Chapter 9: Two Weeks Later

It happened almost instantly. The darkness was gone as Ioren’s reptilian eyes opened up. She felt herself gasping for breath. She was in the same room as before as she raced to look around. Lying on her back, she knew that she hadn’t moved.

Her strength mainly had returned, and the ability to breathe felt relieving. She felt the soft white fabric of a bed sheet resting on her body. She started to turn her head around, looking at the area. The office and room mainly had been the same. Nothing had been moved, but she had no idea of what was going on.

“Wha ... whoa, you are awake,” a female voice could be heard from almost near the door’s entrance. She turned her head and could see the look of a human nurse that gave a look of surprise.

Ioren tried to move her body and felt it respond. She started to shift a little bit as she focused her view on the woman. She had very long black hair, a mixed complexion, and a yellow dress with a red cross to it.

“Don’t try to move yourself too quickly,” the nurse told her. “You’re body is trying to readjust to everything again.”

Ioren moved her hand to give off the sign language for “what?” but she probably already knew that the nurse didn’t know what that meant.

“I don’t understand ... wait, that’s right,” the nurse replied. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of two metal rod strips. “I was told that if you were to awaken that you were to be given this.”

Ioren felt a sense of relief seeing the tilons while the nurse gave them to her. The Itrean started to move her body upright to a sitting position. She cringed slightly as she felt the small spikes of pain that hit her from all directions. The bed sheets fell down to reveal that the Itrean was topless. Her yellowish chest and light, smooth scales reflected off the light. Ioren had realized that this was a necessary action on the part of the hospital. She placed her hand near her breast. Just above the pink nipple was a significant scar mark that wrapped around the breast tissue. More and more, she started to realize that she took a powerful round to the chest and was alive. The medical staff had done their job.

“I told you ... be easy on yourself,” the nurse said as she felt the human press her hand to her scaly back. “Ioren, my name is Adana. I’m a nurse that was assigned to work here to help tend to you till you recover.”

Ioren opened up her tilon while the nurse observed her. Then, she accessed her program as she began to type in words to translate for her.

“Thank you,” Ioren typed. “I can’t talk because.”

“I know, dearie,” Adana consoled her with a polite tone. “I read the report about you. You were shot during a gang war episode. We almost lost you a couple of times.”

“Where is the doctor?”

“Ik’Ik’tal, isn’t here at the moment, but I know that ... well ... let’s just say that the Itreans have a ... particular way that they run their medical facilities. I never heard of a group of people, alien or not, that refuses to treat others for who they are, although...” The nurse chuckled a little bit. “I suppose us humans have been guilty of it in the past, maybe. She is at a meeting for an hour. I have been here just in case you were going to wake up. They said it was going to be anytime today. You were in a coma for two weeks.”

Two weeks ... The realization of the moment was starting to hit Ioren more and more as she looked at her torso again. It happened so quickly. The moment flashed in her head the moment she felt the hot metal bash into her body. She recalled back in the alleyway seeing the pavement in front of her break apart a little bit before even feeling the pain. She put her clawed hands to her head and snout.

“It’s a lot, I know,” Adana told her. “The fact is that you managed to survive. That Itrean physiology and biological improvements to yourselves paid off. As soon as you were shot, your body reacted to it in an emergency situation. Your heart slowed down drastically, and your blood clotted pretty well despite losing half of it. If you were human, I would imagine that you would have been long gone before Stone ever arrived here.”

“My health?” Ioren typed.

“Doing well. Your body is recovering. You started to regenerate once you stabilized. Your right lung was almost destroyed from the bullet. Ik’Ik’tal managed to grow a new replacement for you. It was actually one of the few things that were really needed once you finally got some replacement blood. The rest was all you. Your body went into its natural coma regen phase when something catastrophic happens like this.”

“H...” Ioren tried to speak but very little came out from her voice. She had her hand to her neck, trying to and hoping that they somehow gave her the ability to speak.

“Umm ... I’m sorry,” Adana commented, seemingly knowing her situation. “Ik’Ik’tal’s job was to save you from death. I still can’t believe that they would refuse to help your ability to speak. It was one of the reasons why I was brought here as well. They just...”

“I know,” she typed. “I would have better help from, you humans.”

“I don’t know too much about the progress of your situation. But, I’m sure we would be more than happy to do so.”

“Can I walk? When will they let me go?”

“We can try for you to move. Technically, you should be able to resume your duties as soon as you want to or if you want to spend time for a few days to ... recover. I will need to speak with Ik’Ik’tal for the final confirmation.”

Ioren knew that the other Itrean staff would be more than happy to get rid of her. She summoned the strength as she started to move her body. Her legs reached over the edge of the bed. She could see that she only had a set of white panties on her lower extremities as the bed sheets came off of her. The nurse was close to her, ensuring that she could assess her fully if she was having a hard time moving. She could feel the resistance in her movement, but not any rough pain. She took a deep breath and hopped off. Her talon feet touched the floor as she could feel her body responding as it should.

“Any pain?” Adana asked.

“Little,” Ioren typed.

