Chapter 17
The hospital was finished with no ceremony or fanfare. Everyone received new work schedules. The doors opened to the public on a chilly Monday morning. Even with the medical units dealing with the less severe cases, they were inundated. Word had spread and people came from far and wide to be tended to.
“After all that hard work, we should’ve had a formal opening and a party,” Madison told Viglar. She’d called him to help with a patient she’d thought might have an abdominal aneurysm. A good thing she did, without Viglar’s magic box they might’ve had to operate and the operations were rarely successful.
“Why do you want a party? There is work to be done.”
With a sigh, she waved him off. “You aliens need to learn to relax sometimes. Geesh.”
He pressed his forehead against hers and turned on his heel with that precise military movement and left.
Madison shook her head after his departing figure. She’d given up trying to explain the concept to him. She’d learned over the last few months that Zyrgins worked or practiced with weapons or exercised all the time. Viglar seemed to function on two hours’ sleep. She still didn’t know if she was extremely lucky or should run screaming about the fact that he set aside five hours every day for lovemaking. And that, after she’d talked him down to three hours.
So after no celebration and no formal reopening of the hospital, it was business as usual, with Viglar grilling all the interns on their knowledge after their shifts ended. He’d made it clear that anyone not attending his grilling sessions would be summarily dismissed. Everyone complained, because he was scathing about their knowledge and didn’t hesitate to tell them they were not qualified to work in a hospital. He’d been known to offer positions in the morgue when they were unable to answer his questions, telling them they should go where they couldn’t do any harm with their dangerously medieval medical skills.
Madison enjoyed these sessions. She learned a lot and now that she’d been studying with him a while and seen his vast knowledge, she realized how little she knew. She tried not to think how brilliant he actually was, because his ego didn’t need her to be awestruck around him.
Between Viglar training her, her long working hours, and the hours and hours of hot sex each night, she should’ve been lagging, but she never had so much energy before.
“You’re glowing,” Rachel said grudgingly. “With the hours you worked and study and the time you spend with that alien, you should be pale and thin.”
Madison didn’t like the way she said that alien. “Did he grill you hard last night?”
Rachel had been in the group designated the previous night to be interrogated. She shrugged. “Actually, he sort of ignores me. I don’t think he likes me.” A terrible, sad, almost desperate appeal flashed in her eyes. “Just like Joshua.”
Madison stopped walking and pulled Rachel to the side of the wide corridor. They were each on their way to different wards. “Rachel, I should’ve told you long ago. Joshua is...well, he recently became engaged, and--” Rachel swayed and Madison grabbed her. “Rachel, I didn’t realize you cared this much. You’ve only met him once.”
Would knowing that Joshua was gay help her or hurt her friend more?
Rachel’s smile was bitter. “Once is all it takes. Excuse me, I’m late.”
Madison watched her go, troubled for her friend. Sighing, she walked to the woman’s ward and stopped at the counter to talk to the nurse on duty. Several interns stood talking to her, but they all went quiet when they saw Madison. She smoothed out her expression. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of showing them how much their attitudes hurt. It happened a lot these days. All her friends and colleagues now watched what they said in her presence. As if they were afraid she’d run to Viglar and report everything to him.
Madison finished her business in the ward and then went to the next ward and the next, and each time she was met with the same reserve. Her colleagues had never treated her this way before. Desperate for caffeine, she went to the cafeteria four hours later. With Viglar gone for the day, the cafeteria would be packed. It was only sheer stubbornness that made her go. Most times when she sat down at a table, some of the others left, or an uneasy silence suddenly descended on them. She could’ve gone to Viglar’s office to get some coffee, but she wouldn’t let anyone push her around like that. Truth be told, she could do with the short break from Viglar’s relentless intensity.
Word had spread. Viglar had left the hospital for the day. The rumor and excitement had reached Madison about five minutes after she walked into the hospital. She entered the cafeteria to find it filled with doctors, nurses, and administrative staff taking what they considered well-deserved breaks. She could’ve told them it was dangerous to assume where Viglar was at any given time. The shuttles traveled at speeds which made her stomach churn just thinking about it.
Rachel and Viktor and, unfortunately, Sandra, sat around a small table in the corner. Madison went to join them, hoping her suspicions about Sandra were wrong. If she’d helped the resistance to bring down the shuttle, Viglar would have no mercy. Even though they never got along, Madison hated to think that Sandra would use her to set off a bomb that could’ve killed her. When the first bomb went off in the hospital, Sandra had disappeared shortly before it detonated. Madison’s heart ached when the same uncomfortable silence she’d dealt with all day fell over the table when she sat down.
