Embracing Ember (16 page)

“What is wrong, mija?” Maria’s grandmother had always been able to tell when she was upset. Even as a child, Maria had always run to her Abuelita. Maria loved her parents and they were excellent parents, but she always found comfort in her Abuelita.

“I’m okay, Abuela. I need to come and stay with you for a while, is that okay?” Maria asked willing her tears away.

“Si, mija, but I want a full explanation. I know when something is wrong and Maria, something is wrong.” Maria felt the tears fall down her cheeks, one splashing onto the hand she held in her lap.

“I promise. I’ll be there later tomorrow. Thank you, Abuelita.”

“I look forward to seeing you, be careful, mija.” Maria hung up with her grandmother and began packing in earnest. She had to be gone before Silvius got back. She wouldn’t be able to face him and tell him that he couldn’t come with her. She needed to leave, now.

ELEVEN

Ember lay on the bed, her body protesting the beating no longer. She felt numb, her head light, as if she were floating. Small black spots floated in front of her face, obscuring her vision. She didn’t care; it wasn’t much of a view anyways. Unfortunately her hearing was intact and she had to suffer through not only the beating but Landon go on and on and on about how she belonged to him. Thankfully her newfound smart mouth had relegated her to a punching bag, inciting his rage and giving her an escape from rape. At least at this moment, but she knew that could change and the will to fight was slowly draining. She knew on a certain level that she was dying, and her only regret had been not telling Ceylon how much she loved him.

Ember wished she could have him to hold her one last time, tell her that everything was going to be alright. Landon swung the bat again, connecting with her abdomen sending what little air she had out of her lungs, but she didn’t feel the pain of the blow. He had long forgone the use of his fists and started in on other objects. The worst had been the knife, its blade cutting superficial wounds to her thighs, abdomen, and arms. The bat could have been worse, but alas she was too numb to care.

He had been careful to avoid her head after the first beating knocked her unconscious. He said he wanted her awake and suffering for her punishment.

During her time away from this hell called consciousness she had visited with her mother again. Basking in the things that mothers and daughters do. In this one her mother had taken her shopping and they had both gotten manicures and pedicures. It was always something Ember had wanted to do. It was a welcome relief from Landon’s fists. Her mother’s face paled and she hugged her close, telling her to be strong. Ember felt that familiar tug back to consciousness, knowing she had no choice she took a deep breath and allowed herself to be taken back to hell.

“I think that you enjoy being beaten, being punished, because you sure are silent when I ask you to say that you are mine. That stubbornness will be beat out of you soon enough. You will become the wife that you once were, before you became a whore for that alien bastard.” Landon’s eyes had long lost any gleam of sanity. His need to hurt seemed to shine through in a way the Ember hadn’t noticed before. It was eerie to think she had lived with this man for five years and she just now saw who he was, a sadistic male. There was no telling who and what he had done even while they were married or even before.

She took in her surroundings, allowing Landon’s rumblings to drone in the background. She had been moved, her hands and feet restrained to the bed that she lied upon. She tested the bonds, but found that she was too weak to move her extremities. She was naked except for her bra and underwear. He had removed everything else to cut her with the knife. With each slice she had screamed until her voice became hoarse, and she noted the wicked gleam of lust enter his eyes with each of her tormented sounds.

She had lost all sense of where she was and what was going on until Landon grasped her by the hair and took her mouth. She was too weak to protest, so she just lay like a doll, tears flowing down her cheeks. He climbed on top of her, she tried, but she couldn’t muster the strength to move. A small sob escaped her throat, roughened by the incessant screams. This was it, the final degradation.
Let me die
.

One moment he was on her, pawing at her despite her weak protestations and the next he was flying across the room, the most beautiful face she had ever seen coming into view. She began to cry tears of happiness and pain all together rolling down her cheeks.

Ceylon reached out and cupped her cheek, “Oh, sweetheart. It’s okay. I’m going to take you away from here.” She couldn’t speak, the dots crowding her vision again. Her wrists were suddenly free of the ties that bound them to the bed frame, then her legs. “Merrcum, I need you over here, now.” She heard the yelled command and a smile crossed her features. He really was here.

“Ceylon, her vitals are dropping. She seems to have lost a lot of blood. There has to be internal injuries on top of these superficial cuts. We need to get her to the medical scanner, now. With your permission I am going to start an IV and administer fluids to maintain her status like they did for her at Trinity Heart. Some of the nurses at Trinity Heart trained me in how to do so.”

“Okay. Let’s get her loaded up. Someone call Cedwin and tell him we are coming in with Ember and she is critically injured.”

The darkness was crawling over her, and she was going to surrender to it, allow it to envelop her in a cocoon. She was safe here with Ceylon.

The loud booms echoed through the room, forcing her back from her unconsciousness. Her eyes opened to see the crimson soaking Ceylon’s blue shirt, spreading over his abdomen and chest. His azure eyes were widened in surprise, and Landon stood, rifle in hand. “Ceylon, no.” she whispered, “Plea...” The darkness won, taking her finally from the grasps of reality.

***

Merrcum jumped at the sound of the boom echoing through the room, not believing his eyes at the Earth male who had a projectile weapon. According to some of the nurses in the Emergency Room he had been shadowing, it appeared to be a rifle. He remembered on nurse stating that she hate the gunshot wounds the worse. The stab wounds may be bad, but you knew around which area the damage was done, but with gunshot wounds, you may have one exit and one entrance but that bullet could have danced around in the body before exiting.

Silvius had acted almost immediately, disarming the Earth male of his weapon and holding him down. Merrcum threw the ties that had once bound Ember to Silvius and helped Ceylon to the floor. This wasn’t good, not good at all.

