Of Royal Descent (19 page)

"It's okay Addy
.  I highly doubt they would let me die after all the trouble they've taken to keep me here.  I'll be fine," I said, rubbing her knee.

"Well, then, that's settled.  Just give us a wave when you're dressed and finished with breakfast
, and Stephen will be along to collect you."  Bradbury stood and made his way to the door.  Addy and I remained still until we heard the click of the lock.

Immediately, she sprang up from the side of the bed and closed herself in the bathroom.  I took the opportunity to dose myself with another round of liquid tranquility.

"Addy," I called out, "it’s okay baby, I promise."

She opened the door and stared out at me.  "How can you promise that?  You don't know that."

"Uh, I hate to throw labels around in a relationship, but aren't you supposed to be my nurse?  Aren't you the one who's supposed to be reassuring
me
?"  I smiled at her.

"It's not funny, Doyle," she said as she began to cry.

"I know," I said softly, "But all things considered, they could be doing things much worse than this right now.  And I'm sure they will sooner or later.  I'm going to need you to appear calm, even when you're not, no matter what they throw at me, because until I enter the third shade, I have no way to protect you.  Do you understand?"

She wiped her nose and looked at me.  "I understand.  I'll try."

I pushed my half-eaten breakfast plate away from me.  "Might as well get this over with," I said, hoping I sounded braver than I felt.  "Could you see if I have any clothes in the dresser?"

Addy dabbed at her eyes one last time before resuming a professional and confident air.  She strode to the dresser and rummaged through the drawers until she found an assortment of garments she was satisfied with.

"I'm usually not one to argue with a lady over style, but don't you think I might be a tad overdressed in this outfit?"  I asked, taking in the stack of clothes she had laid on my bed.

"No blue-faced tramp is going to be humping my man!  Not even if you have to wear every piece of clothing in this building," she said, silently debating on what to begin dressing me with first.

"Oh," I said, laughing and easing my way toward her, "So you're not worried about whether or not the horde of royals will want to eat me.  You're only worried whether or not the one female in the group is going to be so overcome by my sheer manliness of cowering in the corner and writhing in pain that she won't be able to contain herself?"

"Don't tease me, Doyle," she pouted.  "You know I don't want anything bad to happen to you.  But I can't dress you
not to be dinner
, now can I?"

"Okay," I said, setting up for a compromise. 
"How about two layers of everything?  Any more than that and the other royals might laugh at me."  I stifled a smile.

"Fine, but I choose the layers."

"Deal."

Twenty minutes later
, I was dressed in a long-sleeved sweater, a pair of jeans with a belt, two pairs of underwear, and an orange jumpsuit, very much like the ones convicts wear.  Why there was even a jumpsuit option available, I had no idea.

"I look ridiculous," I said, staring into the mirror.  Addy had helped me to make the short walk into the bathroom so I could relieve myself before suiting up. 

"Not at all.  I think you look threatening," she offered.

"You're aware with this shade of
orange, I'll stand out from a mile away, right?  Aren't predators attracted to bright colors?"

There was a pause while we both mulled this over.  We shuffled out of the bathroom at the same time
, and Addy began sifting through the throng of clothes once more.  When she was done, she held out a lightweight camouflage jacket and a pair of black leather pants to replace the jumpsuit with.

I grabbed the jacket willingly, but I paused in taking the pants. 

"You said I could choose," Addy reminded me.

I sighed and took the pants.  We made our way back into the bathroom where she helped m
e change into her new picks.  I was on my tenth dose of morphine by the time I had shimmied into the leather.  I stared at my reflection.

"W
hat exactly was your purpose behind the pants?"  I asked.

"They're slick.  That makes them hard to grab onto."

"Uh huh, I suppose.  But I can't move very well in them.  What if I need to run?  I'm not going to make it wearing these."

"If the royals move as fast as Bradbury says they do, you're not going to make it anyway.  I think you're best bet is with slippery material."

I stared at Addy.  She stared back, holding her ground.

"Okay," I said, knowing enough to sense when I was beaten.

One last shot of narcotics into my system, and I waved in the direction of the camera.

"How long can you go without the painkiller?" asked
Addy.

"I guess we're about to find out," I answered as Stephen entered into the room.  He smiled awkwardly as he walked in our direction.

"I just need to temporarily disable the pump.  Don't worry; you'll have it back afterward.  It just won't fit in the cage," he said, unhooking my IV tubing close to my arm, leaving the access site intact.

"Cage?
  I thought Bradbury said I didn't require a cage?" I asked.

"Oh, it's not because of you.  It's because of the royals.  It's the only way we can open the pit."

My breathing accelerated.  The pit did not sound like the name of a friendly place.  "The pit?"

"It's where the royals gather when we observe their behaviors."

Maybe Stephen could see how shaken up I was becoming, because he leaned in, as if to fiddle with the analgesic pump, and out of the corner of his mouth, he said in a low whisper, "Don't look them in the eye."  He righted himself quickly.

"Alright, we should probably go.  Everyone's waiting," he said
in his normal volume of voice, supporting me under the arm as Addy did on the opposite side. 

The cage awaited me in the hallway.  Stephen withdrew a small remote from his pocket and pressed down on one of the few buttons.  The front of the cage began to slide straight up.  Once it had opened roughly four feet, the door stopped.

"Sorry, that's as far up as it goes.  They were designed with royals in mind," Stephen explained.

I stooped to clear the bars
, and the pain reverberated through every muscle.  I gritted my teeth and pulled myself the rest of the way in.

