Embracing Ember

by Astrid Cielo

  “I’m single and I don’t have children. I just need to contact my roommate and let her know that I’m okay and I won’t be in until later. So if I can use a telephone that would be good.” She replied seeming to relax now that she knew he wasn’t callous, just absorbed in Ember’s care. Silvius came over and led Maria to the quarters that would be hers while she was aboard. Dr. Langston was looking over the medical bay with interest. Ceylon sat beside the medical scanner and patted the shell with the silent prayer that they had arrived in time to save this female, Ember. He smiled to himself as he remembered the meaning of ember and it certainly fit the small female with the hair the color of fire.

  Dr. Langston came over to Ceylon and looked at him expectantly. Ceylon took the hint and began explaining the function of the medical scanner. “We have found a certain type of light that emits at a high enough energy to scan the internal workings of the body, much like you have used radiation. We also noted that it sped up the healing at a cellular level making the repairs that you allow the body to make on its own. We were very fortunate to have stumbled upon something like this. My only wish is that our infectious disease processes were so easy to beat.” He stated. The scanner finished its diagnosis portion and put its report on the screen for Ceylon to read. He read the results out loud and found himself becoming enraged for the abuse Ember had had to endure. “It seems Ember has suffered from many broken ribs, some of which had punctured her lungs, a ruptured spleen, and multiple bleeds in her brain. That isn’t mentioning the lacerations that covered her body or the seeming minor broken humerus. It also appears she has a plethora of older broken bones that have healed. The medical scanner has begun its repair.” Ceylon stated in a voice void of emotion that he viciously tamped down. He knew that if he allowed his emotions free reign then his rage would be misdirected.

  Dr. Langston nodded before commenting, “Sadly this is the way things normally go. There is no telling how long she allowed the abuse to continue. It is hard for people to escape abusive relationships. I will leave her in your care. I will give instructions to Maria to follow your orders as she would any doctor, but I must warn you she is an adamant patient advocate so she will argue with you. I’ve worked with her long enough to know she doesn’t argue to undermine your authority, but to make sure that you are doing the best for each patient. So don’t let her brash nature upset you. If you need me, please don’t hesitate to call, until then, I must return to Trinity Heart. I have a hospital to run.” Dr. Langston said. Ceylon nodded and left the elder man to his arrangements. He sank into the chair beside the scanner and allowed the memories that had threatened him with each moment in Ember’s presence cascade through him.

  Ceylon’s heart seemed to stop beating as his friend was forced to place the breathing mask on Ashwin. Her once beautiful dark red skin had been drained of its color, fading instead to an ashen grey sickly color. Her eyes once a vibrant hazel now glazed over with the sedatives given to ease her pain. He smoothed her chocolate brown hair away from her face and placed a kiss on her cheek her skin feeling like ice beneath his lips. He slipped into the bed beside her and held her close as he allowed his body to slip into a fitful sleep, his hand upon her chest feeling the beat of her heart that seemed slower than it normally was. His consciousness slipped from him taking him to happier times.

  He relived their child hood together, playing with her in the small wooded area beside their houses. The way her hair was placed in braids on either side of her elfish face and the way her eyes would light with happiness when he gave her a pretty flower. He relived the years when they went to college together and they would stay awake for hours talking about nothing. He remembered falling in love with her, their first kiss and the night he claimed her as his mate. Of course there was always the Blue Death; they had both lost relatives to it. But she hadn’t yet succumbed. How foolish of them to think she wouldn’t be affected. He remembered seeing the blue spots for the first time and the fear that invaded her beautiful blue eyes. The prayers he prayed that her case would be minor and only take away her fertility. The worsening and the night they’d had to hook her up to the machines just to keep her sedated enough she didn’t suffer. It only got worse. Tonight her lips had turned blue, its harrowing color an indication that she was at the end.

  He awoke and looked down into her face one last time as the thread beat beneath his hand stuttered to a stop and the light that had once brightened her eyes faded to nothingness. He didn’t remember much after that, but friends had later told him they had to sedate him because his grief was so deep. Their funeral procession ended in her cremation. He scattered her ashes in the wooded area that they first fell in love as children. His life had become empty after her death. He barely ate or slept. He became a shell.

  ***

  Ember woke in a room that she didn’t recognize. She saw paintings scattered everywhere and painting supplies on a table in the corner. Her confusion only grew when she noted that they were her paintings. Ember had never left her work out. She hid them in the floorboards of the closet in the bathroom. She had noted it was the one place he never searched too thoroughly. She was startled when a middle-aged woman entered the room, “Ember, are you gonna sleep the day away?” she asked with a smile. Ember stared back at a replica of herself. She felt the color drain from her face. The woman came over and sat on the bed beside her and smoothed her hand over Ember’s face and gave her a look of concern before stating, “Are you not feeling well?”

