Arana’s Visitor
Book 1 of the Vadelah Chronicles
Preview copy of chapter 6
© 2005 by Julie Rollins
www.JulieRollins.com
Science Fiction
February 2005 (version d4i)
6. Crisis at the Clinic
A few days later, David and Gyra strolled the city sidewalks once more. This time they took a street David hadn’t walked in years.
A few crows cawed in the branches of a huge dead oak.
“Todd and I figure we’ll go shopping for your metal on Friday,” David told Gyra. “It’s the soonest we can fit you in. Our schedules are pretty tight and I don’t want to give Todd any excuses for cutting class.”
The phantera turned to him. “I am grateful for your help.”
Half a block down the street, a car pulled to the side of the road. A lone young women stepped out of the car, slammed the door, and watched as it sped away. She stood rigid, hunched over. Her shoulders trembled.
“She is pregnant,” Gyra commented. “And crying. Do you know why she is crying?”
The woman turned and faced a faded pale building. “Westside Women’s Center” proclaimed a blue and white sign above the entrance. On the wall, a red and white sign hung: “No Trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” A well-built security guard stood near the glass doors, arms folded, while a closed-circuit TV camera stared down from the roof.
David’s stomach felt sick. “It looks like she’s going to an abortion clinic.” God, why did I come down this street?
“She is going to kill her baby?” The feathers went erect on Gyra’s head and he snapped his jaw. “Why? How could she?”
“A lot of people don’t know what really goes on in an abortion,” David said. “The schools and the media never give a blow-by-blow description of what happens. A lot of people never see it from the baby’s point of view. They believe the unborn child is just a blob of cells, even though the baby has a beating heart and brain waves by the time a women has an abortion.”
“But why would she want to kill her own child?” Gyra asked.
David grimaced. “She doesn’t want to be pregnant and have a baby.” Sighing, he ran his fingers through his curls.
“Some women see a baby as an impossible burden, an obstacle to their education or work. They may feel they can’t afford to raise a child and they have no choice. Others are pressured by their husbands, parents or boyfriends to have an abortion.”
David released a frustrated sigh. “The worst excuse I’ve heard was that it was for ‘the baby’s best interest.’ Adoption is far more merciful! Abortion is a hideous, painful way to die.”
Gyra pointed towards the woman. “She does not appear to have made up her mind.”
The woman started for the stairs.
Gyra darted down the sidewalk. “I must stop her!”
“Gyra! Wait!” David dashed after him.
“No time to wait!” the phantera called back.
Trying to catch up with his friend, David yelled, “You’ll get in trouble! It’s against the law!”
The girl turned around and saw Gyra. “What are you doing?”
Gyra grabbed her hand.
“Hey, buddy! You’re on private property!” yelled the guard.
The woman screamed at the giant bird. “Let go of me!”
“I won’t hurt you!” Gyra pleaded. “I have to show you!”
The guard pulled out a radio, contacting the police. “I have an anti-abortion nut assaulting a client—hurry!”
The phantera slipped one hand on the woman’s head and the other on her belly.
Her distressed face went blank.
“Gyra, what are you doing?” David cried.
“My God,” she breathed. “What was I going to do?”
The guard trotted down the stairs. “Ma’am, are you all right? Sir, you are under arrest for assault.” He seized one of Gyra’s arms and slapped a handcuff on it.
David cringed. Lord, no! Please!
The woman whirled around to face the guard. “They lied to me! The whole damned clinic lied to me!”
The guard stepped back. “Whoa, ma’am, don’t you worry. You’ll be safe. The police are on the way and your identity will be protected. We’ll make this jerk pay!” He yanked Gyra’s other hand into the handcuff.
The big bird did not resist, but tilted his head as he looked down at the metal cuffs.
“They told me it was nothing, that it wasn’t a baby, but it is! Let him go! He didn’t hurt me!”
The guard drew himself up. “Wait a minute, ma’am, I saw him assault you. If you don’t press charges, we will for trespassing and disrupting our business. Now come along, you have an appointment.” He took the girl’s arm in one hand, held Gyra with the other, and pulled them both towards the clinic door.
