10
Sleeping with Karal was the best. We grew up together. He was my first. My first friend. My first partner. My first lover. My first everything, really. He was supposed to be my guard. At least that’s what we were told, but we were five and six at the time. We took naps together, and he would spoon me from behind, and I would sleep inside his arms. It was heaven, even back then. Iris was old back then. Sixteen. Way too old to nap with. So old she could tell me to take a nap or stand in the corner, and I had to listen and obey her. That’s how old she was. Old like mom.
I leaned into him, to feel his warmth against my skin, to enjoy the feel of him after such a hectic day. The further I leaned, the less I felt. Karal wasn’t there, which was unlike him. If Karal went to bed with me in his arms, he woke with me in his arms.
My eyes shot open and that’s when I saw him standing by the window, raking fingers through his hair.
“Karal?”
He shook his head and I already knew something was wrong. Just how wrong, I would find out once he spun to face me, a look of agitation marring his beautiful face.
“What is it?”
“There’s a commotion at the gate. I think Adian is back. Something about the hospital. I’m not sure I heard right” he said, then focused on the window again, his senses high as he fought to decipher the rest of the conversation happening below.
“Shit,” I hissed, and snatched up my robe on my way to the door. “Doesn’t anyone get injured during regular hours anymore?” I barked, but my worry was high. If Adian was submitting to hospital care, he was on death’s door step. What could injure Adian that badly? Fuck!
Both Queen Kate and Queen Madb assured me that they would contact the council, but it simply wasn’t possible that the message was from them. When I asked why, both of them hesitated, and said they would verify their information, and would get back to me. That was this afternoon. Neither had returned the message. I had radio operators around the clock, and orders to wake me if any message from them or the council came across. Nothing. Not a peep.
“Karal? Check the radio room for me before coming to the hospital, please?” I asked.
“Certainly,” he agreed.
The night air outside was cold. Freezing. I should have put on a coat with my robe. The black hem billowed out and around me, looking very dramatic I’m sure, but did nothing to keep me warm. Then I saw him. Fenrir. As soon as I did, I knew what happened to Adian. I knew what happened, and I wasn’t cold any more.
I ran up to Fenrir, standing by the hospital door. “Why! Why did you have to hurt him? Why?!” I bellowed, my hand shooting out to slap his face.
“Hey!” he barked, grabbing my wrist as I went to strike his face again. To say that I was furious would have been an understatement. What pissed me off even more was the fact that, try as I might, I couldn’t get my wrist free. “Enough already. He’ll live.”
I yanked at my arm and Fenrir let me go. “He’ll live!? Is that your answer! You can’t be fucking serious!” I screamed. Pissed. Livid. Angrier than angry.
He looked into my eyes, and then at the ground. “Well, actually, I’m not sure if he will or not. He wasn’t as strong as I thought he was. Not at all. I got a little too rough.” He didn’t even have the decency to look apologetic as he spoke. If I weren’t certain that he’d catch my wrist if I tried to strike him again, I’d have thrown punches at that scowl on his face.
I clenched my teeth, trying with all my might to keep my calm. Tears pooled behind my eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Fen again. Just the thought of him breathing beside me hurt. I charged through the door and crashed into the firm body standing before me. Adian.
“Hey, hey, what’s got into you?” Adian asked. “Oh shit. You’re crying. What’s going on?”
I started bawling. Not pretty tears either. Big honking snorts. Not attractive. I kept running my hands over him. “You’re ok? Are you sure? He didn’t hurt you bad?”
He enveloped me in his arms, his hand running up and down my back. “Who? What?? What are you… ooh… you thought I was the one injured. No. It was that messenger. He’s pretty bad. Doctors are checking him over now,” Adian said, pulling me even closer.
I whimpered. I pawed at him. Gratitude welled up in me so strong I began sobbing again.
The door opened behind me, and then closed. Fenrir said, with a quiet voice, “Sorry, I thought she was talking about the messenger.”
Adian nodded, I felt his long blond hair brush my cheek, “She’s alright. Just give her a moment. Strongest woman I know.”
“Yeah?” Fenrir asked, and I could hear that grin of his in his voice. “How many you know?”
Adian stiffened, then relaxed, and chuckled. “Well, you got me there.”
I weakly slapped his shoulder, and mumbled into his chest. “Idiot. Just tell him you know enough to know.”
“Well,” Adian said, “I know Iris, and you’re tougher than her.”
“Now, that’s a compliment,” Fenrir said.
Yes, yes it was, but I wasn’t sure if it was true or not. It could be said that I ran the Keep, and Iris ran the rest of the world. And if anyone did say that, I wouldn’t be offended at all. Iris was like a tool of the goddess.
