by Carly Fall
His son slept soundly, seeming to like the feeling of being in motion, so Hudson continued to walk.
He looked over at Beverly’s body. Cohen and Hudson had changed the sheets once the bleeding stopped and cleaned up Beverly the best they could. She now rested covered from neck to toes under a white sheet and blanket. Her face was pale, her eyes closed. Hudson watched the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. It was good to see.
A ding signaled that the elevator had arrived, and seconds later Rayner came running in with Faith right behind him. He stopped in the middle of the room, pushed his hand through his hair, and looked around.
“Beverly!” he yelled. He slowly spun around, Faith at his side. He took unhurried steps as he searched the large room, looking everywhere.
“Do you see her?” Faith whispered.
Rayner shook his head. “Beverly!” he yelled again, this time the tone of his voice more demanding. “I need you to show yourself, honey. I know what you’re going through is scary. I can help you, I just need you to show yourself!”
“Beverly, please let Rayner help you!” Faith called.
Rayner had slowly walked the whole perimeter of the room, looking everywhere. Finally, he made his way over to Hudson and put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t see her, man,” he said, his face sad. He looked down at the baby in Hudson’s arms. “He’s cute, Hudson.”
Hudson nodded. He had hoped Rayner would be able to use his gift, but if her spirit wasn’t even present, things weren’t looking good. He stopped the sinking emotions within him and buoyed them with hope. Beverly would somehow find a way to return to him and their son.
“I’m sorry, man,” Rayner said, putting his hand on Hudson’s shoulder. “I’ll go cover every inch of the silo. Maybe she’s just drifted away from her body.”
Hudson watched as Rayner and Faith walked back toward the doors that would take them to the elevator leading up to the rest of the silo. He cradled his boy and swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes brimming with tears.
Chapter 11
“Excuse me? I’m a what?”
Mother Nature looked at Beverly. “You’re an abomination, child. We aren’t sure what to do with you.”
“What does that mean?” Beverly asked, panic welling in her.
“You were supposed to die, but you haven’t.”
“And that makes me an abomination?” After so many months of peace, Beverly found herself craving a pain pill, her panic reaching epic levels. How odd that it was happening in the very place that was supposed to exude harmony and calm.
Mother Nature nodded. “If the healer, Cohen, hadn’t stepped in, things would have gone as planned. But now you have SR44 blood within you, making you something of a mixed-species being.”
Beverly sat stunned. She was terrified and felt like crumpling to the floor in fear and defeat, but she knew she had to fight to get out of here and back to where she belonged. How exactly one fought Mother Nature and The Creator, she didn’t know, but she would give it her best shot.
Taking a deep breath and forcing her panic down, she said, “And what about Abby? And my son? They are mixed species. What makes them different than me?”
“Because they happened naturally. Both were born out of love. You, however, weren’t. You were created out of desperation. You were given blood that doesn’t belong in you. If the healer, Cohen, had just let you pass, then all would be right in the world. However, we are dealing with something that has never happened before. You are now a . . . forced . . . mixed-species being.”
Beverly’s gut clenched. Cohen had done everything he could to save her, but now her life was on the line? If nothing had happened during the birth, then she wouldn’t be in this position. Yet, something had gone terribly wrong, and now Mother Nature was threatening to take her away from those she loved.
And frankly, she didn’t understand the difference between her and Abby. If Hudson’s blood made her a so-called “half-species” being, then that was fine with her.
“There is no different between me and Abby,” Beverly said with force, standing up. “The only difference is that—“
“One of you was born naturally, and one of you was created.”
Beverly stared at Mother Nature, disbelieving what she was hearing. “I’m not some monster! Are you thinking I’m some type of Frankenstein? Because I can assure you, I’m not. I just want to go back to my family!”
Mother Nature nodded. “I understand that you do, but this is protocol. We have never seen the likes of a mixed species created as you are, so allow us to do our jobs. Now please, sit.”
Beverly wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and demand to be let out of here, but perhaps if she played nice it would score her some points. If she acted like a raving lunatic, maybe that would be considered behavior of a half-breed not worthy of returning to Earth.
And frankly, she really didn’t see any other option, so she sat down.
Chapter 12
Hudson’s son began to squirm, and wetness seeped into the towel. Why in the hell hadn’t he thought of diapers? He looked over at Beverly’s body. That was why—his lovren was hanging on the brink between life and death. Diapers kind of hit near the bottom of his list of important shit.
The baby began to wail, and Hudson started to walk toward the door so that he could get some diapers from his quarters and mix up some formula. He hated to leave Beverly, but he had to take care of his son. The SR44 male within him demanded that he stayed with her, but the father in him told him to take care of his baby. It was a tug-of-war of epic proportions.
As he waited for the elevator, he tried to recall a lullaby, but couldn’t think of any. Instead, he sang a few bars of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Baby seemed to like that and calmed just a little.
The elevator door opened and Faith stood there—diapers, baby clothes, and blankets in one hand, a bottle in the other.
“Anything?” Hudson asked over the baby’s crying.