  Ember didn’t know what to say. She didn’t really know who this woman was but if she had to guess it was her mother. Ember had always dreamed about what her mother would be like. Of course she knew the story of how she had ended up in the foster system. Her mother had stumbled into the Emergency Room and given birth to Ember. The doctor’s tried everything, but she had hemorrhaged and died. The nurse that was taking care of her mother had talked with her while working to keep her calm. She told the nurse that she wanted to name her daughter Ember, because her daughter had hair the color of fire. The nurse had told the state agency she was turned over to and they honored her mother’s wishes. Her mother had been alone in this world. All of her next-of-kin had died in various accidents and she was an only child, so Ember had been placed in the system. It wasn’t a bad experience, just a lonely one. Probably the reason she had soaked up Landon’s attention so readily.

  “I’m not sure what to say?” Ember said cautiously.

  “Well, that’s not all that uncommon, Ember. Come on down and get breakfast. I saved you a plate.” The woman said as she got up to leave. Ember thought quickly and decided to just go for it.

  “Mama?” she called out as the woman reached the door. The lady stopped and turned looking at Ember expectantly. “Thanks for cooking breakfast.” She said quickly to hide her confusion. Her mother, she assumed, smiled at her and exited. She got out of the unfamiliar bed and looked around the room. Was she dreaming? It had to be, but maybe her other life had been a dream? But why could she remember all those frightening years with Landon but not remember growing up in this unfamiliar house with that unfamiliar woman? She stepped cautiously out into the hallway and studied the pictures that lined its walls. There was one of her as a child learning to ride a bike smiling at the unknown person taking the picture and another of her graduating high school, the lady hugging her close and beaming in pride at her accomplishment. She remembered those occasions a little differently. No one was there to celebrate her learning to ride the bike. She didn’t have anyone to give her pointers or help her pick herself up from the concrete. No, she did it because all the other children could ride a bicycle therefore she had to prove that she could too.

  High school graduation had been much the same except Landon had entered her life by then. She had soaked up his praise of her finishing High School. Funny how such a rotten snake could wear the mask of an angel. The memories on the wall immortalized by the film seemed to taunt her with each happy shot. It seemed too happy. Too surreal. It
was how she knew that she was in a dream of her own making; either that or she had been given heaven after her death at the hands of Landon. But, would she remember the bad years she had spent with him if she were in heaven? Maybe this was her own private hell meant to taunt her with how great life could have been.

  She felt the pull, the knowing that she was supposed to be somewhere just as her mother came into the hallway. Her mother smiled sadly at her as if she knew the dream was coming to an end before saying, “I love you, Ember. I never meant to leave you, but sometimes we don’t have those choices. I’m proud of you sweetheart and know that I am always there even though you can’t see me.”

  Ember nodded sadly as she accepted her mother’s embrace. “I’ve got to go now Mama. I’m not sure where, but I just feel it pulling.”

  Her mother smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead before saying, “You’ve got to go live, Ember.” Then the darkness claimed her again.

  ***

  Ceylon joined the rest of the crew in the mess hall. The ships for these travels had been the larger ships meant to transport six to ten crew members per ship. The entire hull was covered in small panels that absorbed and stored light for energy. The green house with its many plants ensured adequate oxygenation along with the help from the tiny microorganism that lived within the water supply they utilized for the plant’s growth. These small freshwater organisms synthesized fifteen times more oxygen than any one plant. The unique plant added to the water system installed within the ships mainframe filtered water and waste making the water drinkable once again. The ship boasted six bunkrooms four of which were double bunks, a mess hall, a medical bay and a separate lab area. The smaller ships only had two bunks, a small mess hall, a small greenhouse and the lab and medical bays were stored within the same quarters. While the sizes of those ships were around the same size as the airplanes the Earthlings had invented, their larger ships were four times this size.

  Ceylon was joined by Silvius, their young pilot, Merrcum, his apprenticed healer, Secundus, the chief scientist of this ship, and his apprentice Lysander. The chief pilot, Cedwin stood and turned to Ceylon. “What exactly made you determine that revealing a key part of our technology was a good idea at the time?” he asked curiously. There was no censure, only curiosity that Ceylon who had up unto this point not swayed either way in the argument of when to gift Earth with some of their technology. The scientist had grudgingly showed some of the ways Salinian’s harnessed the power around them effectively. The Earthlings of course had come up with crude methods, such as gas and coal power which were natural sources, but the effects had been devastating. Their wind power was okay, but the towering wind mills only generated so much power. The solar panels were large and highly ineffective as catching all of the power from their life-giving star that they referred to as the sun.

  Ceylon chose his words wisely, keeping his personal reasons for saving Ember to himself. He couldn’t impart information that he didn’t understand himself. He didn’t know why her life mattered and he didn’t understand why she had become important to him. “We have been here a year and still haven’t gifted enough of our technology to warrant asking for favors from this population. If we string them along indefinitely then we will lose their interest and tolerance. As long as we prove useful, and this bit of technology is useful to the earthlings, I believe we will endear to Earth’s population. I still believe we should proceed cautiously, but more quickly than we have been.” He replied finally to Cedwin’s question. Cedwin nodded in acceptance of his answer. Ceylon could feel the tension in the small room.

