Love, Lattes and Angel

by Sandra Cox

  “You know how to prevent it.”

  Agony is in his eyes. For a moment, I’m afraid… I shake my head. “Don’t,” I whisper.

  He closes his eyes. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I know how I’d feel if the tables were turned. He tries one last time. “If you have to do this monstrous thing, why not use me? What good will she do you dead?”

  “She’s not going to do me much good one way or the other. I can at least use your sperm.”

  My stomach rolls. I can’t believe what he’s suggesting. Stranger is one sick puppy. He thinks of us as no more than soulless science experiments.

  “We all know nature has built in a protective instinct in mothers regardless of the species. Looks like in this case, she’s built it into fathers too. Last chance.”

  The tension in the room builds almost to the breaking point as the silence grows, thick as a heavy coating of fog. Tyler bites his lips together so tightly a trickle of blood drips down his chin.

  Stranger waits another minute. “I guess I have your answer.” He walks to the tank and pushes a button that sends the dolphin shooting out before he heads for the door. It groans, an annoying sound that set my teeth on edge. As he opens it he calls, “I can use some help down here.”

  His jaw clenched, Joel says, “You’re a dead man, Stranger.” Then to me, “You stay alive, Piper. Promise me.”

  My throat is dry. There’s not a drop of spit in it. I manage to croak out, “I’ll do my best.”

  “Not good enough.” His voice is intense, filled with fury. “Promise me.”

  “I promise,” I say, and hope I’m not lying.

  The two men come trotting down the stairs.

  As the men take me away, Joel throws back his head and howls, the sound primal and full of pain. My captors hurry me through the door, spooked, their hands shaking, the whites of their eyes shifting from side to side.

  My legs refuse to obey the command to walk so they end up dragging me to the next room. One look at that cold silver table and my teeth begin to chatter. Next to it is the dolphin, wedged in so tightly she can’t move, though her eye follows me everywhere. I try to smile encouragingly at her but my lips have the trembles too.

  They hold me down and strap me on the table. I’m too sick to fight. I want to. I don’t want to die like this, but I can barely raise my hand to lay it against the tank. Shivers overtake me. I’m already cold and the table is like ice.

  The doctor examines me dispassionately. I try to shrink back when he touches a spot just below my clavicle. “Mm.” I bite back a moan. It’s sore to the touch.

  “Hmm, the last shot was a couple of inches above the heart. We’ll just put this one in your upper arm shall we?”

  “How about not?” I manage to get out through my chattering teeth.

  He gives a low humorless laugh. “Still as feisty as ever. I hope this doesn’t change that. Have you been able to tell any physiological differences yet?”

  I clamp my teeth together. No way am I giving this bastard any information.

  He shrugs. “If you survive, I’ll be studying you. This is really quite an exciting experiment. Now I’ll know for future studies just how much foreign DNA extract a body can tolerate. My hypothesis is that the dolphin’s DNA can be expressed by way of the blood and carried through your body. So far the data supports it. I hope you live. This is actually much better than adding dolphin parts to you.”

  “Anything for science.” I push the words through gritted teeth.

  “Indeed.”

  My stomach rises. I turn my head and hurl, coating his pristine white coat. Even though some has landed on the table, I feel a small spurt of satisfaction.

  He gives an annoyed tut, tut. “I’ll have to change my coat. You’re just prolonging this, you know.”

  My heart is still pounding like a jackhammer. Beside me, the little dolphin chirps. “Ocean. Ocean. Ocean.”

  I chirp back. “Thank you.” I close my eyes and visualize. The sights and the sounds, the texture of the waves, it’s so real I can almost touch it. Slowly, my heart calms.

  Minutes later, Stranger comes back. I nearly gag again at the reek of alcohol that goes straight up my nose as he cleans the table. He rolls the gurney out of the way then hits the button to let some of the water in the tank out. Walking over to gleaming sterile instruments, he picks up another godawful syringe and goes back to the dolphin.

