Kleenex rating: 1
Mad at the author rating: 10. Ok, maybe 11.
But please stick with it! I promise good things coming with the not so good things!
I promise there are weddings coming. And babies. And other stuff. And a total surprise ending that is happy!
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November 2709
Dr. Gorma knocked on the door and then entered the room where he found Keith and Skeith deep in consultation. The witch had one hand over the pilot's heart the other on his shoulder, eyes closed in concentration. Keith looked up as Gorma entered, but otherwise remained still. Mikko looked at his patient, and noticed he looked simply better. The dark circles under his eyes had faded and he no longer had a sickly cast to his skin.
After several minutes, the witch straightened and shook his hands to remove the stiffness from remaining in the same position for ten minutes. "Well?"
Keith took a deep breath and laughed, "I do not know what you have done, but that is the first breath I have taken since that damn rock fell on me without any pain. Thank you, sir!" Keith rotated his neck around and stretched.
Skeith sat back on the chair, looking fatigued, but well. "I think I know some of what Haggar did, but not all of it. She twisted the magic in such a way that makes no logical sense and I cannot find the pattern of it. Perhaps that is the point. When one can find the pattern, it can be unwoven, but without the pattern, it is piecemeal work. From what I can tell, she has also given the, hmmm, toxin for lack of a better word, the ability to repair itself after any interference from someone like me."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I may be here for some time. I have slowed down what I could of her virus, but it will repair itself and start to attack you again. I do not know in what time frame."
"Any idea of what the toxin will do?"
"Some. It generally slows healing, and damages nerve connections. In what way or what order, I cannot determine. It may be more randomness built into the system."
Gorma looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow, "You sound almost. . . admiring. . . about this toxin."
The witch shook his head, "Not in the sense you mean. But Haggar is brilliant. No one knows exactly how long she has lived or how much she knows. We think we know her origins. If we are correct, she is even older than we originally thought. Plus, her design has an intricacy that would take centuries to develop. It is what we hope to do on the side of light as we rebuild our people."
"Ah. I see now." Gorma turned to look at Keith and sat down in the third chair. He looked at the young man in front of him and then took a deep breath, "On the heels of this great news, I . . ." he paused, face taking on a distant look. "The last batch of test results came in and I have to ask you to answer a question honestly. Have you been intimate with anyone since Haggar injected you?"
Keith looked at Gorma, "No. Between the ribs and the bruises . . ."
The doctor looked relieved. "Good."
"Gorma, this does not instill a good feeling in me. Can you just tell me what is going on?"
"The toxin, virus, whatever this thing is has invaded your genetic structure. More over, we found high levels in your semen."
"Which means?"
"Anyone with whom you have intimate contact will be infected."
Keith did not say a word, but stood and walked over to the window, leaning his head against it, turmoil running through his head and a sharp ache in his heart. Gorma's last sentence echoed in his thoughts. Squeezing his eyes tight, the man tried to rein in his runaway thoughts. He did not know how long he stood there; enough for the cool of the window to warm from his body. He tried to ask a question, but his voice emerged rough. Clearing his throat he tried again, his voice broken sounding, "And children?"
"The toxin has corrupted your reproductive organs."
Keith took in a great shuddering breath and raised his head. "I…..," he began and with a shake of his head, he strode out of the room.
Skeith looked at Gorma, "Meaning?"
"Any children conceived by him will never become viable."
Both men looked at the door. The witch closed his eyes, "He has walled off his emotions. I cannot read his state." The man opened his eyes, "Do we go after him?"
The doctor shook his head, "I imagine he will go to his garden. In a while, I will send Allura to him. They will need to talk."
The witch looked again at the closed door, "Before he walled himself off, I felt such anguish and grief." He shook his head, "Perhaps this would be a good time for a drink my friend. I feel much sorrow in you as well."