“If I don’t go in there you’ll charge him with disrupting business?” the woman said, face flushing red. “You son of a . . .”
With that, she gave the guard a left hook, catching him completely by surprise.
The large man lost his footing and fell back onto the steps.
David saw his chance. “Come on!” he yelled and yanked at Gyra.
They both raced down the street.
“Wait for me!” screamed the girl.
Looking back, David saw the woman right behind him and the guard still struggling to rise.
Joined by the girl, Gyra and David turned a corner and covered another block before coming out on a main street.
“Are the police bad now?” asked Gyra.
“Yes,” David answered between pants. “Right now the police are definitely bad.”
“Then I suggest we stop running.”
“Why?”
“Because a police car is approaching from around the corner.”
David stopped and the girl almost ran into him. With only seconds to act, he dashed into a dark, open doorway, pulling Gyra behind him.
David looked around and smirked. He had stumbled into a bar. Well, Todd would have the last laugh.
Gyra hid behind David and the woman. “Here it comes,” he whispered.
A police car sped by without its siren.
“Hey, you guys gonna order something?” asked the bartender.
“No, we were just looking for a bathroom,” answered the woman. “But I think I’ve changed my mind.”
“Let’s go,” David whispered.
Sticking his head out the door, Gyra did a sweep. “It is safe.”
“Let’s cut over to Jackson Park,” David suggested. “It’s overgrown with shrubs and weeds.”
Crossing the street, they entered the park. The man-made lake had been drained long ago and they walked on its sandy bottom.
David’s eyes searched the area. “This is the perfect place to hide. The park’s size will make it formidable to search.”
Plunging deep into the thick bushes, they sat down to wait.
“Now I can talk,” the girl said. She turned to Gyra. “I want to know how you let me see my baby.”
David shivered. What was she talking about?
The phantera eyed the young woman. “I don’t know if we can trust her. She might be mel.”
“Hey, I’ve been accused of a lot of things, but never of being male! You especially ought to know that.” She rubbed her belly.
David almost laughed. “Not male; he said mel. It means bad in his language.”
Her face bore a determined look. “I still want to know how he let me see my baby, and how he knew that police car was coming before we even saw it.”
Coughing nervously, David said, “My friend has some special gifts.”
“I’ll say.” The girl turned back to Gyra. “Can you let me see my baby again?”
“My hands are bound,” Gyra answered, showing her the handcuffs.
Her brown eyes softened. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“If we had not met, your baby would be dead.”
David cradled his head. Gyra sure could be blunt. Attempting to change the subject, he said, “I’m David.”
“Debbie,” the girl replied with a tight smile as she shook his hand.
Placing his hand on the phantera’s shoulder, David said, “This is my friend Gyra.”
Gyra stretched out both hands and took Debbie’s.
“This is the first time I ever shook hands with someone in handcuffs.” Debbie promptly hung her head and her long dark hair closed over her face like a curtain.
Longing to help the girl, David scooted closer.
“Debbie, I don’t want to pry, but if you need anything—prenatal care, a place to stay, counseling, baby stuff—I’d like to help.”
Debbie’s head remained bowed, shoulders trembling.
David rested a hand on one shoulder and Gyra put both of his hands on the other.
“My boyfriend told me to get an abortion or move out,” she said between sobs.
David fished a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to her. He hoped it was a clean one.
Taking it, Debbie crumpled it in her hand. “He expects me to call him when I’m finished. I have no place to go and I haven’t found a job. Even my parents don’t want me. What am I gonna do?” She blew into the tissue without even looking at it.
David rubbed her shoulder. “I’ll help you find a place to stay. For tonight you can stay with me.”
Debbie looked up at David, eyes narrowing like a cornered bobcat’s.
He recoiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t make any moves on you.”
“David is not a womanizer,” Gyra offered. “He told me he is a virgin.”
“Gyra!” David felt his cheeks burning.
The phantera cocked his head. “What is wrong?”
“That’s not something people talk about.”
“Why? Are you ashamed?”
“No, it’s just that people don’t go around talking about their sex life.”
“Some people do,” Debbie said with a soft laugh.
