"I don't like this." Malcolm looked anxiously around at the dark cave walls, which seemed to be oozing a glowing, green goo from its cracks. Despite the glow from the ooze, it was still hard to see in the cave, and Malcolm shivered as he heard strange clacks and clicks from deeper within the cavern. The smell of mold and something dead suffused the place, causing him to gag when he first entered. He cast a furtive glance back at the entrance. They had not stopped too far from it, but in the dark it seemed further away.
"You're only the transporter. Be quiet," his companion answered gruffly. He was a burly man with a mustache, straight as a stick and hard as a rock. His heart was hard as flint, too, Malcolm thought wryly. A scuffling noise turned his attention back to the cave, where three humanoid aliens were approaching them. Their purple skin seemed stretched almost too tight across their bodies, making it easy to see their powerful muscles rippling with every step, and their feet and hands ended in talons. Plates of armor covered their limbs, and each alien had a gun strapped to one arm. Beady, reptilian eyes peered from their bald heads and surveyed the two humans coldly.
"You brought the goods?" one of the aliens, who seemed to be the leader, growled. His armor was thicker and he also wore a spiky helmet.
Malcolm's companion nodded and jerked his head backwards. Quickly, Malcolm dragged their hover carrier, a large trolley that could levitate itself a few inches by using a small motor, towards the aliens. The carrier was loaded with boxes, which the aliens grabbed and placed on their own hover carrier. As Malcolm and the aliens worked on transferring all the boxes, and there were dozens, the lead alien remarked coldly, "These had better be good. Last transfer you left us short. We do not like being disappointed." He glared at the stiff man in front of him.
Malcolm's companion replied, "You forget that we are your sole supplier. You would do well to remember that when you threaten us." There was a tense silence. Anxiously, Malcolm glanced at the boxes. What was in them this time, he wondered. No, he would rather not know, he decided.
Finally, the last boxes were being trundled away by the aliens. Before he turned to go, the lead alien asked, "And what of that bounty hunter? You promised us safety."
Malcolm felt a chill as his companion slowly smiled a cruel, heartless smile. He pulled a small bottle, containing some sort of pill, out of his pocket. "Oh, don't worry. She won't be a problem. We made sure of that."
Samus caught herself yawning. Shaking her head, she tried to focus again on the scene Angela was making with her dolls in her dollhouse. "Oh, Mrs. Greeley, it is such a pleasure to see you!" Angela made a doll in a pink dress say to another doll wearing a blue one. "Do come in, do come in," Angela said, making the dolls walk together into the dollhouse's living room, apparently not noticing Samus' sleepiness. It was just after lunch, and Angela had asked Samus to come and play with her as usual. Samus did not mind playing with the little girl, though sometimes she wondered what the point was of pretending that dolls talked and ate and had lives, but after lunch she always felt exhausted. Strangely, it also happened to be right after she took her pills at lunch. Though Samus kept objecting that she felt fine, River staunchly told her to take the medicine, because the nurse had told her that Samus must finish the dosage they recommended for at least another three months. Because she had come to respect River, Samus kept taking it. But secretly, she wondered if the medicine actually did anything, or if it was causing this incredible sleepiness to come over her in the afternoon. It made her feel ready to faint sometimes.
Finally noticing that Samus' head kept drooping, Angela asked, "Do you want to pause and take a nap?" Samus shook her head vigorously. If she went to sleep, the nightmares would come, and she could not face that. "Okay. I know, let's ask Mom if we can go to the creek and look for fishies! I've seen some really cool ones before!" Angela cried.
When they asked River, she smiled and said, "Sure. I think I might come as well. I've finished chores for now, and it would be refreshing to go to the creek."
They did not see any fish, despite Angela's adamant claims that she had seen some before, so while the little girl splashed her feet in the creek, the two women sat on the bank and watched the sun sparkle on the water and the rocks. River sighed. It was not her usual tired sigh at the end of the day or her frustrated sigh as when Angela and Sam disobeyed or had bad attitudes. No, this time Samus felt that the sigh was one of peace. It was good to see River taking a rest for once, since she always seemed busy at the house, fixing food or washing dishes or clothes, or taking care of the animals and garden.
After a peaceful silence, Samus broke it by asking, "Your husband—he doesn't come home often?"
River glanced at Samus. "No...he doesn't," she said softly. "He's too busy."
There was a short silence. Samus remembered Sam's angry outburst in the barn against his father. "Are you angry at him?" Samus asked.
"Well, yes, I suppose," River said, blinking and looking curiously at Samus. "I suppose every married couple has times when they get angry at each other, or have disagreements, or fight. And it is hard to have him away so much. Especially for the kids," she said sadly, gazing fondly at Angela, who was chatting away to herself. "They're growing up without a father. I wish it was different, but this is how we have to support ourselves. And Malcolm is still as dear to me as the day we married; nothing can change that," River said.