Faith shook her head. “Rayner’s still looking, though. I thought you could probably use this stuff,” she said as she held up her bundle.
“I was just on my way to get all of that,” Hudson said. “Thanks, Faith.”
They walked over to where Beverly lay.
“How is she?” Faith asked Cohen as she took Beverly’s hand.
“Her heartbeat is strong, her blood pressure is a little weak, but good.”
Hudson looked at the clock on the wall. Beverly had been unconscious for four hours, and it was almost time for breakfast. He did a gut check and realized he wasn’t hungry. He actually felt nothing at all; he was numb.
“Let me help you, Hudson,” Faith said as Hudson laid the baby down and unwrapped him from the towels.
“Good God,” Hudson said, “what a nasty mess.”
Faith smiled. “Why don’t you grab something to eat? Get out of here for a little while? I can keep an eye on . . . what’s his name?”
Hudson shrugged and his chest got tight. “I don’t know. Bev and I decided that we would meet the baby and then give it a name. And I’m not hungry, Faith. I don’t want to leave either one of them.”
Hudson knew it was ridiculous, but he felt that something terrible would happen if he left. Well, something worse than what had already occurred, and he couldn’t take much more.
Besides, how could he eat after witnessing the mess his son had made?
He watched as Faith cleaned up the baby and put a diaper on. She then slipped him into little yellow pajamas with feet that had elephants all over it and handed him to Hudson. “Here you go, Daddy. I think the boy is hungry.”
Hudson sat down in the chair next to Beverly’s bed and put the bottle to the baby’s mouth. His son took it immediately, and his cries died down. His little hands grabbed onto Hudson’s large one, his tiny fingers wrapping around Hudson’s thumb.
Hudson stared down at his son and couldn’t help but smile. All that black hair and those chu
bby cheeks . . . the little guy was cute. The baby opened his eyes, a soft, yellow glow coming from them. The boy seemed to study Hudson, and they gazed at each other for a long time while the baby fed.
“You two are so sweet together,” Faith said in a quiet voice. “With your yellow eyes and black hair, you can see how you two are father and son.”
Hudson didn’t say anything, but continued to look at his son. It was a nice, quiet moment. He felt a bond form between them, even though they were being scrutinized by the others in the room. That scrutiny made him feel vulnerable. He was a Warrior, an assassin, for God’s sake. He was supposed to be the tough one, and very few people had seen the softer side of him. However, somehow the connection with the small, helpless boy in his arms made that vulnerability turn into strength. The love he felt for the boy was stronger than any knife he could wield, more powerful than any bullet he could discharge from his gun. As he looked down at his son, he couldn’t help but feel like he was looking into a mirror of his own soul. This frightened him and gave him peace, all in one large surge of emotion.
“You’re moha is going to be okay,” he said, unsure if he believed his words. “She’s a strong female. Whatever is going on, she’ll work it out and come back to us. She won’t leave us. She knows we both need her.”
The baby kicked out his legs and let out a grunt.
Hudson remembered reading that the baby needed to be burped a few times during feeding, so he took the bottle and set it aside. He brought his son to his chest. Hudson gently tapped his back, and a moment later he felt wet warmth flow down the bare skin of his back. Faith burst out laughing, and Cohen smiled.
Hudson chuckled as well, a little of the stress releasing itself from his body. He never imagined he would enjoy the feeling of warm vomit streaming down his back.
Chapter 13
“So, let us begin the discussion,” Mother Nature said. “Beverly, if you could please remain silent during this time, it would be most appreciated. My Earth Angels, what say you?”
Beverly listened while the two men dressed in brown talked. There had never been a creation such as Beverly. They tried to think of a time when two species had been forced together, but neither could. Beverly tried to think of a time as well, and she couldn’t think of anything either. Sure, there had been food that had been engineered, or forced together, but she couldn’t recall a living, breathing entity that was two species.
Perhaps in some lab or some backwoods place they were breeding different species together to see what would happen, but it just didn’t happen naturally. And if it did happen, “naturally” was apparently the operative word.
Sighing, she tuned them out. She knew she should listen, but she couldn’t get past her own thoughts.
Really, what did it matter if Hudson’s blood had been infused into her body? If she understood correctly, she was no different than Abby; she was no different than her son. How she had become mixed species was just slightly different than her son and Abby, but that didn’t mean she was a mistake or an abomination.
Cohen had done what was right. He had saved her with any means necessary. She remembered part of her Hippocratic oath:
May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling, and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.
And he had done that. She had been in need, and he had done what he thought best to help and heal her. Just because his techniques didn’t match up to what was expected didn’t mean they were wrong. If she could return to her family, her son and lovren, and be somewhat normal and live out her days that she had left thanks to Cohen, then she deserved to do so.
Was it possible that there was some underlying atrocity that came of Hudson giving her his blood? Would she turn into a monster? She didn’t feel any different. Looking around, she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror across the room. She certainly didn’t look any different, except . . . her eyes were glowing. It wasn’t bright like Hudson’s, but they were definitely shining a little brighter than her usual green.
