Skin Walkers: Gauge

by Susan A Bliler

  She winced and inhaled sharply against the pain that stole through her before she fell back against the pillow and attempted unsuccessfully to restrain a whimper. Her eyes slammed shut as she fought to suck back the tears that sprang forth. She didn’t want to scare Alysa.

  Conn stepped forward and pulled Aries back. “Get her out of here,” he ordered quietly.

  “Hey, baby,” Aries spoke excitedly as he turned and left the room, “let’s go play. Would you like that? Then later we can have hot chocolate.”

  Alone with Gauge and Conn, Ella kept her eyes shut. She was fighting for control and didn’t want to face the confrontation she knew was coming until she had regained some semblance of composure. Several slow, deep, breaths helped to ease the pain that radiated through her body.

  Gauge stared down at her slight frame as it trembled under the blanket. He watched as she fought the quiver in her full pink lips. Her hair was fanned out around her shoulders. The deep chestnut waves made her seem younger, more fragile.

  “Get up!” he ground out. “We’re going to the infirmary.”

  Ella’s eyes eased open and she lay staring straight up at the ceiling. “I can’t.”

  “You can, and you will,” Gauge bit out angrily as he grabbed the blanket that covered her and yanked it down, stilling at the sight that met him.

  Ella didn’t need to look at his face to know his expression would be one of horror. The white lace panties and matching camisole she wore exposed the trauma that she’d hoped to keep hidden. Her left ankle was swollen and the purple bruising that encircled the soft ball sized sprain, didn’t just stop at her ankle. All the way up the length of her slender calf, over her thigh, and up to the round of her left hip her skin was severely bruised. It wasn’t blue, it wasn’t purple. Her delicate creamy skin was marred by the stark black declaration of trauma. The hem of her camisole was hiked up enough to reveal that the bruise carried up her ribs before it disappeared under the white satin. Ella’s shoulder too was black all the way down to her elbow and onto her swollen wrist that lay limply across her abdomen, previously hidden from view under the blanket that had covered her.

  At first Gauge didn’t speak. After several moments, Ella shifted her gray eyes from the ceiling to his face. His complexion was ashen and for the first time since she’d met him, Gauge Alexander was speechless.

  She watched his throat convulse as he swallowed hard.

  Gauge knew now that Ella wasn’t refusing to get up, she simply couldn’t. He drew in a deep breath trying to control the rage that slowly enveloped him as he ground out in a nearly unrecognizable growl. “Who did this?”

  “I fell.”

  His eyes slashed to hers. He couldn’t smell the lie over the scent of her pain as it engulfed the room, but he didn’t need to. No fall could have done this.

  “Who in the fuck did this?” His growl was even deeper now.

  Ella swallowed as her throat thickened with emotion. “I-I fell, Mr. Alexander.”

  She watched as he shoved an angry hand into his short blond hair and cursed under his breath.

  “You’re going to the infirmary.” He bent and slid his hands under her and tried to lift her. He didn’t get far.

  As he moved to stand and Ella’s body bent, she sucked in a sharp breath. “Gauge, STOP!”

  It was the first time she’d ever called him by his first name, and the sound of it on her tongue sent an involuntary shudder through him even as his nostrils flared and he took in the scent of her escalated pain. Hell, he didn’t think it was possible for her to hurt more than she already did, and had no idea how she kept from crying out.

  Gauge eased her back onto the bed and growled toward the wall, “Get here now!”

  Ella knew he was communicating through the Walker mist.

  Behind Gauge, Conn stepped forward. “I’ve already contacted Jenny; she’s on her way and bringing a team.”

  The room fell into a tense silence and it felt like hours passed before Conn turned and rushed out of the room, “They’re here!”

  Gauge didn’t stop his pacing when Jenny rushed into the bedroom. Shock clouded her expression as she stared, immobile, down at Ella’s battered body.

  “Jenny!” Gauge prodded impatiently.

  Jenny clamped her mouth closed and crossed to the bed before dropping to a knee next to the bed and placing her fingers gently on Ella’s throat. With one hand on the steady rhythm she found there, her eyes dropped to her upraised wrist watch. Jenny didn’t even address Ella before she pulled her hand back and rolled up the hem of Ella’s camisole, her eyes flitting over Ella’s body in a quick scan before she placed a hand on Ella’s rib cage.

