Crave - 18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Merrick could hear voices around him, but wasn't paying attention to what anyone was saying. His sole focus was on the broken body in front of him. Jenson was so pale and unresponsive. The hand Merrick held was cold.

“Where the hell is that damned medic?” he yelled, angrily wiping the tears from his eyes. “Get him here NOW!”

Someone entered his field of vision and knelt beside him. “I need you to move, Commander.” The medic’s voice was firm as he moved slightly in front of Merrick, forcing the human to move backwards.

Merrick felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him away from Jenson’s side. He struggled, not wanting to leave the vampire.

“Sir, the doc needs room to help Envoy Shey.”

Merrick finally relented, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He watched from a short distance away as the medic, Foster, examined Jenson, running a scanner over his body. There was so much blood the ground under him was stained almost black. Merrick didn’t understand how he could have lost so much and still be breathing.

Foster called for the hoverboard and, with the help of a couple of guards, loaded the vampire, quickly transporting him to the medical tent. Merrick followed close behind, not allowing Jenson out of his sight.

Audra must have heard the commotion because she came hurrying out of the command tent. “What happened?” she asked, running up to the Jenson’s side. “Jens?” Her hands hovered over her brother’s body, as if unsure where she could touch him.

“He was attacked by a flauros.” Merrick growled. Although he knew logically what happened wasn’t his fault, the guilt of leaving Jenson unprotected made him short-tempered. “They rushed the perimeter, and one managed to slip through.”

At the med tent, Foster ordered everyone to wait outside, and shut the flap behind him. Merrick paced just near the entrance, his mind replaying the sight of Jenson being ripped apart by that creature, over and over again. In a rage, Merrick had shot the thing in the head and threw it off of the vampire with more strength than he thought he possessed. It’d hit a nearby truck with a sickening thud. When Merrick had finally reached the vampire's side, Jenson’s eyes were barely focused, and Merrick could feel the man slipping away from him.

While they waited for news, Merrick fixated on the door of the tent and answered Audra’s questions. He could feel her eyes on him and forced himself to turn to her. “He’ll be ok,” she said quietly, her hand gripping Alec’s. Merrick hadn’t noticed until then that the other man had joined them. “Jens is strong.”

“Of course he is,” Merrick snapped. He felt badly for taking his frustration out on J’s sister, but couldn’t seem to control his clipped tone. Fear and guilt were making him agitated. Audra gave him a weak smile before turning into Alec’s embrace.

It seemed like hours before the medic finally came out. Merrick and Audra stood from where they had been sitting against the side of the building. Everyone else, including Alec, had been sent off to see to their duties. “He’s stable for now,” the vampire said, wiping blood off of his hands with a cloth. “He lost a lot of blood and some of the wounds were quite deep. One of the cuts on his leg resulted in torn muscle and ligaments. The injury to his chest collapsed his right lung and damaged several internal organs. I’ve repaired what I can, and he’s stable now, but he needs to be moved to facilities with more advanced equipment than I have here. The ship has a full operation theatre.”

“You want us to move him by truck to the ship?” Audra asked, shocked. “With those things out there, ready to attack?”

The medic shook his head and sighed. “No, that trip would be too long and too treacherous. Even if the flauros didn’t attack the vehicle, he might not survive the journey.”

“The ship’s shuttle is too large to land here.” Audra’s voice was strained. “The terrain in this area is too rocky.”

“Fuck!” Merrick swore and closed his eyes, trying to keep his frustration at bay. “How long can we wait before he needs surgery?”

“A few hours,” the other man said softly. “I wouldn’t want to delay it any longer than that.”

Merrick started to pace again, trying to come up with a way to get Jenson to the ship. An idea started forming in his head, but he wasn’t sure if it would work.

“We have 10 drones, correct?” He turned to Audra for confirmation. She nodded, clearly confused about where he was going with this. “Jenson told me they can fly up to 50 metres above the ground and can carry around 100 kilograms each.” Audra nodded again. “What if….” Merrick grabbed Audra’s arm. “What if we hook up a platform of some sort… a hoverboard, maybe… and fly him to the ship?”