“I can’t believe we’ve finished building and did that endless painting in six months,” Madison told them. It had been backbreaking work, but every time she walked into the hospital, when the doors that had been stuck open smoothly slid apart, she felt a sense of accomplishment. A strong pride in the hospital she’d helped build. She wouldn’t necessarily volunteer to ever again do that amount--or, for that matter, any amount of painting--but she couldn’t deny the sense of accomplishment all of them had.
“Yeah, I thought for sure that alien was going to work us all to death.” Viktor sounded friendly, but avoided looking at Madison and inched his chair away. He held no obvious animosity toward Viglar, but she knew he didn’t approve of their relationship. The way they all treated her hurt. She worked just as hard, if not harder than them. Her relationship with Viglar didn’t afford her any privileges. He was protective of her, but once she convinced him that she needed to work and keep her promise to her sister, he’d treated her like any other intern. Though she had to be careful about physical touch. A few times when she’d stood close to her male colleagues she’d noticed a vicious red glare directed at them. Everyone else had noticed as well and now everyone was careful not to get too close to her. She suspected he might kill any man she touched, even if it was innocent.
“Of course, some of us didn’t have to work all that hard.” Sandra studied her nails with fake interest. “Well, not at painting and building and doctoring anyway.” She giggled in a manner that made Madison’s palms itch.
Madison glared at her. “That’s rich, coming from someone swappin spit with old steto.”
How was it wrong for her to be with Viglar, who built hospitals and helped orphans and abused women, but all right for Sandra, who dated a crooked administrator? Though ever since the beheading, he’d been treading very carefully. Viglar was aware of every single detail happening in the hospital.
Sandra jerked and sat straight on the tip of her chair. “I’m in a committed relationship.”
“Well, so am I and let me tell you, I worked twice as hard as you did. I painted exactly the same hours and spent more time studying than I care to think about.” Not to mention braving Viglar in his office and begging him to let the others continue as doctors.
Sandra’s lips pulled down and her nose wrinkled. “You’re an alien lover, Nothing more than an alien whore.” She jumped out of her chair. “You might think it’s all right to sleep with your alien in an office that doesn’t belong to him, but you’ll soon realize your mistake.”
Madison jumped to her feet. “Are you threatening me?”
Did Sandra just admit that she worked with the resistance and would try to kill them again?
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare. I might find myself without a head.” Tears suddenly spilled from her eyes. “It’s not fair that a savage can rule while a good man, a man who works so hard is treated like dirt.” She swiped at her eyes with an angry gesture. “Just because that stupid alien made the hospital big and important, everybody forgets how hard Jason worked to keep this hospital going.” Sobbing, she ran to the door.
“She loves him,” Madison said quietly. She had assumed, like everyone else, that she had the relationship with Jacobson because she saw a way to advance more quickly. Madison was ashamed that she didn’t look a little deeper. She knew what it was to be judged like that, and she’d done exactly the same.
“If you can love an alien, why can’t she love Jacobson?” Rachel asked quietly.
Viktor sighed and got up. “I miss the days we could have a break and discuss our cases.” He frowned at Madison and followed Sandra.
Madison scowled after them. “Piss on ’em.” It was thanks to her that everybody was allowed to be doctors. And not because she slept with Viglar, but because she went toe to toe with him. Sandra was the one that kept making nasty remarks, so how come Madison was the one in the wrong?
“Be careful, Madison. Not everyone likes your alien as much as you,” Rachel said still in that quiet voice that made Madison’s hair stand on end.
“Please not you too,” Madison begged.
Through all this, Rachel had been the one person who didn’t make any snide remarks. In spite of Viglar’s warning, Madison knew Rachel was a true friend.
Rachel rubbed a speck of dirt off the table. “Just be careful is all I’m saying.” She got up and walked away as suddenly as Sandra had, leaving Madison sitting alone at the table, on the one day they were supposed to be able to relax for a few minutes.
With a sigh, she got up and went to finish her rounds. She always looked forward to it, but today she didn’t want to walk into any more of her friends. Could she still call them friends? They didn’t want her around anymore. Even Rachel had been distant and disapproving. Though that was probably because of Joshua.
Madison had started to notice little things about Rachel--questions she’d asked, her interest in Viglar--ever since Madison moved in with him. Madison wanted to believe it was her imagination, but Rachel’s attitude had changed subtly. Sometimes Madison thought she saw thinly veiled disgust in the woman who’d been her best friend since college. It had to be her imagination. She couldn’t bear it if Rachel treated her the way all her colleagues treated her now.