David sighed. “I know, but I’m trying to teach him the proper way for people to act.”
She frowned. “You say that like he’s not human.”
“What do you think he is? Some alien from another planet?” David blurted the truth, hoping she would dismiss it as ridiculous.
But Debbie just stared at him with those wary eyes. “A few weeks ago I would have thought the idea was crazy, but I’ve been hearing too many weird things the last week.” Her eyes held him.
“Things?” David’s throat tightened. “What things?”
“Mysterious objects tracked across the sky a few miles from here, a sonic boom when no military jet was around, and high-up people frantically searching for a downed ‘plane’ but keeping its identity hush-hush.”
David’s stomach turned to stone. He wanted to turn away from that piercing gaze, but was afraid. “How do you know this?”
Releasing him finally, she looked down as her long hair formed a curtain again. “My boyfriend, Wayne, works at the air force base on the edge of town. He was a nervous wreck last week. I asked him why and he told me all this. Said he couldn’t share any more.”
“Are you going to tell him about us?” David asked in a tight voice.
“And let him gloat to his friends about finding you? No way! Wayne tried to make me kill my baby so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. I’m not going to give that jerk anything to crow about.” Her hand went to her belly again. “I just wish my baby had a better father.”
“Well, I think he’s going to have a good mom.”
“Me? I don’t know anything about children. My family was a mess.” She blew into the tissue again. “I think this Kleenex is finished.”
David took back the soiled tissue. “Well, you can talk to my mom. She’s a fountain of wisdom when it comes to kids. I’m sure she’d love to help.”
Debbie smiled. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but the tension had left her stocky body.
Turning to Gyra, she said, “Thank you for showing me my baby. You kept me from making the worst decision of my life.”
She reached out and placed her hand on the alien’s shoulder. “Your secret is safe with me. If I can ever repay you, I will.”
The phantera nodded.
“Hey, Gyra, can you see if there are any police cars out there?” David whispered.
The phantera raised his head just clear of the bushes. “Two are cruising the street and one is parked near the clinic. There’s a strange van parked in front of the clinic. It has a pole extending vertically from its roof with a big dish on top.”
“Great,” David breathed in disgust.
Debbie’s brown eyes widened. “Is it the military?”
David shook his head. “Worse. It’s the news! Our faces will be plastered all around town by nightfall.”
Shaking her head, Debbie asked, “How can that be? They didn’t get there until after we left.”
“Then I suppose you didn’t see the surveillance camera mounted on the roof?” David blew out his breath. God, spare us. What will my parents think?
Debbie’s face paled. “I’ve got to get to a phone—fast!” She stood up.
“Wait!” David hissed. “The police are out there looking for you. Why do you need a phone?”
“I have to get a hold of Wayne. If I can reach him in time, I might be able to keep him from talking.”
“Where is he now?” asked David. “Think!”
“He’d be at work on the base.”
“Would he have access to a TV or radio?”
“Not the regular type. Hey!” She brightened. “He won’t have a chance to find out until he gets home.”
Sighing with relief, David said, “Great, we still have some time. When does he usually get home?”
“He’s been working late the last few weeks, coming home about eight.”
“Good.” David clasped his hands. “We can wait until dark, then sneak back to the apartment. You can call your boyfriend from there. He should still be at work. What are you going to tell him?”
Debbie’s face hardened into a fierce expression. “I’m gonna tell Wayne if he doesn’t keep quiet, I’ll tell the press he was pressuring me to have an abortion—and I’ll make him pay child support.”
Rubbing his chin, David asked, “Do you think it will work?”
“Sure will! It’d embarrass him to no end if his friends heard about it. Several of them are already on his case for how he treats me. His job would become a living hell.”
David looked up at the sky. “It’s going to be a long time until dark.”
“Well, does anyone have a good story?” Debbie eyed David and Gyra. “It would make the time pass easier.”
Chuckling, David said, “Gyra here has one that will definitely keep you occupied.”
* * *
David was relieved when the sun finally set. “Now we can leave.”
“I have been thinking,” Gyra said.
“What?”
