Read Seer: Thrall Online

Authors: Robin Roseau

Seer: Thrall (2 page)

I looked away. "I didn't betray you. Not that you cared about the truth."

Solange didn't say anything, but a moment later, she was wheeling me away again. We came to stop before another person, a man. "This one tried to knife me for my jewelry," Solange said. "Actually, he did knife me, but it didn't do him much good."

She let me think about that for a minute.

"Pick one," she said. She stepped to the head of the bed, dragged me out of the row we were in, and began slowly pushing me down the aisle towards the end. "Pick a row."

"Here," I said randomly. "Third one in."

She turned me in, bringing me to a stop. She looked at the body for a moment. "I don't remember this one," she said. "It's on the controls at the head of the row." She stepped away, and I watched her as she stepped up to a computer. She read the screen for a minute before looking at me.

"Child molester," she said.

I stared at her. Then I gestured my nose to the one next to him, one body closer. "That one."

She glanced at the screen. "Caught beating up a homeless person."

"This sentence seems extreme, Counselor," I said.

"He liked beating them to death," she clarified.

"Oh," I said quietly. She may not have heard the word, but my mouth made a big "oh" shape when I said it.

Solange returned to the side of my bed. "Others?"

"No," I said quietly. "Please take me out of here."

She nodded, and a moment later, she was maneuvering my bed back to the hospital room. Neither of us said anything until I was repositioned where I'd been earlier. She puttered behind me for a minute before returning to stand at the foot of the bed.

"Now," she said, "Would you like to discuss your freedom?"

Hope flared. "Freedom?"

"Yes. More or less, anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"That would be part of the discussion."

"Yes, I would like to discuss my freedom."

"There is a price for that conversation, and freedom itself will have other prices."

"What price?"

"You will first answer, completely and honestly, every question I give you. If you do so, and you strive to please me with your forthright responses, then we will discuss your freedom." She paused. "On the other hand, if you refuse to answer my questions, or if I think you are lying to me..." she moved closer until her face was not far from mine. Her fangs extended, and I didn't even try to avoid her gaze.

"I will bleed you until you suffer brain damage. I won't kill you, and I won't make you a complete vegetable. Then I will pack you back up, and you will spend the rest of your days as nothing but a vacuum packed meal. You will have enough brain activity left to reflect on your miserable existence, and to realize you are nothing but food, but not enough I will ever be tempted to make this offer again." She spoke coldly. "Do you understand your choices?"

My heart was pounding in my throat, partly out of fear of her, but more out of envisioning what she was threatening to do. I'd always been proud of my intellect, and if she did what she threatened, I knew it would be gone. I couldn't imagine a worse fate.

"Monster!" I screamed. I struggled weakly with the bonds, wanting to reach out and physically attack her. "How can you do this to me? Animal! Evil bitch!" Spittle flew from my mouth, but it was weak and didn't reach her.

She hissed at me. "What did you think would happen to you?" She screamed, and she was a lot louder than I was. "You. Betrayed. Me! You broke into a secure facility. You didn't stumble upon this. You did it intentionally. What did you think would happen? What do you think would have happened if this had been a top secret government facility? Do you think they would rap you across the wrist and tell you not to do it again?" She paused. "No!" she screamed. "They would have bundled you off to another secure facility, one far more obscure than Guantanamo, and they would have pulled every secret out of your head before dropping your limp body into an anonymous grave."

She pulled away and asked in a more restrained tone, "What did you think would happen?"

"You can go to hell!" I said. "I'm not answering your questions. You can just wonder who else I told."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Do you doubt my resolve?" she asked. She leaned forward and ripped the blanket from my body. I could see the restraints. She tapped my left wrist, and I saw there was still an I.V. in my arm, well secured between restraints across my wrists and elbows, holding my arms immobilized. She reached down, twisted something, and I saw my red blood begin to flow out of my body.

"No!" I screamed. "Don't do this! Solange!"

"Do you doubt me? Do you really want to test my resolve, Sidney?"

"Stop! Shut it off! I'll talk. I'll talk!" I screamed.