Madison did her rounds and spent some time in Viglar’s office working through the notes he’d left her. It never ceased to amaze her that the doors would open for her, but if she had Rachel or anyone else with her, they remained closed. In the movies on the TC they frequently showed houses and offices with automatic doors, lifts that worked. It worried her that she suspected their hospital was one of the few buildings where the automatic doors and lifts actually worked. This was the modern age. Shouldn’t they have all kinds of technological marvels? Marvels that actually worked?
Afterward, she went to Viglar’s apartment. It didn’t feel quite like her home yet. She called her mother and that left her even more depressed. Her mother and father had been stilted on the phone. The only bright moment was when her brothers asked her to get Viglar to take them on his space ship. They’d been nagging her about it non-stop.
She obsessively studied the DNA she’d taken from Viglar while he slept. It had been a nerve wracking experience. Sometimes in her more paranoid moments, she believed he’d allowed her to get her hands on it to test her. Other times, she agonised over whether she had the right not to hand over Viglar’s DNA to the resistance. Shouldn’t it be her duty as a human toward her fellow human beings? Except, she couldn’t make herself do something that would leave him so vulnerable.
Glad to get away from her own obsessive thoughts, she went back to doing rounds, smiling at her patients, even though some of them had heard about her and Viglar as well. She smiled at the asthma patient, making a note on her chart, and left the ward. She had to meet with Viglar in an hour to go over the previous day’s notes. Everyone who thought she had a free pass should sit in on their session. He was worse than Frankenstein’s monster when he grilled her.
She turned into the passage leading to the children’s ward and stopped. It looked like all the nurses in the hospital were gathered in the wide passage. “What’s going on?” she asked the nurse toward the back.
“The resistance got some more dirt on those aliens.” For a moment, she looked like she was going to spit her disgust. Then she obviously remembered who she was talking to and, mumbling something, disappeared into the crowd.
Madison tried to see over the crowd, but she was too short. She was just about to muscle a way to the front, when a few women and a man shifted and, for a moment, she had a clear view of the 3D image hovering in the passage. A curvy blonde woman kicked and screamed as four grotesque aliens forced her aboard an odd looking space ship. They groped her ample breasts and leered at her, all the while dragging her into a truly odd looking space ship. The whole scene reminded her of that day when she looked at the resistance films with Viglar, seeing it through his eyes.
To Madison, who saw Viglar every day, and who’d seen the other aliens a few times, these looked like caricatures. Something created with 3D animation to convince humans to act against the aliens. The creatures were so unlike Viglar and the other Zyrgin’s she’d met, she almost laughed. If that space ship could fly, she’d eat her aunt Hettie’s old shoes. In big red letters at the bottom of the image it said,
BRING SARAH HOME!
Madison left them watching it again, dread gnawing at her insides. Could it be coincidence? Maybe the resistance had other sources of information. Could Rachel have told the resistance? Strange that Madison never realized before that those clips were pure propaganda against the aliens. Was she a traitor to her own people for feeling that the aliens were doing so much good? They reintroduced plant and animal species that died out, built hospitals, and restored power.
She was testing Jessie, a five-year-old’s, reflexes and trying to make him laugh to alleviate his fear, when he suddenly stared at the door with that fixed look all the children got when they saw Viglar. She couldn’t figure out if it was fear or awe or some crazy fascination for the utter danger he presented.
Viglar walked up to them and observed in silence until she finished. With the little boy so focused on Viglar, he forgot his own pain and fear and she finished examining him in record time. Normally, she had to coax him to move his aching limbs. She smiled and helped him back under the covers. “Rest now. I have to go with this doctor. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
The little boy nodded, his eyes never leaving Viglar who stared down at her and seemed to be waiting for something.
“You give him a sweet,” he instructed. It sounded more like, off with his head.
Madison smiled and reached for one of the sugarless sweats in her pocket that he had synthesised for her. “Here you go. Luckily for you, Dr. Viglar remembered or I’d have gone away without giving you your sweet.”
“Thank you Dr. Viglar,” the boy said in a small squeaky voice.
He was obviously scared of Viglar, who stared down at him with those soulless black eyes, no expression on his face. Except how could a man who reminded her about sweets for the children not have a soul? A small hand snaked out from the blankets and one small forefinger touched his hand. Jessie’s eyes opened so wide they took up half his face. “Timmy, I touched him and he’s not slimy,” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Madison winced. She had a lot more sympathy for her mother’s complains about how loud they were as kids since she started at the hospital.
“I touched him, you owe me,” he shouted again, still at the top of his voice.
