“I still don’t get it. He has to be insane to come back to Theron after what he did. What are they planning to do with him today? Do you know?” He asked just before he took a bite of his bread.
“I guess they will question him today. They said that he was doing well when I called to check on him. I don’t know what part I will play in his questioning yet, but I know that I most likely will be present.”
“Would you find it terribly awkward if I came with you to work today? I promise to stay out of your way; I just want to be there in case you…or they may need me.” He would not look her directly in the eyes. He did not want her to see just how worried he was about her.
She looked over at him and smiled, “I would like that very much. It sure would beat trying to get in touch with you on the ship if something were to go wrong. And besides, I know that it would make you feel better to be near when and if it gets ugly.”
“Okay, it is settled then. I will be your shadow today,” he said as he cleared the table of dishes and placed them in the sink. The sun was shining through the window and he could feel the warmth of the light as it glistened on his face. She came up behind him with more dishes and they washed them together and put them away. As they headed out the door, Ceran handed Laura the ignition key for the hovercraft. You could start the hovercraft with a press of a button, but you needed the key inside the slot to make it move. He looked at her and said, “You want to drive?”
“Really, don’t I need a license to drive one of these?” Laura asked.
“We don’t have licenses. I was actually thinking that we were going to have to get you one soon. Now that you are working in the hospital, you’ll likely be called to duty from time to time and I might not be able to take you. The way I see it, you should learn how to drive. There is no time like the present.”
She pushed the button and the glass dome opened up and the craft started to hum. They got in and Laura slid into the driver’s seat. She held the ignition key in her hand looking aptly to Ceran for instruction. “So, I put this… key in here?” she asked a big smile on her face placing the key where she observed Ceran would do many times in the recent past.
“Yes. You don’t have to worry you know. These things can fly themselves. The only problem you might have is plugging in the destination coordinates. Do you see this symbol?” he pointed, “I have programmed it for you. If you push this button, it will take you to the hospital. I also plugged in the market and the base and we can add more destinations as we go.” She looked at the many buttons on the console with alarm, “Don’t worry, we will go over it again later.” He gave her a bright white smile and said, “What are you waiting for?” Ceran was shaking his head and chuckling with laughter at her hesitation. Laura put the key in the ignition and the car bounded up. The hovercraft sounded like a kitten purring softly as it lifted up slightly past the natural repellant magnetic force of the craft. This force was what kept it from resting directly on the ground. She looked at him expectantly waiting for further instructions. “Go ahead and press the button that I just showed you.”
She pressed the green button and the dome came down over them. Several of the other lights started blinking and a course was charted and displayed on a central monitor. The hovercraft shot straight up in the air at a speed that made her stomach lurch. The feeling was similar to those occasions as a child when her father would drive fast over a hill or bridge. Just as the tires left the pavement, she would feel the elation as her body floated in space for just a tiny fraction of a second. Her stomach would explode with butterflies, and then drop when she dropped down on the bouncy seats as the tires made contact with the pavement.
She couldn’t help from squealing in excitement as she officially was driving for the first time in her life. She never needed to own a car on earth because she could walk or ride her bike if the weather were pleasant. If it wasn’t, San Francisco offered a variety of public transportation options. The streetcars in the city were her favorite means of transport and she fondly remembered the dinging of the bell as the streetcar audibly bumped and clicked along the track.
The sound of Ceran’s hovercraft in motion was similar to the noise of the car in the Jetson’s cartoon as it dropped everyone off to their designated stops. She instantly remembered the theme song and started to hum it as she drove along. There wasn’t much to driving and she could not imagine why it seemed like such a big deal in the first place. The craft controlled the altitude and brought you in the correct direction automatically scanning for any obstacles, obstructions, and other vehicles that would blink on the monitor in different shades of color. There was a manual steering shaft that popped out of the console in the event that you would need to take control of the craft in an emergency. Ceran assured her that the use of the manual controls was rare. When they were in the vicinity of the hospital, the hovercraft found several parking spots for her to land in. Prompted by Ceran, she selected one by touching the screen and it parked itself within the marked-off area. She looked to Ceran with her hand on the ignition key waiting for him to give her the instructions on turning it off. “Now, just press the red button and pull the key out,” Ceran looked at her proudly as she followed his instructions to the letter. “You did really well. See, I told you there was nothing to it.”
Laura was giddy with excitement as she exited the craft. However, once she realized what was soon to come, the elation of another personal first would not last long. She threaded her fingers through Ceran’s and gave them a squeeze as they made their way to the secured ward of the hospital. It was time to get to work and see what information they might glean from Lars. She was a bit scared at the prospect of dealing with this evil warrior if it was asked of her. She saw what this madman had done to Grace and Avery on the ship. She should be relatively safe in the room with him. He was being held to the frame of the bed with the restraints they had put on his wrists and ankles. Not to mention, with his leg healing from the break, he would be too weak to stand on his own. She would keep her distance none the less when dealing with him.
