Supernatural Nation: The Gathering Part 1

The Gathering














Chapter 6




The ringing of his cellphone woke Anthony but the sound cut off after only two rings as Risa answered it.

“Hello,” Risa said in a slightly groggy voice.

“Yeah, he’s here just a second,” she said, holding the phone out towards him. She mouthed the word hospital at him as he took it and then got up and headed for the bathroom.

“Hello,” Anthony said into the phone.

“Hi, this is Dr. Carver at the hospital. I am calling to get a ride for Elizabeth Caine she is demanding that we release her from care. Other than the broken bones there is nothing wrong with her so we can’t hold her against her will without permission from her guardian. We have urged her to stay in the hospital where she could be monitored by professionals but she has refused,” Carver said with disapproval in his voice.

“I’ll be right there to pick her up,” Anthony said and hung up after the doctor grunted in reply. Anthony got out of bed as the others began to stir and quickly dressed and used the bathroom. He told Risa, who was showering as he brushed his teeth, where he was going and that he would be back soon. She leaned out of the shower and gave him a quick kiss as he passed. Her wetly glistening skin tempted him to join her in the shower but he controlled the impulse and went to his car instead. Jessica had taken Jenny’s car back to Eternal Night earlier in the morning so his car wasn’t blocked in the driveway. He backed out and headed for the hospital eager to see his sister fully awake so the worries that had been plaguing him since the night of her attack would stop haunting him. Half an hour later he walked in the front entrance of the hospital and immediately recognized the nurse standing by the receptionists desk as the nurse who had been come in when he pressed the call button the previous night. He smiled at her when she looked at him as he passed, and was surprised when she rushed to fall into step with him.

“Hi,” Anthony said when she didn’t immediately begin to speak.

“Hello,” she said and continued to walk beside him but didn’t say anything else. They waited for the elevator and rode up to the third floor were the ICU was located in awkward silence. When the door open Anthony gratefully walked out, his pace so fast the nurse nearly had to jog to keep up with him.

“There might be a little fuss at your sister’s room,” the nurse finally said. She needn’t have bothered since Anthony’s superior hearing could already hear the yelling voices from way down the hallway. One of the voices was Liz, Eliza was another, and then there were two male voices also. Anthony thought he recognized one of the voices from the phone call and assumed one was Dr. Carver but the last voice he couldn’t identify. He walked even faster almost at jog now, he and the nurse had to jog to keep at his side with a worried look pasted on her face.

“I’m leaving,” Liz said.

“You can’t, it is your duty to humanity to let us…,” the unknown voice started.

“Enough Paul,” Dr. Carver said cutting off the other man’s rant.

“Get out of the way,” Eliza said. She was the only one not screaming and Anthony nearly missed the cold menacing words as he hurried down the hall. Dr. Carver was scolding the man named Paul but the man continued to impede Liz and Eliza somehow because Anthony could her Liz growl in frustration. Anthony rounded the corner and finally saw the crowd of nurses who stared with worry at the two arguing doctors. Liz was dressed in a set of purple scrubs that bulged around her casts as she sat in a wheel chair and glared at the doctors in front of her blocking the way so Eliza couldn’t push the chair forward. The nurses saw Anthony coming and parted for him as he headed for Liz and she yelped in surprise as he suddenly lifted her from the chair. She hadn’t noticed his approach as she watched the two doctors who continued to argue still unaware of his presence. Anthony cradled Liz to his chest like a child and his eyes glistened with wetness as relief flowed through him.

“I was so worried,” Anthony whispered pressing his forehead to hers and being careful not to squeeze her or jostle any of her injuries. Liz wrapped her arms around Anthony’s neck, her plaster encased hands scraping his skin, and held him as tears began to fall from her eyes. She shook and shivered as she held him and then she relaxed into the strength of his arms and they tears stopped and her shivering stilled.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” she said looking up into Anthony’s exhausted face.

“I thought he had,” Anthony said in a voice so low no one else in the hallway except Eliza and Liz could have heard it or the pain that filled the word. Anthony took a deep breath and gently lowered Liz back into her wheel chair and turned to the two doctors who were still arguing unaware of his arrival.

“Is there a problem,” Anthony asked, loud enough to cut into the heated debate. Both doctors turned and recognition flashed through Anthony as he got a good look at both of their faces. Dr. Carver was Liz’s doctor so that was pretty much as things should be but the other man was the doctor Anthony had call security to remove from Liz’s room before. Anger began to rise as the pieces fell into place and Anthony realized what the situation was.

“No there is no problem,” Dr. Carver said at once trying to defuse the situation after seeing the hostility on Anthony’s face toward the other man.

“This girl can’t be released,” Paul stated.

“And you are,” Anthony demanded looking at the man.

“Dr. Paul Smithe,” Paul replied.

“Why can’t my sister be released? Dr. Carver said that other than the broken bones she was okay. If it’s only that we can take care of her at home and not pay the hospital to do it for us,” Anthony said.

“It’s not the injuries it is her remarkable rate of healing. She healed in a week what normally takes two if not three weeks to heal. She can’t leave until we run test and find out what makes her heal so fast,” Paul said, eyes gleaming.

“So what you’re saying is you want my sister to stay in a hospital, while the bill for her stay increases, so you can run tests? So you can poke and prod and cause her discomfort and probably pain while she is already injured, so you can play mad scientist,” Anthony asked his voice even and his eyebrow lifted in incredulity.

