Mated To An Enemy

Bell had taken a couple of hours to hand off all the medical equipment to Peter to be examined and pawed at. In the meantime, Galen had said he would set up a surprise in her office. She tried to call him to let him know how long it would be but couldn’t reach him.

When she returned to her office, he was standing beside her desk with what seemed to be a smaller desk.

“Ok, three things,” Bell said as she closed the door, Galen looked up with a smile.

“Yes?” he asked.

“One, where is your phone, dude? I have been calling for hours.”

Galen looked around the desk and padded his pocket before getting a sheepish look on his face.

“Crap. Must have left it in the car,” he said.

Bell shook her head at him before continuing.

“Two, Peter wanted me to ask if you made sure all the proper instructions came with the equipment,” she said. “Which seemed like a bizarre question, especially how he was giggling.”

Galen gave her an unamused look.

“Ok, seems there is a story there, which you will share with me later,” she laughed. “And three, what is that thing?”

Galen smiled again as Bell came around the desk to look at his smaller desk.

“This is an MA Station,” Galen answered as though it explained everything.

Catching her confused look, he continued.

“Right, my bad. So, an MA Station is a Medical Assistant. It’s got a computer with access to all the data within the medical files of Summer. It also can run a limited number of medical tests and has a small 3D printer that will print basic medical equipment.”

Bell was dumbstruck.

“This is just something you have laying around to spare?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Galen laughed. “I had to basically sign over a kidney to borrow this one for a short time.”

“Ah, I see,” said Bell. “May I?”

Galen stepped aside, allowing her access to the computer. She was amazed at the kinds of documents she could look through, research information, and advanced studies. A medical library with diseases and disorders she had never even heard of before.

“This is amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Galen said softly.

Bell suddenly realized just how close he was. Their eyes met; Galen gave her a gentle smile that made her want to bite his lip.

Just as she felt herself moving towards him, a ding drew both of their attention back to the screen.

“It’s the results!” Galen said excitedly.

“The results?” Bell asked.

“One of the lab assistants who helped me run the tests on Ashleigh’s bloodwork thought she saw something familiar in our first tests. So, she asked if she could run a few more.”

Galen’s expression seemed concerned.

“Why the face?” Bell asked.

“Because the results came back positive.”

“And what was the test?”

Galen sighed.

“The lab assistant is new to the medical group.” He began.

Galen took a deep breath before continuing.

“She transferred from a different department just a few weeks ago,” he said. “From a group that studies weapons. Specifically biological and chemical weapons.”

“Galen, what are you saying?”

“She recognized the chemical signature in Ashleigh’s blood markers. The interaction with the wolfsbane was a particular red flag.” Galen said. “The test coming back positive means that whatever Ashleigh was exposed to was intentional.”

“What?”

“This weapon,” Galen sighed, “works on the brain. It causes hallucinations, fear, and anxiety. It is most often used to break a person, expose them to primal fear and then extract information or build them back up the way you want.”

Bell felt weak, her legs gave out, and Galen caught her. He helped her into her chair.

“So… Renee…?” Bell managed to say.

“Was exposed to the same chemicals,” replied Galen sadly. “It seems that whatever they were exposed to, Renee got a much stronger dose for a much longer time.”

“So, this is what killed her? I was right? She was terrified? Living in a non-stop nightmare!” Bell cried out.

Galen grabbed her hand. He got down on his knee so they were eye level and touched her cheek.

“You helped her rest,” he said, “you found her and brought her here. You didn’t let her die scared and alone in a closet.”

“It wasn’t enough,” Bell cried.

Galen wrapped his arms around her, and she didn’t stop him. Instead, he held her close as she let the tears fall.

A knock at the door pulled them away from each other. Bell wiped her tears and cleared her throat before telling them to come in.

A nurse stood in the doorway.

“Hey Bell, sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re fine,” Bell smiled. “Did you need something?”

“Some of the girls were saying that you were trying to figure out what kind of flower petal this was?”

The nurse held a picture that Bell had posted on the bulletin board. It was the petal that she had found under Renee’s bed.

“Oh,” Bell said. “Yea, I was trying to figure out if one of my patients might have been allergic to it. But it turns out, it was something else entirely.”

“Oh, ok,” the nurse smiled. “Well, if you ever need to know again, that’s a Forever Susan. It’s a unique color type of lily.”

