Exiled (19 page)

Michael stood on the other side of the window, watching as the doctors in stark white worked around Venus. After they’d placed her inside a long, round tube, Frank appeared at his side. He flipped on a machine. Venus’s body appeared. He used a mouse to scroll over different highlighted areas.

“Son, this is beyond fantastic. Look at her organs,” he said, his breath stinking like cinnamon mouthwash and bourbon.

The strange picture showed her entire body. But more than the bones were visible. All of her organs, her veins, could be seen, too. They were highlighted in red.

“What in the world?”

“That’s the point. She isn’t from this world.” He looked over at Michael and smiled. “See this?” Michael nodded. “What do you think that is?”

“It looks like a . . . a heart. Kind of.”

“Yes, and look here. What do you think that is?” he asked with unabashed excitement.

“I’d say another heart.” It was the craziest thing. Inside her ribs, which looked the same as humans, there appeared to be, what looked like a human heart, and another, larger one, which glowed.

“I think so too, Michael.” He patted Michael’s shoulder before rushing to another machine and flipping it one. “Listen.”

Michael did. He heard a quick beating. “Her heartbeat?”

“Wait, there’s more.” His dark eyes shone like a kid in a candy store on allowance day.

Michael turned away and stared at the two hearts on the x-ray. Still listening, he finally heard it, what sounded like another heartbeat. It beat much more slowly. “Is that another heart beat?” he asked.

Frank nodded. “Yes. Yes, I think so.”

Michael kept listening.

“And look at this.” He pointed at a strange-looking organ in her pelvis. “See here.”

“Uh huh.”

“What do you suppose that could be?”

Michael shrugged. “No clue.”

“Here are her female organs, which are similar to our females, but this . . . I wonder.” He scratched his head absently. Then he pressed a button and called, “Abe. Get in here.”

One of the men in the room with Venus glanced over at the window they were watching from and nodded.

“Some other type of organ to assist with their reproduction,” Michael guessed aloud. It was large and perfectly round.

“Perhaps,” Frank nodded.

The man, Abe, walked into the room. “Are you sure he should be in here?” Abe pointed a long, white finger Michael’s direction.

Michael had the same thoughts, but figured Frank was trying to be
fatherly
. Or show off. Most likely the latter. Regardless, he wanted to stay.

“I’m the boss, Abe. And yes, he should be in here. I have my reasons.” His father’s stance and the hard lines on his face seemed to dare Abe to disagree.

“Fine.” Abe walked over to the machine next to Frank.

“What do you make of this?” he asked Abe, pointing at her circular organ.

“I’d guess it’s a part of her species’ reproduction.” Abe scratched his chin.

There was no way to know for sure. But probably a good guess since its location resided in the same area.

“What’s most amazing is . . . look at these.” Frank traced several lines that looked like veins, but they were thicker and didn’t appear to have anything in them. Only the outline highlighted in red whereas with her normal looking veins, the whole thing showed red. The regular veins were filled with blood, like a human’s, and attached to the smaller heart. The other set linked to the larger heart, which beat slower, and looked clear.

Totally frickin cool
was Michael’s first thought. The second he spoke aloud. “What’re they for?” He stared at the monitor, waiting for it to magically reveal her secrets. The odd organs appeared connected to the “empty” veins and . . . “Hey, look at this.”

“What?” Frank and Abe asked in unison.

“These organs are a lighter red than the human-looking organs.” He pointed at them and then looked from his father to Abe and back to the picture.

“Yep, you’re right. I wonder what they’re for?” His dad turned to Abe for an answer.

“My guess is not as much blood or maybe no blood is in those parts of her body. Maybe they’re back up organs.”

Michael agreed. “Huh.”

“So what is flowing in and out of them?” Frank asked.

Abe sighed. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Frank nodded.

“How?” Michael questioned even though he knew the answer.

“We’re going to have to cut her open.” Abe rubbed his hands together. The saying, ‘evil scientist’ crossed his mind. He looked to Frank and asked, “When do we begin?”

“Wait,” Michael said, putting a hand on Abe’s fleshy arm. “Maybe I can help.”

Abe snorted, which ticked him off.

Frank looked unconvinced. “How do you plan on doing that?”