"How did you get my code?" she asked.

"Shut it off!"

"Answer the question and I'll think about it."

"Solange..." I began to hyperventilate again.

She'd been watching the blood, and her fangs were out. She looked up into my face. "It takes time," she said calmly, the words sounding strange coming out around the fangs. "You have several minutes to answer before it turns dangerous."

"Dreams!" I screamed. "I had dreams. Lots of dreams! Shut it off. I'll tell you everything! Shut it off!"

And she did.

I stared at the tubing.

"It's still flowing," I whimpered. "Solange..."

"No," she said. I stared at the blood in the line, but she used her hand to lift my face towards hers. The fangs were gone. "I shut it off. You will answer my questions, won't you?"

I nodded, even with her hand still on my chin.

"Please, take it out."

"Oh, no, Sidney," she said. "It stays. That's for a later conversation. Consider it incentive to be complete. Now, tell me everything."

I began to talk.

Explanations

She questioned me for a long time, a very long time. I knew I was completely defeated. A few times I balked at her questions, and she only had to glance at the valve in the I.V. line before I began babbling an answer, thrusting the words out at her, in between begging her not to turn it on again.

Finally I wound down; I had nothing else to tell her. I looked away for a while. Finally I turned back to her. "Are you going to put me back there?"

"That is not my intention," she said. She paused. "I have one more question, and this is for the woman I thought loved me."

I turned away, closing my eyes.

"Was it a lie?"

"Was what a lie?" I asked, but I knew what she meant.

"When you said you loved me. Was it a lie?"

"No."

She reached out and pulled my chin back to face her. I tried to shake her off but she was insistent.

"I want you to tell me why you did it. Maybe you thought the dreams were a metaphor, but you believed them enough to break into this facility. You knew you were betraying me. Why did you do it?"

I closed my eyes, and I felt the tears begin to crawl from my eyes. I didn't answer her right away.

"Please, Sidney," she said. "Why?"

"I never betrayed you," I said coldly. "You asked what I thought would happen? I didn't think about it. But I told you what you should have done." Then I screamed, "You should have talked to me!"

She walked away for a minute, her back to me.

"Get off your high horse, Solange," I said. "You should have told me. And if you weren't going to, you never should have accepted my offer of a date. Once you knew I was a seer, you really, really should have told me. You do not have the moral high ground, and you know it."

I panted and strained against the restraints.

"You could have claimed the moral high ground when you caught me, and perhaps it would have been fair, but as soon as you left me in here, you lost it. And you know it!"

She stood still, not moving, and I waited. But finally she turned around and returned to the side of the bed.

"I want to know why you did it."

"Because you asked me to," I spat. "You and Aubree asked me to."

"That doesn't make sense."

I took several breaths, trying to calm down. "In a dream," I said finally. "Well, a series of dreams. I know some of them were a metaphor. The bodies -- I didn't think they were real. I didn't understand them. But the bodies said the end of the world was coming, and that I had to come here to stop it. And then I dreamed that you asked me to help you save everything. I didn't understand. Aubree asked, too. But the dreams were all a mix."

I closed my eyes. "They weren't real dreams. I thought they were real. They were mixed with real dreams, or at least they felt like real dreams." I opened my eyes. "Do you understand?" I didn't wait for her to answer. "Why would my dreams do this?" I paused. "You should have talked to me. You screamed I ruined everything. I didn't. You did."

She said nothing for a while, looking down at me.

"What is to become of me?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"For now, you need to rest. You're past worn out. When we talk next, we'll discuss your freedom."

"You're going to let me go?"

"We'll discuss it."

"What does that mean?"

"You need to rest."

"I want to know what you mean!"

"You may not agree to the terms I place upon your release."

"What terms?"

"Sidney..." She paused. "We'll talk about that when you wake up."

"What if I don't agree?"

"I'll give you a day or three to reconsider."

"And after that?"

She glanced down at the I.V. "I'll give you a choice of going back or as peaceful of an ending as I can manage." She looked up. "This is your fault, Sidney. Not mine. What else would you have me do?"

