VD We're Stuck Here 85
Chapter 85
Despite his desire to read and take his mind somewhere else, Elijah kept thinking of the family's situation. He was especially worried about the dome, which was failing. What would they do if it disappeared? Should they leave the farm or stay? If they left, would they disappear and find themselves back in the coffins? Or would Hayley finally find the cure for their real bodies, but these duplicates had left the farm and could not be recalled?
A sudden squawking by chickens alerted the people that something was frightening them. Freya was the first to reach the chickens because she was already outside. Elijah quickly joined her.
"What happened?" he asked. "Did a fox get inside?" He could see that the hens and rooster had scattered away from the hen house. In fact, the small hen house had partly collapsed.
"Something fell from up there," Freya said, looking up at the dirty dome.
Elijah looked upward and saw something he really didn't like. A piece of the dome had fallen. About the size of an automobile tire, it had come down and was leaning against the side of the hen house. It looked like it was made of clear plastic, and both Elijah and Freya could tell it was "dead," having no energy left.
"Well, this is bad news," the woman said.
"It certainly is. If chunks of it keep coming down, we are all in danger, especially you and Barbara. And all the animals."
"I thought it was just a force field with holes, but apparently it becomes solid when it loses its charge."
"Do you think you and Barbara can reinforce it?"
"No." She shook her head with concern. "Not anymore."
Rebekah, Barbara and Kol came from the house, passed the stone wall and joined the other two people. Kol was limping, but his leg was working. He had the cloth sheet wrapped around his hips.
"What happened?" Rebekah asked.
Freya pointed to the thing which was no longer frightening the hens. In fact, they had gathered to inspect it and the rooster even pecked at it.
"The damned sky is falling," Kol observed, looking up.
Elijah reached out and grasped the object, and finding it cold and harmless, he picked it up. It was not heavy, but it had sharp edges. The others looked at it also.
"This could really hurt us," Barbara said. "What are we going to do?"
Kol moved to the damaged hen house and looked inside. "We have a dead hen in here. We better not waste it. Meat for dinner!"
"You're always thinking of food," Rebekah accused.
"I'm a growing boy," Kol snarked. He was forever in the range of nineteen or twenty years old, a young man stuck between maturity and immaturity. He removed the dead bird from the damaged structure. He then looked at the three animals standing by the pasture fence. "Looks like they're okay."
"Let's hope they stay that way," Freya said.
The group headed back to the house where Kol put on another pair of jeans and Elijah put on a clean shirt. Except for cautious looks up at the dome, they returned to their usual routines.
The sun was low in the west when the group was surprised to hear someone calling to Elijah. Outside, they found that John had returned and with him was Alexander. Both men were in John's buggy from which they stepped down. Because they were on the east side of the dome and the sun was low in the west, they could see those inside to some extent, especially now that the dome was fading.
"They want to talk to you," Freya said to Elijah. "Probably want an explanation of what you said earlier. What are you going to tell them?"
"I do not know," he admitted as he stepped down from the porch and walked toward the men. Although Alexander was frowning a bit, John was not. Since both men were looking at him, Elijah knew they could see him.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he said. "I was not sure you would come back, since I know my comment earlier confused you and upset Sarah."
"I insist you explain yourself," Alexander said, glowering at the man inside the dome.
"I thought as much. I assume John and Sarah explained that I and my kin are here through some sort of strong magic spell."
"Yes, I understand that," Alexander said. "Rather difficult to believe that is true."
"Not really. How else can one explain our situation? We are not of this time and place. But that is not the point. The question is why did I warn you not to kill anyone? Is that not so?"
"That is my primary concern. A very strange thing to say. I have no intention of killing anyone, although should the situation arise, I am a rather good shot. However, as I have already explained, I am a Quaker and we don't believe in killing people."
"Yes, you told me that. For Sarah's sake, that is good to know."
"But there is something else, isn't there? You claim to be not of this time. Again, I find that hard to believe, but does it mean you know something about me or our future that concerns you?"
"Yes, but I do not know if I should tell you. Perhaps you already know. Does your family have a secret that has come down through generations?"
Alexander's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"
"For instance, sometimes medical conditions are passed down. Inherited generation after generation."
"There is none in my family!"
Elijah thought Alexander's answer was so abrupt that perhaps he was lying. He and the outside man stared at each other for a long moment.
"Alright. Yes, there is something. Sugar diabetes. Several children in each generation have died of it," Alexander admitted. "My middle brother succumbed at age six."
"I see. Let us hope you and Sarah do not experience such a tragedy," Elijah said. He was aware that in modern times, Type 1 diabetes in children was usually well-controlled.
"In your normal time, is such a thing treatable?" Alexander asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"Yes, eventually. But that is not what I am looking for."
"Tell me. Don't keep skirting the issue!"
"John, would you mind walking some distance away? I would like to speak privately with Alexander."
John looked at Alexander, who nodded.
Once John had moved away from the barrier and walked back beyond the buggy, Alexander eyed the blurred image of the man under the dome. "Alright. Tell me. Be specific."
"It is something supernatural. Do you want to hear it if you do not already know?"
"Supernatural? Like this strange prison you are in?"
"Yes."
"And this has something to do with me or my kin?"
"Possibly. You told me your people came from Yorkshire. Are they Andersons?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Some of those people have Scandinavian ancestry."
"Yes. On my father's side."
"A long time ago, there were several Viking families that carried a trait for lycanthropy."
"Lycanthropy is a myth," Alexander stated. "No one in my family would believe that such a creature existed and could bite or kill someone."
"You are familiar with the word. The myth," Elijah pointed out. "Most people are not."
"I suspect that you believe such a creature exists," Sarah's fiancé said with a snort. "You have jumped to the conclusion that someone in my family was a werewolf and it is passed to others like the sugar diabetes."
"It can be. It is not a myth, Alexander. One of the triggers is if such a person kills another person. For your sake and Sarah's, I hope you have not inherited the condition. But to be on the safe side, avoid situations where you might kill someone. And of course, should you be confronted by a werewolf, try not to be bitten."
"I can hardly believe we are having this conversation. Obviously, you believe it. Do not despair on Sarah's behalf. I have no intention of ever killing anyone. Does that set your mind at ease?"
"Yes," Elijah said, although he still had doubts about the man. There was no sense in continuing the debate. He also did not ask if Sarah was thinking of becoming a Quaker. He knew she attended the small Lutheran church in the nearby town. It was none of his business, he told himself.
"We will take leave of you now. Do not concern yourself with Sarah. Even though she and I have not seen each other for several years, we do love each other. I will take good care of her. I promise."
"Please do. She is a kind and intelligent woman," Elijah said, somewhat appeased. "You are a lucky man. Good evening to you." He watched as both men climbed into the buggy and turned toward town. He headed back to the house.
"What did you tell him?" Rebekah asked as the others in the kitchen waited for the answer.
"The truth."
A/N If Alexander is somehow distantly related to Klaus' father Anders, it is likely that Elijah will never know. Will the dome continue to fall to pieces? How much more of this togetherness can the family take?