She saw Zane and Brylon approach her and Ceran. Zane walked up to Laura, “Good morning, are you ready to see Lars?” Brylon looked over to Ceran and then to her giving her a reassuring smile. They were giving her unspoken promises that if she needed any assistance while she was in the room, all she would have to do is look out the window. At her signal, they would be in the room to help her immediately.
She looked beyond them into the hallway, “Where is Zeb? Isn’t he coming?” She wouldn’t want to be around when and if Zeb met with the prisoner alone. Would they even let him in the room? She would have to wait and see how this drama would unfold.
Brylon said, “He is on his way now. For now, I am going to place this transmitter into your ear to give you the questions that we want the answers to.” Brylon fitted her with an ear piece as Zeb joined them in the hall, “Remember that we are out here if you need us. Are you ready?”
She nodded to the men and said, “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She planted a lingering kiss on Ceran’s cheek, squeezed his hand just before she went to enter the room. Taking a deep breath, she punched in the code and the door buzzed and clicked unlocked. She put her hand on the door, swinging it open and walking in as the door shut behind her and the lock reengaged. She gave a quick glance in the direction of the mirror that concealed the three Theron warriors watching them before settling into her routine. “Good morning Lars, how are you feeling today?” she asked as she looked over the electronic chart reading over the notes left by the nurses’ station during the evening shift.
“Like shit! What do you think?” he glared at her with a look of disdain. “Are you one of those earth women?”
“You must not remember much from yesterday. I am Dr. Laura Mason. Yes, I was taken from the planet Earth. Look Lars, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Not one Theron doctor will see you because they all want you dead. I am the only person on t
his planet who is willing to help you. I saw to your care and set your leg myself yesterday. It wasn’t pretty and you should be glad you were asleep. Now, if there’s anything you want to say, the only person who will listen to you is me. What is it going to be?” she said in her sternest doctor voice that she reserved only for noncompliant patients. Making her way to the cabinet, she grabbed an amber vial of pain relieving medicine and pulled a large amount into the syringe. She could assume from the color of his aura erupting in waves concentrated just above the break in his leg that he was in an enormous amount of pain. Because he could hardly move or adjust his position to make himself more comfortable, being restrained to the bed was not helping his condition at all.
“You set my leg?” he asked with a grunt. A look of disbelief crossed his face as if he were questioning just how it was possible for this tiny little woman to set his broken leg. “How did you do it?”
How could she possibly explain this to someone like him? She shook her head to focus on her patient, not her conflicting feelings of hatred. “I sedated you heavily. Then laid down on your bed with your leg over my chest and put my foot in your crotch moving aside the parts that got in the way. I pulled your leg with all the strength I could muster. I will definitely say it wasn’t my finest hour, but once I heard the pop of the bone fitting itself back into place it was downhill from there. I had to do set it by myself so I had to figure out a way I could physically manage it. Once the bone was set, I injected some of that magic healing medicine you guys have on this planet into several areas of your upper thigh muscle. Let’s just say, I wasn’t too gentle about it. Dr. Zane said that the brace you are wearing will help to keep it immobilized for a day or two and that your leg should heal quickly once set.” Lars looked impressed.
“I need to see Commander Zeb immediately. I have important information for him. Can you arrange for him to come meet me?” He grimaced as he spoke.
The voice in her earpiece started to come to life and she repeated what they said to her verbatim. “I do not have the authority to call Commander Zeb. I would have to get permission to do that. In order to get approval, you will have to give me some information they would deem worthy of his time.” She looked at his facial expressions and if she cared even a tiny bit about what he was feeling she would have offered him some pain medicine at that moment, “Are you feeling pain? I can give you something for that if you wish when I am done speaking with you, of course.” She took the syringe out of her pocket eyed it playfully to let him know that she had something of value then put it back into her pocket with a cold stare in his direction.
“I could really use something for the pain. My leg is killing me,” he said as he watched her reach into her uniform coat pocket. This time she plucked the side of the syringe to remove the tiny air bubbles. Once they all accumulated at the top, she pressed down on the plunger and a bit of the excess medicine shot out. Skillfully recapping the needle she put it back into her pocket and tapped the fabric of her coat dramatically adding, “If you want this pain medicine you will cooperate with me.”
He glared at her giving her a look filled with hatred, “So, you are going to tease me with drugs are you? What do you want to know?” He turned his head in the direction of the mirror and said, “I know they are watching this and they are telling you on what to say to me. What do they wish to know earth woman?” Evil oozed from his pores and she could see it clearly in his aura the dark brown and black waves of energy surrounding his body. She knew from experience that nothing he said would be credible. The dark brown color told her he was deceitful. Hopefully, the men outside knew what information they were looking for. This way they could ask the right questions and she could get out of here.
