Chapter 6
Her mother had other ideas and the door opened to reveal her standing there with a gun. “I should say that I’m surprised, but I’m really not. I deluded myself into thinking that you could be trusted.” Catherine had done the unforgivable and had her own child low jacked. There was a receiver in her arm that had been planted there from the moment that she was given the examination to come to work for her. “I heard everything you said and I couldn’t believe my ears. This betrayal will not go unpunished, but for now, I believe that we need to get that prisoner back in his cell where he belongs.” The alarm was wailing and she had seen on the screen that the sky was now littered with those of his kind.
“You don’t understand, mother. He’s been a friend to us. He might have come here for his people, but that changed. He wants to live in peace and that’s the reason why he has been keeping quiet and away from public scrutiny. He was afraid of what would happen if he changed any more than once a month. I think that you can see that he had every reason to be concerned. Let him leave and he might be the only one that will be able to stop this from escalating. You’re probably wondering why he would want to do that, but I think deep down he considers this planet his home.” “I know that I’m only grasping at straws. My mother is not one to be reasoned with and I have a feeling that my pleas are going to fall on deaf ears. I can see that she’s thinking, but I don’t think that she’s really giving what I said the attention that it deserves.”
“Being my daughter, I would think that you had more sense than to believe whatever came out of his mouth. I do believe that he can be of some help. I can use him as bait to lure the others closer, so that I can use a special weapon that will hopefully turn the tables. If worse comes to worst, I can try to trade his life for them leaving us in peace. I will only use that as a last resort.” Catherine didn’t know what she was going to do with her daughter, but for the time being she was better off being heard and not seen. “Both of you are going to come with me. I’m going to put an end to this invasion.”
“I know that you’re probably not going to believe this, but I might be able to help you. You have no reason to see me as an ally. I do think that you would be foolish not to take any advice that might get you out of this in one piece. Let me talk to them on your behalf. In the meantime, I suggest that you take these directions to heart. I’m going to write down exactly what you will need to turn the tide of this battle in your favor. I don’t think that you have a weapon that will kill them and if you think that you do, then you are about to find out how wrong you really are. There has been nothing in this universe that has been able to stand up to the likes of us.” Marcel was trying his best to see past his disgust, but it wasn’t easy with that woman holding him hostage. Without those wires stuck in his arms, he could easily overpower her, but he was only going to do that if absolutely necessary.
“I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn, mother. Your ego is the only thing that is keeping you from seeing the truth right in front of your face.” This was getting them nowhere and her mind had already been made up. Natalie glanced over her shoulder and didn’t even have to say one word. It was the expression and the way that her eyes pleaded with him that made it easier for both of them to convey what was on their minds without saying anything at all.
“I’ve heard just about… ARGHHHHHHH.” It was like she had been attacked by the wind itself. Catherine was lifted off the ground with this creature holding her in the air like she weighed nothing. His other hand was crushing the gun and her hand at the same time. She tried to scream, but there was nothing there. He dropped her crumpled form and she was on her knees looking at her hand and feeling the pain radiating through her limb like that of a white hot poker.
"I didn’t kill her, but I wanted to with every fiber of my being. I didn’t do that for you and I hope that it doesn’t come back and bite me. I wasn’t lying when I said that I could try to make this world inhospitable. They only came here because they think that this world will be easily inhabitable by their kind. I can show them that being here anymore than necessary is detrimental to their health. What you need to do is follow my directions to the letter. We have some time and this first attack was only to determine your defenses. They will retreat, until the crack of dawn. They will come in force and that is when we are going to have to work together.” Marcel had this need to join his brothers and having them this close had made that pull even that much harder to resist.
“I’m looking at these directions and they don’t seem to make much sense. I’m going on faith that you know what you’re doing. I can have all of these components loaded onto a scud missile. We’ve made an enemy out of my mother and I don’t think that she’s going to surrender easily. Waving the white flag has never been something that she was good at. She would rather go down in a blaze of Glory than to have to face any kind of tribunal.” “I’ve lived each day to the fullest, or at least I convinced myself that I was. I had let my mother dictate the terms of my life for long enough. I thought that I needed her approval, but I didn’t really need anything from her.” “I have a way to make them back down and give them something else to chew on for a while.” She played with the computer and all the cells opened up to reveal those that had been here one month or almost three years. None of them were very happy, but their freedom was not going to be easy.
They surrounded her and she noticed that they didn’t look like monsters anymore. They showed their pain and made no mistake about how they felt about being imprisoned. These were humans that had found a way to live with their mutations. They didn’t want to be brought into the light. It was that fear that made them hide what they were and what they were capable of. There were only a few bad apples and those that considered themselves superior turned out to be the worst of the lot.
