Harold burst through the door and pulled the wheelchair back. Jason tried to rise and go to her, but Harold grabbed him by his bed gown and yanked him back to the chair as he pulled Jason from the room and slammed the door behind him. With relief, Harold watched the light go to red.
“No!” Jason screamed, rising from the chair, desperately trying to open the door. “No!” he sobbed, collapsing to the floor.
Harold lifted him back to the chair and rolled him down the hall. The further away from the room they got, the better he seemed. At the elevator, he finally spoke. “I’m all right now, Harold. It was stupid of me to enter the room without the antidote. I’ll be sure not to make that mistake again. I think it’s time we speak to your boss.”
***
Laurel Engels was very surprised when her secretary said that Jason Connors was in her reception area in his hospital gown. She clarified she had heard correctly before she told her secretary to let him pass.
Jason Connors might be wearing a silly gown, but he was still a man very much in control of his environment. As soon as Harold left, he spoke. “I understand you are responsible for the placing of Catina Nelson in isolation.”
“I am. It is the only way I could contain her without jeopardizing the security and safety of the people here.”
“I understand she has been asking for me, yet I was not notified.”
Laurel paused. “That is true. I made a judgment call on this. You needed your rest. Besides I feared you would do exactly as you did today, which was walk right in and fall under her control.”
He nodded. “That was stupid on my part, given I actually have an antidote to her sex hormones.”
Laurel looked excited. “You have an antidote? Where is it? I’ll have my people bring it to you immediately.”
“It’s already here. It’s in the pocket of the shirt I wore when I arrived at the hospital. The antidote taste worse than shit, but it works. I’ve already tested it.”
“That’s a relief. I wanted to examine her, to understand what is happening to her, but I can’t get close.”
Jason sighed. “What I’m going to tell you is going to make you question my sanity. You aren’t recording this conversation, I hope.”
“No. There are no monitoring devices in my office.”
“The reason no one can get close to her without becoming physically obsessed is due to the very high level of pheromones she exudes. It’s actually weaker today because she’s near death. That’s why I was able to call for help before I lost focus.”
“She’s starving to death, but I don’t know why. I’ve tried various meats, grains, fruits… her body rejects them all.”
“Try fresh blood.”
She looked at him as if he were mad. “Are you saying she’s a vampire?”
“No. She’s human, but the fetus inside of her isn’t. It has somehow altered her body. She will die if she doesn’t get fresh blood.”
“And how am I to do that?”
“I suppose you can send someone to go out to a farm and buy a few chickens. Bring them back and we’ll slaughter them, drain the blood into a glass and give it to her.”
Laurel looked relieved. “I thought you were saying she needed fresh human blood.”
“She doesn’t think so. However, she had been living on human and alien blood, not chickens, before she came here, so this may not work. Still, I’d like to start with a chicken and see if it will do the trick.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Laurel assured him. “Can I walk you back to your hospital room and pick up that antidote?”
“Of course. However, I want to personally supervise this.”
***
Both Jason and Laurel applied the antidote before they entered the room. Jason was prepared for exactly how vile ‘vile’ was, however it was the first time for Laurel.
“My God that is more horrible than words can express. How could you take it again, knowing how bad it is?”
“You really have to want to. Ready?”
He nodded at the camera and the door unlocked. Both he and Laurel entered. Jason rolled his wheelchair to Catina and fed her the blood. They all waited to see if her body would accept it.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I think it’s okay.”
“Good, we’ll bring you more.”
She looked up at the woman. “Are you a doctor?” she asked, noticing the stethoscope around her neck.
Laurel nodded and came closer. “Yes. I’d like you to sit on the table, so I can examine your child,” she said softly.
Catina nodded but looked as if she would cry.
“What’s wrong,” Laurel asked as she led her to the table and helped her lay down.
“It’s not a child, it’s a cub,” she whispered. “I can hear it in my mind. Its thoughts are so strange; so primitive. It dreams of hunting and killing. It seems nothing at all like Tiburon.”
“Who is Tiburon?” she asked as she listened to Cat’s womb through the stethoscope.
“My husband…the father.” Cat looked at Jason. “I’m sorry for your friend, and I’m glad my husband did not kill you.”
“So am I,” Jason replied with a smile.
“The heart beat sounds unusual. I’d like to bring some x-ray equipment down here. Would you mind?”
Cat looked to Jason, her eyes filled with fear.
“It’s best if we see what’s in there. How else can we help you?”
“And I’d like a blood sample…don’t worry, just a small one,” Laurel added.
When she had her sample, she looked to Jason. “Are you ready?”
“No don’t go yet!” Catina begged. “I can’t stand hearing the cub. Talk to me Jason. Talk to me so I hear only you.”
Jason looked at his watch. “You go on. I’ll stay for another twenty minutes.”
“Are you sure?” Laurel seemed reluctant to leave him.
