An Evil Beyond Lavos Chapter 11
By Kaeru
"Owen has not always been Diablo," Gaspar told Chinook. "You and Terr must search the house for clues to the real Owen's whereabouts."
"Okay," replied Chinook. She and Terr went into the B-Zar.
"Gaspar," Magus said. "Cyprus and I wish to search for Schala farther. Do we have permission to use the Epoch for searching?"
"Yes," Gaspar replied. He looked at Lucca, and said, "Take her with you. She will be a great help to you on your journey. If you find Schala, drop Lucca off here and go back for Schala."
Magus rolled his eyes. "Must I take her?" he asked.
"Yes," Gaspar sternly replied. "As I said, you will need her intelligence on your journey."
Magus opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped by Cyprus. "Forget it, brother," he said. "Let us take the girl with us." Magus agreed, and they were off in the Epoch.
Gaspar called the remaining eight people over to him. "I must tell you of the eveil you will encounter next..." he began. "Kao is a very strong adversary. He will take much more to defeat. That is why Lucca invented the B-Zar. With it, you will be able to transport the entire team over. With this, all fourteen of you..."
"Fourteen?" asked Stram. "I only count... eleven."
"There is Owen, who I sent Chinook and Terr for, and Cyprus."
"That's thirteen."
"Fine then," Gaspar said in a strange voice. "Thirteen."
* * * *
"Okay, you check upstairs," said Terr. "I'll check down here." Terr and Chinook were looking for anything that might be of importance to them in the search for Owen.
"Okay," she replied. She went up the stairs to look in the bedrooms. Meanwhile, Terr searched down in the kitchen, living room and recreation room.
A lot of time passed. Nothing was turning up. Suddenly, Terr heard Chinook scream, "Oh my GOD!"
Terr sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could. Chinook was staring into a closet. What Terr saw in there made him shudder. There was Owen, his mother, and his cat lying there. Owen and his mother were bound and gagged, and lying unconscious on the floor. The rope had cut into their arms and legs, and the thick fabric around their mouths had cut into their cheeks. The cat was breathing, but looked almost dead. It had a large burn mark on it's left side, and tufts of fur were missing.
"Jesus..." Terr choked out, then immediately took action. "Chinook. Call nine-one-one. I'll cut the rope and gags and put them on the bed."
"Okay," replied Chinook, and she ran to the nearest phone. She dialed 9-1-1, and began to talk to the operator.
Terr pulled out his Swiss Army Knife and cut the cut the gags off. He then worked at the rope, trying to cut it.
"They're on their way," Chinook said quickly. She came over to look at the cat. "Poor little guy," she said, almost in tears.
"Look out!" cried the paramedic. He rushed through the door and picked up Owen. The two paramedics behind him ran up with a stretcher. The first man flung Owen on the stretcher, and picked up Owen's mother. A fourth and fifth man ran in with another stretcher. The first man flung Owen's mom on the second stretcher. He picked up the cat and ran down the stairs.
"I hope they're okay," Chinook said.
"Yeah, me too," Terr said slowly. Chinook looked at him for a long time, and hugged him. Terr hugged her back. Just then, the first man came back in.
"Good thing you called in time," he said. "All three of them are almost dead."Chinook covered her mouth and gasped. "Don't worry," he continued. "They'll be alright."
"Okay," Terr said. "Thanks. What hospital will they be at?"
"St Jacques, downtown," the guy said.
"Tell Owen as soon as he wakes up," Chinook said, "that we'll visit him as soon as we can."
"Okay," the man said. "Remember... you can't come in for at least a day. We need to get them through intensive care."
Terr nodded. "We won't," he replied. The man waved goodbye, and Terr and Chinook went to the B-Zar to get back to the End of Time.
* * * *
"We've got a hot one here!" yelled the paramedic. He rushed in the stretcher with Owen on it, and they set him on the operating table.
"Hook 'em up on IV," the doctor replied. "This kid hasn't eaten for a long time." The doctor began the surgery on his severed right leg. It was burned, ripped, and twisted. Then the doctor saw something wierd. "Jesus Murphy..."
"What is it, doc?" a doctor in training asked. He came over and gasped; the burn went clear through to the bone- and left it green. "This wasn't an ordinary weapon," said the head doctor.
"Holy cow... think we should scrape it?" asked the trainee.
"No... it's not inflicting any harm. Just sew up the leg. I've got to get to the other patient." The doctor left to help with Owen's mom.
"Holy crap..." the doctor working on Owen's mom said. "This lady got it bad." She was on IV, and she had the same burn marks as Owen, all over her head and chest.. Suddenly, her heartbeat recorder flatlined. "Lost the pulse!" shouted the doctor.
"Damnit!" shouted the commanding doctor. He picked up the shockers. "Give me 100 joules!" He shocked the patient. No response. "Give me 300!" Once again, the doctor shocked patient. Still nothing. "C'mon, lady... house rules... no one dies on my shift! 360 joules!" One more shock. Nothing. "Blast! Time."
"It's 6:48 p.m., sir,'' the trainee said.
"Do we know the patient's name?"
"Smith, Jennifer M."
"Okay, then it's official," the head doctor said slowly. "Smith, Jennifer M. died at 6:48 p.m..."
* * * *
Owen awoke in a hospital. "Wha-...?"
"You're in hospital," Chinook replied softly. "You had a really bad accident."
"Where's my mom?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Chinook didn't reply. "Where's my mom?" Owen repeated, louder this time.
"She died last evening at seven."
"No..." Owen whispered hoarsely. "You're kidding..."
Chinook shook her head sadly. "Sorry, Owen."
Owen tossed his head back in pain. His leg wound was throbbing. "Leave me alone," he growled.
Chinook backed off and left the room. Out there, she met Terr. "Did he wake up?" asked Terr.
"Yep," replied Chinook. "And I told him, too. About his mom."
"Poor kid," Terr said sadly. "That's pretty well all that was left of his family."
"C'mon, let's go," Ti'ana said. She had accompanied Terr and Chinook to the hospital. She was clad in her new 21st century gear. She had a pair of skin tight black jeans and a white t-shirt. She looked at Chinook with sad eyes. "Okay?"
"Okay," Terr said. "Let's fly."
.