“Quiet, little human,” Viglar said.
The little boy kept quiet, but he didn’t seem afraid of Viglar. It never ceased to amaze her that children didn’t fear him. Grown men trembled before him.
“Come with me, human,” Viglar said and took her arm in a firm grasp. Her heart missed a beat. Of course he’d seen the resistance film. He never missed anything. He only called her human in that tone of voice when he was displeased with her. Behind them she heard her little patient giggle.
They walked in silence to his office, Madison refusing to run to keep up with him so she ended up being dragged past her colleagues and patients, feeling like a criminal. She saw the enjoyment on some faces and her temper started to simmer.
“If you don’t stop dragging me and humiliating me in front of everyone, I’ll not be responsible for my deeds.”
He immediately slowed his steps. “I would never humiliate you in front of humans.” The way he said humans, he might have meant garbage.
In his office, he carefully seated her and then stood over her with his legs apart and his arms crossed over his chest. It never ceased to amaze her, that he’d treat her so gently, when he was this furious. And she had no doubt he was furious enough to want to murder someone.
“You told Rachel about Sarah.”
“I was drunk, and I’m sure she didn’t tell anyone.” She’d told Rachel when she was hung over, but now was not the time to go into detail. She didn’t tell him of her suspicion that someone laced the beer. He was paranoid about Rachel and would blame her and Madison already feared for her friend’s life. She’d hoped he didn’t know about the latest resistance film but she should’ve known better. The blasted alien was all knowing.
“Your faith in your friend is not justified. She will betray you and your soft human heart will hurt.” He seemed convinced that she was soft hearted and prone to having it broken.
She could’ve told him her heart had been broken when she was a child. Nothing would ever mend it, but it broke into such little pieces it couldn’t be shattered further.
Madison got up and went to stand in front of him. She refused to sit in the chair like a penitent school girl while he stood over her. His eyes flickered, but he waited for her to answer. “I’ve known her since college. Everyone else is ignoring me because I’m living with you, but she is still my friend.”
“Who dares ignore you?”
She should’ve kept her big mouth shut. “It’s nothing, just me being moody. The point is, I got drunk and might have told any number of people.” She rubbed her head. “I don’t think I did.” She was lucky she and Rachel got home safely.
“You do not drink. Why were you drunk that night?” He stood a little taller and she thought he might be itching to go for his sword. Not stupid at all, this alien of hers.
She searched for something to tell him that would not result in someone’s head saying goodbye to their shoulders. “Someone thought it would be fun to put extra alcohol into the beer bowl, I only had two glasses but it made me feel odd.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m fairly sure I didn’t say anything.” If she just stayed away from the subject of Rachel, she could maybe get away with the lie. “It was the night I called you, remember. We left the moment we realized we were too tired and the wine was making us drunk.”
He seemed to relax. “You will insist that you were drunk and not aware of your actions when asked.”
“But I was, and who will ask?”
Viglar drew her against him, his hands going to the hair he claimed to find ugly. “The Zyrgin are merciful toward women.”
“That’s the guy who rules all the planets you go and conquer like savages,” she said. If their emperor, or whatever the guy called himself, was willing to become involved in this, she was in deep trouble.
“We are not savages and, if the planets did not want to be conquered, they should have better defences.”
“Have you ever tried to conquer a planet and failed?”
What would it take for him to realize how horrific it was to conquer planet after planet. To simply take a whole civilization, as if it was their right.
“No.”
A shiver went down her spine, and she didn’t know if it was because of his hand stroking the back of her neck, or his absolute answer.
“So why is this Zyrgin going to ask me about that clip?”
“The resistance is using his breeder for their own gains. He will not rest until he has killed them all.”
Madison held onto Viglar. This did not sound good. The way the other women talked about this Zyrgin, she could be in big trouble if he realize she’d opened her big mouth. And what would they do to Rachel, who wasn’t even guilty?
Now Madison knew where the shivers racking her body came from. Sheer dread. She didn’t want Sandra and maybe Rachel to be killed. It had to be Sandra who’d spiked her wine. She didn’t like the woman, but she couldn’t tell Viglar her suspicions. Who knew what he’d do to Sandra. “You can’t blame them, Viglar. This planet belongs to humans. We have the right to fight for it.”
“We respect warriors and their right to fight for their planet. We will win, of course.”
Madison laid her head on his chest. She shouldn’t find his arrogance endearing. “What will he do to me if he thinks it’s my fault they are using Sarah for their propaganda?”
“He rarely punish breeders and allows their warriors take their punishment.”