The door slammed into the back of Fenrir, who stepped out of the way, allowing a guard inside. “My lady, come quick. It’s Karal. He’s been hurt.” Had it not been for the grave look on his face, I’d have thought someone was playing a sick joke. The exhale of relief knowing Adian wasn’t hurt hadn’t fully left my lungs before I charged out of the room, panic flooding my veins once again.
“Where!” I demanded.
“The radio room. The operators are all dead. Iris is down as well.”
I recall Adian calling for doctors. I remember running. Darkness. My heart pounding in my chest so hard, it would jump out any moment. Then I was swooped up and flying. Doors blew open before me. Guards yelped and jumped out of the way. Lights, fires in glass. A white blur became Adian. I fell to my knees. So much blood.
Fenrir was looking over Iris. Her chest moved, breathing. Her eyes were blank, unfocused. I could see that much even through the tears that poured from mine.
Adian worked with skillful hands, stopping Karal’s bleeding.
“His lung is collapsed,” Adian growled. He was angry, just as angry as I was. These men, my men, they were like brothers. They cared for each other just as much as I cared for them. If anything were to happen to Karal…
Tears shook my body once again as I watched Adian pull out a large bandage from his coat pocket. He ripped open the lining. Putting the bandage over a wound on Karal’s chest he pressed down, while leaning over and listening.
“Myriana, can you put pressure here? He should heal soon enough once he’s breathing properly,” Adian said. “He’s going to be okay,” he said, this time soft, like a promise. Something similar to relief washed over his face. My own face didn’t mimic the notion. I was furious. So furious. And afraid. Afraid for Karal. Afraid for Iris.
“You always carry around bandages?” I asked through my tears, moving over to take Adian’s place.
“You sent me to keep a man alive, remember? I still have the stuff I took with me,” he explained. “How is she looking?”
Fenrir looked grave. He strained to keep his eyes off me and turned his gaze to Adian. “I need to get her outside. There’s no time to explain.”
“What do you mean there’s no time to explain?” I belted out. My eyes were as big as golf balls, I was sure. We’ve dealt with random shit in the Keep before, but this, whatever the hell was going on, it was simply too much. One and then the other. One and then the other. I didn’t want to think what could possibly happen next.
“If I wait, we’ll lose her.” A pause. Long. Drawn out. The kind of silence that rings like alarm bells. Then, “We might lose her anyway.” The words swam in my head, drowning me. I had my eyes focused on Iris and my hands focused on Karal. I don’t know how I managed to keep myself from shaking into a fit as Fenrir gathered Iris in his arms. He glanced back at me for a moment so short it might not have happened at all, before running out of the room. He didn’t bother with the stairs, but instead, launched off the balcony at the end of the hall, landing perfectly on the ground below.
Iris? Why was she here? How long had she been here? Goddess, was I sleeping while she was dying? The look of worry on Fenrir’s face as he took her put spikes into my heart. She was more than my friend, more than even a cousin. I needed her. Goddess, please.
Why he needed to go to the woods with her, I didn’t know but it puzzled me. Everything about what was happening puzzled me. I had a hospital. We didn’t need shamans or witch doctors or faeries any more.
Feeling my anger rising, but unable to control it, I turned on the guard. “Who did this? Where are they?”
The guard pointed at a figure slumped against the back wall of the radio room. Its neck was surely broken, from the way it’s head was hanging to the side. It would have been slumped over completely, if it weren’t for the sword pinning it to the wall through its chest.
“The others, if there were others,” the guard said, “got away.” His voice was apologetic, and weak.
“Others?” I asked.
“We think it could have been six of them, maybe?” he offered.
“Raiders?” I guessed.
The guard swallowed, and then said, “No, my lady. We think… that is… it looks like…”
“Spit it out!” I demanded.
“Zombies, my lady. They were zombies.”
Oh my goddess! Zombies did this? That thing is a zombie! Here?!
Contagion!
“Get him out,” I ordered, pointing at Karal, “and get this door closed. All of you to the hospital and into containment. Yes, that includes me as well. Is Mark around?”
“Here my lady,” he called from above at the railing. “I’ll be right down.”
“You’ll do no such thing! You’ll go out the back, and make sure you’re not infected. I’ll need you for the next full day to take care of things. I must get into containment.”
His stoic face turned white, but he recovered. “Yes, my lady. As you say.” Then he vanished from the rail.
Whatever Fenrir was doing with Iris, I hoped it worked, and soon. I needed her, as never before.