“Someone would still have to control the drones.” Audra’s brow furrowed in thought. “They can be programmed to get to the ship, but if anything goes wrong, or if they face any obstacles, it could be disastrous.”

“I’ll control them.”

“You?” Audra’s eyes widened. “How? You’ll lose the remote sensors after 100 kilometers and the flauros would likely attack any vehicle you drove into the forest.”

“I’ll ride with Jenson. We just have to find something large enough to carry the both of us.” Merrick’s mind raced, as he mentally planned for the trip. “If I’m riding with him I can also make sure he stays stable.”

“Merrick…,” Audra protested. “It’s too dangerous.”

“No, Audra. Jenson needs to get to the ship. Now.” Merrick started to walk towards the door of the tent as he spoke. “How many boards do we have?” He asked over his shoulder. “If we lash two of them together I could ride in one and we could have Jenson in the other.”

“We have three.” Foster ran to the corner where the hoverboards were stored. “We can use these two.”

Merrick started to walk over to help, but stopped when he saw Jenson. The vampire was still very pale, and his breathing was being regulated by a mask. There was a tube sticking out of his chest that Merrick figured was keeping his lung inflated, and several sensors were attached to his body. The destroyed clothing had been cut away, and a blanket covered his lower body, leaving long gashes visible against the bare skin of his upper body. Merrick’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. He grabbed the older man’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I’ll get you there, J,” he promised, before continuing over to the far side of the tent. It took them a few minutes to attach the boards together with binding straps. They were adjustable and very strong, so they would easily hold the platform together. The boards could also be programmed to maintain a stable angle, so the drones could lift and transport them using wire cables without losing their precious cargo. While Merrick and Foster worked on the platform, Audra contacted the command centre to have four drones brought in from the perimeter. The machines would need to be reprogrammed to take commands from a handheld device which would be used by Merrick during the flight.

As soon as everything was prepared, Merrick tested the system by making a few passes over the compound. He was impressed with how well the drones responded and how stable the board felt under him. Confident he could fly the drones, he had Foster bring Jenson out. The vampire was connected to a portable unit that would regulate his breathing and monitor his vital signs during the trip. Although Jenson was securely strapped to the board, Merrick was attached only by a harness. He needed mobility to get to Jenson if he required help.

Audra kissed her brother on the forehead and ran around to hug Merrick tightly. “Good luck,” she said, her voice filled with tears. “I know you’ll keep him safe.”

Merrick nodded before having the drones lift them slowly off the ground. Once he was sure Jenson was fine and the drones were still responding, he rose above the trees and set a course for the ship. He was told a medical team was preparing the operating room and would be waiting for their arrival. Although they could fly without worrying about the rocky terrain, Merrick had to sacrifice speed for stability, and projected it would take him almost an hour to reach the ship. It was much too long in Merrick’s opinion, but this was the best chance Jenson had.

It was dark by the time they left the compound behind, but the lights the drones carried lit an area 50 metres around them. They flew several metres above the treeline, but in the distance Merrick could see they would be barely skimming above the canopy. Merrick kept his attention split between Jenson and his surroundings. Although he couldn’t see anything, he could hear branches moving to his right. He set the drones to auto-pilot and un-holstered his weapon before moving to his knees, scanning his surroundings. They had just reached the higher canopy when the sound of movement to his left made him turn. A flauros leapt out of the branches straight for him. Both he and one of the drones fired, each barely missing the twisting creature as it fell back towards the ground. Before he had a chance to move, there was weapon fire behind him. He heard a roar as a second flauros fell back into the branches. Judging by the painful grunt, Merrick assumed this one had been hit. When there was no further indication of pursuit for several minutes, Merrick let his guard down long enough to ensure Jenson was still stable. Although the man looked even paler than he had at the compound, his vital signs appeared to be holding steady. Merrick contacted the base to give them a situation report before turning his full attention back to the forest beneath them.