"Even though he doesn't come home?" Samus asked curiously. River nodded. "Why?" asked Samus.
"Well, he is my husband. When we married, we promised ourselves to each other; and until one of us dies, that commitment still stands. And even though he may hurt me sometimes, I'm sure unintentionally, I forgive him," River replied.
Samus frowned. "Forgive him? Why?"
River said, "Because I love him."
"But why do you love him?" Samus asked. Her mind still felt sluggish.
River laughed. "I love him because I forgive him, and I forgive him because I love him. Forgiveness can't be gained by doing anything to deserve it, it's just given. I know what it is like to need forgiveness and to be forgiven, and I wouldn't want to withhold it from anyone, least of all my husband."
Samus shook her head. She still did not quite understand, but she decided to drop the subject. Perhaps when her brain was not so foggy...
They lapsed into silence again. Then River said, "It's a pity you probably won't be able to see him. He only comes home for Christmas, Easter, and a few weeks in the summer; but you'll probably just miss him before the holidays. I suppose you will go back to your work once you're well? We will miss you very much. Especially Angela—she looks up to you as a big sister, you know. It's been so special for her to play with you. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you were able to stay with us and give her some company."
Samus merely nodded. River's talk of her leaving troubled Samus. Did she really want to leave? Yes, she was a bounty hunter, and her pride told her she should be independent… But the nightmares of being helpless and near death still lingered, and though they did not creep upon her during the day like they had when she first got out of the hospital, she dreaded being alone at night. And strangely, her desire to be a bounty hunter seemed to have diminished. Her anger and desire for revenge, the desire that had motivated her all these years to hunt space pirates—especially to hunt Ridley, the one who had destroyed her parent's home colony and her own home Zebes- had lessened in some inexplicable way. All that was left now was...what? Confusion? Peace? She could not tell. All she knew was she wanted to stay here.
River looked up at the sky, which had been growing darker. "Looks like it might rain soon. We'd better get inside," she said. Samus nodded, and headed with River and Angela towards the house. Samus would still have a few months before the end of the time the nurse had recommended she recuperate, so she would not think about leaving, not yet. It was so peaceful here, being with River and her family and having the daily routine of chores to do, instead of running for her life and fighting monsters. Perhaps for a little while longer, she could push off the thoughts of leaving and just enjoy the peace. That peace, however, was not to last.
Samus stepped into the chicken coop and was met with a chorus of scolding clucks and flapping feathers. Scattering and glaring at her with beady eyes, the hens and the rooster moved out of the way as she set down a bag of compost and walked calmly towards the cubbies and felt inside them for eggs. She was no longer wary of the chickens. After having watched Angela walk around them and fish out eggs from their nests without apparent harm, Samus was satisfied that these strange fowl would not attack her, especially since she could come armed with a basket of food. As usual, the chickens darted at the food scraps and corn kernels as soon as she set the bag down. Taking the few eggs she found, Samus exited the coop and returned to the house.
River looked up from fixing breakfast when Samus came in. "Thank you, Samus," she said with a smile. "You can put the eggs over here; I'll wash them later."
Samus set the basket down on the small space of empty counter that River had indicated. She noticed a small, leather-covered book on the counter, one she had often seen River reading when she had a spare moment. Sometimes, Samus had also seen River clasp her hands together and murmur some words after she had closed the book, as if she were talking to someone. When Samus had asked her about the book, River had replied that it was her Bible. "It tells me about God. Would you like me to read it with you?" she had said. Samus had declined. Throughout her travels in the galaxies, she had come across many alien species with many different religions, some with multiple gods or some with only a superhuman force instead of an all powerful being that made the world. It seemed to her that if there was really a God, why did people believe in so many different things? Believing in something like that just led to arguments and wars, in her opinion. But if it gave River comfort, Samus wouldn't say anything.
"Have you seen Angela?" River asked, breaking into Samus' thoughts.
"She was still in bed when I got up," Samus said. She had thought it a little strange, since Angela usually woke up early, but she had assumed the child was tired because River had allowed her to stay up late last night in order to show Samus her favorite movie, Princess Sophie.
River frowned and was about to say something, when Angela appeared at the kitchen door. Her face was deathly pale, and she swayed on her feet. "Mom, I don't feel good," she said weakly, then started to fall forward. Almost before she knew what she was doing, Samus' reflexes kicked in, and she leaped forward to catch the girl before she hit the floor. Gently, Samus laid her down. Quickly, she felt with two fingers on Angela's neck for her pulse. She nodded and told River, "She's still breathing. It's very weak, but she has a pulse."