  Ella sucked in a harsh breath and whimpered, “Don’t!”

  Jenny’s lips pursed in displeasure and she stood to eye Gauge. “We need a gurney, she can’t be carried in this condition and she certainly isn’t walking.”

  Jenny fell silent and her stare went through Gauge. She was summoning what they needed. Finally she blinked and pulled Gauge further from the bed as they waited for help, but Ella could still hear her words. “I’m guessing she’s got broken ribs and God only knows what other internal damage we’re dealing with.” Jenny’s eyes skipped to Ella’s ankle then back to Gauge. “That ankle looks broken, and I’m pretty sure her wrist is too.” Jenny shook her head, “What in the hell happened to her Gauge? Who did this?”

  Gauge sneered in Ella’s direction before growling, “She claims to have fallen.”

  Jenny’s eyes rounded, “Off what? The Empire State Building! Those wounds didn’t come from a fall. Someone did this to her and whoever it was, they weren’t pulling their punches.”

  Ella winced at the sound of Gauge’s teeth grinding.

  “Where’s the child?” Jenny was scanning the room.

  “Aries has taken her back to StoneCrow.”

  Their conversation was interrupted when Legion and King entered, “Monroe sent us behind you,” King offered by way of explanation. “We’ve got a transport vehicle. He held a long bright orange spine board in one hand.

  “Legion, help me roll her,” Jenny ordered, “Once we get her on her side King, just slide the board underneath.”

  “I’ll do it,” Gauge barked.

  Before he got a chance to take the spine board from King, Jenny turned and shoved him hard in the chest. “You just stay back. You’re too damn angry, and she can’t afford any mistakes here.”

  Gauge gritted his teeth and ground out, “I wouldn’t fucking hurt her!”

  “Wrong,” Jenny countered, “you wouldn’t mean to hurt her.” Then Jenny turned her back on him and continued barking orders to Legion and King.

  Seconds before they had Ella rolled onto to the board Gauge could’ve sworn that Jenny, Legion, and King all tensed for the briefest of moments. When he scented their combined rage he knew that something more was wrong.

  “What is it?” he bit out.

  Jenny ignored him as she finished strapping Ella to the board. Legion held the foot of the spine board, while King held the head.

  “Jenny,” Ella whispered, “I don’t want to be seen like this.”

  “Hand me that blanket.” Jenny snapped her fingers at Gauge and pointed at the blanket he’d yanked from Ella earlier and tossed carelessly onto a chair.

  The fact that Jenny was ignoring him didn’t go unnoticed and after he retrieved the blanket he held it out to her but refused to let go when she yanked on it. “What’s wrong?”

  “Not know, Gauge.” This time when she yanked on the blanket, he let it go.

  As Ella was carried from her room, Gauge could scent her utter mortification. She was humiliated by the display she was creating. He’d always known she was a deeply private person, but he’d had no idea the extent of her unassuming demeanor until now. Even enduring the most excruciating pain he’d ever scented on a female, she was more embarrassed than anything else. The revelation simultaneously enraged him and endeared her to him.

 
; Chapter 12

  Back at StoneCrow’s Infirmary, Jenny made short work of banishing Gauge from her surgery. Against his protests and after a heated argument that forced Jenny to summon Monroe, Gauge was relegated to pacing the halls. He’d stopped both Legion and King as they exited the exam room, but neither would explain what had happened back at Ella’s motel.

  “Look,” Legion rubbed the back of his head, “I didn’t see anything. It’s not my place...” He strode quickly out of the building even as Gauge scented the lie.

  “King!” Gauge demanded grabbing the Chief of Security’s arm as he made to pass. “What is it?”

  King watched Legion disappear down the long empty corridor before turning sad eyes on Gauge. “It’s not mine to tell. You’ll need to get the information from Ella if she’s willing to give it to you.”

  Gauge scowled at the Walker. He wanted to argue, but couldn’t. If something so horrific had happened to Ella, then it was her right to keep it to herself if she chose. He knew that neither King, Legion, nor Jenny would share their knowledge, and if it was that bad then he was grateful to them for refusing to do so.

