Chapter 3

3.1

Ed chose the highest balcony that faced the driveway to be his last one to clean. His master could be arriving any time with his purchase. He wrung his mop and wiped the polished concrete. In a while he'd finished and decided on a short rest. He leaned on the railing, facing the front.

"Ed, what are you still doing out there? I have more for you to do," a Qmalian woman, the chief maid, called him.

"I'll be in shortly, madam Narnia."

"All earthlings are very lazy, and you are just like them."

Ed knew better than to answer back. Although Narnia was a worker here like him, she was far more senior and had the distinct advantage of being Qmalian. Today was already a bad day for earthlings, and he didn't want to complicate matters further by arguing with anyone.

He looked down below. The view was so familiar to him. The front portion of the estate's fence was broken by a gleaming steel gate held between two sturdy marble pillars. A driveway ran through the gate down to the road. Beside the gate a small but cozy guardhouse stood.

Across the road, a red terra cotta roof of a neighbor shimmered, only slightly shaded by the scattered tall trees in the yard. The day was quiet and only the slightest traffic flowed. It wouldn't be hard to spot his master's orange truck from a distance. Just then, as he was thinking whether it would be a man or woman his master would bring, he saw from afar a blob of moving color and he recognized it. Before long his master's truck was indicating to turn off the road.

The massive gate slid open, creaking under automatic control. Aha Ishobad drove in. Ed's heart beat; a murder was going to happen. Or maybe not. Perhaps by some lucky turn, his master had not found someone with the blood type he was looking for and was therefore returning empty-handed. It warmed his heart to imagine that.

The truck stopped in the driveway and the engine was turned off. His master got out. Aha Ishobad was alone; normally he would be with his assistant who would help in case a purchased earthling tried to become violent. The fact he was alone caused Ed's heart to warm up further. Perhaps the Aha indeed had not found a suitable victim. Which would mean someone had been saved of instant murder.

His master, for a short while, stood facing the road. Ed wondered what he was thinking. Aha Ishobad then turned and started walking toward the back of the truck. Alarm ignited in Ed. Master must indeed have brought someone. He sucked in a pained breath. There sure could be a purchased human inside that mobile metal cage. The balcony Ed stood on was high enough to allow him a partial view of what lay behind the truck. Aha Ishobad now stood behind the back door. His arms moved and then the doors popped open. The sound was actually loud enough to startle Ed. Ishobad's hands seemed to grab at something and he pulled. Out came — Oh Jove — someone. A kidnapped human!

Not long after, the action had moved to a point where the truck's body no longer partially obstructed his view. The Aha emerged, hustling a thin but tall woman who walked barefoot. The woman seemed confused, and in pain.

"A lady, dear Jove," Ed muttered to himself. "Sir, please don't."

Ed shuddered again as he thought of his family. That tall woman could be his sister or niece. Could even be his mother, for he couldn't see the woman's face clearly and so couldn't tell her age from this distance. What could he do? Would he let this cruel act go ahead even if it turned out he wasn't related to the woman? No, he would try something. He'd go down, pretend to welcome his master back, and then see if he could intervene somehow.

Almost in panic, he dashed across the balcony floor, and burst into the door. Weaving past arranged tables and chairs and couches, he shot into a hallway. Soon, he was flying down a staircase, crossed another floor at ground level, and then was out through a side door.

"Master, you are back." Ed struggled to control his hyperventilating as he thought of a way to put his plans into effect.

"Can't you see I am?" Aha Ishobad's tone was dismissive. He stopped walking, though.

Ed removed his gaze from his master then directed it to the seized woman. Her hands were tied with a rope. Her face and eyes looked puffy. Welts and bruises showed on the uppers of her arms, and more on her wrists. Despite the horror she was going to face, the earthling, though, looked unbroken.

Ed felt a pang. This was too cruel. Whether she was his relative or not, he would try and help.

"Sir, will you let me take care of her for you?" Ed asked. "I know the procedures," he lied.

"Since when did a dull earthling like you learn the processes?" the Aha again barked a dismissal.

"From books I read, my Aha." Ed bowed.

"I hate it when servants get ahead of me," growled the lordly Qmalian. "Alright, lead her to the prepping room." Ishobad let go his hold on the rope.

Ed thought what to do. This was a risky thing, and the chances of actually succeeding very tiny.

After his master had disappeared into the house, Ed took hold of the rope. "Follow me," he said to the lady, in the gentlest tone he could master. "And thanks for remaining calm."

"What?" the woman snapped. "You think you can just do whatever you want with me?"

"Take it easy." Ed's voice assumed a greater firmness. "Don't make things worse than they already are."

The woman didn't respond, only started walking behind him. They came out of a passage, then crossed the huge backyard garden heading towards the series of buildings at the back. The prepping room was in a laboratory tucked in between some small, medium-quality servant-houses. They reached the lab's door. Ed wondered if what lay inside wouldn't horrify the woman to a point of insanity. "I'm not an enemy," he tried to calm the captive in advance. "I actually mean to do a little something for you." He hoped his words would be received as genuine. "I'm also from earth like you, and I feel sorry for us."

"Sorry for us — are you crazy?" The woman turned her face up at him, her pretty features marred by confusion and hate. "Don't lie to me. I know what you are going to do."

3.2

I'm not an enemy… Bella replayed the words the strange young men who'd taken control of her said. The young man looked much like a normal human being.