I looked away. "You should have talked to me. This is your fault. You should have told me, and you know it. You had no right to play with my life, and that's what you were doing. And you know that, too. You ruined my life and you don't even care."

"You need to sleep," she said after a moment. "You need to be stronger."

"Will you untie me?"

"I'm sorry. No."

I turned back to face her. "You expect me to sleep after telling me tomorrow you're going to kill me?"

"I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, Sidney. But yes, you'll sleep. I'll give you a choice. If you stare into my eyes, I can help you sleep. You will rest, entirely untroubled, probably until someone intentionally wakes you. Or I can get the nurse to give you something. Those are your two choices. I would rather do the first."

"It doesn't matter," I said petulantly. I looked away, and she shifted, perhaps about to fetch the nurse. "Wait."

We stared at each other before I said, "I answered your questions." She shifted slightly, but didn't otherwise respond. "You're a monster. I don't say that because you're a vampire. Only a monster would do what you've done to me. You're no better than the people in the next room."

Her lips narrowed.

"This wasn't my fault; it was yours. You should have talked to me. What you should do right now is release me. What you should do right now is beg my forgiveness. But go ahead. Make me sleep. Then open that valve and bleed me dry."

She stared at me, and emotion flickered across her face. "Sidney," she said. Her voice cracked. "We'll talk when you wake up."

"I don't want to wake up to this nightmare. I don't want to wake up and remember what my former lover did to me. Put me to sleep then open the damned valve and leave it open."

But I didn't look away as she caught my gaze in hers. I did have one final thought before I slept.

"Pretty."

Freedom?

Solange had been right. I didn't have a single dream. When I woke, I was in the same bed in the same room, and I was alone and still restrained, arms and legs both. I lay there dully for a few minutes before calling out.

"Is anyone there? Solange?"

I wondered if anyone could hear me.

It was several minutes before I heard the door open and close, and then a woman, clearly a nurse, if her attire was any clue, stepped through the small gap in the curtains. She caught my gaze. I wouldn't say her expression was friendly, but then, I had betrayed her employer, or so she probably believed.

"Good morning, Ms. Welsh," she said. "I am Nurse April."

I stared at her for a good ten seconds before summoning enough thought to say, "Such formality for someone in my situation. Are you a vampire, too?"

"No," she said. "Do you prefer if we call you Sidney?"

"It seems simpler," I said. "Call me whatever you want. What are you going to do to me?"

She stepped closer. "Feed you. We changed your bedding and cleaned you up while you slept."

I think I colored.

"Just a sponge bath," she said, "and we brushed your hair. Maybe you can't feel them, but you're still fitted for waste removal."

My blush undoubtedly deepened, but I didn't say anything. The nurse stepped out but returned nearly immediately, carrying a glass. She stepped to the edge of the bed and fingered the controls. Unlike Solange, she didn't offer a warning, and I had a moment of disorientation as the bed began to tilt me forward.

Once she was satisfied with my position, she offered me the straw. I drank for a moment, and when I was done, she set it aside. The blanket had fallen down when I'd been sat up. I looked down and saw the restraints about my arms. I stared at them. April didn't say anything, but she lifted the blanket back up, tucking it in over my shoulders so it would stay.

"Before you ask, don't bother. It is exceedingly rare, but from time to time, we get someone who is in a position to ask us to help him escape. The answer is always 'no', and then we report them to Ms. Casper."

"Don't want to take their place?"

"Well, no, but that's not why we refuse. In short, we're loyal to her. You don't need to know more than that." She paused. "I am also going to tell you a few more things. You may be tempted to be verbally abusive. I am human with human emotions. Attempts to make me angry may succeed. I won't abuse you in return, but I may not be kind, either."

"What would you do to me?"

"I won't sit with you and keep you company."

I had looked away when I asked my question, but then I turned back to look at her.

"I am not responsible for your situation," she added. "And I am not a fair target for abuse. And so I won't remain any longer than absolutely required to see to your most basic needs, and then I will leave you to stew. It's your choice."

"Do you not feel guilty for what you help them do?"