  Gauge nodded once, before he released King’s arm.

  “But when you find the one who did this, let me know.” King stalked down the hall tossing over his shoulder, “I’ll help you kill the fucker!”

  Alone again, and pacing the hall, Gauge’s imagination got the better of him as he pondered what could be so horrible that two Walker Sentries and one Walker Surgeon refused to discuss it.

  His palms started sweating as he ran the gamut of hideous scenarios in his head. When he envisioned some assailant throwing Ella to the ground and raping her, he literally dropped to his knees.

  He’d been harsh on Ella since she’d come to StoneCrow. Too harsh. He’d been annoyed by her studious nature and the way she always wore her hair pulled back tight in that damned bun every day. He knew that she hid behind her ugly clothes and even uglier glasses, and now he cursed himself for tormenting her by digging too deeply into her past. He’d taken advantage of her competent abilities as his assistant. She’d stayed late nights to finish up projects that he knew could wait, and he’d let her just so he could be near her. Even worse was the fact that she had beautiful Alysa to care for.

  Just thinking of little Alysa’s smiling gray eyes had him clutching at his chest when he remembered how horrible he’d been to her mother. How could he forgive himself…how would he ever convince Ella to forgive him?

  When Jenny came out of the exam room, she found Gauge on his knees in the hall. His shirt was ripped to shreds and his chest was bleeding where his hands had shifted to claws and had torn into his flesh. She stilled at the sight of him. She didn’t need to be a Walker to scent his agonized self-loathing, it was clearly written on his face when he looked up. He was assuming the worst.

  Still in her blue scrubs, Jenny balled her surgical mask in her fist as she dropped to her knee in front of him, “It’s not what you think, Gauge.” Jenny shook her head, her eyes sympathetic. “She hasn’t been raped.”

  Gauge exhaled a harsh breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, which caused him to fall forward on his hands as his body began to shake with the relief. That relief was short-lived. “How is she?”

  Jenny stood and Gauge followed. “Neither her ankle nor her wrist were broken, but they’re both sprained horribly. She’s also got four cracked ribs, and those bruises.” Jenny shook her head. “They go to the bone. I put her in a walking cast, but for now it’s just protection for her ankle. She won’t be walking any time soon.”

  Gauge ran a hand down his weary features.

  “Look,” Jenny continued, “I’ve got to keep her here, so we need to make arrangements for the child. Before I put her under, Alysa was Ella’s only concern and when she wakes, I venture it’ll be the same. Have you got any ideas?”

  “Put her under?” Gauge demanded harshly? “Why would you put her under for bruises and sprains?”

  Jenny shook her head, her face flushing slightly. “Gauge, there’s doctor-patient confidentiality. I can’t disclose…I shouldn’t even have told you what I already have. You’re no relation of hers.”

  Gauge’s eyes narrowed on the Doctor before he bit out, “I’ll keep the child.”

  “You?” Jenny scoffed, relieved he was allowing her to deflect his questions. “Since when do you know anything about children?”

  “I’ll figure it out.” Gauge rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not letting either of them out of my sight until I figure out what the fuck happened.” His eyes lowered to hers, “Has she told you anything?”

  “No. But I can tell you from my exam that I had to remove gravel that was embedded in the palms of both her hands. Someone threw her down and put the boots to her, and whoever it was didn’t care if she ever got up again.”

  “Alysa spent last night with Aries and Conn. I followed Ella back to her home and left around two. This had to have happened sometime after that.”

  Jenny nodded, “The wounds are consistent with that time frame. What were her plans?”

  Gauge shook his head as another bout of self-condemnation swamped him. “I don’t know, Jenny. She said she was tired and needed to get home. I kept her at StoneCrow too late. I asked her to stay in one of the guest suites, but she refused.” He dropped his head, “I should have made her.”

  “Well once we find out where she went after you left we can start piecing together what happened.”

  “She didn’t go anywhere once Gauge left.” Monroe’s voice reached them from the far end of the corridor. He strode toward them in his typical self-assured manner. “I just spoke with Stoney. The two are friends. Stoney says Ella called her late, about three, and asked her to check on Alysa first thing in the morning. Stoney said she sounded strange, worried.”