Bella regarded him with anger and awe. If he truly wasn't alien, what was he doing in this world?

"Let's get inside. Please stay calm," the young man said.

Bella wanted to fight him but then in an instant she thought against it. Her hands were tied anyway, how could she pack a punch. She stepped in. A weird smell of chemicals and drugs engulfed her. Crosses and religious cloths were hung on the walls. It felt like she'd been walked into something that was an eclectic combination of a hospital ward, prayer room and drug den.

A bed with red sheets and red blankets but without pillows or a cover bed was centered in the space. Beyond it, to one side, was a cabinet with old books, and then to the other, a red metallic door layered with an oily moisture. A table and then a sink filled with glasses of indescribable shapes completed the strange litany of objects inside.

What she saw scared her much, but she paid greater attention to the young man.

"Sit on the bed."

"I'm not going to sit on that." Bella remained standing even though her feet burned. She eyed the man to see what he would do. The man looked as confused as she.

"Don't let me abandon you," he said. "If I call the lab assistant, you are gone my friend."

Bella wouldn't obey him just yet, but she gave his words a thought. Maybe he was goodhearted and really meant to be helpful. She didn't trust him fully, but she'd talk to him and ask the questions burning inside her. "Excuse me, are you really human?"

Before the young man answered, she analyzed him further. The guy had all the regular human features to him, a straight rather than bulbous nose, and toned skin which looked white rather than orange. His hair was sandy-ginger, not the rough rusty color of those Qmalians she had already seen. The most interesting, though, had to be his eyes, which were deep green, unlike the shades of orange typical of the inhabitants of this place.

"I already told you I'm from earth." The man's voice had that distinct Qmalian accent, but lacked the cold harsh hollowness.

"You are?" An unknown confusion and anger began to take hold of Bella again. "And you live with them, these murderers and killers."

"Yes, I live with them." The young man was agitated. "But I don't do like they do."

"Liar; you kidnap and kill people. Like they all do here."

"I've never killed anyone."

"Let me go then; if you are not a murderer, untie me and I leave."

"Calm down please. Won't you?" A note of... sadness passed over the man's handsome face. "If I let you out, that will make things worse."

"So, what are you going to do?" Bella held her bound hands up to the man. The man smiled at her. His lack of cruelty surprised her and that made her more confused. Could she trust him? Or was he trying to just calm her and then strike without a moment's notice.

"Alright, I will untie you but don't dare run away."

Huh, that was something.

While the young man worked the knots, Bella gazed further at what was inside. It was all so scary. The combination of red blankets and strong smells made it feel like she was in a morgue, only warm rather than freezing. The walls were painted orange, with numerous decorations and symbols depicting snakes, and lizards, and bats, added in black. Then of course there was all that creepy religious paraphernalia, including strange-colored cloths, and crosses and books with weird covers. What had to be worst, however, was that behind the red-painted, moisture-covered metal door a bizarre whirring sound emanated.

"This must be a killing room." The fear rose again in her. "Take me away."

3.3

Despite the possible coming horrors, the excitement of having met a fellow earthling built up in Ed. And even though the woman was proving difficult to calm down, he felt a deep growing connection with her. He liked her. She was magic. She put him in touch with things he had had lost, his mother, the sisters he only fantasized about…

He would try to know more about her. "What is your name, my sister? I don't want to keep calling you earthling. It's just too rude."

"Why do you want to know my name if you are going to kill me?"

"Relax, sis, no one is killing anyone yet. Let's get to know each other. Tell me your name."

"My name is Bella, if that will help make your bloody work easier."

'Bella.' Ed relished the name. It sounded like one reserved for princesses.

"And you, murderer, who are you?" Bella glared at him.

"My name is Ed," he said eagerly.

"And you aren't an alien, a brute, a killer?"

"I'm none of those things." Ed wondered why Bella would remain so suspicious of him despite that he had already explained his background to her. "Look at me. Do you see anything orange or alien on me?"

"Ed, indeed. What a fiendish name." A bitter smirk appeared on Bella's lips. "It really is a murderer's."

"Not me, Bella. Not me."

Were all the women of the earth this saucy? Was it a trend? The more Bella was rude to him, however, the more Ed liked her, the more she mystified him.

Now that she at least was answering his questions, Ed thought this was the best time to discover if there was any blood relationship between them. The idea to ask had entered him even before she arrived, but now that he had seen her, the curiosity ran even higher. The outcome of the inquiry wouldn't influence his decision to rescue her, though. He was going to try his best for her whether she was his relation or not.

"Could we by some chance come from the same family?" he asked. "Could you have a younger brother or cousin who disappeared long ago, as a tiny tot?"

"I don't have any relatives who are in the business of kidnapping and killing people."

"I mean in your extended family did you ever lose a boy in mysterious circumstances, let's say what, twenty years ago?"

"I have already answered your question." Bella gave him again another of her bitter smirks.

Oh how lovely those lips were in spite of the venom they sometimes spewed. The skin of them was so pink and so delicate Ed thought he could see tiny blood vessels running underneath. He was going to like Bella in spite of her sauciness. In fact he was going to love her. He did not see anything wrong with that. Although she had refused to enter any discussions regarding possible blood links, Ed did not think she was his sister or close niece, so loving her would be in order.

"You know what?" He pulled his lips back into a smile. "I'm going to like you no matter what you think or do." Ed had never said those words to any woman, had never imagined he ever would, and it made him ecstatic to say them.