Beyond our Earth

47: Adulterous

~~~~SARA'S POV~~~~

It was late. Dark. My heavy eyes parted as the sounds of muffled voices woke me from my sleep. I rolled over in the hotel bed. A dim light was switched on in the far corner of the room, silhouetting the figures who stood beside my bed. It took me a moment, in the haze of having only just awoken, to realize who they were.

"Althazar?"

The figure with his back to me froze at the sound of my voice. He turned away from the twin bed which he was facing and gave a gentle wave.

"You're back." I stated, sitting up.

He nodded, placing a hand on my back, and I remembered why he wasn't talking. I had given my translators away to Elizabeth to use on their journey. Now I desperately wanted them back. I wanted to ask Althazar so many questions.

I looked at Elizabeth, hunched over the other bed. 

"Is that...?"

I sprung to my feet, stepping up beside Elizabeth.

"Oh my gosh, Braden." I breathed, overwhelmed with excitement and relief.

Some part of me had long ago resigned to the idea that I would never see him again. Looking at him now felt surreal.

"I can't believe you got him back," I murmured, crouching down beside him.

It really was a wonder, looking at him made it even more unbelievable. His body was covered with slits and incisions, like a mad scientist had tried to dissect him alive. And I suddenly came to the realization that that quite literally could have been what happened.

There were aggravated, reddened marks on his wrists from where he must have been restrained. It looked as if he'd struggled constantly trying to break free of them.

A few thin tubes lay still embedded under his skin. One in his forearm, another two in his neck. The extending ends looked as if they'd been ripped from their counterparts. Clear fluid dripped slowly from the tattered end of the one nearest me.

My eyes fluttered over Braden's body and landed on his face. It was perfect. Untouched. As if nothing had happened to him.

His hair was messy, like the day I'd run into him at the park.  

I felt something touch my ear and looked up. Althazar was placing the translators back where they belonged. I smiled up at him.

"Going to talk to me now?"

I heard a door close. Elizabeth had just left the room.

"Yes, love." Althazar spoke. He took my hand and lifted me up.

"Will he be okay?" I asked.

"He'll be okay." Althazar replied. "Actually, I've still got a few things to take care of." He said, eyeing Braden up. "Would it be too much trouble to ask you to locate a small scalpel?"

I smirked at his ridiculous request. "How about a razor blade instead?"

Althazar said nothing. I took that to mean he had no idea what I was talking about. His hairlessness suggested he'd never had to shave in his life. But I figured it would do the job.

"I'll be right back, the front desk should have one." I said, heading for the door.

"Be quick if you can, love." Althazar said as I slid out.

To my surprise I didn't see Elizabeth outside our room.   

I jogged down the hall to the elevator. When I came out in the lobby the clock above the reception desk spelled 4:30 a.m. The attendant was asleep at his computer. I smirked, watching his head pick up at the sound of my footsteps.

"Sorry about that." He said, rubbing his eyes as I approached.   

"Do you have any shaving kits?" I asked.

He starred at me.

"It's an odd request at four in the morning, I know." I said.

He smiled. "No worries, that's what I'm here for. And if you've got any other requests I'd be happy to fill them as well." He pushed away from the desk and went into the area behind reception.

It took me a second, then I blushed. I think he was coming on to me. He was pretty cute too... But I had an alien and a madly devoted boyfriend waiting for me in the hotel room, so this really wasn't the time to get distracted.

I waited as patiently as I could while the sounds of him searching appeased my hopeful ears.

"Here we are." I heard him call from the back room.

He walked out with a little packet containing a razor and some cream.

"Awesome, thank you." I took the packet and spun around, running off to the elevator.

"Have a good night." He called after me, a hint of laughter in his voice.

It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that I realized I was still wearing what I had gone to bed in; my bra and underwear. That might have explained the way he looked at me.

Normally I would have been a little embarrassed at this point, but in this whirlwind of a night it didn't even phase me. All I was focused on was getting the blade out of the razor kit and delivering it to Althazar.

When I knocked on the door he opened it faster than I had expected.

"Quickly Sara," he said, snatching the peice of metal from my hand. "Things aren't going so well in here..."  

That scared the hell out of me.