  “And she didn’t report it?” Gauge growled angrily.

  “Report it to whom?” Jenny scoffed. “Hey King,” she mocked, “Ella called and she sounded strange.” She dropped the mocking tone to frown at Gauge, “King would have looked into it first thing in the morning and he’d have found the same thing Aries did.

  Gauge scowled at Jenny long moments before he turned to eye the exam room door, “When can I see her.”

  “You can’t.” Jenny put a hand on her hip defiantly. “She needs her rest and I’m not messing around. I don’t want her hounded or disturbed. She’s in bad shape, and the last thing I need is her riled up. If she wakes she’ll just worry about her daughter.”

  “I won’t wake her, but I will see her.” Gauge’s eyes dimmed in challenge. He wasn’t going to argue the point. He’d see Ella one way or the other.

  Jenny dropped her hand from her hip rolling her eyes in resignation. “Fine!” she snapped. “You’ve got fifteen minutes, and that’s it!”

  Gauge stalked to the exam room doors, pushed them open, and stopped. Jenny watched his shoulders rise and fall in one fluid motion. Then he looked back at her over his broad shoulder with anger flickering in his eyes. “Why’s she bleeding?”

  Jenny pursed her lips and shook her head sadly. “She’s been bleeding. You just couldn’t scent it over her pain.” Jenny watched his eyes flash dangerously, his jaw clenched. “She’s going to be alright, Gauge. In the meantime…”

  Gauge was shocked to see tears spring forth in Jenny’s eyes. The Surgeon was known for her objectivity and unwillingness or inability to ever get emotionally vested in her work. But she was vested now. It was obvious that what had happened to Ella angered and hurt Jenny, and Gauge couldn’t fathom why.

  Jenny sniffed back her tears in self-disgust at her rare show of emotion. “I suggest you find the bastard that did this to her…and kill him!”

  She was a surgeon and a humanitarian. She rarely condoned the frequent deaths that occurred at Skin Walker hands. That fact contradicted by her comment had Gauge narrowing his eyes on her, trying to read whether she was being sarcastic or sincere.

  Je
nny knew what Gauge was looking for and she raised her head defiantly, challenging him to see the certainty in her eyes.

  “He’s already dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.” Gauge turned and disappeared through the exam room door.

  Inside the exam room, Gauge felt out-of-place. He scanned the monitors that were hooked to Ella’s slight frame and listened as they beeped their incessant declaration that she lived. While the sound should have brought comfort, it carried only shame for the fact that it was needed at all.

  Gauge slid to the side of the bed and sat in the chair there, pulling it close until he was able to stare at Ella’s peaceful features. He wanted to touch her, but was afraid. He knew that every part of her must hurt, and he still didn’t know what it was Jenny, Legion, and King had seen that had them ready to kill.

  Gauge partially shifted, letting the grizzly that existed in his soul awaken and come forth.

  The children at StoneCrow were taught by the Indian elders that frequently visited the schools how to know which animal to call forth for specific senses. They were taught that, when a leaf falls in the forest the eagle sees it, the deer hears it, and the bear smells it. As children it helped them to remember which animals held the greatest abilities.

  Shifting partially now, Gauge drew in a slow deep breath and the bear inside grumbled, his chest vibrating with the displeasure of scenting Ella’s blood. It wasn’t much, but enough to anger the animal within. Gauge scanned her body, remembering back to the apartment when he’d pulled the sheet from her. He’d seen no wound. It wasn’t until… He’s eyes darted to her shoulders and he tilted his head trying to catch the slightest glimpse of her back. He could see nothing without moving her, and he refused to move her. Jenny was right. Ella needed rest and she needed peace.

  Gauge stayed long after the fifteen minutes Jenny had allotted had expired. He said nothing, didn’t touch Ella. He simply sat staring at her. Finally, Jenny quietly entered the exam room and stared at him in silent indication that it was time for him to go, but he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d failed Ella somehow and the weight of that burden threatened to crush him. Why had he never noticed how small she was, how frail she seemed.