  The poor thing quivers. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. The little dolphin’s voice gets higher and more frantic as the needle goes deep into her side. Seconds later, he presses the button and the dolphin is shot back out of the chamber and into the holding tank in the room where we are held prisoner.

  One hand still on the needle, he swabs my arm with the other. “Now this is going to sting.”

  “No crap, Sherlock,” I gasp out. It’s hard to get enough air to talk over my pounding heart. This is it. No matter what promises I made to Joel, I know my abused heart won’t accept any more foreign matter in my blood.

  The needle pricks my skin.

  Bang. Bang. Bang. Someone is knocking hard at the door. “Yes?” Stranger hesitates.

  The door opens. The shorter diver glances at me then looks away. “There’s a young girl who claims to be your subject swimming alongside the boat.”

  “Nooooo,” I wail. Go, Angel. Go!

  Chapter 28

  Joel

  A whoosh sounds from the direction of the tank, bubbles and the dolphin shoots back in, a thin trail of red drops in the water behind her. I push against my bonds to no avail. Rage heats my blood and there’s no outlet for it. Piper can’t survive more dolphin DNA. She can’t. He’s going to kill her and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it. I jerk my wrists again and feel the rope cut into my skin.

  “How is she?” I chatter.

  “Don’t know,” the dolphin chatters back.

  “How are you?” I chatter.

  “I hurt.”

  “I’m sorry.” I wait and watch the door. Tension grows. The knots in my neck tighten. I haven’t been fed or given a bathroom break in a long time. I think the guards are afraid to approach me. I focus on the dolphin and count the number of times it swims from one end of the tank to another.

  In the middle of the ninetieth lap, the door swings open. Every cell in my body goes on alert. Stiffening, I lean forward. Horror rises like black sludge in my system as I sag, my body unable to support itself, dependent on the bonds that hold me. Please God no.

  “Hello, Daddy.”

  “Shame on you, Joel. You’ve been holding out on me,” Stranger says, his hand on Angel’s arm.

  “Angel,” I whisper. Sorrow threatens to suffocate me. If Piper’s dead, it will all have been for nothing. Stranger has Angel.

  Angel shakes her head. My nerves skitter and jump about. Is Piper alive?

  Imperceptibly, Angel nods. Stranger doesn’t notice. He’s too busy gloating.

  “When did she have the growth spurt?” the scientist asks.

  “Coming through the Devil’s Triangle.” There is no need to hold back on information now.

  “Fascinating,” Stranger murmurs.

  He directs his attention to my daughter. “So they call you Angel?”

  “Yes.”

  “What can you do, Angel?”

  Don’t tell him about the telepathy.

  “I’m smart and I can swim fast.”

  Good girl, he already knows that.

  “Will you let my parents go?”

  “Your biological parents,” Stranger corrects.

  “Will you let them go?”

  “Even if I did, they wouldn’t leave you.”

  “Will you let the dolphin go?”

  He considers this then says, “Will that make you happy? It’s important that subjects be kept as content as possible in all experiments.”

  “Yes.”

  He walks over and pushes a button. Th
e window opens to the outside of the ship and the dolphin disappears.

  “Thank you. Can I see my mom?”

  “I’ll have her brought in. You know you’ll have to be in restraints till we get to the laboratory but I’ll give you as much leeway as possible.”

  The door bangs open. Craven sticks his head in. “I hear you bagged her.” He looks my daughter up and down. “I thought you were after a baby.”

  “It seems she’s had a growth spurt.” Stranger’s voice is dry. “I’ve told you, Mr. Craven, I do not want you in this room. Please try to remember that. Send one of the divers down and tell them to bring another chair and more rope.”

  Craven rolls his eyes and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

  A few minutes later, the diver arrives with another hard-back chair.

  “Tie her hands behind her back and tie her feet, but give her enough room she can move around.” Stranger directs.

  “For God sakes, Stranger, she’s only a child. You don’t need to tie her up.”