“If we can find out why she heals so fast we could help millions of people all over the world. It is her duty to her country and humanity to let us try and discover what makes her so unique,” Paul said with a fanatical gleam in his eye.

“No,” Anthony said his voice completely deadpan and his face blank. Paul blinked in surprise and stared for a second in disbelief before opening his mouth to speak but Anthony turned his back to the doctors and motioned Eliza out
toward him. Eliza made it out the door and turned the chair toward the hall leading to the elevators when Paul stepped forward.

“You can’t leave,” he said and his hand reached out as if to grab the wheelchair out of Eliza’s grip. Anthony was suddenly there and the on lookers gasped in shock as Anthony grabbed Paul’s hand and jerked causing him to turn and face Anthony. Anthony swept his feet out from under him with a casual kick while giving him a shove sending him crashing to the ground on his ass.

“Don’t touch my family,” Anthony said and turned his back on the doctor. He followed after Eliza and Liz as they made their way toward the elevators and they all sighed in relief as the doors slid shut with no sign of Paul Smithe. They exited the hospital with no other problems and Anthony carefully maneuvered Liz into the backseat of the car. Eliza hopped in the front passenger seat while Anthony stowed the wheelchair in the trunk and then got behind the wheel. They were out of the parking garage and on the highway before anyone spoke.

“Is everything okay Liz? You aren’t in pain or uncomfortable are you,” Anthony asked and sighed in relief when she shook her head.

“How did our mother get here,” Anthony asked Eliza.

“Wait, Mom’s here,” Liz interrupted before Eliza could speak.

“Yes, she showed up in your room yesterday right before you woke up and spoke to me. Eliza was with her,” Anthony answered.

“I don’t remember waking yesterday or seeing mom. I thought she was dead,” Liz said with a shocked look on her face.

“She didn’t die, she went forward in time to escape the accident that would have killed her,” Eliza said and explained the situation. She told Anthony about what she had built him and how in her concern for him she jumped back to bring his mother forward. She told them everything she had showed Angela, Anthony’s face paled when he found out she had witnessed him taking Liz’s virginity. He pushed back his worry about what his mother would say once they had time to sit down and talk and thought about Eliza’s invention and what uses it could have. Then he thought about what could happen if someone else got their hands on it or if he or someone else changed the past.

“You have to destroy it. I appreciate the effort you put into it and I am happy you saved my mother from the accident but as soon as we get home you need to destroy that machine and never mention it to anyone. Did anyone help you with it,” Anthony demanded.

“The goblins built some of the parts but they don’t know what they were for or how to put them together. Most of the goblins aren’t very scientific but if you tell them in detail how to do a task they are extremely good at carrying out directions,” Eliza replied.

“Good, as soon as we go home destroy it and any plans or notes on it,” Anthony told her and she nodded her face falling a little. Anthony reached out and hugged her to him with one arm as he drove.

“I am sorry you have to destroy your invention but we can’t have something that dangerous sitting around. Aside from bringing my mother forward I can’t think of another use we might have for a time machine, beside now that you understand the process you could do it with magic, so it needs to be destroyed,” Anthony said comforting her. She smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder and they sat in silence all the way home while Liz was pulled into unconsciousness by the pain pills the doctor had given her. When they arrived Eliza headed into the house leaving the door open so Anthony could carry Liz inside. Liz didn’t even stir as Anthony carefully extracted her from the back seat of the car and carried her toward the house. Angela was waiting at the door with a worried look on her face as he carried Liz into the house.

“How is she,” Angela asked as soon as he kicked the front door closed behind him.

“Okay, the drugs knocked her out almost as soon as we got in the car,” he replied and headed for Liz’s room. He took her in and, with a thought from him, the covers pulled back by themselves and Liz’s clothes vanished from her body to reappear folded on her dresser. Anthony gritted his teeth when he saw the casts, her wrapped ribs, and the yellowing bruises that still remained after a week of rapid healing. Anthony gently laid Liz on the bed and brushed her hair from her forehead before placing a kiss there and pulling the covers up to her chin. He turned a walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him and found Angela waiting out in the hall for him. He stared at her unable to think of anything to say as worry over her reactions to everything she knew and overwhelming joy at seeing her standing before him warred inside him. Now that Liz was home and her recovery was guaranteed he was expecting her to lay into him for allowing his relationship with Liz to go the way that it had. Angela stood looking up into Anthony’s face and she tried to reconcile this man with the small child she had wrestled with only days before. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers as he stood there staring at her in silence.

“Anthony…,” Angela began but was interrupted by Eliza.

“It’s done Anthony,” she said as soon as she rounded the corner. Anthony nodded at her in understanding and Eliza realizing she interrupted something backed toward the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Anthony said to her and with a wave she vanished into the kitchen and Anthony turned back to his mother.

“Come on,” Angela said and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward her bedroom. She pushed him into the room and followed after before closing the door behind them. Anthony watched her warily expecting her to blow up and start screaming at him any second and Angela watched him watching her.

“Strip,” Angela ordered finally. Anthony blinked in surprise at the order and didn’t move. He had been so sure that she would lay into him that it took nearly a full minute for his mind to process what she had actually said and his eyebrows shot up in confusion.

“You smell like a locker room so strip and get into the tub,” Angela said walking passed Anthony and into the bathroom.