Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4) novel Chapter 71

Uri shifted so he was on his back.

He opened his eyes a few moments later.

“What?”

He barely spoke.

“Do you know about the KVV?”

It was another few moments before he answered.

“Yeah.”

“Who are they?”

She waited patiently for his response.

“How do you know?”

“They painted what Mirren called flaming graffiti on the wall outside your door. The initials KVV. Mirren, I think, reported it to the Council.”

Uri took a deep breath.

“Isolationists,” he said.

“Who?”

“People who believe we shouldn’t mingle with the Undents. That we would be safer staying within our own city.”

“That’s the same as hiding.”

“Yeah.”

She waited to see if he would say more.

“Drink?” he whispered.

She poured him a small bit of water and held it so he could drink.

“Thanks.”

He took another deep breath.

“We opted to integrate. Best thing we could have done. But some ideologies are hard to overcome.”

“Like the belief in Specters?”

“Yeah.”

He looked exhausted.

“You get some rest. I can hear they started a new card game out there.”

“Never play a face card in the first two rounds of play,” he said.

“What if all I have are face cards?”

“Always play the highest.”

His advice seemed counter intuitive to the goal of the game.

“Okay,” she said, not pressing the issue that his advice seemed off.

She watched him breathe for a long time before she left.

“Joining the next hand?” Mirren said.

“No, I’ll just watch.”

Sophie was still in her room, but everyone else was back in the game. However, without Natalia playing, the game went fast. The players threw down their cards as soon as it was their turn. It reminded her of the dart tournaments where the players threw as fast as they could. It was also hard to figure out their strategies when they played that fast.

“Damn,” Moralis said.

Zena laughed.

“When did you get so good?” he said.

“We play almost every night,” Bonnie said. “Three person Pikers is a lot tougher than with four or more.”

“We can’t always get Kate to play,” Mag said. “It’s supposed to be at least a four person game.”

“We can add Nattie, now,” Zena said.

A nurse walked through and went into Francie’s room. Moralis rose and followed.

“Do you think they’ll let Uri go home tomorrow?” Natalia said.

“They’ll check him over and see. I don’t see him doing too much running around for a few days. To knock him down this much, it had to be quite a blow,” Bonnie said. “If he had been an Undent, he would probably be dead.”

Mag and Zena nodded.

Natalia swallowed hard.

“Until he’s fully recovered, I think construction will come to a screeching halt,” Natalia said in a hoarse voice. “And he will now experience the wrath of a mother and a wife.”

Bonnie grinned.

“This I want to see,” she said.

“Uri will recover just fine,” Mag said in a comforting tone.

Natalia nodded, but she still felt concerned. She almost felt some rage to the point where she wanted to turn the table over and scream at them. How could they play cards in a time like this? But she knew it was stupid irrational emotions. They were whiling away the time and being very supportive.

“I think I should go rest for awhile,” she said rising, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“Take the sofa in there. We’re camping out here,” Bonnie said. “It should already be made up. Feel free to shut the door.”

“Thanks.”

She hadn’t even noticed. The sofa was made up with two pillows and blankets. It looked rather inviting. With the door shut, it was very quiet. She sat and felt the tears, overwhelmed with the events of the day.

“The shock just wore off,” she said, realizing.

She let the tears flow until Victoria fidgeted. There were tear drops glistening in her hair.

‘Sorry, little girl.’

Natalia rose to wipe the tears, dry her eyes, and blow her nose. On the way back to the sofa, she stopped to watch Uri. His fingers moved and she took his hand.

“I’ll be okay,” he said in a whisper. “Rest.”

She nodded, then felt silly. His eyes were closed and he couldn’t see.

“Good night,” she said, kissing his cheek.

She settled on the sofa with Victoria nestled at her side. The sofa was surprisingly comfortable.

Natalia bolted upright. Victoria was fussing. She paused long enough to catch her breath, realize where she was, and to figure out Victoria was hungry.

‘Sorry, little girl.’

The clock on the wall showed it was just after midnight. There was the quiet murmur of voices outside.

She exposed a breast and positioned Victoria.

‘My hungry little girl.’

Victoria latched on and sucked hard.

Natalia looked over to check on Uri. He was in a slightly different position. He was still on his back, but his head was turned toward the door almost as if he was listening. His breathing showed he was sleeping.

It took her a moment to realize the conversation outside the door was in Viperian. She figured it was an attempt not to bother her, but her senses were so acute that she could still understand what was said if she concentrated hard enough. However, it was just Moralis talking about his skill in cooking sausages just right over an open flame. The only other voice she heard was that of Zena, which seemed appropriate since she was the cook of the house. She was agreeing with some of his techniques.

‘Any of those sausages left?’ Natalia said in Viperian.

There were a couple of chuckles outside the door. Zena peeked in.

‘Sorry. Moralis ate them all. We do have hot dogs left.’

‘I’ll have one of those.’

Zena disappeared and seemed to be taking longer then expected. The reason why was evident when she stepped back in. She brought in a full plate.

‘Here. Pick what you like.’

She set it down on the sofa.

‘Thanks.’

‘Tea or a soda?’

‘Tea would be fine, thanks.’

Zena disappeared, but returned shortly with a bottle of tea.

‘Still ice cold,’ she said while she twisted open the cap.

‘Ginger.’

They both turned.

Uri’s eyes were open.

‘Can I get a ginger?’ he said.

Zena nodded and left.

‘How do you feel?’ Natalia said.

‘Head still sore. Getting better.’

Zena returned and handed him the can which was already open.

‘Thanks, Zena.’

Uri sipped his soda in slow motion.

Natalia found she had to keep the plate of food on the sofa in order to keep Victoria in position and hold her tea. She didn’t have enough hands, so she resigned herself to sipping her tea while she waited for Victoria to finish.

‘You first, then mom.’

When Victoria finished, Natalia leaned back to savor the food in between sips of tea. She was almost finished with her plate of food when Uri finally finished his soda. She rose to take his can and her plate out to the hall.

Bonnie and Mag were in sleeping bags, sleeping against the wall. Zena was playing solitaire.

‘Everyone else went to bed?’ she said, setting down the dishes.

‘Yes,’ Zena said. ‘I’m on watch until two.’

‘Stacia in with Moralis and Francie?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I’m surprised Sophie didn’t go home this evening.’

‘Everyone wanted to stay. Safety in numbers,’ Zena said.

‘Nice of everyone,’ Natalia said.

‘Friends and family stay tight. Go back to bed.’

‘Thanks.’

Natalia gave Victoria a change of diaper before settling back on the sofa.

When Victoria fussed again, it was almost four am.

‘Nattie.’

She turned. Uri was facing her. His eyes were open.

‘How are you doing?’ she said while she exposed a breast for Victoria.

‘Pee,’ he said.

‘Can you wait until she’s fed or do you want to buzz the nurse?’

‘I can wait.’

‘She’s a hungry girl and power sucks through her milk.’

Uri smiled.

‘That’s my girl.’