“You waited until it was dark because then it would be harder for the police to see us, right?”
“Right, especially you.” David rubbed his curls. “You stick out like a sore thumb.”
“I do not understand.”
Waving him off, David said, “It’s slang, meaning something that is hard to hide.”
“That is what I have been thinking.” Gyra looked at the silvery cuffs on his hands. “It would be easier if you two went by yourselves.”
“And what would you do? We can’t leave you here,” David protested.
“I could meet you at the apartment.”
Scratching his shoulder where a shrub pricked him, David asked, “And how would you get to the apartment alone?”
“I would fly.”
David’s mouth fell open. “Fly? Of course! You do have wings, don’t you?”
“If you wish, I could carry you one at a time.”
“No!” Debbie said in an urgent voice. “I have a . . . fear of heights.”
Gyra cocked his head.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to stay with Debbie,” David answered. “She doesn’t know where we live. Do you think you can find your way back to the apartment by yourself?”
The phantera nodded. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just afraid you might forget.”
“Phantera do not forget. That is not one of our weaknesses.”
“Right,” David answered, chagrined. Mulling over the idea, he tried to anticipate any problems.
“Gyra, I like your idea, but it wouldn’t be good if people saw you land near the apartment. Once you were on the ground you’d still have to take the elevator. Why don’t you land on the roof? No one would expect you to come down the stairs.”
“What if the police are already at the apartment?” asked Debbie.
David fingered his chin. “Hmm. We don’t know how much they know. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
“Gyra, you land on the roof. Todd or I will come and get you if it’s safe. If we don’t, or if someone else is already up there, fly back here and we’ll meet you as soon as we can. If none of us can make it,” David grimaced, “We’ll send someone to find you. They’ll say naharam as a sign, okay?”
Gyra nodded and spread his enormous wings. “I will wait for you. Yavana guide you!”
Leaping into the air with his powerful legs, the phantera completed his first down stroke from a height of ten feet.
“Wow,” David whispered, watching the strong wings. They beat faster then he would have expected for their enormous size.
“I almost wish he had taken me with him,” Debbie said.
“Me too. Let’s go.”
* * *
Arriving at the apartment building, David peered into the lobby. Nothing unusual. They took the elevator up to their floor and stepped out.
“So far so good,” David muttered.
Scanning the hall, Debbie muttered, “Doesn’t look like a bad place.”
He opened the door.
“David! Where have you been?” Todd cried from inside.
David raised his hands to calm his roommate. “Shh! Is it safe?”
“Better than being out on the streets. I heard some wacko pro-lifer in a bird suit attacked a woman and guard at an abortion clinic. At first it had me worried, but then I remembered Gyra was with you, and I knew you wouldn’t have let anything like that happen to . . . where’s Gyra?”
Motioning for Debbie to follow him in, David shut the door.
“Who’s the girl?” Todd asked as if Debbie were an irrelevant intrusion.
“This is Debbie. Debbie, my roommate Todd,” David said as the two shook hands. “She’s the girl who was at the clinic.”
Todd’s eyes froze on her. “Oh sh—oot!” He spun on David. “Gyra?”
“He’s okay. He should be waiting on the roof.”
Wagging his blond head, Todd muttered, “I never thought he’d hurt someone.”
Debbie put a hand on her abdomen. “He didn’t. He just touched me and showed me my baby somehow. It was so weird, yet . . . wonderful. I could see my baby’s form in three-D. And then I felt him. I can’t really explain it, but I felt his mind, and he felt mine. He was so curious.
“And then he sensed my fear. My fear became his fear. Then all went blank and I saw the guard coming to arrest Gyra. My moment of joy turned into horror when I realized what I was about to do.”
Todd scowled. “And then Gyra attacked the guard?”
“No way!” Debbie flashed Todd her fierce brown eyes. “He didn’t hurt anyone. I slugged the guard. The jerk tried to drag me into the clinic. I snapped when he referred to killing my baby as a business. He acted like my appointment gave them a legal claim on my son!”
“Well, this isn’t the first time the press has messed things up,” David commented.
Todd grimaced. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
The phone rang and everyone froze.