Michael rubbed his eyes, thinking fast. “Well, what if I talked to her? Put me into a cell next to hers and let me try.”

His father put a hand in his pocket and the other on Michael’s shoulder. Once again, he had an intense desire to fight the guy. Images of his bloodied feet, the bruises on his ribs, and the cigarette burns that had covered his legs as a child, snapped through his mind like a slide show.

Frank studied Michael, and he wondered if Frank could see the hate he masked. A wide smile appeared on Frank’s face, showing all of his teeth. “That sounds like a fantastic idea.” Turning to Abe, Frank said, “Let him try.” He pushed the green button on the wall and said, “We’re done for now. Lock her up.”

Venus woke to the sounds of screams. She’d been in the fringes of Michael’s mind. His memories and dreams were filled with her. The way he’d watched them do tests. Even though she hadn’t felt any of the poking or prodding first hand, watching through Michael caused her body pain. She’d felt his emotions, too. They ranged from anger to uncontrollable sadness, and guilt.

As he watched the doctors, he’d thought she seemed so small and vulnerable. His mind kept going back to the picture they’d taken of her entire body. Venus knew they’d seen her alien organs. She saw the man, Abe, and the way he and Frank were talking of cutting her open. Venus knew Michael had saved her, though she sensed his twisted emotions over the decision.

Gingerly, she sat up. Her body longed to cough. But, she held it in, hoping her captors wouldn’t realize she’d awakened and stay away a while longer. The room (if you could call it a room) they’d placed her in reminded her of jail cells she’d seen in movies on TV. Up and down, her eyes raked every inch of the place. The room smelled of decay, mold and astringent. Dark green or black spots were growing in every visible corner. She guessed it must be some type of mold. A low pitched buzzing sounded from her left. She shook her head, hoping that would get rid of the noise. Stuck a finger in her ear and jiggled, thinking it might be her, but the noise continued.

She stood and walked toward the sound. It appeared to be coming from—the hall. As she inched closer, her perception changed. Where it’d looked like no wall or door existed, actually pulsed with an invisible current. Electricity.

No escaping out the front then. At least it isn’t a regular door . . . at least I can see what’s on the other side.
The room did have three walls. Sort of.

Dreary. Off white and hard. Her bed rested against cool cement. The back wall divided in two. The upper half looked like two-way glass. She walked over and pressed her face against it, trying to see what or who stood on the other side. All she could see were her own eyes, her own face, being reflected back. A metal toilet (it looked like aluminum foil) sat to the left, below the glass. Ten steel bars separated her room from another. Everything the same, except someone still slept in the cot.

Michael.

A part of her wanted to lash out. Yell. Tell him what a horrible person he turned out to be. But she remembered he’d been the one to save her from cut-happy Abe. He helped capture her, but he’d also saved her.

“Cret!” She cursed softly.

Michael rolled over to face her. His legs together, knees bent and hands grasping a book. She wasn’t sure whether he bunched into that position to protect himself from the cold or from her. He still wore the same clothes he’d had on when they went hiking, which made her wonder how many days she’d been held captive. Venus wanted to know why he slept in a cell, like her. Had he upset Frank? She hadn’t seen what’d happened in his memories. It didn’t make sense. None of it did. She wasn’t even supposed to be here, on this forsaken planet. Flying on Sadraden, that’s where she
should’ve
been. Instead she’d been stuffed into this awful room.

My coffin.
She kept her eyesfocused on the troublesome boy.

His dark hair poked up in random places. Messy. An image of her fingers running through his hair, smoothing the ends, sent her stomach dancing with fickle butterflies.

She shuffled to the bars and pushed her face in between two, the cool steel touching her ears. She rested her hands on the bars to either side. They were freezing, but Venus resisted the urge to pull away. The pain helped her feel more awake—alive. She stared at him a moment, watching his face, debating her decision.

Three. Two. One.
“Hello, Michael.”

He sat, unfolding himself and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Rumpled and glorious and mean.

“You know when I first saw you I thought you were an Angel . . . of Death,” he whispered, gloomy.

No point in denying what she knew. She figured truth would be best.

“I know.”

He blinked, surprise changing the shape of his face. Michael sat up straight.

“How—”

“What are you reading?” she asked quietly, interrupting.

