Feared

Twenty-Four: Harris

Nobody spoke as Harris muttered and mumbled over their injuries. Charlotte felt numb at the list of wounds, but the relief at finding them alive was enough to reassure her for the time being.

"Sedated how though?" He moved beside Alison and checked her pulse. "Lowered heart rate, lower than sleeping..." He frowned checking her pupils with a small torch he produced from his pocket. "Reduced brain activity... strange - not chemical. Charlotte can you sense fear from them?"

"No," she said shaking her head.

"And Wallace?"

"Wallace could read them," Ethan nodded.

"Sedation must be the work of another altered then. It's... not textbook. It's deep. We should have a few hours before they wake".

"Enough to move them? I don't think it's a good idea to hang around here for too long," Ethan interjected.

"Enough to move them," Harris agreed. "Just... when they do wake, based on Freya, they are going to be a bit confused".

Harris leaned over Alison, pouring a dribble of clear liquid onto her tongue. He then rearranged her tangled limbs, taking care with her wrist and crossing it across her chest.

"Callahan bring Alison to the station wagon. I want her lying flat in the back and make sure her wrist is protected - though it should be healed by the time she wakes".

Callahan nodded and, without a word, scooped her into his arms with ease, cradling her head into his chest as if she was a baby.

As Callahan vanished from the room, Harris turned his attention to Daiki. He turned Daiki's head and pushed back his dark hair to reveal a black wound just above his left ear. Harris cleaned it with cotton material and clear liquid, the cloth coming away red each time. When he seemed happy he sprinkled the fine yellow powder the length of the wound, before wrapping Daiki's head in a bandage. Again he administered a phial of clear liquid onto his tongue, finally giving orders to Carrie to bring him out to the one of the SUVs.

Kiya was treated with a phial of clear liquid and a larger dose of green syrup which had to be administered two drops at a time so she wouldn't choke. In one fell swoop he reset her nose, spreading black paste across the bruises that marred her eyes.

"She's ready to go," he ordered as Ian lifted Annakiya from the cold, concrete floor and vanished from the room.

Finally, Harris turned to James and frowned. Charlotte held her breath, watching as a drop of sweat trickled down Harris' long nose, despite the sullen chill in the windowless room. Harris turned to look at her, wearing an unsettled expression.

"He's okay right?" she breathed.

He frowned, pushing the loose hair away from his face and sighed. "He'll be okay, but he has a few broken ribs. Though it isn't the first time - I'll have them set pretty soon. He's been beaten up, a few bruises, split lip. They've fractured his cheekbone and eye-socket - that's why he has that bruise. Two of his fingers are badly sprained and he has chipped a tooth but..." he frowned again. "These injuries, even the ribs, wouldn't hurt him long term. Not really. Not somebody who has had their body altered like he has".

"Okay... then why do you look so worried?"

Harris met her gaze, as he lifted James' right hand and gently cradled it in his. "They didn't try to kill them Charlotte. If they had we would be far too late. And if those people knew we had found them, why on earth would they have abandoned James and the others? It's all too convenient".

Charlotte gazed down at James as Harris lifted his shirt and applied the black paste to his ribs and tightly bound his torso in white bandage.

"So you think they left them here for us to find them?"

"I have heard you saying that they wanted these five specifically. If that's true, why have they just handed them back alive? Charlotte we've missed something here. And I swear something's not right with Freya".

As he spoke, Harris poured another small phial of clear liquid onto James' tongue.

"She's terrified that's all," Charlotte muttered almost defensively. She couldn't allow herself to think there was something more than the bruises and broken bones. They had found them alive. Everything was going to be okay.

"She shouldn't be terrified of us - she wouldn't be terrified of us," Harris replied, smearing black paste over James' cheek.

"But what could we have missed?" she breathed.

"I don't know," Harris shrugged, handing her his satchel of medicines and lifting James from the ground.

Charlotte watched him with a new and reinforced sense of foreboding. She wondered what he could mean, wondered what was in store for them now that they had them back. She had no idea how it could get worse.

Harris carried James through the door with an ease that reminded Charlotte he was one of them, a creature of Kingston, even if he had been discarded by Elmhirst. Despite his thin, lanky appearance he was strong, stronger than any ordinary man could be.

Charlotte clutched the torch that had been left to them as they others had filed out, carrying those they had thought lost, but she felt uneasy. If Harris was right, if there was something wrong, had they just walked into a trap? And what was it about Freya that had him so worried? Wallace too seemed more upset than glad to have found them? Had she seen what was planned next? Had she seen what they had done to them?

So many questions circled around in Charlotte's head that the relief at finding James alive faded only to be replaced by a crushing exhaustion. If James and the others had been left for them to find, then their enemy was well aware that they had discovered the prison and were planning to lead an assault. She doubted that it was out of some kindness that they had left James and the others alive.

Her stomach twisted at the thought, but perhaps they had been left to serve as a distraction. Perhaps they were a distraction for what their enemy had planned next.

Thanks so much for reading Feared! I would love it if you could take a moment to vote on this chapter and leave a comment with your thoughts! Thanks as always for the constant support you give me while I am writing this story, I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it! Sorcha x