“Was I mentioned anywhere in the report?” David asked.
Staring at the phone like it was a venomous snake, Todd replied, “They said there was another man, but the camera didn’t get a good picture of his face.”
“So, they don’t know who I am?”
“I don’t think so.”
The phone rang again.
“Are you going to answer that?” Todd asked.
“Maybe you should.”
Todd picked up the phone. “Hello? . . . Oh.” He smiled. “Hi, Jeff, what’s up? . . . David? Sure.” He held out the phone. “It’s your cousin.”
David’s hands sweat as he took the phone. “Hello?”
“David! It’s Jeff. What’s going on? The police told me someone in a chicken outfit advertising my place beat up a woman and a clinic guard. I’ve got a bunch of angry feminists picketing my place. What happened?”
Rubbing the damp curls on his forehead, David pondered how much to share. Lord, show me what to do.
“Jeff, where are you?”
“At work. I’ve got to keep an eye on those feminists.”
“Jeff, please listen carefully. Gyra and I were at the clinic this morning, but Gyra didn’t hurt anyone. He just talked a woman out of an abortion. The problem was he walked onto the clinic property to do it.
“The guard flipped out and tried to drag the girl into the clinic. She punched him and then we all ran. I’m really sorry you got involved like this, Jeff . . . Jeff?”
From the other end of the line came the last sound David expected to hear. Starting as a wheeze, it grew in volume until he realized it was a laugh—a laugh so strong it had taken Jeff’s breath away.
“Jeff? Jeff, are you okay?”
Howling laughter forced David to pull away from the receiver.
Finally controlling himself, Jeff said, “Had you worried, didn’t I? Today’s been an interesting day.
“I knew those press people were up to no good when they refused to show the whole film on TV. They gave some lame excuse about protecting the woman’s right to privacy. Those creeps didn’t want anyone to know what really happened.
“Listen, next time you see Gyra, tell him I’m proud of him.”
David straightened. “You are?”
“Sure, it takes a lot of guts to do what he did. I only wish more people were willing to stand up for what’s right.”
A thought crossed David’s mind. “You said the police came and talked to you?”
“They did more than that! When I told them Gyra wasn’t here, they took me down to the station for some friendly questioning. Someone from the clinic arrived with the video from a surveillance camera, so the police asked if I could identify Gyra from the film. I said I’d try.
“I told the police someone else might have rented a bird suit, copied the vest and committed the ‘crime.’ When they asked if I had any suspects, I said I have a lot of competitors who’d love to see me get this kind of publicity. That’s true, too. Some of the local joints are owned by the mob.
“So, they set up the video and ran a short clip. I saw you in the background.
“You could tell it was me?”
“Only because I recognized your jacket. Anyway, they wouldn’t show Gyra attacking the guard on the film. I smelled something fishy. After raising a big stink, saying I couldn’t identify my employee unless I saw the whole scene, they played it. Then I nailed them.”
David blinked. “You nailed them?”
“Yeah, I pointed out that the guard was dragging the girl by the arm—like you said. You should have seen the look on the detective’s face! He was stunned.
“I told him I didn’t think my employee assaulted anyone, but if that girl turns up, the clinic could have a major lawsuit on their hands. Then I said, ‘If the clinic wants to press charges, then they better be ready for the whole truth because I’ll counter sue to clear the name of my business. Just tell them to contact my attorney.’
“I don’t think you need to worry about Gyra now. Our ‘friendly neighborhood abortion clinic’ is back-pedaling fast for the moment. Now that they’ve made their noise, I think they’ll just lay low.”
“Thanks, Jeff, I really owe you one.”
“Think nothing of it,” Jeff said. “One of the feminists insisted I show my remorse by giving a donation to their cause. These people are shameless! If the feminists boycott me, so be it. I’m going to give a donation to the local maternity home. So, don’t worry; I can hold things down here. Just take care of your friend.”
“Thanks again,” David added before hanging up. He pulled his shirtsleeve across his forehead. “I’m starving. Let’s get something to eat.”
“What about Gyra?” Todd asked.
“Oh yeah. Go up on the roof and get him.”