T. A. Chase

They Walk Among Us

 

They Walk Among Us copyright c. 2012 T.A. Chase

Part Thirty-

Tyler left with the Opalites, and I finished punching in the code. The locks on the cells snicked, and the doors slid open to free the people inside. Those who could walk helped the others who couldn’t. I went to Anson’s cell, and the young Opalite hung onto the bars, but he was standing.

“Do you need help getting out of here? I noticed there was a medical building on my way over here.” I turned to look at all the others who gathered around me. “I’d like to have all of you to come over there with me. I want to check each of you out before you leave.”

“Where would we go?” The human woman stepped closer to Anson. She wrapped her arm around his waist, letting him lean on her. “We know where the building is. I’ll make sure everyone gets there okay.”

“Thank you. If you think you’ll be okay on your own, I’ll go ahead and get things ready for you.”

She nodded. “Go on. It might take us a little while, but we’ll be there.”

Anson reached out and grabbed my arm. “Will the Szef be there?”

I wasn’t sure how long it would take Raven to deal with Tyler and the other rebels, but I did know eventually he’d come to check on the prisoners.

“He might not be there when you arrive, but he’ll show up eventually to check on all of you.”

Anson nodded, and I turned to leave. Seeing all the wounds and bruises on the people made me clench my hands in rage. How dare Gideon use people as his toys? What did he think he would gain by torturing and hurting them? They certainly wouldn’t follow him.

::He was experimenting on the Opalites, and on the humans as well.::

“Experimenting? How? Why?” I didn’t care if I looked crazy, talking to myself. I just didn’t have the energy to send my thoughts at the moment.

::Somehow Gideon figured out Opalites were more than they were portrayed. We had powers no human knew about, and other intriguing things about us that he wanted or felt he needed to know.::

I understood the sarcasm in Raven’s words. It was a problem most humans had. They believed they had the right to know everything about everyone or every thing. It was a God-given right, even if the person or alien in question didn’t want to give up their secrets.

“How did he find out about you?”

I got to the medical building, and shoved open the door to get inside. I flicked on the lights, and cringed at the condition of the rooms. Gideon obviously didn’t let his people get treated often. Dust coated every surface, and the instruments were in disarray. I thrust my hand through my hair, messing it up as I tried to decide where to start first.

::I’m sending some Opalites to help you. They’re older than Anson, so their powers are more developed. They’ll be able to diagnose what’s wrong with the people. It’ll save you a little time, and you can figure out how to treat them.::

“How did they manage to survive Gideon and not be tortured?”

::They did what we were told to do from the very beginning. They hid in plain sight, and became invisible in a way.::

“You know, we have a lot to talk about when all of this is taken care of.”

::Yes, and I promise I will tell everything I can, but you have to understand, there are some things I can’t tell you because they aren’t just my secrets. Others are involved.::

“At the moment, I’ll take what I can get.”

I snatched up a bucket, and filled it with hot water and soap. Two slender dark haired women slipped into the building, and without saying a word, they got more buckets, and started helping me clean.

“Can either of you talk?”

“I can. I’m Linda, and this is Fatmia.” One of the women spoke up.

After studying her for a second, I memorized her face, so I could tell her apart from Fatmia. They looked remarkably alike, but Linda had a mole at the corner of her mouth.

“Good. Once this place is clean, and the injured start arriving, please assess them. Make a decision on how serious their wounds are. I want to work on the most seriously injured first.”

“We need to triage them?” Linda asked, glancing up from where she scrubbed one of the exam tables.

“Right.” I was impressed by her knowledge of emergency room jargon. “Were you a nurse?”

“In the army medical corps for eight years. I separated from the military when I fell in love with Fatmia. I didn’t want to risk her.”

Linda touched Fatmia’s hand with a loving caress. I smiled, and nodded.

“Makes sense. Actually having women helping me might be better for some of the patients, especially the women.”

We had just finished cleaning up when the first group arrived. I’d set up the sanitizer to clean and disinfect the instruments. The first batch came out as four people walked in. Linda and Fatmia got them to tables, and assessed them quickly.

“Doctor, I think this gentleman needs to be looked at first,” Linda called me over to where an older man lay on the table.

I joined her, and checked his vitals. It didn’t look good. As I worked on him, he slipped into unconsciousness. I barely managed to stabilize him, because I didn’t have all the modern equipment I needed to patch him up the right way.

“Put him in the corner there.” I gestured to a corner farther from the noise and crowd. “Make sure there’s a curtain around him, and we need someone to sit with him. He needs to be monitored until we can transport him to a better facility.”

One of the less injured humans offered to sit with the man, and I let him. I didn’t have time as more and more trickled in. At one time, when I looked up, I saw more people helping Linda and Fatmia. They bandaged lesser wounds and took vitals for me.

::People will help out, if you give them the opportunity to do so.::

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