52
“You should be resting.”
“I could say the same to you.”
Camille frowned at Sid’s retort, watching as the giant male moved himself carefully from his bed to a wheelchair with all the precision of someone who had done this before. It was only when Sid had made himself comfortable that Camille took a seat in one of the chairs on the hospital room. Outside fat droplets of rain pelted against the window turning the grey sky, buildings and lights from vehicles and signs into watercolour. Somewhere above them, thunder rolled across the skies.
It had been several days since the incident in the tunnels and since then, all anyone could talk about what Nathan and Tina. Their pictures were plastered on every news channel, newspaper, website and social media platform just like Jag had promised. Not only were the military looking for them but so were NYPD and the FBI. There was literally nowhere to hide and yet they had both gone to ground.
Predictably EFHA were resisting any pressure to give up the two fugitives while also taking credit for everything that was happening. The once so-called political group had soon found themselves labelled terrorists and wanted people but not a single arrest of members yielded the whereabouts of Nathan nor Tina.
As of things couldn’t be anymore stressful, the mayor of New York and the Governor were demanding explanations as to why a suspected murderer and a terrorist were able to breach the Ark and put the general public in danger. It seemed that pointing fingers was far more important than actually working together to neutralise the threat but, that was typical of politics.
Since that day in the tunnels, Camille had been confined to the apartment or visiting Sid and she was escorted by two guards when out and about. Not that Camille ever left the compound. Despite the fact Nathan had breached the base, Camille still far safer inside the Ark than anywhere else. In reality she had everything she needed here anyway.
What had proved a challenge was avoiding Sia as much as possible. The woman was still determined to whisk Camille away however, given recent events, Camille was still required to answer questions from authorities. So, Camille still had time to figure out a way to avoid going to Draygon.
At least Sid was doing better.
It was remarkable how quickly Draygonian medicine as well as Sid’s natural healing abilities worked. Any human would have struggled to come back from the injuries Sid endured and yet here he was, sat in a wheelchair as if he was just in for a routine procedure.
“Have the doctors mentioned when they will be releasing you?” Camille asked, shoving her current thoughts away.
“Sometime next week if I’m lucky.” Sid sighed, shoulders sagging at the thought of being stuck in the infirmary for a few more days. “But enough about me, are you okay?”
Camille gave a half-hearted shrug. “Just dandy.”
The male let out a soft chuckle before holding his hand out to his female. “Come here.”
It was impossible to say no to Sid.
Camille took Sid’s outstretched hand, letting the giant god-like creature pull her out of her seat and into his lap so her legs dangled over the side of the stationary wheelchair. The instant heat of Sid’s presence was enough to soothe away some of the suffocating anxiety Camille had been experiencing.
“Is Jag being a pain in the ass again?” Sid asked as he rest his chin on the top of Camille’s head.
“No.” She confessed. “He’s been nice and caring.”
“But?”
“He says he loves me but he doesn’t seem to want me...” Camille’s cheeks burned in embarrassment at her confession. “He barely touches me meanwhile, I can barely keep Kal off of me whenever he has time to spend with me.”
“Hm. I think sometimes with Jag, he gets so caught up in trying to save the world that he forgets about his emotions. Sometimes you need to take the bull by the horns, as you humans say.”
Sid explained. “He does care about you. He just shows it in his own way.”
“I know.” Camille sighed and closed her eyes. “It doesn’t help that this whole mess is going on.”
“No, it doesn’t.” The male couldn’t help but agree. “But this isn’t going to last forever. Eventually we will find Nathan and Tina. EFHA will be shut down for good.”
“But that’s the thing.” Camille sat up with this, blue eyes meeting Sid’s yellow ones. “If we get rid of EFHA, another group will just pop up and they could be worse. No matter what happens, there will always be someone who wants to see the visitors gone and will do everything in their power to make sure it happens.”
“so what do you suggest?” Sid asked.
Camille didn’t answer straight away. History had shown that with groups like this, specifically extremist factions of a group, didn’t just stop existing because they had been wiped out. They always ended up inspiring someone else or leading to revenge. It never went away. It would just be quiet for a while and then flare up again when everyone thought they were safe. So, if completely shutting down factions like this didn’t work, what would?
Camille shook her head after a few moments and sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not a politician or whatever. I don’t know what works.”
Sid went to object but before he could even say a word, the door to his room opened and Sia waltzed in, her presence filling the room like a floodlight. The sight of the woman was enough to have Camille jumping out of her male’s lap and almost standing to attention. Sid let a small huff of disapproval but said nothing. Sia seemed unaffected by what she saw however there was a determined look on her face. Finally she had pinned Camille down long enough to have a discussion with her and Camille knew exactly what the conversation was going to be about.
“Good afternoon, you two.” Sia began as she walked over to her son and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Good to see you out of bed.”
“Well, I couldn’t stay in there much longer.” Sid replied. “I’ll start to become part of it otherwise.”
“Ever the dramatic one.” Sia sighed, yellows eyes turning to Camille. “I thought I’d find you here, my dear. I can’t help but think you’ve been avoiding me.”
Camille’s cheeks burned red at this immediately and she shuffled awkwardly. “N-No. I’ve just been...busy.”