“Would he kill me?”
“Yes, but I would fight him.” There was grim determination in that statement, but what scared the pants off her was the fact that she didn’t hear his usual arrogance. He didn’t believe he’d win against the Zyrgin guy. For a person as self-assured and experienced in battle to fear the Zyrgin, he had to be pretty awful.
“Viglar, I don’t want you hurt on my account.” She swallowed. Somehow, in her imagination, she’d always thought she’d be brave and self-sacrificing in a situation like this. Instead, she wanted to beg him to run away with her. “If he decides to kill me, don’t fight him.” She had to force the words past her lips. She didn’t want to die, didn’t want to be this self-sacrificing. She wanted to live to help Rachel find a man who’d love her like she deserved, to win back her friends, and, most of all, she wanted to be with Viglar.
“I will fight him. Zacar will hide you from the Zyrgin.”
Madison wasn’t about to hide while Viglar risked his life. She’d have to think of a way to keep him safe. Maybe Zacar could help her. “Something else is bothering you. You think the resistance will do something?”
“We have found that the undesirable humans always use these situations for gain. You do not have to worry about this. I will keep you safe from humans and from The Zyrgin.”
His hands on her back stilled and he grated something. On the office wall the image of a man appeared. He was ordinary looking and the words The Resistance Needs You hovered at the bottom of the screen.
“...the invaders who came to Earth and became a plague on our beautiful planet have committed the ultimate sin. They abducted an innocent woman to take to their home planet. There she will be used by many aliens before they dissect her to find a way to kill us all and have this planet to themselves,” he said.
The man might be ordinary looking, but he was charismatic and his voice had a hypnotic quality that would sway crowds.
“We don’t need to experiment to kill all humans,” Viglar told her. He’d growled the whole time the resistance film showed.
“Please don’t even think things like that, let alone say it,” she said.
“Many humans are going to die because of that broadcast,” he insisted.
Madison grabbed his shirt and went on her tiptoes to look up at him. She put all the pleading she could manage in her expression. “Please don’t let your soldiers hurt innocent people for what a few humans are doing. They’re only trying to win back our planet by any means they can.”
“Our warriors are not the problem. This resistance is twisting facts to suit themselves. Many humans will believe this and use it as an excuse to plunder and hurt their fellow humans.”
Madison would’ve liked to disagree with him, but she feared it was the truth. The Zyrgns might get results, but their methods weren’t popular. Add to that, that it was impossible to get to a Zyrgin, and they had trouble brewing. Almost before the words were out of his mouth a news caster appeared and reported that riots had broken out all over the country.
On the screen, the image of the resistance leader stood in front of a blank wall. “We urge all humans to rise up and wipe this scourge from our planet. Destroy every sign of their occupation.”
Viglar grunted something which meant he was talking to other Zyrgins. Zacar appeared on the screen, and they grunted at each other. Madison stayed still and tried to do an impression of an invisible person.
Viglar stopped talking and turned back to her. “Rioters are on their way here.”
“Why here?”
Many of the patients couldn’t be moved. They would have to try and defend the hospital. Despair clutched her by the throat. How did you stop a crowd of thousands.? Horror settled in her stomach, slowly crawled up her throat, trying to expel her lunch.
“Everyone knows there is new equipment and food here. This hospital is also a symbol of our rule.”
Madison closed her eyes. Just once, she’d like her fellow humans to surprise Viglar with a noble act. This might be a symbol of Zyrgin occupation, but it catered to sick humans. They didn’t have one alien patient.
“More warriors are on their way to help defend the hospital,” he said.
Madison squared her shoulders and hoped he couldn’t hear the frantic beat of her heart. If thousands of rioters stormed the hospital, did they stand a chance? “What can I do?”
“Stay here. You will be safe. I have to make sure they do not enter the hospital until the other warriors arrive.” He pressed his forehead briefly against hers and left. She clung to him and then forced herself to let him go. “Return to me safe, Viglar, promise me.”
He made an aggressive, almost hissing sound. “I am a Zyrgin warrior. Do you doubt my skill?”
“No, I--”
“Do you think I do not have omgraz ra?”
“No, I--”
“I am a warrior. You believe because I can heal I am not equally good a warrior? I will not accept such insult.”
Madison sighed. “I do not doubt your skill. I believe you can kill thousands of humans with your eyes closed. This is a human thing. When a human woman sends of her man to war, she asks him to tell her he’ll return safe. You see, it helps them with their frail human emotions in times of war.” She knew she was laying it on a bit thick, but she hadn’t meant to damage his pride. He was so touchy about being a doctor.