He peered at the book as though he’d forgotten he still held it. “Oh, it’s by William Shakespeare. You heard of him?”

“I have. Are you reading one of his comedies or tragedies?”

He raised a brow. Perhaps wondering how she knew so much, now that he’d discovered she was an
alien
.

“A tragedy, I suppose. Have you heard of a poem called
Venus and Adonis
?”

“Mmmm, yes. I believe it doesn’t end happily.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He stood. “Um, hey, I’m really sorry, but I need to—” He stopped and pointed at the toilet.

“Right.” Venus walked back to her cot, lay down, her back to him and placed the pillow over her head. “Ready,” she shouted. While he busied himself, she debated what she should or shouldn’t tell him. In the end, she decided not to hold anything back. Why bother? She’d be dead in a couple of days anyway. Possibly sooner.

Plus, Zaren could take care of himself. Humans had no way of getting to her planet, their technology millennia behind. Sharing her planet with Michael might be enjoyable. And she hoped it’d help him be less angry with her, with his life. When she’d gone, he could try to be happy. Venus hadn’t had a chance to really talk to anyone in so long. Years. And she wanted to share the best parts of her world with someone. Why not Michael?

Venus heard a loud noise, which she guessed was flushing.

Then he yelled, “Hey!”

Removing the pillow from her head, she asked, “Are you finished?”

He chuckled. “Yes. What about you? Need to go?” Michael pointed at her aluminum toilet.

She shook her head. “No. I’m good.” Venus turned and sat, making sure to cover her back side, since they’d put her in a tacky blue-flowered hospital gown. Michael watched with a half-smile, his face pressed against the bars exactly as she’d done. The book had vanished and she knew he wanted to talk about other matters—namely her. Questions practically oozed out of him. Venus tried not to breathe. Afraid she’d spew words he wasn’t ready for. Or worse. Words meant to be hurtful.

“What . . . are you?” he finally asked.

For some reason, the question annoyed her. She huffed. “An alien from another planet. Duh.” When he didn’t respond to her sarcasm, she continued, “I’m not going to sprout tentacles and grow another head.” He still watched her, doubt filling every crevice on his face. Venus clenched her hands into fists and pushed down a curse.

“Well, at least not today. Tomorrow, watch out. I’ll be a two-headed octopus with blood sucking tentacles and three thousand razor sharp teeth.” She glared back, a strong desire to rip his hair out barely kept in check. He stared at her like she was a newly discovered specimen in a Petri dish. Venus had about decided to lie down and roll away, when he asked his next question.

“What I mean is, are you the Venus poets and writers like Shakespeare have written about over the centuries? Are you
the
Goddess of Love?”

She snorted. She couldn’t help it.

He scrunched his brows together and his face turned a shade darker, whether from anger or embarrassment she couldn’t be sure.

“I don’t know the first thing about love. My parents gave me the name. They said because I was conceived from love. But that’s as far as it goes.”

He studied her, as though trying to decide if she were lying or not. Finally he asked, “Why are you here then? On my planet?” He moved away from the bars and started pacing. Back and forth. His hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Chaotic hair falling across his face.

She had already decided to tell him everything, but where to begin? Explain that some awful kelarian probably poisoned her, and then sent her here as punishment and certain death. Or enlighten him on his love life. How the Gods had commanded her to assist him in finding true love. Venus snorted. He’d surely laugh. If the tables were turned, she would’ve laughed at him.

“No answer.” He stopped pacing and turned away from the bars. Venus saw the slouch in his shoulders. He drooped in defeat and went back to his cot. After he’d sat he asked, “Have you heard of a group called The Order of Eternal Fire?”

She watched his face twist as emotions seemed to overwhelm him. The words barely above a whisper, he said, “They kill humans and then carve markings into the dead bodies.” It looked like the words choked him.

“The Order of what?” She shook her head. “No.”

“You’re lying!” He picked up his book and brought it over to the bars. Flipping a few pages, he stopped and shoved the book through. “See this?” He stabbed the page with a finger. “That mark was carved into my mother. It’s what this Order does after it murders people.”

