SD241909.27 || Joint Log || "We Don't Belong Here"

Posted on 27 Sep 2019 @ 1:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Wallace-Shaw

2,140 words; about a 11 minute read

=/\= Begin Log =/\=

Roman spent the night in a sleeping bag before the banked warmth of the fireplace and woke at first light out of long habit. There had been rules to his life, taught to him so long ago that by now, they more ingrained than anything else, just part of how things were. You got up early, you stowed your gear, and you got on with the day. He set the stew on to warm, in case his guest woke up hungry, and started a fresh pot of coffee. While that was working, he shrugged into a warm coat and headed outside. The cabin was well-made, however far from picturesque, and far enough from anyone else that there were few questions asked about how he survived without a greenhouse or livestock. He gathered an armful of wood and carried it all inside then went back out to his truck. Whether he used it or not, he generally started it up and let it run for a few minutes every day; if asked, he would have said it was for the engine's sake. Maybe that was true but sitting there, listening to prerecorded music, were moments where he didn't have to do anything more than be in the moment. And so, as he did most every day, he climbed into the cab, started the truck, listened and just was.

Once more, Jacky awoke in a strange place. This time, at least, it was indoors instead of outdoors, but it was still so foreign and she felt so disoriented. So...wrong.

As she opened her eyes to the light and carefully tried to sit up, the world swam around her. She started to lay back down, but her stomach grabbed a hold of her. Something burned in her throat and she moved quickly--too quickly--to the door of the simple cabin. The motion made everything worse and she just barely hit the out-of-doors before dropping to her knees and losing everything she'd ever eaten.

He watched from the truck and was already moving by the time she'd dropped to her knees. He removed the stew and coffee ... the coffee! ... from the fire and bundled up a couple of blankets. Once back outside, he helped her get up then led her over to the passenger side of the truck. Bundling her in the warmth of the blankets, to offset the aging vehicle's generally uncooperative heater, he helped her into the passenger seat and closed the door.

Once he'd climbed in, he said, "Its four hours to the nearest doctor. Rest if you can." He put the truck in gear and pulled out. The road was almost more of a suggestion in places, rutted and muddy at the best of times, but manageable at this time of the year. As he drove, he mapped mentally where the problematic areas would be and figured he could get her there by mid-day if he was lucky.

Jacky didn't even realize she was in the truck until it was on the move, although it took her a while to realize that she was actually moving rather than the world moving around her. "My head hurts," she said, her voice low and pained. "Where is the ship going?" She wasn't entirely aware of the words just came out.

"The doctor's. You need more help than I can give you," Roman said as he veered around a particularly deep rut. "Its about three hours away now. Hang in there."

"Three hours..." she said, her words slightly slurred. "That doesn't sound like...good news... I just hope I make it. I don't think the world is supposed to spin around this fast."

He drove as fast as he could and for about two more hours thing went well enough. The truck sat up high enough and the suspension was reinforced; all that meant that he could keep going at a reasonable speed when lesser vehicles would have been reduced to a crawl. Course, even his truck couldn't surmount the heavy tree that lay across the road. Swearing in old, colorful German, he pulled the truck off to the side where it wouldn't be immediately visible. He shut the engine off and said, in a low voice, "Keep the doors locked. I'll be back in a minute."

She seemed to be asleep which made it as a safe as it could be for someone like him; he shifted into an oversized, heavily muscled wolf and made his way toward the barricade. The wind brought information to his sensitive nose and none of it good. Bad was the first word that came to mind. He found the road, paced the length of the heavy tree, and amended his assessment to 'really bad' as he came around the end and saw the smooth cut which meant planned and not accidental. No one nearby at the moment but he knew who had done this. Who else?

The Andersons lived on this road, same as him, and they weren't fans. Course the feeling was mutual. Bush people cooperated, helped each other out, but the Andersons? Well, they lived outside the law and their place was more a hideout than a homestead. And while everyone in the area gave Will Anderson and his three sons a wide berth, that didn't stop them from investigating their neighbors. He shifted in the trees, out of everyone's line of sight, and returned to the truck. "No one's around at the moment, so I'm going to take a chance," he said. "I don't think you can afford a detour."

The land on either side of the barricade was angled and muddy but he figured the truck would make it. And really, he didn't have much of a choice. So, he started the truck and navigated around the obstruction, windows open, all of his senses attuned to his surroundings.

Words... She knew he was speaking words, but she only caught some of them as she wove in and out and through and around the darkness. Everything was dim and gray at points. Jacky had never felt like this before, and she hoped that she never did again... Assuming I survive, a morbid little voice in the back of her mind whispered. She ignored it, though, because she couldn't afford the pessimism.

Of course, life being life, it gave her a momentary distraction.