He pressed his ridged forehead against hers. “I will be safe, my breeder.” He left with that blurring speed.
Madison paced up and down. She wanted to be outside with Viglar, making sure no one entered the hospital and harmed her patients. They’d all worked so hard to make the hospital work again, and she couldn’t bear the thought of rioters destroying everything they’d achieved. If only she could go outside and see what was happening. She and Rachel had thrown popcorn at the TC many times when heroines went out when they were told of danger. No way was she going to do something stupid, like go where the rioters could get to her.
Taking her TC out of her pocket, she called Rachel. “The rioters are on their way here, where are you?” She should’ve called her the moment they saw the TC cast.
“I’m still at the flat. I won’t come in to work until it’s over. They’ve barricaded our door so no one can get in.” She sounded strange, almost angry.
“Are you all right, Rachel?” She wished Rachel was here. At least at the hospital, they had Viglar and more Zygins on their way.
“Yes, I’m fine. You stay safe behind your alien.” She rang off.
Madison stared at the device in her hand. Something was happening with Rachel. And now that Madison thought about it, it had been a while since Rachel had asked about Joshua or tried to manipulate him into coming to visit--even before Madison had told her he was engaged. Maybe this wasn’t about Joshua, after all.
Madison paced up and down and then went to the door. She wouldn’t be stupid, but she didn’t need to stay here. She couldn’t bear to sit around in their apartment and do nothing. She would go to the children’s ward. If anyone got past Viglar, she could at least protect the children. She could use some of her daddy’s guns right now. She hated the idea of Viglar alone outside and facing a crowd of thousands of rioters with only his sword. Please let him have some big guns to defend himself with. Viglar was strong and fast, but she didn’t think he could stop a whole rioting crowd. Maybe she’d stash a few of her daddy’s guns in their apartment, if they lived through this.
Madison ran to the children’s ward. Everyone she passed looked scared and a few people cried quietly. At the main entrance, on her way to the children’s ward, she stopped and stared at the five men who stood with their backs to her. She had to blink her eyes to get rid of the tears of sheer emotion. She’d wished the humans would do one thing to make her proud and surprise Viglar, and her wish had been granted.
Several of the male doctors stood in a row in front of the entrance doors. Viglar faced them, and she had to smile because she knew him well enough to know he was frustrated.
“Humans, you will go to where it is safe.”
Viktor shook his head. “No way, we built this hospital with our sweat and hard work. No rioter is going to destroy it. We’ve got your back.”
Viglar paced up and down in front of them. “I do not need your help. I can defend the hospital until more warriors arrive.”
“Don’t care, we’re helping.”
Viglar stared at the men, taking his time, trying to stare them down one after the other and failing. At last he nodded. “You are humans with honor.”
Madison knew that was the highest compliment he could give.
“Make sure no one enters, I will be back.” He became a blur, and she felt him more than saw him run past her. He appeared a few moments later with weapons he handed out to the men. “Stay behind me and kill anyone who gets past me.”
Madison knew he didn’t think anyone would get past him or that the humans could help him, but he wanted to salvage their pride. He respected them for trying to help.
He looked at Madison. “Go to the apartment.”
“I won’t go outside. I’m going to the children’s ward to help.”
They stared at each other for a long time. The buzzing sound, of the rioters coming closer, got louder and louder. She’d never seen emotion on Viglar’s face before. His skin wasn’t as pliable as a human’s. But now he focused on something behind her, and she could clearly see frustration. He clenched his teeth and glared at whatever it was.
“Small humans, go back to your ward.”
Madison turned and, in spite of the seriousness of the situation and the low humming noise that denoted the rioters coming closer, she had to bite back laughter.
Two boys and a girl stood behind them, each with a stick in their hands. One of the sticks looked like the handle of a broom, the other one part of a drip holder, and the third one she had no idea where the little girl found it. They wore identical determined expressions, looking so cute in their brand new hospital clothes. That was something else Viglar had brought that was much appreciated. Before he’d provided outfits for the patients and doctors they all looked seriously frayed around the edges.
“We’ve come to help the aliens against the bad people,” the oldest boy said in a belligerent voice. He had dirty blond hair and freckles and Madison fervently hoped her own freckles didn’t stand out against her skin like that from her own fear. He couldn’t be more than ten years old.
“He made my tummy stop hurting,” the little girl said. She missed a front tooth and spoke with a lisp. She had dark skin and tightly curled black hair above a serious little face with dimples in her cheeks.