“That is expected. It should be gone within a day or two. We can prescribe pain medication if...”

Ioren shook her head. The pain wasn’t that deep, and she felt like she didn’t need it. She moved and adjusted her shoulders and gave a solemn nod. She reached over to her tilon and typed.

“I feel alright. I should be good.” She decided to change the topic. “Did he really...” she thought about what she typed. “Stone. Did he threaten the doctor to save me?”

Adana lowered her voice a little bit as she gave an affirmative nod in response. “It’s one of the reasons why I’m also here to help you. I think his actions really scared them to fixing you up. I think ... that Stone gave some message for you on your tilon, but I don’t know what it is. I think he left instructions for you when you recovered. I can’t say any more than that.”

“Where is my partner?”

“He ... it might be best for you to go and see what is on the message. I will let Ik’Ik’tal know that you are awake and ready to be discharged from the hospital. Stone left a set of clothes for you as well. I will go and bring it for you. Once I came back and confirmed that you could leave, I will drive you to wherever you need to go.”

Of course, Ioren knew that this nurse was summoned from the other human hospitals to help her out. They would rather send a human to help her than her own kind. She was used to this treatment by now. At least she felt thankful to get the help at all.

“Thank you, nurse Adana,” The Itrean typed.

“Of course,” the nurse gave a light bow of her head. “I will be back in about ten minutes.”

With that, Ioren turned her back to face the door. She held her hands to her shoulders as a sign of fortitude in being in her state. It was her version of showing modesty. However, the moment that she heard the door being open, she listened to another voice. Somebody else was there to greet the nurse.

“Hello, nurse Adana. Is she awake?”

It was another female voice that had a slightly deep resonance to it. It was not Ik’Ik’tal’s voice. There was a hint of concern but relief in how she sounded. It caused Ioren to turn her head to look at the source.

“Yes, she is, Doctor Cordeina,” Adana replied. “I plan on discharging her if Ik’Ik’tal gives the word.”

“I see ... Ioren, may I come in?”

Ioren could see that it was another Itrean, but this one was most obviously a Shal’rein. She was skeptical of her but gave a couple of quick nods for her to come in.

The Shal’rein that entered was somewhat unique in appearance. She looked like most of her shark-like race. She was taller than Adana and had a little bit of a muscle-bound look to her. She wore the same white type of dress as any Itrean doctor but was more suited for her size. Her bust size was a little bit larger than expected, even for a Shal’rein, but Ioren spotted the unique white trident with the expanding two hands holding it up on her arm and cheek. She had gray with purple colorizations to her face, arms, and tail. Her purplish red hair flowed down from the top of her head and shoulders and almost to her breasts. It was clearly evident that she was pregnant as her belly distended a little bit outward.

The door closed as Cordeina walked up next to Ioren. She had a look of care on her face.

“Hello, Ioren. My name is Cordeina. I’m happy to see that you survived.”

Ioren took her tilon and began to type. “You are a Kerein’Shaltara.”

“You know the religion?”

“A little bit. I almost thought you were Gersin until I saw the tattoo.”

“No...” she chuckled a little bit. “Not Gersin. Close, though. I just wanted to make sure that you are alright.”

There was skepticism in Ioren’s eyes as she typed. “Why do you care?”

“Because I was the blood donor. I knew that you were in trouble and donated my blood to you.”

This astonished Ioren. It even caused her to look away for a moment as she thought about it. It was the first time in a long while since any other Itrean seemed to give care for her. She resumed typing on her tilon.

“You don’t care that I’m a Golarren?”

The Shal’rein calmly waved her hand at her and acted a little bit innocently. “Do you think I’m some snobbish Aksren or coquettish Yutilian?” She paused as she realized what she said. “Ehm ... sorry. No ... I heard about the incident that happened with you here and heard that you were in trouble. I donated my blood and had it adjusted for your body to accept it. It looks like it worked because you are standing. Besides ... that name is a horrible one to say.”

Ioren continued to see a little bit of sincerity in the doctor’s words. It still took her by surprise. She felt a sense of ease as she continued to type the words for her tilon to translate.

“I was expecting to die. So few Itreans care.”

She patted her belly for her to see. “We have to care ... or we all die. Regardless of our differences, the Itreans must continue forward together.”

She smiled at her. “Thank you, doctor. For help saving my life.”

The Shal’rein gave the nod to her. “I’ll leave you be. Besides ... I imagine that they are getting you some clothing ... although ... you don’t look bad for one of your type. Plus...” She bent down. Her shark-like tail swung a little bit as she acted like she was going to whisper to her.

“If you feel like owing me a favor. I could use a sample of...” she lowered the volume down just enough for her to hear it. It took Ioren by complete surprise but something she realized made sense the more she thought about it. The Kerein’Shaltara was a sex religion, after all.

Ioren thought about it for a moment and typed down on her tilon. “Are you sure?”

“I know what the ... mixed species’ gifts are. You have nothing to be ashamed of whom you are. I think in the end that the others are somewhat jealous too. In the end, I think it would be beneficial if I have some. I need it for my research. It might just help more couples out there than you realize.”