"Why should I feel guilty? I know who you are, and I know you must have betrayed her to find yourself here. I can look in the computer to see what everyone out there -- " and she gestured towards the hallway, "-- did to end up here. Am I supposed to feel guilty?"

"I didn't do anything to justify what she's done." I tugged on the restraints. "I didn't do anything to deserve this, either. But if believing I deserve this helps you sleep at night, by all means, believe what you will." I managed to say all that without any venom in my voice.

We studied each other for a few more seconds before she said, "It will take a few minutes to prepare your breakfast. It will be very simple and bland. It will feel good to close your eyes. If you drift, I will wake you when I return."

I nodded and accepted her suggestion, closing my eyes gently. I heard her step away, and as she had predicted, I drifted. I didn't not notice when she returned, but then she touched my shoulder and said my name.

I opened my eyes. There was a tray stretched across the bed in front of me. April offered me a little more water, then she picked up a bowl and spoon. "It's vanilla pudding," she said. "I've had better, but it's not horrible."

"No Jell-O?" I asked.

She smiled. "Did you want some?"

"It was a joke," I said. "Jell-O is the cliché hospital food."

"Open," she said, scooping up a spoon of the pudding. She fed me slowly, giving me a half dozen spoons. She offered more water, then said, "We're going to let that settle for a few minutes, then you will eat the rest."

"That's enough," I said.

"You'll eat it all," she said. "We know what your body needs. It needs nutrition. This is nutrition. I will not feed you enough to make you sick. This is not your first meal in months. You have been getting fed steadily during your entire stay."

"One of the tubes," I said, and she nodded. "Will you answer my questions?"

"I will not answer personal questions," she replied.

"Will you tell me the date?"

She paused.

"Solange already told me I've been here seven months. That means it's some time in April."

"It is Thursday, April sixteen," she said. She flipped her wrist over to consult her watch. "Nine-seventeen in the morning."

"Thank you," I said. "What is happening in the world?"

She spent the next several relaying the world news from the last seven months. Then she held up the spoon and said, "Open."

She continued to talk while she fed me the rest of the pudding. I finished it, and she picked up a second bowl. "Oatmeal," she announced. She didn't wait. "Open."

"I don't care for oatmeal," I said.

"Do you think we care whether you like it or not? It's what I made. You will eat it." Then she softened her expression. "I made it the way I like it, and it will help you get stronger. It might take a day or two before your stomach is ready for more solid foods. It hasn't had to work very hard for seven months."

I nodded, and I let her feed me the oatmeal. It could have been worse. I finished, and she offered me more water.

"What now?" I asked.

"Now you rest," she said.

"I wouldn't suppose I could have a book or television."

"Our orders are to encourage you to rest," she replied. "While people fall asleep in front of a television, it isn't conducive to proper rest."

"And a book?"

"You're not in a position to hold one, and you're staying the way you are until Ms. Casper comes to a conclusion regarding your final disposition with us." Without warning, she began lowering my head. Going down was worse than going up, but she only inclined me perhaps halfway. I closed my eyes and tried not to be sick.

"Is something wrong?"

"Vertigo," I said in explanation.

"It will clear," she replied. "Ms. Casper told us, if you are respectful, to treat you kindly and to stay with you while you are awake."

"Have I been disrespectful?"

"No. I am going to get a chair and sit here until you sleep. I'll just be a minute."

"Don't bother," I told her, but she ignored me.

She stepped away, bringing the tray with her. She was gone a few minutes, and she came back in wheeling a chair. I heard the wheels before I saw her. She rolled it to the edge of the bed. I opened my eyes and watched her sit down.

"I'm going to tell you something else. It is very rare for us to unpackage someone. Once someone arrives here, he stays here until he dies."

"How long is that normally?"

"That depends upon Ms. Casper, by and large. We have a few who have been here for more than seven years and one who has been here for sixteen, although not in this exact facility. A body can't stay like this indefinitely, and it's work to make them last. For most, we don't put in the effort. Ms. Casper insists we do what we must to keep that one man alive, so periodically we unpackage him and nurse him back to health. He is quite mad by now."

