn’t sure if she liked it, but what he had said was true. She had been just lying about feeling sorry for herself and not letting anyone in to help her through it. “I’m sorry.” She said in a small voice, looking at her hands. Then looked up and added “I’m sorry I pushed you away, I’m just so very scared and I don’t want to lose my leg. The Doctor said it’s gone to the bone now and I’ll have to have it amputated; that they did what they could in the last surgery to save what tissue they could but it’s hopeless now. It’s putrefied and I’m angry, I’m so damn angry!” she shouted back, crying now.

  Ari came to her and held her, rocking her back and forth, leaving the Nurse to watch on. Once it became obvious that the two were ok, the Nurse left the room, closing the door behind her.

  “I’m so sorry that you’re losing your leg, but I know you are a strong woman and you can do anything you want to do. They are doing amazing things with prosthetics now and I will pay whatever it takes to get you the best brand new leg that money can buy.” Ari promised.

  “Oh, Ari just hold me.” Poppy demanded.

  Chapter 83

  The next morning, Ari said goodbye as Poppy went into surgery. It was a fairly simple surgery where they were forced to remove most of her leg from the thigh down, leaving her with a small stump. It was unusual, but the Doctor wanted to leave her with as much of a stump as possible, considering the location of the cut. She stayed in the hospital an additional two weeks, and then was released, along with Avianna, into the care of Ari. By now, Avianna was able to get up and down on her own and get around so long as she took it easy, and so she was able to help care for Poppy when Ari had to work.

  Chapter 84

  It took weeks for her to heal, and weeks more of physical therapy with a new prosthetic but in the end, she was able to walk and even run with it. She was lucky to have healed so well and to have not had any major pain. In the meantime, they spent their days doing physical therapy and their evenings planning their wedding. The Sheriff had since given up hope of finding Samuel and had called off the armada that guarded their front gate. The idea of a fall wedding was put to rest; with the weeks of recovery and physical therapy, they missed fall altogether. They were now into winter and were planning a spring wedding instead, to be held in the forest with the reception being held in the field behind their house, with the color theme of peach, yellow, and pink. Her dress was being lovingly made by Avianna using the material and style she had chosen before. And the centerpieces would be blooming tree vases filled with flowers. It was to be a simple, yet elegant wedding, held in the forest with nature around them, just as she had wanted before. It was just such a day as when they had come from tasting cakes when they got the letter from the High Counsel. It was time for the trial. Poppy had healed and was now fit to stand trial, as was Avianna. When Ari pulled the letter from the mail he knew what it meant before he ever opened it. It meant he, too, would be on trial, just as Samuel. If they found he was in any way responsible for the ordeal, he would be the one to be punished ;and if Samuel were found guilty, he would be the one to be punished; it all hinged on the evidence provided by Number 1, 2, and 3 along with testimony from Avianna and Poppy. It was now time to tell her the truth. He shoved the letter unopened into his back pocket and walked back to the truck and got in.

  “What did we get?” Poppy asked blissfully unaware that their whole lives were about to be turned upside down.

  “We will discuss it later; right now, let’s get you back inside before you freeze to death!” Ari said driving up the driveway and closing the gate behind by remote. They drove up the driveway and he helped her down out of the truck and held her hand as she made her way to the house. Once inside, he made her a cup of cocoa and set her down. It was going to be a long talk and he hoped to sweeten her up with the cocoa first.

  “What a lucky girl I am!” Poppy said taking the cup from him and patting the seat beside her. They had not yet made love since her injury and she was hoping to get him in the mood today. She had worn an off the shoulder red sweater that showed off the tops of her breasts nicely and a pair of skin tight black leggings with a pair of her tall black boots. She thought she looked sexy and you could hardly tell she had a prosthetic leg. She sipped the chocolate and then sat it down on the table beside her.

  Ari sat down and pulled the envelope from his back pocket. He was determined to tell her the truth and all about the trial that awaited them, but she had other plans.

