When my shock subsides, I think – why?
Why would The Surgeon do this to my father, her husband? I thought they were partners in crime. What could he possibly have done that resulted in him becoming one of her lab rats, something to indulge her passion for freakish experimentation?
I guess all I can do for now is take care of him during his final hours. I know he betrayed me grotesquely, but he's still my father.
......
Kade is full of kindness, "Tan, do you want me to take him to a hospital?"
"No, there's no point, he'll be dead soon."
"Don't be so defeatist, surely we can try and save him?"
I know his intentions are good, but I have enough medical experience to know the truth. His body is not only rejecting the womb, but he has a raging infection from the crude surgery.
"Kade, we can't save him, he's over. And anyway, I have no doubt bringing him to a hospital is one of her traps." Kade ponders, "Yep, that's true," he concurs.
"I feel bad that you and Kelly have to experience this. Look, just leave me alone to deal with it. When he dies I'll hide his body some place out here. You two are the most talented, creative people I've ever met. Distance yourself from this evil and me; get on with your lives. Please," I almost beg.
"NO – we're involved. I'm personally involved. I heard what that woman had in store for me! I don't want revenge, I want justice, and I know that going down the obvious legal channels won't work, because she's bought them all." Kade shouts this at me, not with anger, but with a burning passion. "And, I like you," he looks suddenly down, as if embarrassed, then adds, "and, here's another thing, Kelly and I are the same as you..."
..."What? You're both transgendered?" I cut in, with shock.
He smiles, "No, I'm all guy, she's all girl. I mean we're all alone in the world, young people with no parents or guardians."
The question shoots from me, "Were your parents abusive as well?"
He looks sad, "No, they were perfect parents," his head drops and I suddenly see the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"What happened, Kade?"
"Not now, Tan, it's a long story. We need to focus on your Father. Let's bring him to our home so he can die in dignity, not in this derelict space," he says, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
......
"There it is, Tanya – home," says Kelly, pointing to a gigantic concrete structure in the near distance.
As we drive closer the ambulance is dwarfed by huge concrete funnels that stand guard over sprawling blocks of brick built buildings. The place is littered with gargantuan pieces of old machinery: huge cogs and pulley's, mammoth old engines, metal girders, all rusting and rooted into the scrubby ground – It's like an old machine's graveyard.
Kelly maneuvers the ambulance through this decrepit obstacle course with an experienced dexterity. Eventually we turn into a vast warehouse type space and stop.
......
Once the engine dies I note the extreme silence. Kade opens the door and jumps out, "Welcome home, Tan," his words bounce around the space then disappear into the bowels of the building.
I don't know what to think, this place looks nothing like a home, "I won't lie, I'm spooked. What is this place?"
"It used to be a coal-fire power plant. The place once employed hundreds of people, now it's home to Kelly and I – and now, you. Let's get your Father and I'll bring you down," says Kade, with a chilled out tone.
