Separian - Book 1

Chapter 45

Mike has been gone two days now and Marissa is the only face I have seen since. She made a point of pulling the others aside one night after I'd seemingly gone to sleep, and offered to take their shifts until Mike came back from his visit home. Why? I didn't know, but I didn't complain. The last two days and even the day before had all been practically silent. The sound of her breathing had softened even more and she turned her pages without my knowledge entirely.

Leviathan was supposed to visit again today and examine everyone still injured. I'd worked past my need to use the wall for a support when I walked, but just barely. He definitely wouldn't approve. I would make sure not to mention that when he came by. He liked to threaten people with "sleeping aids" whenever they didn't adhere to his request for how they treated themselves in his absence. His instructions to me were "bed rest". But now that I could walk on my own, I wanted to be free of my restrictions as soon as possible. So today, I'd managed to hobble my way down the hall and to the stairs. Marissa walked closely behind me, insisting that I return to bed before I hurt myself.

The lobby of the house cleared out before I made it to the top step and anyone in the kitchen left through the back door at my halfway mark. By the time I reached the last step, the front door was open and Leviathan was entering. Marissa tried to explain but was quickly silenced by the look in his eyes. I don't remember the trip back up the steps, but I do remember the grilling he gave me the moment I was settled back under the sheets. His daughter had accompanied him again, but she was as silent as the first time I'd seen her. I didn't even know her name.

Now, as I lay in bed, a set of blankets pulled halfway up my body, she unwrapped the old bandages and examined the scars. Her father lectured me as he tended to Marissa's arm. She no longer needed the sling, but he recommended it a few more days just to be safe. She didn't refuse.

Leviathan finished his rant around the same time his daughter finished replacing the white cloth and still without a word, she left the room, her father tight behind her, as they attended to a few others still in rough shape. In the midst of his talking I had managed to hear him say that I was "not cleared to walk, yet" and as so, it would be my caretaker's responsibility to make sure I remained in bed. I wanted to tell him where he could shove his opinion but feared being injected and forced to sleep for several hours. The nightmares were already unbearable, but at least when I went to sleep on my own I had a chance of waking from them. If I was forcibly put under, I had no clue of how long they would last.

"He means well." She had reopened her book after the door was closed and the pressure of standing in the doctor's presence left her. I didn't respond. "And although I may not be able to hear your thoughts anymore, I do trust you know that much."

The door that had just been closed was thrown back open again. In the frame I saw Quinn.

"Get up." A face I hadn't seen in almost 3 days; not since her last shift. Now all of a sudden I was at her command. When I didn't move, she approached the bed. Marissa had placed her book down without marking her page and stood from where she sat next to me. "We're leaving." Marissa began to move toward my side of the bed but Quinn spoke again. "Going out," she said as if to correct her previous statement. "We are going out. You have ten minutes." And she was gone.

"I don't know what she's thinking." Marissa felt the need to speak as she moved across the room and into the bathroom where she started the water in the shower and grabbed a fresh set of clothes for me. "On the positive side of things, she doesn't seem to be angry with you. Though, I cannot tell you exactly what it is she's feeling. I wonder if even she knows." I doubt I was meant to hear that last part.

I made for the bathroom and closed the door once Marissa was through prepping the water. Rather than tell her not to bother, I stayed my tongue. Worried that Quinn might grab me the moment I decided not to leave with her and drag me out of the house as I was now. At the very least, I wanted to change what I was wearing. But it didn't bring me any satisfaction that Marissa now believed I was no more capable than a senior citizen in a retirement home. Unable to feasibly prove to her otherwise, I swallowed my pride, once again, and continued to remain quiet. I'd gotten too used to the care. My silence was nothing more than a poor substitute for an excuse at this point.