  Poppy tossed her prosthetic leg over Ari’s lap and straddled him, pushing her breast into his face and sliding down his body to sit on him perfectly, and then kissed him passionately.

  Ari had no choice but to respond in kind and, as she slid down his body, he let his hands do the talking until they came to rest on her breasts. He kneaded them and then slid his hands to her ass where he cupped it and squeezed, eliciting groan after groan from Poppy. It had been too long since they had made love, and Ari was more than ready to take her. His letter forgotten for the moment, he picked her up and carried her, with her wrapped around him, to the bedroom where he carefully and deliberately stripped her naked and devoured her, making her scream out her orgasm, her body writhing beneath him and her hands firmly engaged in his hair, holding his head right where she wanted it most. When she had finished, he stood up and stripped then slid up her body and entered her slowly until he was to the hilt inside her. He made love to her for the rest of the evening, the letter lay forgotten on the sofa.

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  The next morning Ari arose early and made breakfast and took the letter from the sofa and laid it upon the tray along with a plate of pancakes and bacon and a glass of orange juice. Then he took the tray into the bedroom and woke Poppy.

  Poppy awoke to the sounds of Ari making breakfast but she didn’t move, instead she rolled over and went back to sleep, knowing he would soon wake her with breakfast in bed. When he came in, she reluctantly rolled over and sat up; she had wanted to sleep a little longer but she was blessed to have a man who made her breakfast in bed so she got up with a smile on her face. “Yum it looks amazing!” Poppy said sitting up and taking the tray. “What’s this?” She asked, taking the letter from the tray.

  “It’s the truth.” Ari said stealing a piece of her bacon. He wanted to have this conversation with ease and no fighting.

  “The truth? What are you talking about?” Poppy asked, getting scared and worried all at the same time.

  “Poppy, don’t you think it’s odd that hunters found both you and my Mom and somehow has just disappeared off the face of the earth now?” Ari asked.

  “Well yeah it is but…I mean, what other possible solution is there?” Poppy asked.

  “This letter is from the High Counsel of my kind. They dictate all the rules for my kind and cover up our sightings when things become necessary. They do this, using highly trained operatives. When you and my Mom went missing and I knew the Sheriff was going to be of no use, I contacted them. They sent three of their best men out to help locate you and deal with the threat of exposure by Samuel. The drawback to using the High Counsel’s services, is that
you have to go to trial and whoever they find guilty is punished.” Ari explained slowly and carefully.

  “So this is like a summons to court then?” Poppy asked.

  “Sort of, it’s an order to appear for trial where they will determine, using the evidence that their operatives collected and yours and mom’s testimony what was guilty for the leak.” Ari explained again, waiting for her to understand.

  “Oh so we just go and they question Mom and I and that’s it, we come home, case closed, Samuel is guilty.” Poppy said and took a bit of bacon.

  “It’s not as simple as all that, they could just as easily determine that I am guilty as they could Samuel.” Ari said finally getting to the point he had been hinting at before.

  “Wait! What? How could they determine that you are in any way guilty for what happened to us? That is ludacris!” Poppy said getting angry.

  “It’s ok, just calm down. We have the evidence on our side, and yours and Mom’s testimony as well as the police reports, we should be fine.” Ari said.

  “What happens if we’re not ok?” Poppy asked, scared once again.

  “Then I will be punished, and Samuel will go into a reconditioning program until he is safe to let go.” Ari answered.

  “What do you mean, you will be punished?” Poppy asked wanting a more clear answer as to what sort of punishment they faced.

  “It will depend on the High Counsel, but I could be put to death, at the worst or sentenced to a certain amount of years spent as a tree in contemplation for my crimes or something else they come up with; those are their favored choices, but they have been known to deal out lesser punishments.” Ari explained.

  “Death? Years as a tree? My Gods Ari, and you sit there like we’re discussing the news. We were planning our wedding, for fucks sake, and now there may not even be a wedding.” Poppy stated.