Through the glass of the windows, Jacky saw...her new 'friend' and savior went from human to a wolf and then back again. She blinked several times, all of which hurt, and wondered if she had moved to hallucinations. Something told her she hadn't, though, and the thought just ricocheted through her mind...

You don't belong on this planet any more than I do.

As he got back in the truck, she tried to stare at him with limited effectiveness considering she kept losing focus of her eyes. "What..." She stopped. Should she say anything? She might get herself abandoned if she did and then die in the wilderness. But if he wasn't human, maybe he would better understand what had happened to her.

Damn, her head hurt.

"What are you?" she breathed the words. She tried to remember her xenobiology, but it was too difficult.

"Rest," he said while inwardly cursing his luck. She must have seen the shift and that was his own stupid fault. He kept his attention on the road, navigating the track which, mercifully, was beginning to straighten out a bit while starting to plan his upcoming move. Once people caught on to who he was, what he was, it was time to leave. Humanity these days wasn't any sort of tolerant or forgiving.

[hour or so later]

Sighing with relief, he pulled into the clinic parking lot and shut down the engine. "We're here," he said. He shut down the truck, pulled the keys out of the ignition and exited as fast as he could. He'd decided somewhere on the last leg of the trip to focus on getting her the help she needed. Hopefully, there was someone here in town that knew her and he could then make her their problem with a side of I have no idea what she's talking about. Most important though, no matter how bad things got for him, she needed medical care.

He pulled her out of the truck and into his arms, blankets trailing, and nodded his thanks at a sullen faced teenager who held the door for him at his mother's insistence. "Thank you," he said and brought her inside. Things moved fast after that. The clinic was used to bush people coming into town for the rare emergency they couldn't handle themselves. Both sides of the equation knew their roles. One of the orderlies directed him to an examining room where he placed her on the bed and stepped back while the nurse began removing blankets and asking questions.

"I found her on my land, couple of miles from my cabin," Roman said. "Got her warmed up, let her rest, but she wasn't improving so I figured Doc needed to take a look."

Jacky listened, and then couldn't listen, then listened again. She tried to focus on what was going on around her, and she was able to at times but the pounding in her head was getting worse. She was dimly aware of doors opening and shutting, and then there was a tall man in a slightly worn, almost dingy white coat. He was asking questions, and she answered some of them.

The doctor looked at the young man. "She needs a hospital," he said. "But the nearest one is already struggling at capacity." He frowned at Jacky. "I've got to make some calls. Shout for a nurse if her symptoms change at all."

Roman grunted his agreement and settled into a seat near the bed. He could tell the doctor the truth, that he didn't know her and walk out, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled a well-worn book from his jacket pocket. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. A marvel that a warrior born in AD 121 could have so much wisdom to impart even after so long. And so, giving her occasional glances to check her condition, he settled in to read and wait.

Jacky didn't want to lie down. She was worried that if she did, she might not get back up... It took a lot of effort to stay upright, and to hang on to lucidity, but she forced herself. She looked at the door but there didn't seem to be any sign of immediate return... And, well, she didn't want to let it go. "You're not from this planet any more than I am, are you?" she said softly.

"Yes, I am," Roman responded; he kept a finger in the book, a pause in his reading, as he looked at her. "I was born in Germany and while I was home-schooled, I do know that Germany is on Earth." He favored her with a critical look, taking in her pallor, and tried to remain civil. "Though I'm not surprised to hear you say you aren't, giving how ... out of place ... you seemed. Not sure I believe you, but not surprised."

At that, she snorted a laugh...and then grimaced with instant regret. "I may be dying," she said, only partly facetiously, "but I know that humans don't becomes wolves. At least not bodily." She looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "I didn't think Changelings had made it this far by this time..." she mumbled. "Nor 8472. Chameloids, maybe..." Somewhere in her brain, her training told her to shut up. The rest of her brain lost the ability to care.

Roman's gaze flicked up to the doorway where a nurse stood, her pleasant demeanor melting into a decided frown, and groaned inwardly. He waited while she checked the woman out and tried not to notice the surreptitious glances being directed his way. Once she'd left, he all but growled at Jacky. "Maybe you want to post signs? Make absolutely certain that my quiet little life on that mountain is over?"

She would have rolled her eyes if she could have, but the headache was sitting directly over her left eye. "They all think I'm delusional," she said. "Maybe I am... I'm not really sure it matters now. I just don't understand why you're here in the first place. This is not a good time for you." Gently, she rested her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

Roman shook his head, muttering softly, "Preaching to the choir, lady, preaching to the choir," and then seeing her resting, went back to his book.

=/\= End Log... For the Moment =/\=

Roman Gant, Earth Citizen & Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Wallace-Shaw, CCns (apb Bella)

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