Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (39 page)

“I knew generally in what location this place was and I knew it would be guarded, so I mo
re or less let myself be found.
”

“How could you be sure they wouldn’t just shoot you on the spot?”
I
asked. “I mean
,
they
c
ould have thought you were some sort of scout or something.”

“There were a couple of things
making
my entrance fortuitous
.
F
irst
,
you’re unfriendly friend had passed information to the sentries that they wanted a live captive, if possible, and second, I snuck around a little until I recognized one of the men in the platoon that escorted you here.”

I
laughed. “How the hell did you manage that? I thought we all looked alike to you.”

“That may be true, but the platoon we traveled with had a red insignia patch over their left shoulder.”

I
laughed again.

“One more thing, Mike
,” Drababan said
gravely.
It
snuffed out the rest of
my
merriment. “I brought in
two
guests, both were injured, and that probably more than anything got me in here unharmed. I’ll admit when I stumbled across them
,
that was sort of my plan. I had no way of knowing you would want a live Genogeria
n or that I would run in
to someone I knew. One or two of your world seemed a much better bet. If they
hadn’t been injured
,
I most likely would have just taken them.”

“You mean kidnap?” I
asked solemnly.

“Kidnap? I do not think I know that word, but take them against their will and use them to gain entrance here, yes. I could not think of any better way. But that is not the point. Mike
,
one of them was what you hu-mans call a dog, a very large one from what I was told when I brought him in. The other was your Beth.”

I
almost choked. “What?”
I
sputtered.

“I did not know who she was when I first approached
. She
and the dog were involved in some sort of fight with a man
who
was chasing them, the majority of the fight was over by the time I arrived
.
Beth and the dog had been shot.”

“What! Beth was shot
?
W
here is she?!”
I
asked
as
I
started to rise.

Drababan put a big arm out across
my
chest to stop
me
. “
She should be okay, your doctor
s told me it was a shoulder
wound
, the dog’s was a little more serious but they were confident he would pull out alright also.”

My
heart raced
.
Beth here!

“I broke the man’s neck before he could do any more damage.”

“How did you know he was the one in the
wrong
?
Y
ou
yourself said you arrived late.
”

“You were right when you said that you hu-mans a
ll look alike, but not this one.
H
e was far over the edge
—
what we on our planet would have called ‘frakenstug’
.
H
e was crazy, the fever burning through his eyes was something I will not soon forget.”

I
shivered
,
thinking about what Beth had been through.

“They will be bringing her here once they are done working on her
.
I thought you should know.”

“Does Paul know Beth is here?”
I
asked

“I do not think so, there was much confusion when I first entered your ‘Hill’
.
M
ost of the people wanted to shoot me on the spot, your Tracy saved me from an early demise.” Drababan smiled. “She finally convinced everyone I was not trying to eat the dog and the hu-man I was carrying
,
but rather trying to get them help. After your doctors had taken them
,
your commander, Paul met Tracy and
me
in the hallway as we were coming here to see you.”

I
could still not believe the words
I
was hearing. Beth was here! What was she doing here? What about Tracy?
I
had moved on
,
hadn’t
I
? Then why was
I
feeling so conflicted?

“This sucks
,
D
ee
.”

Drababan looked confused.

“
I can't even remember the last time I even thought about Beth
, I
guess I figured she'd been killed in the initial invasion maybe
I grieved
her loss,
and I
'
d
mov
ed
on. Now I’m in…
well
,
I’ve found this girl I truly care for. Beth can’t be here.”

“Oh I can assure you Mike
,
she is here
.
I brought her myself.”

“No,
D
ee
I wasn’t questioning her presence just the reality of the situation.”

Drababan still looked confused. “Did I do something wrong by bringing her here?” Drababan asked in all seriousness.

“No,
D
ee
, as crazy as this
sounds
.
Y
ou did the right thing
—
the human thing. Hell a little plastic surgery and you might even pass for one of us.”
I
laughed.

Drababan snorted. “I do not know what this plas-tic surgery is but I do not want to look like any of you hu-mans
,” Drababan said
indignantly.

“Relax
,
D
ee
,
I just playing with you. Besides
,
I don’t know if they’d have a scalpel sharp enough to cut through that thick hide of yours.”