“You don’t have any reason to believe me, but this is your way out.” She manipulated the controls of the elevator, so that the doors were the only things that opened. “You can climb the ladder to freedom. You will come across resistance and I expect that not all of you will survive.” “I shouldn’t be using them like this, but it’s the only way. They all have ways to defend themselves and they wouldn’t be here if my mother didn’t consider them to be problematic.”
All of them looked at her and considered hurting her, but then decided that discretion was a better part of valor. They knew that she was the commander’s daughter and doing anything that would even harm a hair on her head would’ve been tantamount to suicide. They were hesitant to climb the ladder, but when one started the others followed the leader. The one with the bull horns on his head had courage and strength and was willing to share with anybody that was going to follow him into battle. He had a remarkable gift of transferring his emotions to others, especially anger and that was something that he was going to use to his advantage.
“While they are busy with them, I suggest that you and I find someplace to hold up for the evening. Everything hinges on being ready for when they come back in the morning. They have already left and they do know that I’m here. They will not come for me, until they are sure that they can get to me without any of their kind falling victim.” They both began to climb, but it was very slow going.
“This level will be deserted. It’s only used for when the big wigs come to town for very secretive meetings. I don’t see them having any reason to come here. They will try to distance themselves and use my mother, as some sort of scapegoat. All this will land on her shoulders unless of course she has her own patsy that she can call on to take the responsibility. I wouldn’t put that past her. She has always been a woman that was out for herself.” “I want to believe that my mother can change, but there’s no way that I can possibly take that chance. Breaking her hand will only make her come after us with a vengeance. The pain will be a reminder and will fuel her need to destroy the dragons. She’ll most likely target that rage at the enemy. She will have no idea that the dragons are more than capable of handling just about anything that is thrown at them.”
“I’m having a little bit of a problem navigating the ladder, Natalie. Having my brethren this close has forced me to concentrate to keep my natural tendencies from reaching its peak. I feel this overwhelming need to lash out and destroy the humans that have caused me such grief. This is not me talking and this is the dragon that needs its pound of flesh for being detained like that. It’s also making it difficult, because my hands continually change from human to dragon. I’m doing my best, but I need something to take off the edge I have no idea how I’m going to keep myself from causing mayhem.” Marcel did have one idea, but he wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic without sounding like a dirty old man. His age was not in his forties and his true age was over 200 years by human standards.
“I’m way ahead of you. I know exactly what you’re thinking. Are you sure that’s not going to do more harm than good. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to cause you to become a threat to yourself and others.” “I don’t know why I’m trying to talk him out of it. The excitement and that adrenaline that’s pushing through my veins are causing me to want to succumb to his animal instincts. I can’t help it and being a woman with needs comes with it a fire that cannot be suppressed.” “I’m sure that we would have a great time. If that one time was any indication, then I would have to be a damn fool to turn you down.” “I had to constantly reach down and help him move his hand one after the other up the awkward ladder. The door down below is closed and that avenue of escape is gone.
“I’m not just saying this to get in your pants. I need this and I know that sounds selfish, but you saw how it helped me to calm the beast. There are times that I feel like there are two sides fighting constantly for control. I wish that wasn’t true, but I know that I have this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of thing going on for me. I just know that what you do for me is better than any drugs that I have taken in the past. It’s taken a bit of trial by error, but I’ve found a concoction that gave me a chance at a normal life.” Marcel was bitterly aware that falling from this height would most likely hurt him. It wouldn’t kill him, but being injured on the cusp of his brothers about to attack was not a good idea.
“There’s only one more rung and then we are safely on the other side. I won’t be able to help you all the way up. You’re gonna have to do that on your own. I just don’t have the upper body strength to take the brunt of your weight.” “Being away from him has made me feel lonely and having these feelings for him was not what I was expecting. I need to show him that I’m not just paying lip service. I want him to know that losing him is not an option.”
Marcel was shaking. Afraid of falling was a little unreasonable considering that he had the ability to fly. It was just that he was in this enclosed space and there was no way to expand his wings in the way that he was used to. He pulled himself up and lay there on the floor of the hallway feeling like his heart was going to jump out of his chest.
“I know that I shouldn’t use you like this, but I have no choice. I’m sure that you’re going to get something out of it yourself. I’m not the kind of guy that would only be out for my own pleasure. That would be selfish and maybe on some small level it still is regardless of any way you slice it.” Marcel got on his feet and he knew that he was never going to be able to keep his libido in check. He was more than happy to give in to those feelings. That body of hers was a living sin. It was made to feel things.