“Consider it an order.” He looked at Catrina. “And send down another glass.”
Chapter 29
It took Kyle and Schuler two weeks to reach the trading village on the outskirts of the area considered taboo by all rational human beings. Schuler hoped his old friend was still alive and could provide more information than the villagers would tell strangers.
Kabatha was indeed alive, and happy to see his friend. Kyle was equally welcomed, as a friend of a friend. Schuler waited patiently as they were welcomed into Kabatha’s hut and fed a freshly killed chicken. After their meal was finished, the old tracker told the old man about the girl and her intent to find the Warrior.
“I believe your friend has found what she wanted. There are stories of a tiny woman, the size of a child who rides upon the great warrior’s spear.”
Kyle clenched his fist in pain. “She is dead then?”
Kabatha laughed. “No, no. Not a spear…the spear.” He pointed between his legs. “They say she is a witch and conjures great power over the Warrior, for he does her bidding without question.”
“Do you have a description of the woman?” Kyle asked, dreading the possibility it might be her, but relieved to know she lived if it was.
“She’s black, very tiny, but very much a woman. Not a child at all. He has built her a building with much equipment all run by a generator.”
“How do you know this?” Kyle asked.
Kabatha stiffened with pride. “These machines were brought to our village to be delivered to the Warrior. He knows we are an honest tribe and will not take that which is not ours.”
***
Kyle slept very poorly that night. The image of Carmella, naked, straddled upon this creature would not leave his mind. A witch… He felt betrayed and angry, angry at her for going, for allowing herself to be used by the Warrior, angry at himself for not going with her and protecting her from harm.
In the morning, with their supplies refreshed, they journeyed into the center of the jungle. They traveled alone, because none of the village men dared risk the anger of the Warrior. Fortuna
tely, small signs of the tribes’ prior journey remained. Kyle couldn’t see the signs, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that Schuler could.
Chapter 30
Carmella had been working long hours for almost a week on the equipment when she was able to translate her first tube. The Warrior watched in amazement as she explained the purpose of the tube. “It’s a computer, using light wave speed to transmit data. This end portion is a storing device. I’ve finally found the frequency range used in the transmission. It’s very high, partly out of my equipment’s range. So, I can only read portions of the data.”
“So, what does that part say?” The Warrior was surprised at how important discovering his past had become to him.
Carmella sighed. “It is not that I lose a part of the story, but that I lose a part of every word. Thus, it’s almost encrypted.”
“Then we have failed.” He tried not to let his disappointment show.
Carmella stroked his cheek gently. “Not yet. Let me try to decrypt it.”
The Warrior stared at her in wonder. “How do you know so many things?”
Carmella shrugged. “It is easy for me. Everything I read, I remember.”
“This is unusual for a human, no?” the Warrior asked, suddenly uncertain of his superiority. Perhaps the humans about him did not represent their species.
“My memory is,” Carmella conceded. “But all this equipment,” she said, looking across the room, “was created by other humans. There is more to intelligence than just memory. Creativity and imagination are critical elements to our advancement over time.”
“How many humans do you think are smarter than you?” He watched her fidget and smiled. She was never comfortable with discussions about her intelligence.
Carmella rose and moved away from him. “Many. You overrate my gift. As I said there is more to intelligence than memory.”
“You do not like this discussion?”
“It’s a distraction from the task at hand. I need to write an encryption program now.” She sat down at the computer. “I will need a few hours.”
The Warrior rose and left the building. He needed time to hunt. He breathed in the air catching the scent of his next dinner and headed off into the jungle. Miles ahead he scented a herd of antelope, unaware that within the hour there would be one less in their group.
When he returned, sated and full, he found her sitting outside on a log. He had never seen her so sad before.
“What is it?”
“I can’t do it.” She cried softly.
He took her into his arms and held her close against him. Her tears caused him unbearable pain. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know what is in the tubes. All I need is you, my love,” he whispered.
“It does matter. I could have given you something that would last. I could have given you the knowledge of your past, a gift you could pass on to your son. Something from me, when I’m gone.” Her sobbing increased as she spoke.
Her words tore into the Warrior like daggers. When she was gone. The thought of life without her was unbearable. He had to distract her. If she continued to cry, it would surely kill him in grief. “What stops you from decrypting the message?”
“I’m trying to reconstruct a triangle with one stick. I cannot decrypt a language if I don’t know anything about that language. I could decrypt it perfectly and still not understand what was said. I have two unknowns in my equation.”
“How much of my language would you need?”
Carmella looked up at him in surprise. “You know your language?”
He nodded slowly. “I think I do. I believe it is the language of my thoughts. As our cub grows, you should also be able to hear it.”
Carmella turned to him. “Teach me,” she whispered. “Teach me everything you know.”
The Warrior spent the next week teaching her his thinking language. It felt strange for him to make these sounds out loud. Never before had there been anyone with whom he could share his language.