River's face had gone white. "I'll call the doctor," she said and rushed to the telephone. While she waited, Samus kept her eyes on the little girl in her arms, making sure she was still breathing and watching for any signs of recovery. Samus was all hunter now. Her senses felt enhanced, as they did when she went on a mission and had to stay alert or die.
Soon, River returned. "An ambulance will be here soon. It—it could be her asthma. She's had attacks before…" River bit her lip and looked out the window anxiously. Seeing her Bible on the counter, she seized it, opened it to a page towards the middle of the book, and began reading aloud. "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you with my righteous right hand."
Bowing her head, with tears streaming down her cheeks, River whispered, "Please, Lord, be with us, as you said you would. Help Angela!"
Samus took her eyes off Angela for a moment to look curiously at River. She was acting as though the words were addressed to her...And who was she talking to? God? Grimly, Samus fixed her attention back on Angela.
It seemed like an eternity before the ambulance arrived. River kept walking back and forth between Angela and the window, every now and then reading a sentence or two from her book and whispering similar pleas; while Samus continued to hold Angela, intent on noticing any change in her condition. At last, the screaming alarm of the ambulance could be heard outside. Gently lifting the child, Samus followed River outside and let the emergency responders take Angela into the car. At least their ride would not be bumpy, Samus thought wryly, remembering her own trip to the farm in a truck. The ambulance was a flying automobile. Even though it had large engines that should have been noisy, the ambulance had the latest technology so that the patients would not hear a thing.
River turned to Samus and said, "I'm going to have to go with them. You'll be alright here?" Samus nodded. "I'll call tonight, let Sam know, okay?" River said anxiously and hurried into the ambulance. With a roar, it sped away.
Samus stood for a moment, looking in the direction it had gone, her adrenaline slowly decreasing but being replaced with worry. Would Angela be okay? She didn't know much about asthma, but Samus did not think Angela's symptoms looked like that disease. She shook her head. The doctors would know what to do, and Angela and River would be able to return this evening or tomorrow, so her fears were surely unfounded. Suddenly, she realized she was completely alone, and irrational fears began creeping into her mind again. What if the doctors could not help Angela in time? Her illness and collapse had been so sudden, since she had not shown any lack of energy or pain the day before. What would River and Sam do if Angela was gone? And what would Samus do? She had become fond of the child and liked being called her sister. When she was with Angela, she could push away the nightmares of being alone and helpless, but if Angela was gone… She is gone, a cold voice seemed to say in her mind.
Abruptly, Samus turned and hurried inside, trying to calm down. Her fear and feelings of helplessness only grew, however, until it seemed as though she saw the Largonak again, looming over her, evading her attacks, and slashing her. Though she knew nothing had actually attacked her, Samus flinched and could almost feel the pain again, that terrible pain that ripped through her whole body and had almost destroyed her.
Samus shut her eyes, but the monster reappeared in her mind. "You can't escape now. You're all alone," it said in a gravelly voice, leering at her. "You're helpless. You can't stop Angela from dying. You can't stop yourself from dying. Give up." Samus opened her eyes again and looked about desperately, her eyes lighting on the book River had been reading, which sat on the counter. It was open to the same page as before. Maybe if Samus could fill her mind with something else… With trembling hands, she picked up the book.
"Fear not for I am with you…" she read again the sentence River had spoken. Even though she didn't believe in any religion, and though the words in the book did not make a lot of sense to her, Samus found the words somehow comforting. She kept reading She could not understand why River had acted as though the book had meant that whoever this Lord was would be with her and Angela and Samus, since the book seemed to be addressed to someone else, but at least it focused her on something other than her helplessness and fear. And there was something about those words "I am with you." After she had read several pages of the book, without understanding much, she turned back to the first page she had read and looked at that phrase again. I am with you… Suddenly, she remembered the voice she had heard just before losing consciousness after her fight with the Largonak, the voice that had told her she did not have to be alone. Why did these words make her think of that?
Samus shook her head with a frown. She didn't understand what this Lord that River talked to and read about in this book was, and she still did not believe in a God or anything like that; but perhaps she could at least read this book to keep her loneliness away, even if it did talk about some God. Looking up at the clock, she saw that it was already lunchtime. She had not had breakfast. There were chores to do. Sighing, she closed the book and headed for the kitchen, where the untouched breakfast still stood ready on the table. Even though the eggs were cold and the bread had become somewhat stale, she didn't bother to fix something else. It was very lonely...No! She would not think that. "I am with you," she muttered. You don't have to be alone, her thoughts seemed to answer her in a comforting way. She took a deep breath. Time to dochores. Glancing at the kitchen clock, she told herself there were only four more hours, and then Sam would be home. Just four more hours. Just four more hours….