The other boy squared his shoulders. Madison thought he might be about eight or nine. He was built on sturdy lines with ash brown hair and serious brown eyes staring out of a square face. “The alien doctor got my leg to grow longer. He said if I exercise, it will look just like the other one, like it’s supposed to.”
Madison stepped toward them, addressing Viglar over her shoulder. “I’ll take them back.”
They all took a step back and held up their makeshift weapons to hold her off.
“No,” the little girl said.
“We’re not going,” the boy with the thin leg said.
“We’re helping the aliens fight,” the leader of the trio said.
Viglar started pacing and Madison tensed, ready to grab the children and run if he turned mean. It would break their hearts.
He came to a stop in front of them and stood looking down at them. “You show great courage and honor.”
They stood up straighter and the little girl gave him a gap-toothed smile.
Viglar held out his hand and Madison blinked. Three small swords or maybe three long knives lay on his hand. He handed them to the children.
Madison shook her head. “You can’t give such small children weapons.”
Was he seriously thinking of allowing them to stay and fight?
“They will be our last line of defense. If anyone gets past me and the adult humans, the small warriors will stop them.”
Madison had slowly been falling for him, this serious alien whose whole life seemed to be dedicated to his work. And her. Now, seeing how he spared the kids’ pride, that love blazed into a raging flame. In this one moment, she knew she’d never willingly give him up. Madison decided to just play along. No way would he leave children to deal with rioters that got past him. Holding her gaze, he stepped back and a thin transparent wall appeared between him and Madison and the children. Having seen their technology work she knew no one would get past the shield.
“Why don’t you stay on this side of the shield?” she asked him.
“I am a warrior,” he said.
Madison nodded and looked at the children.
Viglar glanced at them as well. “The shield will hold, stay in the children’s ward,” he said at last.
“Love you,” she mouthed.
He nodded and stepped outside to face the crowd. Madison wanted to stay, but she would only be a distraction. Still, she hesitated.
“Go, Madison, we’ve got his back,” Viktor said through the shield. He didn’t have to raise his voice to be heard.
“Thank you, guys. Look out for yourselves.” She ran to the children’s ward and helped the nurses to keep the children calm. They’d sensed the angry vibes and heard the droning sound as rioters surrounded the building. Someone put on a TC and they watched as reports of riots all over the country were shown. Madison’s stomach turned.
She sincerely hoped this was not because of a fly-away comment she made because she was hung over.
A half an hour after she entered the children’s ward, the sounds outside changed. The children whimpered as people screamed. She heard strange whining sounds and closed her eyes. She didn’t want the rioters to get to them, and especially not the children. She also didn’t want so many people to be killed. Most of them were probably just sad, desperate people.
Hours later, Viglar appeared in the doorway. He looked around until he found her sitting in a visitor’s chair with a little boy sleeping in her lap.
“You’re all bloody again,” she said and smiled through the tears of relief she couldn’t hold back.
One of the nurses, who had ignored her for the last few days, came and took the child and Madison stood and went to Viglar. Uncaring of the blood spattered all over him, she threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Of course I am safe. I am a superior warrior.”
She laughed and they walked to their apartment with their arms around each other. She showered with him and they ate--she, her vegetables, and he, his raw meat.
“Was it bad?” she asked.
He shrugged. “There is no honor in fighting an enemy that helpless. They were desperate people, most of them hungry.”
“Tell me you are going to change that. Make things better.”
“We have done a lot, but the humans have to work harder at saving themselves.”
“I know.” She smiled at him. “I am tired, let’s get to bed.”
“We will sleep. Tonight you are not capable of giving your warrior many hours.”
She smiled and held out her hand to him. He would never admit it, but she thought he might be sad at having to kill so many people who weren’t warriors.
Long after he fell asleep, she lay staring at the roof. She needed to destroy his DNA sequence so that no one could ever use it to harm him or the other Zyrgins. She loved him, and she had to accept him and the situation or join the resistance. She wouldn’t be joining the resistance. If the Zyrgins ever treated humans unfairly or killed and harmed them indiscriminately, she’d fight them, no matter how much she loved Viglar. The Zyrgins were harsh but fair. They never killed indiscriminately and she’d yet to find anyone with Viglar’s capacity to change everything and everyone around him for the better.
The next morning, he woke her with his kisses and she smiled against his lips. “Ready to be seduced to the dark side yet?”
“No, but you can try.”
After several very satisfying tries from her, they had breakfast and she put on the TC to see the reports on the riots. It had died down after the Zyrgins had dealt so harshly with them.
“It was necessary. It would only have gotten worse,” Viglar said.
“I know.”