“I’ll take your word for it. I know nothing about flowers,” Bell said, forcing a smile.

“Oh, I don’t either,” the nurse laughed. “I just remembered because I asked Renee about it when she brought that bouquet for Ashleigh.”

Bell sat up.

“Renee brought one of those flowers in?” Bell asked, “You mean during the full moon?”

“Yea, when Ashleigh was here, Renee brought her a bouquet of mixed flowers,” she said, then a thought seemed to occur to her. “Though actually, I think I remember seeing Renee leave with that one. Guess she liked it.”

Bell smiled awkwardly.

“I guess so….”

“Anyway,” the nurse smiled, “have a good evening.”

She closed the door as she left, and Bell let out the breath she held.

Galen put his hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I got that petal from Renee’s room… And that bouquet was in Ashleigh’s room when her heart stopped and taken away the next morning.”

“Did you suspect it was the flowers?”

“I didn’t take the flowers away,” she said. “Granger did. He was also the one that sent them.”

“You think he….” Galen didn’t finish his words.

A loud crash in the hallway drew their attention away from their conversation. Bell moved quickly out the door to see a man lying on the ground, the decorative shelf he had pulled down beside him.

Bell started towards him but stopped when Peter reached him first.

“Are you ok?” Peter asked.

The man on the ground began to stir, mumbling something Bell couldn’t hear.

Suddenly the man tried to get up.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, it looks like you might be hurt,” Peter tried to get the man to stop moving.

“You have to save her…” the man said quietly.

The man lifted his head, and Bell gasped as she recognized his bruised and bloodied face.

“Axel?” she called out.

“You have to save her… save Ashleigh!”

***

Ashleigh was still angry about having dropped her phone in the creek. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t even be able to get a replacement until the next day.

She was now walking the border of the North East Zone. Saul and his team of excited patrolmen had set up the new defense system in parts of the Center Lane and the lower North East Zone. Ashleigh had volunteered to run patrol on the portion that hadn’t been upgraded yet.

“Ashleigh, do you read me?” Saul’s voice spoke in her earpiece.

“I hear you, Saul.”

The sound quality was much better than the walkie-talkies they usually carried around.

“Crystal clear… it’s a beautiful thing.”

Ashleigh laughed.

“I don’t think I have ever heard you so happy, Saul,” Ashleigh said.

“That’s because you haven’t seen me with the pup,” Saul replied warmly. “But these upgrades are a close second.”

“The earpieces are nice,” Ashleigh said, “I’ve got one of the new mesh skin buttons. A little nervous to try it, though.”

“You have to!” Saul said excitedly. “Seriously, push it. There’s a surprise for Berserkers.”

Ashleigh laughed again at his childlike wonder but taking a breath, she did as he asked.

“Alright, here goes nothing.”

Ashleigh had attached the small button to her collar. She reached up and pressed it. Immediately small cords slipped out of the button and stretched out around her body. The sensation of them expanding and connecting was one of the strangest she had ever experienced.

But once all was said and done, the fit was excellent. It was flexible, warm, and felt sturdy, covering her entire body. Even her boots had received an upgrade. Her hands wore fingerless gloves, with a circle in the center of the palm that she was curious about.

“So?” Saul asked, “what did you get?”

“What do you mean? Are the suits different?” Ashleigh asked, wondering if she missed something that made it unique.

“Check your back.”

Ashleigh was confused but reached her hand back over her shoulder. She was shocked to find a small rectangular shape.

As her hand grazed it, she felt a tug at the center of her palm. Ashleigh moved her hand back in front of her eyes and watched as the circle broke apart and reformed into a small, curved blade with a handle that fit her palm.

“A karambit?” she said out loud.

Saul laughed heartily in her ear.

“That fits,” he said. “Mine gave me axes.”

Ashleigh felt a tug in her other palm. Sure enough, there was a second karambit there.

She could hear the pride in his voice.

“I’m happy for you Sa–”

Ashleigh quickly cut off her words as she saw movement in the trees.

“Ashleigh?”

She didn’t respond, keeping her eyes where she saw it. Trying to decide if it was an animal or not. Finally, her eyes focused on it, something near the tree, moving its branches.

“Ashleigh?” Saul called again.

She could almost see it, right beside the– her eyes grew wide, and her heart began to race.

“Saul,” she whispered, “Saul, sound the alarm… sound the alarm now!”

A root swung directly at her.