Gorma nodded and headed to his desk where he kept and emergency supply of his favorite drink. Pulling it out, he carefully poured two glasses and handed one to his friend. "I just had to tell a young man I admire and who has come to mean so much to the people of this planet that he can never again be intimate with someone and he can never have children. Damn, but I want to put my hands on that, that, evil hag and return every evil she has done to these people ten fold." He quickly downed his drink and refilled his glass, "After everything that man has given for this planet and her people, she managed to take away the one thing that I know he wanted more than anything else."
There was nothing to say after that. Both men sat in Gorma's office, drinking in silence, mourning for the man they both admired.
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Keith walked to his gardens and stopped just inside the doors. The day had turned out particularly fine with the weather neither too hot nor too cold. Looking around, he found a nice spot for a tree. Going to the tool shed, he quickly took off his shirt and picked up a pick axe. Marking the spot he wanted for the tree, he swung the pick axe at the ground. His arms swung over and over again to the rhythm in his head.
"Anyone with whom you have intimate contact will be infected.
"The toxin has corrupted your reproductive organs.
"Anyone with whom you have intimate contact will be infected.
"The toxin has corrupted your reproductive organs."
He could not think of anything else, and felt all his dreams and desires rotting under the assault of Haggar's curse. Nothing penetrated the vast swirl of emotions around him and logic had no place in his desolation.
The pick axe swung again and again creating a larger hole in the rocky ground. Keith kept swinging blindly.
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A spear of pain through his side caused Keith's rhythm to falter. As his motion stuttered, he realized he could hardly breathe and the handle of the tool felt slippery in his grasp. Looking down, he saw his hands dripping blood and the hole in the ground extended about six feet in diameter and two to three feet deep. Suddenly exhausted, he slumped against the wall, letting the pickaxe fall to the ground. Legs slightly bent, he leaned over with his hands palm side up, trying to catch his breath, arms and legs shaking with fatigue. Slowly, his legs folded under him until he sat with his head on his bent legs, back against the wall, hands dangling with blood slowly forming a small pool on the side of each leg.
Allura found him in that position. Gorma had finally called her to let her know Keith would need her. Keith had left the hospital four hours earlier and had not checked in anywhere. He did not look up as she entered the garden; nor move from his position. As she drew nearer, she saw his hands, crusted with dried blood. She had never seen Keith so broken. "Beloved."
The man took a large shuddering breath, but neither moved nor answered.
"Doctor Gorma told me you left his office four hours ago. Talk to me. There is nothing we cannot work out together."
A low mocking laugh greeted her, shocking her into stillness. She had never heard the like from Keith before.
He did not raise his head, and the words emerged muffled, but clear. "Not this time. Allura. Haggar royally fucked things over this time."
"Keith…."
"No, Allura," he raised his head and stared at her. "This time, there is no fix. No magic cure. Nothing to be done."
"Talk to me, I do not understand."
"The toxin or whatever shit Haggar injected into me, invaded my reproductive system."
"And?"
"And anyone who has sex with me will be infected with the same thing."
Allura gasped and took a step backwards, her hand covering her mouth.
"Even better? I can never have children Allura. Ever. I. . ." his voice broke off and he laid his head back on his legs.
Allura did not move for several minutes as her shocked mind tried to process the information. Eventually she moved to kneel in front of Keith and raised a shaking hand to run it over his head. "But what about the witch?"
He shook his head minutely. "He has no idea what Haggar has done. He was able to counteract some of the damage, but not all."
"But what about. . ."
"Allura, I cannot do this right now. I. . ." his voice died again, sounding pained and raw, "Please. Let me be for a while."
"Will you go see Gorma about your hands?"
"Later, I promise. Beloved, please?" He begged, voice cracking.
She leaned over and kissed his head and then stood to walk out of the garden. Chin held high, she walked to Coran's office, eyes blinded by the tears she could not shed. When she walked in the office, he stood waiting for her by the door. When it closed, she collapsed into his arms, crying out her heartbreak. Coran guided her to the sofa, where she sobbed into his shoulder, inconsolable at the destruction of her dreams.
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2709 July Serena/Hunk Wedding
2709 October Overthrow of 1st Doom, Keith's infection
2709 November Initial meeting with Gorma and Skeith