"Is that a medical term?" I asked.

"It is around here," she replied with a small smile.

"Why is Solange keeping him alive?"

"The computer entry is not so specific with that one. I believe he did something to make her very angry, but I am smart enough to not ask. She helps to unwrap him, and she seems to take delight in his mad ramblings. She does her best to get him worked up when we package him back up, and she doesn't let us use any medication to make any of it easier on him. He is entirely awake."

"I don't understand."

"We gave you drugs to dull your mind," she said. "You slept most of the time. It makes it easier."

"I see."

"You got more than most," she said.

"I see," I repeated. I didn't want to talk about this anymore. Nurse April didn't take my subtle hint.

"Some we bleed dry immediately," she went on. "But normally if they come to us, we package them up like you were, and they last a year or two, giving us a pint every few weeks."

"That seems too often."

"It would be if we cared about their health."

I looked away. "I'm not sure I should have asked. I would rather not talk about how my former lover intends to slowly bleed me dry so she has a ready meal when she wants one."

She was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I'm sorry. My bedside manners are terrible. That's part of the reason I'm here instead of somewhere else." She paused. "I thought you should know that this isn't normal."

"What's normal about any of this?" I asked.

"You know what I mean," she replied.

"Yeah."

"I'll stay here with you," she said, "and we can talk if you want. But I want you to close your eyes and rest. When you wake, it might take me a few minutes to return, but I won't leave you here for too long. That's the deal we're making."

"There's no reason for you to stay." I closed my eyes. When she didn't leave, I asked, "What's it like outside today?"

"It was a long winter, and there's still snow on the ground here and there. I got here at five-thirty, but it looked like it would be a nice day."

I didn't ask anything else. Instead, my thoughts turned inward. I thought about what had happened to me, what was still happening to me. I began to cry quietly, tears running down my cheeks. I rubbed them off on the blanket at my shoulders.

Nurse April didn't say anything right away, but then I heard the chair squeak as she shifted her weight, and I felt a hand take mine. I didn't clasp back.

"You think I deserve whatever happens to me," I accused. "I didn't deserve this."

"Didn't you?" she asked, but it was said gently.

"I didn't hurt anyone," I said. "I have never hurt anyone. You would have to be trying to hurt someone to deserve this. You would have to be someone horrible to do something like this to someone. She's a monster." I opened my eyes and turned to her. "I'm not sure what that makes you for helping her." I awkwardly pulled my hand out of hers.

We stared at each other for a while. "The computer doesn't say why you're here," she said. "Do you want to tell me?"

"I broke into the facility."

She let that hang in the air for a minute. "What were you going to do?"

"I don't know. I didn't have a chance to decide. It was pretty shocking, and I didn't have a clue what to do." I looked away. "You said I must have betrayed her. I didn't get that chance. We'll never know what I was going to do. She should have talked to me. I begged her to talk to me. Instead, she did this to me." I looked back at the nurse. "She's a monster and a heartless bitch. And if you think I deserve this, then you're a heartless bitch, too. Go away. Open that IV on the way out the door. It's better than whatever she has planned for me."

She didn't move. I thought about screaming at her, but I knew it wouldn't do me any good. If she was capable of feeling guilt, I'd said enough. If she wasn't, then screaming would just make things worse for me. I looked away again.

She sat there for a minute before she spoke next. "Ms. Casper left notes. She said she explained to you what the people out there have done to land here. Do you think freeing them is justice?"

"No one deserves that!"

"Maybe that's true," April replied. "There are two pedophile priests out there."

"So arrest them."

"Lack of evidence."

"So there is no trial?"

"They confessed."

"Problem solved."

"Confessions to a vampire aren't going to stand up in court, Ms. Welsh. There are a few whose offenses are borderline, but everyone out there, in my opinion, deserves to be there."

"Where do I fall in that?" I asked somewhat hotly.

She paused. "I am trying to decide if I should have let you continue to quietly cry or become angry. Do you think you can calm down?"

"Please answer my question," I said more gently.

"I do not believe you are a bad person. But this is a secure facility. What did you think would happen if you got caught?"

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