  “I can put her in a room unbound and alone or I can leave her in here tied.”

  “This is fine,” Angel pipes up. “When can I see my momma?”

  “Once you’re secure, I’ll have her brought in.” He watches as she’s being tied to the chair. “Now get the other subject and tie her back in her chair.” He looks at Angel and murmurs, “My finest creation.” Then he leaves.

  As soon as he’s gone, I ask, “How is she?”

  Her face is sad, tears well up and spill over. “She’s sick, Daddy. Her heart is trying to reject the foreign blood. I know you didn’t want me to come. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t let them keep operating on her. It would have killed her. I’m not sure she’s going to make it.” She begins to cry in earnest.

  I’ve never seen Angel cry. I’m not sure I can handle much more. If Piper’s heart stops, mine will surely stop with it.

  “I’d take care of you, Daddy,” she chokes out. “Do you forgive me? I know you didn’t want me to come.”

  A frog the size of my fist jumps around in my throat. I swallow it down. “You saved your momma’s life. How can I be angry about that?” I push my muscles into a reassuring smile. Damn Stranger to hell.

  “Yes,” my little girl gulps out. She sniffs loudly and tries to wipe her eyes on her shoulder.

  The door opens and Piper is wheeled in. She doesn’t look good. Her face is gray and huge violet craters circle her eyes. Her heart is beating too fast, her chest rising up and down, up and down. How long can her heart fight the foreign substance? Will it eventually accept it, and can she hold out until it does?

  She looks at Angel, despair on her features. “Oh, baby.”

  “I had to, Momma. You couldn’t have stood another procedure.”

  The diver unstraps her and grimaces as he ties her in the chair. He is gentle and the knots aren’t as tight as they could be. Is it possible he’s feeling some remorse about what he’s doing?

  “You could let us go, you know.”

  “No, buddy, I couldn’t.” He turns and walks out.

  Piper’s head drops to her chin. Her eyes close.

  From across the room, Angel and I look at each other. Fear paralyzes me. I have never been so afraid in all my life. Afraid of Piper dying. Afraid of Angel going back to the labs.

  My left leg has gone to sleep and it’s driving me crazy.

  “Think of something else, Daddy.”

  I bite back a caustic reply then look at my daughter and feel ashamed. “Do the others know where you are?”

  “I left a note. And tonight Molita will contact the spirits and they will give her more information. Everyone has been very worried about you.”

  “I’m sorry.” But my thoughts are focused on what she said about Molita. “Did Molita tell you that before you left or can you still hear Molita’s thoughts?”

  “She’s projecting them to me.”

  My pulse quickens and senses sharpen. “What is she saying?”

  Angel closes her eyes and concentrates. “After midnight, be prepared to abandon ship.”

  “She knows we are on the boat?” I lean forward but the ropes press against my chest and push me back.

  “I left her a note,” she repeats patiently.

  “What exactly does she have in mind?”

  She looks into my eyes. “She’s going to ask the spirits to call up a storm.”

  Chapter 29

  Joel

  My throat grows dry. I swallow. “In the triangle?”

  “Yes.”

  Piper, who seems to be slipping in and out of consciousness, raises her head and focuses on the tank. “Where’s the dolphin?” Her voice is raspy, her body shaking.

  “He freed it, Momma.”

  “Thanks to your daughter,” I add.

  “Good for you, baby.” Her head drops back to her chest, her eyes close and her breathing grows heavy.

  My grief is reflected in Angel’s eyes. I push it to a far corner of my mind. On the off chance that Molita really can call up a storm, we need to get out of these ropes.

  “She can,” my daughter says with certainty.

  “Then we better be ready. At some point, they’ll come to let us visit the head and then loosen one of our hands so we can eat.”

  “Will you try to jump them?”

