Page 26 of LeX

Mymate is sitting in a large chair with a youngling in her arms, humming a song as she stares down at it with a soft smile on her face.Lookingaround,Ifind that there are several more younglings in square containers all around her; this must be a nursery.Confused,Itry to walk closer, but something holds me back.Itis likeIam standing outside her body, looking in.Italso takes me a moment to realize she is dressed differently.Herhair is pulled back tightly instead of its usual loose curls, and she is wearing spectacles.Ryliehands the baby to another woman who has just come in, and after a brief conversation, she exits the room.Iturn to follow her when an alarm goes off andIsee her turn back for the nursery she just exited.Suddenly, all the younglings start to fuss, andIcan tell this is not normal.

Rylierushes over, hitting the door, but it’s locked from the inside.Shestarts motioning to the female on the other side whoIcan tell is terrified and unprepared for what is happening in the now sealed room.Icannot hear their words; it is likeIam watching a silent holo pad reenactment.Thatis when it dawns on me, she is either dreaming or reliving this.

Thenshe turns from this room, running down the long hall.Ifollow her.Sheyells at others dressed the same as she is, andInotice they all take off in different directions.Ryliestarts slamming and locking doors as she goes.Suddenly,Ihear the cries of younglings all around me.Severalhumans venture out to see what is going on and she motions for them to return to their rooms.Ican tell she is frantic as the cries down the long hall only get louder.

Flashesof time start to speed by, andIwatch as humans come and go.Severaldesperate parents try multiple ways to break down the door of the nursery, but the structure holds strong.EventhoughIfeel like something is keeping me separated from allIam witnessing,Iam still able to lean in closer to the younglings.Manynow have marks all over their skin, andIcan feel the heat coming off their small bodies.Thepoor things have all become infected with something that is spreading quickly throughout this building.Themedical center’s attempt at containing the disease is futile as it seems to be attacking all the younglings at once.

Despitethe exhaustion and illness evident in her trembling frame, the woman in the nursery cradles the crying babies close, her every moment devoted to the little ones under her care.Herstrength and dedication bring tears to my eyes, as her complete focus has been on the younglings this entire time.Suddenly,another one lets out a particularly loud cry, then everything seems to go eerily silent.

Itfeels like time folds in on itself, andIwatch as several of the nurses also become sick with whatever ailment infected all the younglings.Risingscome and go, and the rooms keep getting quieter until there is only one left inRylie’sarms.Inow realize that no matter how or what she tried to do, this disease has done the unthinkable.Iwatch my mate collapse when this little one goes quiet as well.Shehas not left this place the entire time; her commitment to the nurses and the families in this facility has become her entire focus even as her own health is fading rapidly.

Inthe middle of this horror,Ihear thumps against the outer locked doors.Loud, angry words can be heard all around me, butIcannot make them out clearly.

Whenmy mate’s eyes roll back in her head and she collapses onto the floor, there is no one left to help.Itry my best to go to her, but it’s like an invisible wall is holding me back.Myfists bang against the obstacle separating me from her, only to stop whenIsee someone, or something enter the hall covered from head to toe in what appears to be a contamination suit.

Theycheck all the younglings first, thenIwatch helplessly as they finally make their way toRylie.Horrified,Iscream out her name when it looks like they are just going to leave her lying there.Abruptly,Ihear my voice echo throughout the valley where her mind now resides.

“LeX?”

Ihear her soft voice in my mind asIlook around frantically for her, only to find her sitting under the tree, twirling a yellow flower in her hand.Idon’t know howIgot here, butIfind myselfgrabbing her up in my arms.Holdingher slightly away from me, my hands run over her slim form. “Youare all right, you are all right.”Ijust keep saying those words over and over until her small hand touches my face.

“Hey, are you ok?Ican finally see you …WOW!Thegods got creative when they formed you didn’t they?Lookat all that hair,I’menvious.”

Herwords barely sink into my mind as allIcan see are her labored breaths as she lay on that floor alone, only moments from death.Whathappened?ShouldIask her?Theneed to know more only stirs up more questions in my mind, but would the memory cause her more harm than good?

