The Truth
2531 Words
Nate
Nate waited a half hour before trying to stand again, this time with better success. Hank assisted Nate for a few moments while he tried to move around. He did several simple coordination tests for the medical attendant. In return, they handed him a new set of clothes.
Nate put on the simple off-white shirt, pants, and boots, but the dark red jacket that went over it proved a bit more difficult to latch. Rose assisted with getting the jacket latched up. Embroidery similar to the robes Cassielle wore adorned the edges. The hemline of the garment portrayed stalks of silver wheat amid the outline of flames. A large sun took up the entirety of the back.
“These clothes are very nice,” Rose commented.
“I’m not sure I like being so dressed up,” Nate said inspecting the intricate stitching.
“Why did they give you these?”
Nate shrugged. He followed his grandparents to the door of the medical bay where they were stopped by armed guards. His grandparents explained they were not allowed to go anywhere without an escort. The guards ushered to them guest area, where the remainder of Nates family greeted him with enthusiasm. He hugged each of them in turn, rough housing a bit with his younger cousins. Harold, his closest cousin in age and fondness, came forward last to greet him.
“You had us scared,” he said hugging Nate.
“You know a little beating wouldn’t keep me down.”
Harold, like his father, was a mountain of a man. He towered over Nate, and frequently rested his arms on Nate’s shoulders or head. Harold participated in pro wrestling part time but currently worked as a bouncer at one of the dance clubs in the city. He had seen Nate get beat before.
“It wasn’t a little beating,” Celia spoke up. “I had to give you blood ‘cause of the internal injuries.”
Nate looked around. Several faces avoided his.
“How bad was it?” he asked looking at his grandma.
Rose sighed. “Bad.”
Hank handed a tablet to Nate he carried with him from the medical bay. Nate went down the list of injuries and he could feel the blood drain from his face.
“How did I survive this?” he asked astonished.
“Everyone is asking that very question,” Celia said.
Nate found a chair and sat. His legs began to grow weak again. Harold moved a chair next to him and read down the list.
“How-,” he began but stopped.
Others clamored to read the list of injuries. Several people let out gasps of shock. One of the children wanted to see the list but an adult told them to go play. Nate handed the tablet back to his grandfather and contemplated the events of the day. He watched his partner get murdered by a woman who seemed to have superpowers, who then beat him within an inch of his life. Only to be abducted by another woman with superpowers. Now, he and his family were hurtling through space.
He looked around the room. The elongated space reminded Nate of a large waiting room, with couches and armchairs set up around the edges. There was even a play area for the children set up in one corner. A large sun design took up most of the floor space, the colors being soft reds and silvers. The couches and chairs complemented the floor.
Across from where he sat, he could see into what looked like a kitchen area. A cooler and sink dominated his view of the room. Another doorway was situated on the opposite wall from the main entrance. Nate guessed the sleeping area was located beyond there by how Helen began shepherding the children through the door. Behind him he could look out and view the vastness of space through a room length window.
“How long was I out?” Nate asked.
“About 10 hours,” Hank said.
“How was I healed so fast?”
Harold shrugged. “It’s safe to assume they have advanced technology. I mean, we’re in a spaceship flying to an alien planet. You’d think they would have advanced medicine too.”
Nate pondered what his cousin said. Thank god they were able to heal him. His head swam as his stomach began to growl. Glancing at a clock, he realized he had not eaten since he pilfered the toast from Darren’s plate at breakfast.
“What’s to eat?” he asked standing up.
“They have a weird assortment of food here, but I think I could fix you something,” Celia said getting up.
She went into the next room and Nate followed her. Harold followed him but the others lost interest. This room ran the length of the main room, with one half lined with cupboards and coolers. Several countertops sported heavy wooden blocks. A large sink sat situated on the far wall. On the far side of the room, Nate saw a large table with twenty chairs around it. Both table and chairs looked to be made from a combination of metal and dark cherry wood.
“Something the others don’t know,” Celia said in a soft voice as she leaned down to inspect a cooler, “I donated blood for that lady too.”
“What lady?” Nate asked.
“You know. The lady who is dressed like you. She came in here and refused to give her name, just the title of High Command,” Celia said.
“Oh. Yeah. Her name is Cassielle,” Nate said. “She saved me several times, but she was injured right before I was.”
Celia stared at him and her face went pale.
“I knew I recognized her,” she said softly. “I just… didn’t want to believe it.”
“Who is she. I swear I’ve seen her before, but I can’t place it?” Nate asked.
“Uh…,” Celia began unsure how to answer. “I think she was an old family friend that disappeared around the same time your mother did. How about a sandwich?” Celia avoided the question.
“Sure.”
Nate watched as his aunt cut two slices of bread from a half-cut loaf of bread before layering meats and cheese on top. Nate noticed the lack of any spread on the bread, but that did not matter once the cheese had been melted. Once finished, she handed the food to Nate and left him to eat in silence. Even Harold had caught her strange behavior.
Nate finished his sandwich and joined the remaining family in the main area. He thought about how Celia acted in the kitchen. She almost never lied to him. She had to know who the lady was.
“You’re wrong,” Rose’s voice carried across the room.
Nate noticed her, Celia, and Hank were discussing something serious. His uncles, Gideon and Justin, shot him warning glances before they left the room to the sleeping area. Helen tried to re-enter the room, but Justin stopped her.
“I’m not wrong, Rose,” Hank said.
“I would know my daughter when I see her,” Rose said. Her face had started to turn red. “She’s dead and that’s that.”