  “If they give me an opportunity, but I don’t look for it. There are two and they’re very cautious. One undoes the ropes and the other stands guard with a Taser in his hand. I think the best bet is to play on their sympathies. See if they’ll loosen you and your mom’s bonds. Then you’re going to have to get mine loosened.” My heart tightens as I glance at Piper. “I don’t think your momma is going to be able to help us much.”

  “She’ll be okay once we get her out of here.” Angel’s voice has a positive ring, but there’s a quiver in her chin.

  “You bet she will.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounds too hearty.

  Time creeps by. Eventually, I doze. I’m wakened by the door opening. Both guards come in. The room is darker; the sun is setting. “Need the head?” the shorter man asks.

  “Yeah.”

  As predicted, one unties my hands and loosens the rope around my legs so that I can shuffle to the head while the other keeps a Taser pointed at me. When I finish, they let me wash my hands before they bring me back then retie me. Like before, they leave one hand free and hand me a sandwich and a bottle of water.

  They move next to Piper. “Do you need to use the head?”

  There’s no response. They glance at each other uneasily.

  Okay, Angel, we’ll probably get better results if you ask.

  “Would you lay my momma on the floor and loosen her ropes just a little? She’s awfully sick.”

  “I don’t know...” the shorter guy begins.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” the taller one says. “What’s it going to hurt?”

  They lay Piper on the floor and loosen the ropes around her ankles and wrists. She doesn’t respond. Next they take Angel to the bathroom then leave one hand free for her to eat. When we’re finished they tie us both back up.

  The men leave and the room grows dark as the sun sets beneath the water.

  “Piper.”

  No response.

  “Piper, can you hear me?”

  “I think she’s sleeping, Daddy.”

  “Piper.” I put urgency into my voice.

  “Hmm.” Her voice is lethargic, sluggish.

  “Honey, you need to wake up.”

  “’K.” Her head never lifts from the floor.

  “Daddy, she’s barely conscious.”

  “We have to get out of here. If you are right, if Molita can call up a storm, and if it’s strong enough to overturn this ship, how will she survive if the room fills with water?” Just thinking about it makes my palms grow damp. “She’ll drown.”

  “Can you get to me?” Angel asks. />
  “Possibly, though the last time I tried it, I ended on the floor for the night. And your hands are facing the wall and you’re too short to move the chair.”

  Angel’s face lights up the dark. “Daddy, maybe if you end up on the floor by Momma you can get her to loosen the ropes.”

  “Out of the mouth of babes.”

  “I’m not a babe.” She grins at me.

  “You just remember that in a few years.”

  Angel giggles. It’s the first thing resembling laughter I’ve heard since encountering Stranger.

  “So what do you think?” Angel asks.

  “It’s a good plan. I’m going to have to get close enough without falling on her.” I take a deep breath then pull the chair up and set it down. The motion only takes me a couple of inches closer to Piper but at least I didn’t tip over. I move again and the door bangs open.

  Crap. It’s Craven.

  He stands in the doorway, madness gleaming in his eyes. “Hello, freak.”

  “Did you just stop in for a little chat, Craven?”

  “Yeah, you could say that.” He walks into the room and stops in front of me, so close I can smell garlic and coffee on his breath. “I just want to picture how you’ll look with fins and a snout.” His laugh is high and coarse. “Oh, yeah, and to tell you nightie-night.”

  His fist shoots out and connects with my jaw. The room goes black.

  * * * *

  “Daddy. Daddy.”

  Disoriented, I raise my head. My jaw hurts and my teeth feel loose. Craven!

  “Are you all right?” Angel’s voice is anxious. Poor thing. Her mom sick as a dog and her dad unconscious.

  “I’m fine, baby. How long was I out?”

  “I don’t know. But I think Molita has started calling the spirits. The sea is getting rough.”

  My muscles jump. “But it’s nowhere near midnight.”

  “That’s true. But it’s dark and she’s worried the ship will get too far away for us to get back.”

  “Okay, then we’d better see about busting out of here.” I pause. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, after he hit you, he walked away like he didn’t know Momma and I were even here.”