Besides that, everything looked normal. And the glow could be muted with the contacts Talin had developed.
“And what do you say, my Sky Angels?” Mother Nature inquired.
The men spoke of the healer’s creation, namely Beverly’s disruption to the evolution of the human species.
“How in the world does me going back to my family disrupt the evolution of the human species?” Beverly blurted, incredulous.
Mother Nature glared at her as one of the Sky Angels said, “What if you were to reproduce again? We don’t know what genetic defects are possible with you being the way you are,” he said.
Beverly rolled her eyes. “Come on. With all due respect, that is ridiculous. In fact, this whole meeting is just stupid. Cohen did what he had to do to save me. He’s a healer. It’s in him to heal people just as much as it was in me to do the same when I practiced medicine. You do whatever you can for your patient, which is exactly what he did for me. And if you don’t want me to reproduce, consider it done. Just let me go back to my family. I’m fine. I’m not going to go back and disrupt the nature of Earth. I’m going to go back and take care of the people I love, and who love me.”
A breeze began to blow in the room, getting stronger by the second. Beverly looked around, wondering why someone didn’t get up to close the windows, but realized that there weren’t any. She looked around the table, confused. All eyes were cast downward, except for Mother Nature’s. Her eyes glowed an even brighter orange, and despite the wind, her hair lay flat. Her calm demeanor was gone, and Beverly realized she had overstepped her bounds and made Mother Nature very upset.
“Are you finished?” Mother Nature asked above the din of the wind.
Beverly pushed her hair out of her face. “Yes,” she yelled. The force of the wind had to be hurricane strength, but yet she seemed to be the only one affected by it. She noticed that the others around the table were all still, their hair calm. She held onto the arms of the chair, hoping it wouldn’t leave the floor.
As soon as the wind had started, it stopped, and the air became tranquil once again.
“Very well. My Angels of Vegetation, please give me your thoughts.”
Beverly sighed and sat back in her chair. Her eyes stung with angry tears. She was missing the first few hours of her son’s life, and this made her sad to her bones and so furious she felt like she could spit fire.
Chapter 14
Hudson stood in the shower, the water pounding against his back as he washed his son’s vomit from his body.
He was exhausted. Just flat-out done. He knew if he lay down, he would be out, but he would never forgive himself if something happened with Beverly or their son while he was napping. Honestly, he was almost afraid to go to sleep. Who knew what kind of sick dreams his subconscious would cough up with the powerful events that had happened in the past six hours.
As he lathered the shampoo into his hair, he heard the wails of his son. The need to get to him was fierce, but he reminded himself that the boy was being cared for by Faith and Cohen. Hudson was naked, and he had shampoo running into his eyes. He could take a few minutes and get rinsed off.
A half hour later he was holding his well-fed and burped son again, sitting at Beverly’s bedside, and drinking a cup of coffee. Rayner had given up his search for Beverly’s spirit in the silo and sat with Faith a few feet away from Hudson. Cohen continued to monitor Beverly’s vital signs.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat, Hudson?” Faith asked. “It’s almost lunchtime.”
“Nah. Thanks though.”
They all sat in silence, staring at the baby. The love Hudson felt for the child swirled within him, seeping into his bones. It was a different kind of love than what he felt for Beverly, but it was so strong and intense, it surprised him. How could he love someone so fiercely when he had known him for less than twelve hours? He didn’t even know what type of person this little guy was. How c
ould he feel so strongly about him?
Yes, he had loved Abby from the second she was born as well, but this was different. There was a strong bond and connection forming between him and his son.
Hudson looked over to Beverly, tracking the rise and fall of her chest. She absolutely needed to wake up. He needed her like he needed to breathe air, like he needed his heart to beat, or his legs to walk.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she gasped for air. Hudson stood and looked to Cohen, noticing that her chest was no longer moving. It was as if every muscle in her body contracted, causing her to go completely rigid and still.
“What’s going on, Cohen?” Hudson asked in a quiet voice.
“I don’t know,” Cohen said, pumping the blood pressure cuff. After a moment, he moved the stethoscope to her chest. His brows furrowed as he concentrated.
“Cohen—“
“I just don’t fucking know!”
Beverly took a long inhale, and Hudson couldn’t help but notice that she looked like a fish out of water taking its last breath.
Cohen pumped on the blood pressure cuff again, and Hudson felt dread seep in and take over. He was transfixed on Beverly when Faith came over and took the baby. He barely noticed the weight gone from his arms.
“No,” he whispered, grasping Beverly’s hand.
Beverly’s skin turned an ashen color, her chest still not moving, her green eyes staring up at the ceiling with no life left in them. This was it. He had tried to be a good person and follow the rules. He had done his best to kill the Colonists on this planet. What in the world had he done to deserve this punishment? He was losing his lovren.
Cohen ripped off the blood pressure cuff and began to perform CPR. Hudson watched as he pushed on Beverly’s chest, and then tipped her head back and breathed into her mouth.