Sam came home in a good mood. Usually, Old Pete would scowl at Sam at the end of the day and grumble that he should do better tomorrow, but this evening the old man had said the work was tolerable and even gave Sam what he assumed must be a smile (it looked more like a painful grimace). Even Rascal had been in a good mood and had cracked jokes that were actually funny all afternoon with Sam. Even though he found that Samus had not milked Maya when he came home a bit late, Sam whistled cheerfully as he milked the cow.
"I'm home!" he called out, setting the milk pail on the counter as usual. He was surprised, however, when the smell of burnt macaroni and cheese wafted to his nose. He was even more surprised to see that the table was set for only two people. But the biggest surprise was to see Samus bending over the stove, attempting to cook something that looked like black mud, her face red from the stove heat and an intense frown on her face. Sam had never seen her even helping River cook dinner, perhaps because she was too afraid of messing it up, but now she was trying to make dinner all by herself….
"Wh-where's Mom and Angela?" Sam stammered. Samus looked up from the stove, squinting through the steam from the pot. She looked a little relieved to see him, but immediately her face became serious.
"Angela collapsed this morning just before breakfast. Your mother went with her to the hospital. She said she would call tonight-"Samus was saying, when the phone began ringing. Sam jumped to the phone and picked it up with a trembling hand.
"Hello?" he asked anxiously.
"Sam?" he heard his mom's voice say on the other end.
"Mom! Is Angela okay?" he cried, gripping the phone tightly. For once, he wished they did have a more modern phone that could show video as well as audio.
"Yes, they've got her stable and she's sleeping peacefully now. But they want her to stay until they can get some more tests done, because they are not sure what caused this; it seems unlikely that it was caused by her asthma. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have stay here tonight and probably most of tomorrow. Are you and Samus alright?" River said.
"Yeah, we're fine. I just got back home from school and work," Sam told his mother. "Do you need us to send anything, Mom?"
"Yes, that would be good if you could send me some clothes and toiletries. Do you have something to write or type on?" River said.
Fishing in his backpack, Sam pulled out his iPad and quickly opened his note-taking program. "Yeah, I'm ready," he said, and typed down all the items his mother told him to send.
"Don't worry, okay? I'm sure the doctors will figure it out by tomorrow," River said after giving him the list.
Sam nodded and swallowed hard. "Yeah," he croaked.
"You and Samus take care of each other and the farm okay? I love you both," River said.
"Don't worry about us or the farm, Mom. We'll take care of it. You take care of Angela," Sam said firmly.
"Alright. Have a good night," River said and the call ended.
For a minute, Sam just stood looking at the phone in his hand, a million thoughts running through his head. Angela in the hospital. His mother gone. No one here but him and Samus. Would the doctors really find the answer that soon? What if Angela couldn't come home tomorrow? What if it was more serious than they thought, or what if she didn't get better? Why wasn't his dad here when these things happened? Sam was now completely responsible for the farm, and for taking care of his mom and sister as well as he could while they were in the hospital. And he was responsible for getting money for the medical bills, which would surely be expensive... Shaking himself, Sam looked up and noticed Samus standing in the exact same position as before, looking at him a bit expectantly.
Realizing she probably wondered how his sister was, he said, "Angela's okay right now, but they want to do more tests to find out what's wrong, so my mom is staying with her tonight. Um, can you help me gather some things my mom needs me to send her?" Samus nodded, then glanced at the burnt macaroni and cheese, which looked like it had come out of a volcano.
"No offense to your cooking, but I don't really feel like eating dinner," Sam commented gloomily.
"Don't blame you," Samus murmured.
Once they had gathered the nightclothes, dress, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other toiletries that his mother had requested, they stuffed them into a bag Sam found in his mother's closet. Sam sat down then to work on sending the things. Though he had never done it before, Sam knew that you could order a drone to come from the post office and ship packages to another place. Just that afternoon, he had seen Rascal deliver a package that way for one of Mr. Pete's customers. After a frustrating half hour, Sam finally figured out how to order the drone and specify where it should go afterwards. "Should come in a half hour," he mumbled to himself when the transaction had finally been completed.
Sam looked up to find Samus soaked and a sufficient amount of water on the floor. Apparently, her dishwashing was as bad as her cooking, Sam thought with a wry smile. After Sam had helped her mop up the flood, Samus asked, "Do you want help with math tonight?"
With a sigh, Sam looked at his schoolbag. He wasn't sure he would even be able to focus on schoolwork, but he agreed, "Yeah, that would be a good idea." Perhaps it would help keep both of their minds off of their fears.