“I have to go to the mountain today. You will call me if you need me. The riots are over and the guards have been doubled.”
“I’ll be safe here.”
He pressed his forehead against hers and left.
Madison went to the lab and unlocked the door where she kept Viglar’s DNA. She’d marked the slide as having the blood of a Jane Doe, but she wanted to destroy it. Make hundred percent sure no one could use it against him. She destroyed the blood and then opened her TC where she’d kept the file with the information.
Madison stared at the file in the TC. It contained Viglar’s blood, his DNA, the doorway to creating a virus that could rid them of their invaders. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t live with the thought of his blood in the hands of the people who ran the resistance. They were not out to get rid of the aliens. All they wanted was to get their hands on their technology and their DNA so they could use it for their own gain. She took an oath, an oath she took seriously, and that meant she would never help create a virus to kill off another species. She saved lives and, if there was another battle between Zyrgins and humans, she would use her skills to help wounded from both sides.
They’d simply use the DNA to exploit people.
“I’ll take that,” Rachel said from behind her.
Madison turned. She shouldn’t be shocked, but she never expected to see Rachel point a gun at her. “Rachel, what are you doing?” A part of her wanted to believe it was a joke. But she knew. Deep inside she knew.
“I’ll take it.” Rachel said again.
“Take what?” Madison asked, stalling.
“I know you have Viglar’s DNA in that file.”
Madison tried to find the command that would delete his DNA sequence while she distracted the woman who had been her best friend for many years. “Rachel, you took an oath, same as me. Surely you won’t condone anyone creating such a destructive virus.”
“If it would rid us of the invaders, yes I would.” Rachel’s eyes glowed with fanaticism. They burned with it.
“Did you put the tracker in my bag?” Madison asked quietly. “The tracker that caused a bomb to explode close to me.”
Rachel shrugged. “It was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.”
“You didn’t care that I could’ve been killed?” Up to now, Madison had refused to believe Rachel could do that to her. It seemed Viglar and Joshua had been right all this time.
“It was a bomb meant to bring the shuttle down, not kill anyone.” Rachel shrugged. “Freedom is more important than any one person’s life.”
“You’re with the resistance?” Madison said. All the signs were there. Viglar had warned her. She simply didn’t want to see it. Why wouldn’t the blasted file delete faster?
“At least I’m not sleeping with the enemy,” Rachel snarled.
Madison could feel her cheeks warm, but it was temper not shame. “You’d better disappear. Viglar has a way of finding out things. It would be better if you were far gone from this place. You won’t get far with his DNA.” The file was deleting slowly but it was deleting, at least Rachel wouldn’t get her hands on it.
“You’d betray me?” Rachel asked.
Madison just looked at the woman who used to be her best friend. Had anything that happened in their friendship been real? “You betrayed me a long time ago.”
“No, I worked for the freedom of Earth.” Rachel held out a demanding hand. “Give me the file.”
“Or what? You’d shoot me. Where Viglar can get to you in minutes. Maybe seconds.” Madison prayed Rachel didn’t know Viglar wasn’t there. As it was, she doubted there was a way to keep Rachel safe now that she’d pointed a gun at Madison. Viglar would go crazy the moment he found out.
Rachel hesitated and the gun wavered.
“She might not have the guts to shoot you, but I have no problem killing you.”
Madison swung around. A thin man not much taller than her with thick old fashioned glasses pointed a gun at her. He looked vaguely familiar and she thought he might have been at the party.
“David,” Rachel exclaimed.
“What do you want?” Madison said, praying the file would delete faster. It was at eighty seven percent. “I suppose you are with the resistance, too?”
He sneered at her. “Alien whore. You have ten seconds before I shoot you. I might shoot you anyway.”
“No, you said there’d be no violence,” Rachel said. She stepped closer to Madison, as if she wanted to protect her with her body.
“You let them know you can’t be trusted. Several aliens came sniffing around our headquarters because of you,” he snarled at Rachel.
“That’s not true. I’ve been careful.”
David changed his aim and shot Rachel several times, her body jerking as each bullet entered her body.
“No!” Madison screamed and--throwing the TC to the ground--ran, not caring that he was still shooting. He only stopped when the gun made a strange clicking sound and didn’t spit bullets anymore. It all happened so fast, Madison was helpless to stop him.
“Give me the DNA.”
“No.” She held a swaying Rachel, vaguely aware of running footsteps coming their way.
David sneered. “She outlived her usefulness. We know Viglar doesn’t trust her anymore.”
Madison barely heard him talk, or took note of him leaving. She focused on one thing--saving her friend.