“Ceylon, change of plans. We have only one medical scanner within this area, one of you will have to be taken to Trinity Heart to be treated by the Earthlings.”

Ceylon’s once reddened skin was now becoming pallid, testament to his blood loss. He began the IV’s and started the fluid. Looking up he realized that Landon had been subdued by Silvius and he was awaiting instructions. The fact that he was now the healer in charge was staggering. What if he messed up?
If you mess up, Ceylon and Ember will die.

Silvius patted him on the back and he looked up into his face, Silvius nodded at him reassuring him that he could do this, he had to. He nodded back and took a deep breath.
Here goes nothing.
“Silvius call Cedwin and let him know that we are coming in with a critical patient. Then call Trinity Heart and get an ambulance out here, finally call the police and have a police officer respond to a gunshot wound and kidnapping.” Silvius nodded and made the calls and he turned back to his patients. Ember’s vitals weren’t stable. At least they weren’t worsening.

He started to cut the shirt off of Ceylon, his hands shaking noticeably. Ceylon clasped his hand and he looked down into the blue eyes of the male who was his teacher. “I have taught you well, Merrcum. Do what you know, but promise me that Ember will get the medical scanner. I will allow the humans to treat my wounds. Promise me.”

“I promise, Ceylon.” Ceylon’s blue eyes sought Ember and he smiled briefly before allowing himself to slip from consciousness. Silvius clapped him on his back, “The emergency crew is on their way. Is it safe for me to transport one now?”

Merrcum reassessed Ember and nodded to Silvius, happy to hear the sirens in the background. “Yes, Ceylon wants you to take Ember. Place her in the medical scanner as soon as possible. Please contact me if any alarm goes off on her monitor before you get her in there. When you put her in do a full body scan and repair.”

“Okay. Call me when you know something about Ceylon.”

“I will.” Silvius left, Ember in his arms just as Ceylon’s monitor went off. His heart had stopped beating, and now it was just Merrcum. He took a deep breath and began chest compressions and prayed the ambulance was near.

***

Silvius placed Ember in the medical scanner as he was told and praying that she made it through and that Ceylon would be there waiting for her when she did. Ember’s vibrant face was pale, her freckles standing in stark contrast to her face. Her hair spilled like blood on the blue interior of the medical scanner. Silvius pushed the full scan and heal button and took a deep breath.

The communicator jolted him from his current musings and he greeted a frazzled Merrcum. “How is Ceylon?”

“We finally got him stabilized enough for surgery. He has two gunshot wounds, one to his abdomen and one to his chest, narrowly missing his heart. The doctors say he is in critical condition and that he may not survive the surgery. All we can do is wait. How is Ember?”

“She is being healed as we speak. Nothing happened on transport. You did good Merrcum.” Silvius could almost hear the self-doubt in Merrcum’s voice. He remembered well when Cedwin had fallen and hit his head during a training flight knocking him unconscious, leaving Silvius to fly the ship back to Salin and to medical. It was not a great memory, his entire body was tense with fear and he could remember the aches in his muscles that lasted for days after the incident.

“I just hope that good was good enough.” Merrcum hung up the communicator, leaving Silvius waiting with his own thoughts. Thoughts that circled from his friend Ceylon’s welfare to holding Maria in his arms.

***

Ember opened her eyes and the darkness was still there. She almost panicked but remembered from the last time this darkness could mean she was in the medical scanner. Her heart filled with joy at the thought of seeing Ceylon again and her heart sped up. She began beating on the top of the medical scanner a smile on her face as she yelled, “Ceylon, open this thing up. I’m awake.”

The light blinded her as the lid opened and her smile died at the sight of Silvius. “Where is Ceylon?” She asked the question with dread as the memories rushed back to her, the gun shots that she heard before she had blacked out, the crimson soaking the blue of his shirt.

“Ember, Ceylon was shot and…”

“He’s dead. I knew it. Oh my god…” She wailed. Silvius was shaking his head and trying to help her out of the medical scanner.

“What’s going on in here?” Ember barely recognized the new face as she wallowed in misery.

“It’s all my fault. I did it. I’m so sorry, Ceylon. I…” The prick on her arm pulled her from her misery, her body becoming heavy as a sense of peace surrounded her. She fought it with everything she had because she didn’t deserve peace. She wanted her Ceylon back, holding her, but he was gone.

“Calm yourself, Ember. Ceylon is still alive and undergoing surgery down on the surface at Trinity Heart. If you calm yourself Silvius has agreed to take you to him, but you must shower and dress. Can you do that for me Ember?” Hope grew in her heart and exploded saturating her to her bones. Ceylon was alive. She sobbed in relief and nodded up at the face she now recognized as Merrcum. He nodded and helped her out of the medical scanner.

She was taken to a familiar room and left to shower. The blood flowed down the drain as the warm water pelted her abused muscles, the remaining tension draining off of her. Ceylon was alive and she was going to see him again.

Ember dressed in the clothing provided, instantly smelling Ceylon’s scent as she wrapped herself in what she knew was his shirt. Of course the shirt and pants were too big, but she rolled up sleeves and legs. Nothing would make her change from his clothing until she knew he was okay. It comforted her like nothing else had, not even the medication Merrcum had slipped her.

The journey to the surface was uneventful and the nurse at the desk gave her a pitying look. Her heart nearly quit beating when someone came to update that Ceylon was still in critical condition and that he was still in surgery. The sad looks on everyone’s faces let her know he was on the worse side of critical. Ember sat in the waiting room, tears rolling down her cheeks as she waited, her heart breaking with each second that passed.