“Give her a break Nonu,” Sid scolded his mother gently. “What beings you here anyway.”
“I came here to make sure you’re available for dinner this evening.”
“Hm, I’ll have to check my calendar.” Sid deadpanned. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” Sia replied shortly. “With everything that has happened, we haven’t actually been able to properly talk and get to know one another. Camille is my daughter-in-law now after all.”
“Daughter-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“But we haven’t completed the ceremony yet.”
“Ceremony?” Camille butted in with confusion.
“I will explain later.” Sid assured her before turning to Sia once more. “Well, it’s not like I have anywhere to be. Have you invited Kal and Jag?”
“I have. They can’t make it.” Sia replied. “But that doesn’t stop us, now does it?”
“It kind of sounds nice.” Camille spoke up in a soft voice, silencing the draygonians mid-conversation. “But I don’t want to hear anything about leaving Earth.”
“I guess I can accommodate that.” The older woman didn’t seem pleased by this but gave a nod of agreement regardless. “In that case, I shall see you here later on say, eight?”
“Sure.” Camille nodded. “Sounds good.”
---
“Captain? The Strike is approaching the rings and has requested permission to pass.”
“Permission granted.”
“D.S.F The Strike, this is D.S.F The Watcher. Permission to pass through the rings has been granted. Please enter your unique handshake and prepare to pass through.”
Fel watched quietly as the lieutenant carried on giving instructions to the crew of The Strike. He had been in charge of the security system for three months now and he was looking forward to returning to the Ark on Earth and getting some fresh air. Sure it was an important job but, it wasn’t exactly the most exciting of jobs but everyone had to put in their time. At least after this week he and his crew wouldn’t have to do this again for another fifteen months.
That was what made being stuck in space, working twelve hour shifts which were often uneventful and monotonous worth it. Plus, he had found his female who was waiting for him down below.
Liz owned a small food truck that parked up near the Ark in the evenings between Thursdays and Sundays. She was a small female even for her species but she had beautiful skin that was the colour of burnt sienna and big brown eyes that sparkled in the light coming from the fairy lights she hung up around the outside of the truck.
They had known each other for nearly a year and things had been moving at a steady pace. He hadn’t yet discussed about the ceremony or about Liz potentially finding another male but it wasn’t like Liz was completely in the dark. Fel just wanted to enjoy her all to himself for a little while.
A klaxon running out on the bridge cut through Del’s thoughts, a red light flashing to indicate that something was wrong.
“Lieutenant, status report?”
“Gun four has activated and is tracking The Strike, sir.”
“Manually override the system and have Gun four stand down.”
“I-I’m trying.” The Lieutenant spluttered, amber eyes widening. “Access is being denied. It’s like I’ve been locked out.”
What?
Fel stood out of his seat, leaning over the lieutenant’s shoulder to get a clearer view of the screen he was currently viewing. Sure enough, access to the gun had been blocked.
“Bring a view of guns on screen and hail The Strike.” Fel ordered a he straightened. “Tell them to prepare for evasive action.”
“Sir.”
It only took a few moments before the large screen at the head of bridge blinked from images of solar maps to a view of the four large guns that floated in space around the rings. They had been set up to take down any enemy ships but mostly were used to destroy floating space junk so it didn’t damage the gates between this universe and the one the Draygonians called home. They were designed to work remotely and to recognise a friendly ship thanks to the handshake system. And yet here they were, staring at the four guns, three pointing away from the vessel currently approaching the rings and one with its barrel following said vessel like a snake stalking its prey.
“Sir, Gun one has just gone online and is now locked on The Strike.” The Lieutenant spoke up just as the gun mentioned suddenly moved so its barrel was now aimed at the The Strike.
“Can you override it?”
“No sir.”
Fel felt his heart jump into his throat, amber eyes pinned on the two guns as they widened. This was no malfunction. One gun was understandable but two? No, this was something much more sinister.
“Captain, we are receiving a message.” Another officer spoke up from the back of the bridge.
“Bring it on screen.” Fel muttered.
He half expected it to be from The Strike complaining about the whole situation so when a human appeared on screen, Fel was both confused but also worried. The male was handsome for a human with black hair and green eyes that glimmered like beer bottles. There was a cruelness in those features. A sadistic playfulness that had Fel's blood running cold.
“This is a message for the captain of D.S.F The Watcher and the blue scum currently inhabiting planet earth.” The human began to speak. “My name is Nathan Matthews of the Earth For Humans Alliance and I am currently in control of the guns that allegedly protect you and your precious rings. You have five days to remove yourselves from our planet otherwise we will use the very technology you have been using against us to wipe you from our solar system.. Oh, and just in case you think I’m bluffing. Here’s a little donstration of what we will do.”
The message ended abruptly, the giant screen focusing back on the guns and plunging the bridge into silence save for the klaxon blaring out around the crew.
“Sir, Guns two and three are now online and locked onto The Strike.”
Fel didn’t need any further explanation of what was happening just then. His eyes widened as realisation hit him like a freight train going full speed.
“Hail The Strike!” He barked. “Order them to abandon ship!”
But just as he said those words, the guns began to power up and fired.