  “What have the Earthlings given to us?” replied Secundus rage steeping each word. His eyes normally sedate greyish color seemed to shoot sparks at Ceylon. It was a valid point. What had the Earthlings given them? But then again, who needed who more? Would Earth’s population die out if they were to go home and not impart their technologies? No. Their population would continue to maintain above adequate numbers for the continuation of their world. That wasn’t the case with Salin. It was their whole reason for being here.

  “What do the Earthlings have to lose if we leave?” Ceylon asked Secundus, “They have something that we desperately need and it is our job to keep them from discovering how desperate we are for females. Giving our technology to them for the chance to remain and perhaps subtly gain access to females is a small price to pay in my opinion. You are well aware of our goals. More than that, we need to learn from the Earthlings. They have come up with many medications and techniques to help fight infection. We are lacking compared to their methods in infectious disease treatment and management on Salin. So giving them a way to heal traumatic injury is a major technology concession, I believe it will be seen as a gesture of good will. We need these people, Secundus.” Secundus was rendered speechless. He nodded his acceptance of Ceylon’s decision. Cedwin motioned for all to be dismissed.

  ***

  Maria’s heart began to beat that rhythm she knew so well. Her years as a nurse in the military had met with the same frantic beat. Her father had told her that the butterfly in the stomach and heart pumping anxiety would pass with time. It had been five years and she was wondering when it would ever stop. She figured that it never would. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for stuff like this. The government had approached her about a year ago when the aliens had made their presence known. For some reason unknown to her, the government had actually allowed them diplomatic status and a chance to roam about free. She assumed it was a ploy to keep them close so that they could spy on them. Her assumptions were proven correct when she was recruited to pose as a nurse in Trinity Heart Hospital to help spy on Ceylon. Of course she was a nurse, but she wasn’t an employee at a civilian hospital until a year ago. The government had people like her all over the country and in all types of jobs that the Salinian’s had sent diplomats to. They had implanted a chip so that even when they reverted to their own language, she could understand. Apparently it had been a stipulation for them to enter the country that the government receives the chip the aliens had foolishly revealed upon their arrival. She thought it foolish, because this gave numerous people the ability to understand them without their knowledge. She was surprised at their mastery of the English language. Her grandfather had lived in the United States since he was a teen and he still had trouble with it.

  She stood in the shadows careful to be quiet as she watched the red-skinned males. Her breath catching when she saw Silvius, his dark red skin almost scarlet with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. His hair was straight and hung in layers to his chin black so black it had bluish highlights to it. His body was muscular and lean; she could see that even with his plain clothing. She was attracted to this alien male. He made her heart beat faster and her sex to moisten even just observing him from so far away. His voice was deep and calmed and excited her in equal parts. She was embarrassed by the way her nipples pebbled beneath her scrub top and her panties dampened with her interest. This was probably not what the government had in mind when they recruited her to spy on the aliens.

  Her attention flew to the male with grey eyes and pale red skin. His hair was shorn short and a close to his scalp. His words were full of rage as he replied to Ceylon’s comment, “What have the Earthlings given to us?” She sucked in a breath waiting for anyone to answer. She wasn’t sure what to think about the statement because she didn’t have any control over what the government had deemed acceptable to give to the aliens and what the aliens had given to them. She did know that the medical scanner as Ceylon had called it had reported that Ember’s injuries were nearing the final stages of healing. If that were true then they had just give humans an invaluable gift. She hadn’t left Ember’s side the past twenty hours. No matter what the government had charged her with doing, she was first and foremost Ember’s nurse and that was a job that she wasn’t willing to neglect for spying on anyone.

  Her attention was once again captured by Ceylon who replied to the other male’s enraged answer wit
h a composed voice, “What do the Earthlings have to lose if we leave? They have something that we desperately need and it is our job to keep them from discovering how desperate we are for females. Giving our technology to them for the chance to remain and perhaps subtly gain access to females is a small price to pay in my opinion. You are well aware of our goals. More than that, we need to learn from the Earthlings. They have come up with many medications and techniques to help fight infection. We are lacking compared to their methods in infectious disease on Salin. So while giving them a way to heal traumatic injury is a major technology concession, I believe it will be seen as a gesture of good will. We need these people, Secundus.”

  So that’s what they’re after. Maria’s breath stilled in her chest as her mind gave her endless examples of becoming sex slaves to these people. Of course, her mother had always told her that she had an overactive imagination. She couldn’t stop the wave of desire that flooded her system at the thought of Silvius having his way with her. She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She took a deep breath and told herself to snap out of that crazy thinking. Besides, she had been working at Trinity Heart for about six months now and Ceylon had never treated the female employees any different. He often asked the nurses what their role was in the care of the patient. Perhaps, they weren’t interested in making slaves out of humans, but blending the races so that their planet could survive? But what caused them to need females so desperately?