Part Ten
They
entered a brightly lit room and Melinda spotted three chairs on a platform, the
middle one raised above the others. Tulkoy was seated in that one and a woman
sat in the one to her left. The Overseer released her arm and took his place in
the chair to Tulkoy’s right.
No
one spoke for a minute or two and Melinda could hear people shuffling behind
her, no doubt blocking the doorways to keep her from trying to escape.
Tulkoy
motioned to Melinda. “Have you made your decision?”
Melinda
worked her tongue and jaws hoping to get some moisture in her mouth. Finally,
she answered, “I have.”
Tulkoy
gave a look of disgust that she would have to belittle herself to ask another
question. Of course, that attitude would be rectified once Melinda was part of
the Dalkum. “Your decision?”
“My
decision is, ‘No, I will not join the Dalkum’.”
Tulkoy’s
face didn’t reflect the shock over Melinda’s decision. She was certain her
sister would have joined them, but now had to hand down her verdict and thus
kept her composure. “It is my duty as the Polcara to inform you that because of
your refusal to become part of our family, you leave me no choice but to
sentence you to be sacrificed to the Two Moons.”
Before
she could react, Melinda felt a stinging in her neck and knew she had been
given another needle. This time, however, the drug didn’t sedate her, but made
her compliant and mellow. She could hear words being spoken but with her mind
reeling, she was unable to discern what was being said. Someone took her arm
and led her from the room where she was ordered to strip off her clothes. She
was given some new clothes to wear. One of the garments was a dress or some sort
of ceremonial gown. She couldn’t help but think how beautiful it looked and
reveled that she was thin enough with just the body shape to accentuate the
dress in all the right places. They placed slippers on her feet and she was
escorted back into the main room.
She
was led to the same place in front of the platform and when Melinda glanced up,
she noticed that Tulkoy had changed into another outfit as well. It was black
with various colors and designs sewn into the fabric. On Tulkoy’s head was some
sort of tiara but Melinda couldn’t quite make out the symbol in the middle of
it. In her hand, Tulkoy held a staff with a small head of an animal baring its
teeth.
A
mental picture of a polecat entered Melinda’s mind and when she went to say it
out loud, she slurred, “pawlcl,” and laughed.
Tulkoy
stood up and began talking about the Two Moons, but Melinda’s mind drifted in
and out of a fog and didn’t comprehend all of what Tulkoy was saying.
A
commotion broke out behind her and the two women who were holding her arms let
go and Melinda slumped to a sitting position on the floor. People were yelling
and there were some scuffles and objects clanking on the floor but Melinda
couldn’t stay focused long enough to discern what was taking place. She wanted
to close her eyes and sleep.
Just
as she shut her eyes, someone pulled her to her feet. She scanned the room and
saw funny looking creatures with big black heads and wondered if they were
coming to sacrifice her and eat her body.
One
of the creatures came toward her and spoke. “Are you okay, Miss?”
Melinda
closed her eyes and opened them again. It took a moment before it registered
they were policemen and she saw the large S.W.A.T. letters on the backs of
their uniforms.
The
officer spoke again. “I’m Captain Molinski, I’m with the…..”
Melinda
held up her hand and forced herself to speak slowly and as clearly as possible.
“You…got…..mmmmy…..mmmmessage!”
Captain
Molinski thought for a moment then replied, “Actually, no, we didn’t get your
message. We only heard a partial word and the number never registered where it
had originated.”
Her
questioning expression caused him to further explain. “The call came from a
different person.”
Before
Melinda could say more, she spotted other policemen bringing Tulkoy down from
the platform.
She
pointed her finger. “Stop.”
Captain
Molinski turned and said, “Hold up a minute.”
With
the help of the person supporting her, Melinda moved over to Tulkoy. Without
saying a word, she slapped her hard.
Captain
Molinski motioned with his head and the other officers led Tulkoy away. He
turned back to Melinda. “C’mon Miss we need to get you to the hospital.”
On
the way out, Melinda observed a number of people being led out of the vault by
the police. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the Overseer surrounded by
a number of officers and had all she could do to keep her anger contained.
Outside,
she breathed the cool night air deeply into her lungs and was thankful the
ordeal was over. EMT’s were waiting with a stretcher and carried her out of the
woods to the ambulance. A thousand questions still lingered in her mind but she
brushed them aside. There would be time enough to find out the answers once she
was back home. She closed her eyes and drifted into the darkness.
Three
months later, after having taken care of Angie’s affairs and closing up the
house, Melinda was thrilled to be back in her own apartment. Luckily, she had
suffered no major physical damage, or any neurological problems from the drugs
she had been given. Emotionally, she was still having difficulty overcoming the
trauma she had experienced and the shock over what Angie had become and was
willing to do to her because she had not accepted membership into the Dalkum.
Even
though her nightmares were less frequent, Melinda knew there would be more
emotional uprisings as Angie’s trial date came closer. She was determined to go
through with testifying, not so much out of anger, but so that no one else
would be hurt the way she and others had been.
The
doorbell rang. She went to the door, looked through the peephole, unlocked the
chain and opened it.
“Hello,”
she said and stepped aside. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Hello,
these are for you,” Tom Bennert said and handed flowers to Melinda.
She stood on tiptoes, leaned in and kissed
him on the cheek. “Thank you Overseer for having saved my life.”
May 1, 2014
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