Just being near him was starting to make her ill at ease. No matter where she placed herself in the room, she could not help the nauseating feeling she experienced from being in the vicinity of his evil nature. She was waiting patiently to be prompted by the men outside who had apparently not decided what question she was to ask next. She busied herself reading his chart over and over again. They were taking a lot longer than she had anticipated coming up with what they wanted her to say. Unable to keep quiet, she decided to fill the space of time with some of her own personal observations. She looked Lars squarely in the eye and said, “You know what they call you, don’t you?”
She waited a moment to see what he would say and when he did not reply she said, “They call you the Theron traitor. It sickens me to even look at you knowing what harm you caused Grace and especially Avery. What’s worse is that you sold out the people of your race to the enemy.” It felt good to get that off her chest. She could hear the loud squawking in her earpiece to repeat what they said and only what they said. She glanced at the window with a look that said, “Yeah right! Who else can you send in here to do this dirty work?” Never before had she felt so enraged looking at his broken despicable body lying restrained in the bed. It wasn’t like he could hurt her being tied up as he was. This gave her a little bit of courage she needed to speak these accusations aloud. She wasn’t normally this brazen.
The men decided that the only way to derail her from her own personal thoughts was to repeat to her what questions they wanted her to ask. She repeated to Lars what she was being directed to say, “Why did you come back to Theron Lars? What did you hope to accomplish returning to this planet?”
“Let’s just say that everything didn’t go as I’d planned. I wouldn’t have come here at all if the other passenger in the craft hadn’t overpowered me for just a moment. Believe me, I am not here by choice.” He turned his head toward the mirrored glass pulling in vain at his restraints as he tried to move to a seated position but could not. Doing what Lars did best, his first counter question was, “You know, he never would have been able to return to Theron at all without my help. Tell Zeb that I have earned my freedom by bringing the old warrior home to him. If he feels any gratitude for my efforts in our escape from Drylon, he should give me another chance and set me free.”
“It is always about you, huh? I can see it clearly around you. You care about no one but yourself.” She turned to the window with a look of disgust written all over her face waiting for the next question or statement from outside. “I heard that Theron warriors never negotiate with Theron traitors.”
“Fuck Theron and all the Warriors that call it home. I know full well that I am going to get the death penalty. I don’t owe you an ounce of my shit much less information. Unless you tell them to start formulating a plan to exchange my freedom and life for the information I have in my head, you get nothing!”
Zeb began to speak to her directly, “Laura, just leave. You’re not going to get anything further from him right now.” She got up and wordlessly made her way to the door.
As she stepped over the threshold, Lars began to scream out, “You said you would give me something for pain, you earth bitch!” She looked back toward the bed while Lars pleaded trying to look as pathetic as he could to gain her sympathy. “Wait, I will cooperate if you give me something for pain. I am in a lot of pain Laura. You’re my doctor, you have to give me something… Laura!”
She looked at him and shook her head as she shut the door behind her and sought comfort in Ceran’s arms. Ceran kissed the top of her head and held her tight whispering in her ear, asking if she was alright. She could hear the sound of Lars screaming from behind the glass. “Liars!” He cleared his throat and spit with full force. She heard the splat of his sputum hit the window and watched in revulsion it as it slowly slid down the glass. Zeb patted her on the back and said she did well.
“I guess the only thing we can do is wait for my dad to wake up,” Zeb said as he rubbed a hand over his tired face.
“You might want to start working on Lars’s transfer to the Caverns Zeb,” said Brylon. “Meanwhile, I want to go sit with Emma. Permission to leave, sir?”
“Sure, thanks for coming Brylon,” Zeb turned to Zane as Brylon left the group. “I guess I�
��d better discuss transfer of the prisoner with the council. If you will excuse me.” Zeb walked down the hall in the direction of the main lobby.
Zane turned to Laura still in Ceran’s arms and said to her, “I know that was very hard for you. I don’t completely understand what you see when you look at him. However, I can only assume it is evil. I am very proud of you Laura. You keep this up and your residency will soon be over.”
She smiled weakly at Zane and nodded. Ceran looked at Zane and said, “I am going to take her out to the market for a bit. She needs to get out of here for a little while.”
Zane nodded, “Don’t worry about Lars. I will have Jeeka see to him in a bit if I feel that he deserves it. Take the rest of the day off. You’ve earned it.” Zane looked over to the couple and added, “You two can come over later tonight and I will fill you in on what I learn over the course of the day.”
“Alright,” Ceran said.
Zane walked over to the nearest nurse’s station as Ceran took Laura’s hand and pulled her away from the window that was befouled by this evil man. She looked over to Lars writhing in pain on the bed. The pleading look from his one eye did nothing to change her attitude toward him. He was hideous. It looked like had been through his share of hell while he was away. That was good for him Laura thought. His dirty blonde hair was sticking out in all directions with large matted clumps here and there, and his face looked rough like he needed a shave as well. She could see at some time recently he lost his eye patch as the angry scar across his eye was pale white with the skin around it darkly tanned. His fingers were scarred and crooked as if they were badly broken and set without a care for how well they would function in the future.
The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) Page 5