"As Doyle's nurse, I don't think he's in any condition for this experiment.  We haven't even left the hallway and he's in severe pain," Addy advocated in my defense.

"I don't make the rules, I'm just the delivery boy," replied Stephen, closing the front panel of the cage.

He wheeled me down the corridor to a set of double doors that automatically opened as we drew near.  The room on the other side of the doors was expansive and round.  A large, circular cage nearly filled the entire area, leaving the remainder of the room to provide a walkway around the penned enclosure.  The lights were dimmed to the point of being nearly extinguished. 

Stephen rolled my personal cage up to the bars of the enclosure, and I heard a click.  The front panel began to lift, also opening a section of the pen.  For just a moment, I debated succumbing to my terror and screaming like a schoolgirl.  But I dismissed it quickly, not wanting to alarm Addy.

The gate reached its full height
, and I perched at the entrance, ignoring the pain caused by the unnatural position.  The ground inside the cage felt similar to grass and packed dirt.  Although the lighting was dark, I could make out what looked like trees in the distance.  It was designed to resemble the outside. 

"Doyle," Stephen said softly, "You have to exit your cage now.  They're waiting."

I glanced up to where Stephen had indicated by way of a head nod and saw the balcony observation deck behind me.  Bradbury and a group of lab coats peered at us from behind glass.

Turning my focus back to the pit, I slipped under the bars and began to right myself.  I scanned the horizon but saw nothing of interest.  I turned back to face Stephen on the other side of the cage.

"What do I do?  There's no one here."

Stephen pointed upward as he began to back away from the pen
, and I turned to look in the direction he had gestured to.  Crawling upside-down in the shadows along the top of the cage, I counted four crouched, blue bodies silently drawing closer.  I heard Addy scream and turned in time to see Stephen drag her out of the room. 

I swung back around
, and one of the creatures dropped to the floor, about twenty feet in front of me.  It swayed back and forth on its haunches, and I suddenly remembered what Stephen had said.  With downcast eyes, I awaited my fate.

A couple yips sounded above me
. and out of my peripheral, I could see another royal drop from the ceiling and skitter a few steps closer to me.  He used his arms to help propel himself forward, much like an ape would.

A shriek went out from the royal in front of me
, and I began to make peace with the fact I was going to die.  Another creature sounded, from much further away, and I realized I had no idea how many of these things there were in here with me.

Pain gnawed at m
y body, and I was finding it difficult to remain standing.  I leaned back against the bars.

The other two royals fell to the ground
, and as a pack, they began to close in around me.  They moved slowly, as if not sure what to make of me.  I dared a glance up in their direction and saw a streak of blue rocketing toward me.  Instinctively, I hit the ground and put my arms over my head.  I choked out a sob of pain as the royal standing directly above me began howling.  I could see he faced the other royals, his back to me.  Again he screamed. and a couple of the others took a step backward. 

I saw movement along the wall of the cage and another creature, this one bigger than any of the others, scurried on all fours to reach me.  I held my breath.  He dropped beside the royal facing the crowd, and he too turned his back to me.  He vocalized a series of barks and shrieks in a booming voice
, and the others began to run off in different directions.

The big royal turned to face me, leaning in close, forcing eye contact.  I looked up at him, and although I knew to expect it, seeing the bottomless pools of black where eyes should be froze
me to the spot.  His teeth dripped shadowed, dark liquid down his chin, and I tried not to think about what he had been doing before my appearance had interrupted him.  Abruptly he turned, and in a blur, bolted out of view.

Only one royal remained.  I looked up
to find him staring at me, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.  He reached out a decaying arm and touched my cheek.  I wanted to shrink away from his hand, but I didn’t. 
Wasn't it common knowledge not to make any sudden movements with large predators?
 

"Safe," he gurgled, before turning and joining the others in the shadows.

I sat still, trying to calm my racing heart.  After a minute, I heard someone enter through the double doors and quick footsteps made their way to the pit. 

"Get back in the cage
.  I'm pulling you out now," said Stephen.

I scrambled underneath the bars, more than willing to oblige
, and I heard the front of the cage begin to slide shut, effectively sealing me off from the horrors of the pit.  I collapsed against the bars, riddled with pain and fear. 

The sound of screeching filled the quiet room.  Although I was safe in my own cage, I pressed my back to the bars in an attempt to further distance myself from the pit.

"It's okay," said Stephen quietly.  "They're feeding."

I heard a wretched cry of agony and wondered what poor animal had crossed paths with the royals.

Stephen steered me toward the doors, and we entered into the hallway.  The brilliance of the lights caused me to shield my eyes. 
Had they been that bright before I entered the pit?

When we arrived at my room, Stephen unlocked my door and Addy came flying out.

"Are you okay?  What happened?"  She eyed me over as Stephen lifted the bars in order for me to exit.  As soon as I was able to crawl through, I maneuvered under the bars and fell to the hallway floor.

"Help me get him to his pump!" Addy yelled.

They each grabbed an arm and drug me inside my room next to the narcotic pump.  Stephen connected the IV tubing, and at once, Addy pressed the button.  The sweetness of the relief made my eyes roll back.

"Addy," I said, barely above a whisper.  "Please..."

Her eyes misted over, and she leaned down close to my face.

"Anything, Doyle.
  Just tell me," she said, her voice cracking.

"Please, get these pants off me.  I can't breathe," I gasped, again dispensing another dose of medication into my circulatory system.