“ShushLeX, take a deep breath,I’mfine.Youscared me when you suddenly appeared in the field screaming my name.”

“Isaw something horrible, andIcould not get to you.Butyou are here now and in my arms … that is all that matters.Wait, did you say you can see me now?”

“Ican, andIdidn’t realize we were the same.Forsome reason,Ithought we were different, butIdon’t know why.Look, we have the same scales and everything.Wheredo you go when you leave me?Ifeel likeI’malways looking for you.”

“Toanother place that needs me.Iwish you would come with me …Itwould make me so happy.”

Shelooks confused for a moment before a smile forms on her face.Itrace the scales along her hairline as she looks up at me so trustingly. “Youmade this place for me didn’t you, so thatIwould have a safe place to be when others need you?Youare just teasing me about leaving.”

Iknow not what to say; doItell her or act this out?LordofLightIhave never been so confused.Tiredof thinking,Ipull her into me slowly, giving her plenty of time to push me away.Butshe shocks me once again by raising up on her toes, meeting me halfway.Herlips are softer than anythingIcould have ever imagined.Herbreath mingling with my own makes my scales flutter, and just asIstart to deepen the kiss,Ifind myself sitting next to the bed again.

Ittakes a moment for me to realize what just occurred, and then allIwant to do is sling this scanner off my head. “FRACK!”Iyell out, before getting up to pace the room once again.Ido not know what is worse, being able to hold her in my dreams or not at all.Eitherway, my shaft is standing at attention again.Embarrassedby my lack of control,Ibutton up my lab coat the rest of the way down to hide it.

“Destiny, can you see ifANDI, orSCOUTare available for council?”

BeforeIcan turn around,ANDIis floating in front of me. “MedicLeX, how mayIbe of assistance?”

“Iknow you told me that you only had limited information aboutRylie, butIthinkImay have seen something that happened to her that probably put her on the path that led her here.Doyou not have records of patients or anything distinctive that might have happened at that medical center she worked at before theScientificCenter?”

“Giveme a moment and let me see ifIcan pull anything up. …MedicLeX, there are some discrepancies in the download.Ifyou could give me something more identifiable,Imay be able to find additional information through another channel.”

“Ibelieve she quit her job like you said because something specific happened.Isaw a moment in her life where she was taking care of a group of younglings.Theygot really sick and even thoughIcannot confirm it, the outcome did not look positive.”

“Ahhhyes, …Letme provide you with some history of what was going on at the time theEarthdecided it had enough.Asyou know, with every race, there is always a set of scientists somewhere, trying to save the world.Thisis simply one of those cases.Afew believed the reason theEarthwas reacting the way she was is because of its overpopulation.Severalfacilities released viruses, and while some attacked older individuals, the worst one concentrated on the young.Thousandsof younglings were affected and, if my records are correct,MistressRylie’shospital experienced one of the first outbreaks.

Veryfew little ones survived in or out of the womb.Ryliewas lucky not to have perished herself.Ican provide you with more detailed information now that we have narrowed it down to a specific amount of time.Justgiving an educated guess on the matter you asked about,Iwould say the loss was too much for her to bear and when theScientificCenteroffered her a way to help save others of her race, she probably found a new purpose.”

“Wait,ANDI.Couldshe still be infected with this disease and our scans not show it?Wehave a youngling that has been right in this room with her.”

“MedicLeX,Ihave found no trace of it in her system or in any of the othersIam now carrying to their new world.However,Iwill log this as something they might need to be vaccinated for in the future.Now,Iam not saying that it didn’t do some sort of permanent damage to her, butIbelieve if it had, your blood and essence would have already reversed it.

MistressRyliewas at the top in her field, a renowned surgeon in pediatrics.Shespent her entire life saving children’s lives.Therewere numerous certificates logged along with her files at the hospital.Ifshe is willing to continue on this path once she escapes her coma, that knowledge will be greatly needed for all the new younglings, especially those of mixed races.Manywill face viruses and things that were not an issue onEarth, andIbelieve betweenMistressRylieandMistressQwin, we will have the upper hand on those issues as they evolve.TheLordofLightalways provides us with what we need.”

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