Drababan rubbed his arm. “Let them try
,” he said
looking over his shoulder. “I will make them eat their plas-tic.”

“I bet you would.”

“Mike
,
I have made it here and I have told you what I feel you must know now. But I am tired and I have had very little food or water in the last
seventy-
two
hours.”

“Guards!”
I
yelled. They ran in rifles at the ready, expecting trouble.
I
was both approving and annoyed at the same time. On one hand they were ready for anything
,
on the other they had their weapons pointed at
my
friend. “Could one of you please get my large green friend here four cots, a couple of gallons of water and the bi
ggest hunk of meat you can find?
”

I
had to give the man some kudos, he never even hesitated with his response.

“Cooked
?” he asked
.

“Rare would be splendid
,”
Drababan noted.

“Right away
.”
He
turned and left.

Within a few
minutes, Drababan had eased onto his new over-
sized cot/bed, downing the first gallon of water in under
two
minutes. The second gallon he savored with his
food
. The ten pound roast looked like a sausage link in Drababan’s huge hands. He bit off half of it in one smooth tear.
I
involuntarily shivered as
I
watched the damage
his
teeth could inflict on an enemy.

“Is that going to be enough?”
I
asked. “I don’t want you coming over here
sleep
walking and take a chunk out of me.”

“I have told you before
,
Mike, you hu-mans are n
ot nearly as tasty as you would
believe.”

I
didn’t know if he was kidding
or not and for the most part I
really didn’t want to push the issue.

Drababan looked over at
me
, bits of roast hung from hi
s teeth. A smile pulled back to reveal even larger and sharper teeth in the back.

“Relax
,
Mike, I am only playing with you.”

I
visibly
untensed
my
self.

“I decided long ago I would not eat anything that approached our state of intelligence. If you were a little dumber I would eat you in a heartbeat.”

“Thank God for algebra
,” I said
seriously. “That’s the first time I
ever
said that.”

“Your cows
,
however, they are fantastic
.
I could eat them anytime. The roast has taken the edge off of my hunger and it was the water I wanted more than anything. I would much like to sleep now and we will talk later.”

“As you wish my big green eating machine.”

Drababan laid his head down and within seconds had found a state of relaxation much to his liking.

I
eased off
my
bed, not feeling quite as bad
,
but still moving more like a
ma
n
triple my age
. Slowly and deliberately
,
I
dressed
my
self, much to the chagrin of the nursing staff.

“You haven’t been cleared to leave, mister
,”
s
houted one of the more heavy
set nurses
.
I
f she forced the issue
,
I
would have no choice but to comply.
I
frantically
searched for an approach that would work against
my
formidable opponent. Brute force wasn’t going to work and
I
didn’t feel good enough to lay on any charm.

“Get Paul
,
I’m sure he’ll see to it that I can check myself out
,” I said
,
hoping the n
ame dropping approach would be my
ticket to freedom.
I
had suddenly found
my
hospital bed much to
o
confining, restlessness had taken
over.
My
nurse looked as if she might protest th
e
new development, but she thought better of it.

“Boys who think they are men
,” she said
much too loudly.

Wrong button…
and she pushed it.

“What did you say?”
I
asked harshly. As
I
turned back around.

Nurse Grogan
must have suspected
she might have crossed the line
,
but she
didn't appear to be
the type of person who ever backed down from a confrontation and she
wasn't going to w
ith some still wet behind the ears kid
like me.

“I
said
,”
s
he annunciated
,
“
t
hat you boys who think you are men don’t know half of what you think you do.”

“Are you done?”
My
eyes blazed.

Nurse Grogan actually backed up a step, something
I'm sure none of
her staff up to th
at
point had ever seen.
It
would be great fodder for conversation for the next week.

“Um
,
why yes I am
,” she answered
meekly.

“Good, then get the fuck out of my way
,” I said
softly enough so only she would hear even though a half dozen people had stopped what they were doing to watch th
e
small drama unfold. Nurse Grogan moved as fast as anyone with that kind of bulk could.
I
made it to the corner with perfect form
.
I
t was when
I
finally made it out of sight that
I
had to brace
my
self up against the wall, lest
I
pass out.
I
had to admit the battleaxe was probably right to try
to
keep
me
in the bed.