Carmella struggled with the sounds alien to her voice, but soon she was able to make sounds close enough the Warrior could understand her. After lovemaking one afternoon, she laid her head on his shoulder and stated in his language that she loved him. A sense of completeness swept through his body. Never had life been so perfect.
With her new knowledge, Carmella resumed her attempts to decrypt the message. Since the Warrior had never learned the written language, she still had multiple variables to trial and error through. The efforts were frustrating and frequently disappointing, yet her morale never failed as it had that first day. Now that she understood the Warrior’s language, she could hear her cub. His mind was already forming thoughts.
He dreamed of hunting. His focus was tenacious as he followed alien quarry through an alien landscape. The details of his thoughts were amazing, given this cub had never seen any creature at all. The memory of hunting was pre-programmed into its DNA.
The Warrior watched her as she sat so peacefully before the computer. “Sleeping?” he teased.
“I am listening to our son,” she replied without opening her eyes. “He is hunting in a strange land. Do you dream of this land as well?”
“I do.” He knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
“I wish I could hear your dreams.”
The Warrior frowned. The memory of his birth had been coming to mind all too frequently. That was a memory he would never share with his beloved.
Carmella frowned in confusion and touched her stomach.
“What is it?” the Warrior asked in concern.
“He sees another child,” she whispered. “A human child.”
“Dreams are strange things,” the Warrior replied.
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “It’s not a dream. There’s another embryo in there.” She studied his face for several moments. “You knew this,” she said, her voice flat.
He could see the pain of betrayal in her eyes, and it seared like fire. “I have known this since the beginning.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He stared deep within her injured eyes. Nothing he could say would hurt her more than his evident betrayal. “I wanted to protect you from the pain of knowing.”
“Why would…” She stopped and looked up at him in understanding. “You think our cub will kill the baby?”
He nodded and pulled her into his arms, praying she would not push him away.
She held on tight as she cried for her human child who would never see his first day. The Warrior was right. His cub dreamed of hunting. Now that he had spotted a strange creature in his womb, how long would it be before he attacked it?
Chapter 31
With the change of diet and company, Catina showed some improvement, but Jason was still worried. She seemed stretched to her limits. He feared she walked a fine line between sanity and madness.
Jason had her room fitted out with soft colors and flowers to erase the white sterile environment, but he adamantly refused her constant requests to leave the room. Then one day she stopped asking. He also noted a sense of resignation in her behavior. Her change did not bring him comfort.
“Cat, what’s wrong?” he asked one day as he sat brushing her hair. He knew she enjoyed tactile contact, and with the cameras on twenty-four hours a day there was a limit to the type of contact he could provide.
“What’s right?”
“You used to ask to leave here, you don’t anymore…”
“No use,” she muttered.
“Why’s that?”
“He’s gone.”
“Who?”
“Tiburon. He had found me, but he couldn’t get in. I tried to get to him, but I couldn’t.”
“Tiburon was here?” Jason tried to hide his alarm.
“Yes, but he’s gone now. They must have gotten him. He would have never left without me, otherwise. He wanted my cub more than anything in the world.”
“Why didn’t you
tell me?” Jason asked, unable to hide his anger.
Catina turned and looked at him. “Why would I tell you anything? I saved your life and in return you’ve imprisoned me.”
“Just until the child is born.”
“It’s not a child, and we both know I won’t live through the birthing process.”
“How do you know that?” He had never told her.
“My dreams. I’m standing talking with you, speaking words of love, when suddenly my stomach is torn from within and a black cub pushes its way out.”
“That’s just a dream, Catina,” he whispered.
“No, it’s not. It’s the truth. My child will kill me.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Jason assured her, pulling her into his arms, not caring what the cameras recorded.
“There’s nothing you can do.” Catina rested her head against his shoulder. “With Tiburon gone, there is no hope for me.”
“You trust him more than me?” Jason asked, unable to stop his words.
Catina pushed away from him and laughed bitterly. “This is not a matter of trust. It is a matter of blood. He could give me the blood of life, and you provide me the blood of chickens.”
Chapter 32
Carmella stared at the text before her. It appeared to be a conversation between the ship and the Warrior’s mother. There were several words untranslatable but the computer appeared to have finally found the decryption algorithm.
1//*** **** this is ********* you are not a hunter. Return to den now.
2// Overtake hunting law. Must leave den now. Provide hunting ground *******.
1//Overtake accepted. Hunting Ground ******* now in hunting pod.
2//Ready for leap.
1//*** ****has leapt.
1//*** **** this is *********. Return to Den now. Hunting law broken.
2// Hunting law was overtaken. Hunt continues.
1//Hunt is ended by call of ****. Return now.
2//Hunt must continue.
1// Hunt has ended. Return at once. By call of ****.
1//**** this is ****. Return now.
2// **** mew for me, slash at me, but I cannot leap back. I must go forward for the cubs.
Cat Refuge Page 19