Venus went over and took the book from him. There was a penciled drawing of what looked like a sun eclipsing a moon with rays shooting all around it. Another circle had been drawn inside the big one. It was oblong and inside was a symbol. The markings also reminded her of an eye . . . She closed the book and handed it back to him. Turning, she went back to her cot. Her knees shook of their own accord. And she felt sick.

“Do you know what it means? Are you a part of this Order?” He paused and Venus heard him take a deep breath.

She’d seen the symbol before. On her sister, Amberlee. It’d been the ink she’d had on her forearm. Disbelief settled over her. How could her sister be involved with this Order? Was it a coincidence? Venus doubted it. What had her sister become mixed up in?

“Venus? Why are you hurting people? Why my mother?”

She turned and watched him wipe his face with the back of a hand.

“Michael, I-I don’t know who’s doing this? I swear it wasn’t me.” She wanted to learn more of what he knew so she continued, “I have seen that mark before, but I don’t know what it means.”

“You saw it where?”

“On Kelari. A few days ago.” She sat.

He let out a noise, like a strangled cat. His face was hard with rage and his eyes were glassy with tears. One slid onto his cheek. He wiped it away. Sniffing, he asked, “What’s Kel-ari?”

She swallowed. “Kelari is the name of my planet.”

“Well, someone from your planet has been killing people on Earth for the past ten years, including my—” His voice broke. “Why?”

She raised her hands, palms up, fingers stretched toward him. “I don’t know.” Anger began to build at the predicament. She didn’t know anything. She was a doof princess.

He seemed to be fighting his emotions. How long before he killed her?

“Michael, I’m so sorry about your mother. I don’t understand.” Venus started breathing heavily. A bad idea. Her body shook as she coughed. She stood and searched the room for tissue, but there wasn’t any—not even toilet paper, so she covered her mouth with a section of her hospital gown. It felt like her insides were coming out. Her skin burned and she shook uncontrollably. Still she coughed, unable to stop.

“Venus?”

She held up a hand, trying to tell him to wait as she stumbled back to the cot.

“Frank, do something.”

There were quick footfalls coming from the hallway. Someone running. Venus peered over and saw simple, black heels. Then she heard a beep. The buzzing stopped and those black shoes crossed into her cell.

Venus looked up and saw a woman dressed in a green lab jacket, which covered most of her knee-length black skirt. She wore white latex gloves, a green cap and a surgical mask. Only her hazel eyes could be seen.

The woman’s darted around in fear. In one hand, she carried a shot, the cap removed from the needle. A clear liquid dripped from the tip. The woman’s shaking hand caused the liquid to dance.

Venus laughed, but it sounded more like the bark of a wounded dog. She couldn’t help but think that maybe they really were expecting her to change into some six-eyed creature.

“What is that?” Venus whispered, trying to control her infuriating lungs.

“It’s medicine. To help you breathe,” the woman said, though she didn’t seem convinced it’d work. “May I give it to you?”

Venus nodded. She’d give it a try, though she doubted anything would help.

She moved toward Venus, her steps hesitant. “I’m going to move your sleeve.”

Venus glanced at her warily and then nodded.

With more confidence, she added, “It’ll sting, but only for a second.” The woman jabbed the needle into the back of Venus’s arm. She felt the liquid enter and make its way through her body. With a grunt, the woman said, “It should only take a minute if it works.” Then she pulled tissues from one pocket and a new medical gown from another. “Let’s get rid of that bloodied gown, shall we?”

With a glance at Michael, Venus agreed, wary. “Okay.”

After Michael turned his back, Venus rose and the woman helped her change. She worked carefully, avoiding the bloodied portion of her gown. Maybe she believed her
alien
blood would change
her
into an eight-legged monster. Covering her mouth with the back of a hand, she resisted another laugh.

“Thank you,” Venus said, sitting carefully. Rather quickly, her lungs began to feel less ticklish and more solid.
The medicine might actually work.
A drowsiness enveloped her, causing her eyelids to grow heavy.

“Is this going to make me sleep?”

“It might, which is probably for the best.” Some of the fear left the woman’s eyes. She took a step backward, toward the entry. “Feeling any better?”

“Sure.” Venus closed her eyes. The woman’s heels clicked as she headed back toward the hall. Zing. A beep and then the buzzing started again. The clack-clacking of her heels reverberated as the woman walked away.