“Mom,” Celia pleaded. “Calm down. Her name is Cassielle and she looks like Kelly. She even has blue eyes.”
“No. I won’t hear you make up stories. Cassie’s dead. Your sister is dead,” Rose said standing up. She turned and saw Nate. She quickly turned away wiping tears as she went to the sleeping area.
“Um,” Nate began. “I think I’m gonna go to the medical bay. I’m not that tired, so I’m gonna sit with dad for a while.”
“Nate, wait,” Hank said walking over to him. “Your grandmother is just upset.”
“It’s ok. I understand,” he said waving his grandfather off.
“Can I come with you?” Harold asked.
“I need some time to think. Thanks for the offer.”
Nate went to exit but a guard stopped him.
“Can I go visit my father in the medical bay?” he asked.
The soldier nodded and led the way out of the guest area. Nate followed in silence. He sat next to his dad’s bed in the little chair his grandma had occupied. A table had been added and the chairs were arranged where his bed once sat. The other chair remained empty.
The room had a sterile feel. The light brown floor had a carpet like texture but reminded Nate of the rubber mats found at his gym. The walls had matching colors of tan and light brown. A screen hung on the wall above Kevin’s bed as well at the foot of his bed. Both screens were black.
He looked through the observation window in the cover of the stasis bed. Kevin had always been there for Nate. So had his mother’s family, Nate realized. Gideon and Kevin were best friends and Harold and Nate had been raised together.
After his mother died-. He stopped thinking about that. She did not die. She disappeared. Taken. Nate was convinced she was still alive. Had his dad not been taken, Nate would still be working her case. What did he remember of that night? What had happened to her?
“Am I interrupting anything?” A voice broke through his thoughts.
Nate nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of the unexpected voice. Cassielle entered quietly and sat in the other chair.
“HOLY-,” Nate stopped himself.
He grabbed at his chest as his heart raced.
“Getting lost in your own thoughts could be dangerous,” she said smiling.
An attendant entered carrying a tray with a kettle and a few cups. Nate looked over to her.
“This,” Cassielle said picking up the tall kettle, “is Morgoth Tea. I like it. Would you like some?” she offered.
“Sure.” He accepted the cup she poured.
Cassielle then poured her own cup of tea and they sat for a few moments in silence. Nate did like the tea. He placed his cup on the table between the chairs. Cassielle placed her tea down next to his.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“For all of this,” she said with a sigh. “For you getting hurt, for Kevin getting poisoned, for your family being here. Had I been able to stop this…,” she trailed off.
“We would have never met.”
“You would have been safe.”
He looked at her. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes were glossy. She looked down quickly at her hands, studying them.
“I don’t blame you for what happened to me. I was stupid and didn’t wait for backup. I made a rookie mistake,” he said quietly.
“They still would have attacked you.”
“Who are they? Who attacked us?”
“They are a part of the Federation. It is a large organization that is made up of smaller groups working together and forming their own government. About 900 years ago, the Trident Empire and the Federation signed a treaty to end a 600-year war. The most important section of the treaty stated your family needed to remain untouched, unharmed. With the attack on you and your father, the treaty is broken.”
She twisted the sleeve of her robe in her hand.
“That didn’t answer who they were. All you said was they were a part of a larger organization. Do we have to worry about that too?”
“No. Her name was Liana’a and she hated the family. She made threats before, but we had no reason to believe she would follow thru until now.”
“What does the broken treaty mean now?”
“It means you can finally come home, if you want,” she said looking at him.
“Where’s home?”
“Trident.”
“Is it a choice?”
“Yes.”
“What about my dad?
Cassielle sat for a few moments in silence. Nate studied her. She reached for her tea and sipped it.
“There are three antidotes to the poison. Well, two really,” she said finally after a few moments. “One is the actual antidote developed after the poison. It is only effective within the first 10 days or so depending on the amount the victim was poisoned with.”
“Ok,” he said. “How long had my dad been like this?”
“The poison is in its final stages, so we are long past the antidote stage.”
“Ok. What’s the next option?”
“The next option is a regeneration upgrade. Something like what I have. The upgrade would heal the poison, but he would have the upgrade for the rest of his life,” she said. “It would also mean that he would not be allowed on Earth anymore.”
Nate looked down. Either his father would die, or his father would never go home.
“What about the third option?”
“I hesitate to bring it up since it is a long shot. He needs a blood transfusion from a family member with the same blood type,” she said. “It won’t cure it, but it will heal him enough to allow for an upgrade.”
“Oh.” Nate shared his mother’s and aunt’s blood type.
Something about this lady finally became clear. Everything he had wondered and suspected began to fall into place. That woman who nearly killed him said something about his mother dying; his aunt giving blood not only for him but for her; Hank and Rose’s fight. He looked over to Cassielle with a new light.
“Are you ok?” she asked concerned.
He studied her. Even her voice. He even heard it in her voice. How could he have missed it? Maybe he had heard it but refused to believe it. He could feel anger rising and he quickly tried to control it. All the buried feelings, all the buried anger started to emerge. She was her.
She was his mother.
“I-,” he said standing up suddenly. “I need to go,” he said quickly as he walked from the room.
“Nate,” Cassielle called after him.
“Not now,” he said back as he walked away. “I need time to think.”
He turned the corner and nearly bumped into Jacobee.
“Sorry,” he said as the larger man steadied him.
“No harm done. Where are you headed in such a hurry?” Jacobee asked him.
“I need to go. I need to get back to my family,” he said.
A guard appeared and Nate left with him.
- Writer
