*** Brandon Mills ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Where the hell is Scarlet? She should have been back by now!” Mickey nodded as he lit a cigarette. “Maybe she got hurt.” “Or caught by the others.” Jim suggested. Bernie leaned in the door of their rented van. “We follow orders. If she’s not back in fifteen minutes, we go to the airport and fly back to Mettetal Airport in Canton, then drive to Mr. Astrid’s to report in.” Rick sat thinking for a moment. “I bet Scarlet did get caught by the others.” He shook his head. “All of us got disoriented when that flash of light occurred. My head is still a little fuzzy from that.” Brandon nodded in agreement. “I guess Bernie is in charge of us now. We do as he says.” The others nodded, relieved that he would be the one to report to Mr. Astrid. 30 -- Friday Lyta walked down to the basement after receiving the medical report from Nicole about Raven. Raven had woken once since the group had returned home, ate a little soup, and fell back asleep. Lyta was feeling tired, but there was still too much to do even after the retrieval of the disk. Now she had to deal with Scarlet O’Malley. Angie was sitting on the weight bench using the dumb bells but keeping an eye on their prisoner. Scarlet was sitting up on a cot, leaning back against the wall. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she glanced over in that direction. “You do realize that Mr. Astrid knows by now that you have taken me prisoner. If you value your life and the lives of these others, you’ll let me go.” She took a drink from a bottle of water. Walking over to where the prisoner was, Lyta stared down at her. “We’ll be letting you go tonight.” Lyta grabbed a bag from the table nearby, looking through the contents. She pulled out a five dollar bill. “Here, put this in your pocket. The rest of your stuff will be sent to Mr. Astrid via snail mail.” Lyta motioned to Angie to walk with her back to the stairs. In a low voice, she said, “Bryan and Eve are going to drive Scarlet across the Ohio border and drop her off on Route 2 to Cedar Point. Maybe have then drop her off on one of those side roads. They’ve rented a car for this purpose.” “I like Scott’s idea better, putting her over the Mexican Border.” Angie glanced over her shoulder at Ken who was sitting at the table keeping an eye on the monitors.” Ken, go upstairs and get yourself some coffee, you look like you could use some.” “Thanks, Angie. Guess I didn’t get enough sleep after the trip to Grand Rapids.” He headed up the stairs, coffee mug in hand. Lyta eyed Angie curiously. “What’s up, Ang? Past couple days you’ve been uncomfortable around Ken.” “Can’t put my finger on it, but something isn’t right with him. It has nothing to do with him and Jill being engaged. It’s something else. He’s been acting secretive, I guess is the closest I can describe him.” She shook her head. “Ok, Keep an eye on him when he’s here at this house, but don’t say anything to the others.” Lyta returned to where Scarlet was sitting, grabbing the bag, and walking away. “You will pay for this, Lyta Dinet. Just you wait and see!” Scarlet called after her. Angie returned to her weightlifting, wondering what the hell Ken was up to. *** Jennie sat on the bed next to Raven, going through her notes she had written up about the trip to Grand Rapids. Raven lay beside her, pale and a little feverish. Once in a while, Jennie reached out to stroke Raven’s sweat-soaked hair, wishing she would wake up again. The bedroom door opened, admitting Nicole. “Hey Jen. It’s nearly lunch time. Why don’t you take a break and have a bite to eat? I’ll sit with Raven while you do.” She set her bag on the table at the foot of the bed. “I’m not very hungry right now, Nickie. Thanks any way.” Jennie replied as she readjusted the blanket covering Raven. “Don’t do this to yourself, Jennie. The last thing you need is to make yourself sick by not taking care of your own needs.” Nicole gently reminded her. “I know, but I can’t help it. No one knows if retrieving the disk has affected her in any other way than physically.” Jennie met her friend’s caring gaze. “If Raven starts to wake up, I’ll come get you. I promise.” Knowing that arguing with Nicole was pointless, Jennie kissed Raven’s forehead then left the bedroom. Alone with her patient, Nicole checked her vital signs and the IV hooked up to Raven’s right arm. Raven’s fever was down to one hundred now, which was better than the one hundred and three when they were heading home. Pulling out her notebook, she wrote down the information for her records. With noting more to do, Nicole sat on the edge of the bed. Sitting at the kitchen table, Jennie drank some milk while Reggie made her a club sandwich. “Reg, after all the driving you did, why don’t you take a day off?” He shook his head as he added potato chips to the plate, then cut a piece of cake. “I like to keep busy, Jennie. After I finish here, I’ll be going to Raven’s office and fixing that hole in the wall. Shouldn’t take me more than two hours at the most.” Setting the plate before his friend, Reggie gave her a smile. “Need to head to the hardware store and get some primer and paint to cover the patch. Dinner tonight is grilled sausage sandwiches and beans.” “Sounds good.” Taking a bite of the sandwich, Jennie suddenly realized she was starving. She had barely eaten breakfast and had eaten nothing since then. Watching her eat, Reggie grinned. “No one can resist a sandwich I make. Not even you are immune to it, Jennie.” “You’re right, Reggie.” She took another bite, chewed and swallowed. “Hopefully it won’t be long until Raven is eating them as well.” “I have a pot of beef vegetable soup simmering on the stove. Nicole said things like that, Jell-O, toast, crackers would be best for her right now.” He checked his watch. “I’m heading to the hardware store now. Shouldn’t be gone more than an hour at the most.” “All right. I’ll give the soup a couple of stirs while you’re gone.” Jennie promised him. *** Raven lay on the grass in the dream garden, staring up at the sky. Kree was near hear head, running her beak through Raven’s hair. ‘You need to return to the waking world, Raven. Hiding here is weakening your physical body.’ ‘Not hiding, Kree. It’s so quiet and restful here.’ Raven slowly sat up, knowing better than trying to stand. Even in the dream she barely had any strength. ‘You need to wake up, my young friend.” Kree flapped her wings. ‘You’re scaring the heck out of Jennie.’ ‘I seem to do that a lot, don’t I?’ Raven sighed. ‘But you are right, my feathered friend. One problem -- I don’t have the strength to stand and walk out of the dream.’ ‘Just imagine yourself standing and walking.’ Kree advised her before she flew off. Shrugging, Raven did as instructed and felt herself leave the dream. Jennie had returned to Raven’s side after an hour’s break. Glancing down at her, she noticed her wife’s eyelids were starting to flutter. “Raven?” Opening her eyes, Raven gave her love a tired smile. “Jennie.” “How you feeling?” She stroke Raven’s cheek. “Tired, weak. Right now an earthworm could beat me at arm wrestling.” Raven admitted. “Also feel a little hungry.” “That’s great to hear, my love.” Jennie gave her a gentle kiss. “Reggie made some wonderful beef vegetable soup.” Raven made a face. “Not a liquid diet. Was hoping for something like pizza or a sandwich.” “What Reggie made is much better than the stuff from the can. Even Lyta says it’s great and you know she prefers sandwiches.” Jennie helped Raven move to a sitting position. “After you have something to eat, I’ll give you a sponge bath, then help you put on some clean clothes. Maybe I’ll change the sheets and pillowcases too. Make the bed more comfortable for you.” “Sounds nice.” Raven sighed. “How long have we been home?” The Ravenwyng Chronicles copyright 2013 Anna M Dobritt
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 21:23:52 +0000
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