Her voice was calming to hear. Ioren felt at ease with her and felt inclined to offer her help.

The Itrean nodded to the Shal’rein. “I will...” She paused and continued as she thought more about Stone. Her fingers raced to type as quickly as she could. “But not right now. I need to find out what I need to do next.”

Cordeina gave the nod to her as she opened up her own tilon. “I will give you my address. I will give you a couple of thin vials too. You can take your time until you are ready.”

With that, the Shal’rein pressed a couple of buttons that submitted the message to her device. She then pulled a couple of thin half-box metal-like tabs out of her pocket before putting them on the bed for her to pick up once she got her clothes.

“Take care, Ioren,” Cordeina said. “Hope you find peace out there. Don’t ever give up.”

“You too, doctor.”

With that, the Shal’rein turned around and left the room. Ioren returned to face away from the door. She was left with thoughts of what had happened to Stone. Where was he? Was he alright? What happened after two weeks?

Her curiosity was driving her to those answers. Her tilon was still open. She started to look through her message box in her files. She could see the recent message given by Cordeina. There were other emails of non-importance, but one appeared that caught her reptilian eyes. It was simply stated from Richmond Stone marked urgent.

She walked up to the bed and sat back down on the bed. She adjusted her tail as she activated the button to see what the email had to say. A projection appeared that showed a three-dimensional recorded video and audio from the display. She felt a mild form of relief as she saw the face that she had gotten used to seeing. It showed the marine’s face, and he had the same stern and non-concerned look that he always had.

“Ioren,” Stone explained. “If you are receiving this message, then it is time for you to get your ass up! I will need for you to head over to the police precinct once you are well enough to do so. There, I left instructions for Police Chief Zuri for you. I will need a ... partner ... if I’m going to take on the Syndicate.” He pointed his finger at the screen and at her. “No fucking excuse to be lying on your back, soldier. I need everybody at the ready if this is going to work. I will be waiting for your arrival. Stone, out.”

It was short and straightforward. The screen barely gave many indications as to his well-being, and he didn’t exactly seem to be all that pleasant. For Ioren, though, she felt a sense of happiness fill her thoughts. She knew that he was alright, at least from the short clip. She closed her tilon and knew what she needed to do next and where her next stop would take her. If anything, she curled up into a ball, holding her knees close to her body. She was keeping the metal strips of the tilon close to her chest. Regardless of the small amount of pain, she felt a sense of longing in wondering what had happened to her partner.

“Yeah, she is alive and kicking!” one of the officers called out the moment they saw Ioren.

“Glad to see you standing, Ioren,” Delu said as she patted her side. It was a sense of relief to see that the female officer was doing alright. Even the sight of a lone Itrean that had only been at the precinct for a few days prior was a sense of good news.

Regardless, the precinct was a little emptier than it initially appeared. The loss of some of the other police had an effect that lingered. Hardly much else changed besides that. For the Itrean, her attention was focused solely on reaching and talking with the police chief.

Ioren reached the door as she put her hand to her side. She looked at herself over. The blue shirt and pants that Stone left behind had now become her traditional clothing. She had to imagine that her original clothing had some sizeable holes in them, especially from the gunshot. She considered going to the apartment first but knew that he would more likely be at the precinct as he had already indicated in the message if Stone was working.

The door opened, and Ioren stepped in. The office was the same as it always was. The chief was looking over at some forms on his tablet. He seemed relaxed, and it didn’t take long for him to notice the alien woman walk into the room. The moment that the chief saw her, he got out of his seat. If anything, the obese individual seemed jovial to see her. He extended his arms out for her.

“Ioren!” the chief called out to her. He had a big smile on his face. “Oshun smiles upon you! For somebody that is as small as you, you can take a bullet wound that could easily take down a Johan serpent.”

Ioren walked up to the police chief. She understood the concept of a human hug as she extended her arms out to him. Like a bear, he embraced her and held her lightly in appreciation.

“You know...” the chief explained while he released her. “For somebody that had been here for so long, your impact is starting to take notice. I imagine that you need answers.”

With that, Zuri returned to his seat. Ioren opened her tilon and sat down. She began to type as quickly as she could. She needed to know what had happened in the last two weeks.

“Chief, are you alright?” her tilon translated for her.

“Heh, heh,” Zuri chuckled a little bit. “Of course, I am. It has been a busy couple of weeks, but I imagine you are here for a very good reason. You wish to know what happened when you were gone.”

Ioren did a couple of quick nods. Zuri’s tone began to become slightly severe, but he looked down for a short bit.

“We were never able to secure L’Kibera. We managed to stop half of the gang in their assault that you saw, but we took too many losses. Precinct 9, 10 ... us ... we had to withdraw. Precinct 9, you two were heading to meet up with them. The last that they saw was a kid and a few others of the Boers Numbers Gang escaping from the scene before the nines left. For now ... I can’t worry about a new gang taking prominence in that area. We did manage to help a few of the other pedestrians escape to safety.”