InterRealm - Chapter 6
#6 of InterRealm
"Remind me again why, precisely, we wanted these guys with us?" Oren gritted softly to Edgar while the teenagers jabbered incessantly in the rear seats of the SUV. Zach and his raven friend, Douglas, had decided to tag along, while the skeptical Ernie and another friend at the same booth decided it wasn't for them. There had been a bit of arguing between the teens about whether it was a good idea or not, which started to escalate until their waitress, Vanessa, had had enough and kicked them all out--including Oren and Edgar.
"They wanted to help look, and they seemed interested in our beliefs, at least," Edgar replied matter-of-factly.
"We're not fucking babysitters," Oren scowled as he drove through the snowstorm, which had been increasing in its strength throughout the night. "And don't call them 'beliefs,'" he added, "especially not after what we've witnessed today--you should know better than that."
"We're not babysitting them," Edgar stated firmly, trying to quell the rising anger he could sense in his mentor. "You never know how strong they could grow to become, if they learn properly. It could be highly beneficial to our congregation, you know."
The wolf sighed, the strains of the day having worn on him. "There is that possibility, but it's a gamble, of course." The road opened up before them. There was nothing to be seen except the nearest tarmac illuminated by the high beams, the nearest bits of field on either side whizzing by, speckled with the constant flurry of snow. The SUV's windshield wipers were pounding in an angry rhythm just to keep the glass clear enough to see through. "Christ, where are we, even?" Oren asked as he started to slow down, trying to get a better view of his surroundings.
"No, Mom, I'm still out with friends," the two older furs heard Zach saying. "No, Ernie isn't here with me," he said into his cell. "I'll be home later...No, I don't know precisely when--it's the weekend, Mom! Cut me some slack! ...What? Wait...hold on--what? Crap!" Zach ended, snapping his clamshell phone shut, frowning at it. "No bars out here. Say, where are we?" He looked around, having forgotten for a moment what he was supposed to be doing. "We've been going for over an hour," he said, almost complaining as he checked the time.
"Something as important as this takes time and patience, Zachary," Oren said, slowing the car even further. "There's no telling exactly how quickly we could find her," he said. "But we appreciate your help nonetheless. We need all the eyes we can get. That reminds me--Edgar, can you call more of our congregation and ask if they could help search?"
"Certainly, but I think I should get in touch with the others from our initial search party first--check their status." No sooner had he said that when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. "Ferris! I was just about to call--yeah, of course Oren is with me. Yeah, hold on." He turned to Oren, "He and Michael decided to get Janus to a hospital first."
"A hospital?!" Oren cried, screeching the SUV to a sudden halt, windshield wipers still in a frenzy. "What exactly did they expect to tell the doctors what happened?! Give me that phone!" He reached over and yanked the cell away from Edgar. "Ferris! What in the name of--yeah, I know, but--will you--hey! Now wait a second and let me talk! This was never part of your instructions! I could see that he was hurt, of course, but there were more pressing matters at hand! Ferris...I swear, if you've exposed us..." His voice lowered to a raspy whisper. "You could get us all in a lot of trouble, you know. Look...just tell me at least you have a good story on how he was hurt......found him laying off the road, eh? Supposed eletrical shock? Yes...I...I guess it might work, if the signs are correct...just keep a low profile!"
****
"Yes...I know...I will, sir...take care, and Michael and I will be heading out again as soon as we can--the doctors want to keep us around for more questioning." Ferris looked exhausted as he hung up with Oren. "Well," he turned to Michael, who was leaning back in a chair, head resting against the wall, gazing up at the ceiling. "I think it's still going to be a long night yet."
"It's already been stupidly long," Michael grunted. "I need something to drink...I'll be back in a minute."
"What kind of drink?" Ferris asked knowingly.
"Nothing like that," Michael responded. "Just some soda or water or something." The ferret got up and sauntered out of the hospital waiting room, down a long hallway, his feet guiding him seemingly of their own accord, turning corners aimlessly, simply wandering away from the waiting room. He hated this waiting--a microcosm of the waiting he'd felt his entire life. Just waiting for something worthwhile to actually happen.
"Michael," a voice called, and the ferret jerked his head, looking around until he saw a figure that made him gasp softly. "Now don't be like," the boar said, rising from a bench he had been sitting on in the corridor. "You probably shouldn't be seen back here, especially not with me," he said softly, then grabbed the ferret's arm and pulled him with surprising force into a bathroom door nearby, looking around to see that the coast was clear.
"Lambert," Michael said. "What are you doing here?"
"Checking the progress of our young helper, of course," the small, stout boar grinned up at the tall, lanky ferret, his voice deep and raspy. "He's done well."
"Yes, but--"
"Better than expected, perhaps. Let's just hope he pulls through. He's served the purpose well enough, but we need as many on our side as we can get."
"I understand. Look--Oren isn't happy that he's been put in a hospital at all."
The boar laughed raucously for a moment before stifling himself. "Oren?!" he choked. "I expect Oren will be unhappy about a lot of things yet to come! Let the Grand Fool be unhappy! He'll get what's coming to him--just as everyone else in that foolish congregation shall!"
"Will you calm down! Goddammit, Lambert! You shouldn't even be up here! Do you know how much you're risking just by showing up?!"
"I had to see, you know," he said, turning to the sink to cup some water in his paws, drinking deeply. "There are sentries at all the hospitals nearby, but I had a mind that you'd come here. After all..." he smirked, casting a side-long glance at the ferret, "I know you have a...certain interest here." He snorted, trying to choke back squealing laughter.
"Don't you dare make fun of me and Melvin, you homophobic sack of shit, or I'll fucking drop-kick your ass!"
"Oh, sorry," Lambert said sarcastically. "Didn't know you and your fairy-nurse boyfriend could take me on!" he boasted, flexing his swollen guns.
"I might have a mind to report you," Michael said softly, looming over the significantly shorter boar.
"And I might have to report you, Michael, or didn't you remember that you're as guilty in this as I am? Look--I don't want to have to hurt you. You've already come a long way since you ever started buying into that bullshit so long ago."
"Yeah..." Michael sighed. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--but you shouldn't have!--really now..." Michael couldn't decide how he should be feeling at that moment, so he tried to change the subject back to business. "Let's at least hope that Janus is okay, like you said."
"Yeah...may God have mercy on his soul." They bowed their heads a moment in silence, then Lambert suddenly looked up. "Look, you better get out of here--we've risked too much just meeting here anyways. Oren at least knows who I am, and I'm sure that ancient panther you're with will know me as well."
"Ferris knows quite a few things, actually," Michael said, a slight tone of reverence in his voice.
"None of them know the things that really matter," Lambert scoffed. "But get out of here. Just...keep an ear and an eye out, like always."
"Like always," Michael repeated softly, and promptly left the bathroom, checking up and down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. He hurried down the hallway and turned a corner, slowing his pace to try to blend in a bit better with the rest of the visitors, staff, and patients milling about to and fro. He only hoped he would find Ferris still resting back in the waiting room, sitting there none the wiser to his chance encounter.