The remainder of the journey was tense, and Merrick breathed a sigh of relief when the ship finally came into view. He had himself unhooked from the harness before the drones had lowered the boards to the ground. The ship’s medical team ran up and unhooked Jenson’s hoverboard so they could move him directly into the operating room. The doctor ran a scanner over the envoy, checking his vital signs. The tense, whispered conversation between the medical staff did nothing to ease Merrick’s concern.

“Is he going to be ok?” Merrick asked, watching the vampires work. “Did I get him here in time?”

“We won’t know the full extent of the damage until we get him inside,” the doctor said, his expression grim. After going over the scans, he ordered Jenson to be moved to the O.R and left without looking back at Merrick.

Merrick hurried behind them, stopping only when they reached the surgery doors and was prevented from going any further by one of the nurses. He started to protest until she told him that arguing was only keeping her from going inside to help Jenson. Merrick immediately moved away and leaned against the wall, letting his head fall back with a thump. His heart ached with the thought Jenson might not survive this. It had taken years to convince the stubborn man to give them a chance. Would fate be so cruel as to rip that long-awaited opportunity from them now? Jenson was strong, but he’d lived through well over a century of grief after losing Kel. What if Jenson wanted to go with Kel? Would the relationship he and the vampire were starting to build be enough for Jenson? Merrick knew he was being morose, but couldn’t stop the doubts from creeping in.

Less than 20 minutes later, the ship’s nurse hurried out of the doors to a room across the hall. It was labeled as medical storage and a universal blood bank. Merrick remembered thinking it was ironic that a vampire might need a blood transfusion. Now he was grateful the reserve existed. The nurse came back out with several bags, and was gone again in seconds. She didn’t acknowledge Merrick’s presence at all. He knew they would have had blood ready before their arrival. The fact they needed more so soon, worried him. How much blood did Jenson lose?

While waiting for news, he contacted the base to let them know he’d arrived safely. Audra tried to stay positive, but Merrick knew she was terrified for her brother. With a promise to contact her as soon as he had any news, he took off his communicator. If anything urgent happened, the base would contact the ship. He closed his eyes and replayed the evening again in his head.

“Commander?” A voice by his shoulder startled him. He turned and saw Lieutenant Haran, Audra’s second in command, standing nearby. “How is Envoy Shey?” The concern in the man’s voice was clear.

“I don’t know.” Merrick could hear the weariness in his own voice. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he was exhausted. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. “He lost a lot of blood in the attack and his injuries were pretty severe.”

The other man nodded gravely. “Councillor Shey’s ship will be arriving in the next hour. I was asked to advise you that Councillor Weir was also onboard.”

“My father?” Merrick was surprised. Why would his father make the trip?

“Yes, sir. There are also a contingent of Alectarans scheduled to arrive in a few hours. Councillor Shey had hoped to meet with you and the envoy before their meeting.”

Merrick growled, anger coursing through him again. “The Alectarans are coming here?” He snarled. “Those bastards probably brought the damned creatures here in the first place.” Not able to sit any longer, Merrick stood and stared at the door leading to the medical bay. “If anything happens to him….” Merrick took a deep breath. No. He wasn’t going to think that way. Jenson would be fine.

Haran watched him in the same careful manner as one might watch a wild animal. “Does Jenson’s father know what happened?” Merrick asked, feeling the anger leave him just as quickly as it had arrived.

“Yes,” the other man said, nodding solemnly. “Captain Shey contacted the councillor as soon as you left the compound.”

Merrick nodded, and didn’t bother to say anything further when the man turned and walked back to the bridge. The Alectarans would be arriving in a few hours. Merrick was determined to get some answers from those people. One of them knew something. He refused to believe it was a coincidence for so many flauros to have been dropped onto this planet so close to their planned base. That one bastard… what was his name? Counseur Rossud. He seemed nervous during their first meeting. He might even be behind this. No matter what happened, someone was going to pay for hurting the man he loved.