REDEMPTION

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 8
A Season for All Things
 

Pale blue-grey light began to seep through the glass doors that led to the balcony of the suite as night gave way to the new sunrise, the rest of the world moving on despite what Sofiya had just experienced, and still Richard held the anthrovixen. Her sobs and tears had long ago run dry, and even the trembling that shook her had finally subsided.

When her arms slid up around his neck so that Sofiya could pull the two of them together before she gave him a kiss on the side of his head the silver fox almost dropped her on the floor in shock.

“Um…what was that for?” he asked slightly bemused.

“Poppa was right,” she whispered, her voice gravelly and hoarse from the ravages of her earlier crying. “You are a good man.” Sofiya held herself tightly to the other Vulps for a long moment, a sigh escaping her throat before pulling back. “Would you mind calling for breakfast? I must clean up. Then when we are done eating, I think we must have a talk.”

Richard nodded and let the female slide off his lap, his hands on her waist only long enough to make sure she had her feet under her and wouldn’t fall before letting go. He watched as she went back to her set of rooms, his heart hammering in his ribcage before taking a deep breath. The menu was where he’d dropped it and it didn’t take long for him to make a selection to call in.

As soon as he hung up the phone, his PBJ chirped at an incoming message and he flipped it open, sparing a glance at the partially open door to Sofiya’s bedroom. The anthrovixen was in the process of dabbing her face with a wet cloth in front of a dresser mirror, and looked to be whispering to herself. Richard cocked his head in confusion until he opened the metallic blue clamshell device and tapped the screen to open the message. His eyes bulged slightly to find that while he’d sent his request to Marcelo Delgado, it was Asmundr Gustavsson that had replied.

Considering what he’d asked, he was more than a little shocked that his request had not only gone through so quickly, but that the President of the AHCP had taken a hand in it as well. Richard took it under the assumption that Asmundr’s interest in the matter was due to his support of the young Fur that would be leading the colony mission that he felt was so important.

The anthrofox was a little dazed when he automatically turned to the door and the polite knocking coming from the other side. A young man in the hotel’s livery waited patiently, but when he opened the door the boy screamed something in frightened Ukrainian before running back down the hallway, his already pale skin having gone several shades of white lighter, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Another door opened up across the hall and an alert Alois looked out of the room. He was dressed in only a set of pajama bottoms in dark red silk, and in his right hand was some automatic that looked sleek and lethal that he held along his right leg. When he saw Richard standing in the open doorway, a room service food cart before the open door, he chuckled while shaking his head.

“Go back inside and enjoy your breakfast,” the man said. “I’ll go calm whoever you just frightened twenty years off of.” He reached behind him and snagged a robe, dropping the pistol into one of the large pockets before stepping into the hallway. “I was wondering why someone was out here screaming werewolf.”

Richard did as instructed, quickly pulling the tray into the suite before shutting the door. He pushed it to the small dining table as Sofiya emerged from her rooms looking a little better.

“What was all of the screaming about?” she asked as she glanced at the cart, wondering what the other Vulps had ordered, though not really caring so long as there was plenty of it.

He told the vixen what happened and after staring at him for several seconds, he saw the first hint of a smile on her face since the day before…or was it two days ago that they got the news of her father? He was too tired to care at the moment, worried only about Sofiya and was pleased and relieved to see that despite everything that had transpired she could find a little amusement in the attendant’s reaction to seeing Richard.

“You are very imposing,” she commented as the silver fox held a chair out for her and began to uncover dishes.

“Blame Doc Ramirez. She’s the one that gave me my injection,” he said and passed a serving spoon to the female. “I didn’t ask to be…well, Foxenstien.”

There were several interesting dishes and as soon as Sofiya loaded up her plate, Richard availed himself to the selection. The most recognizable thing he found was a kind of open faced egg and toast sandwich, but what really intrigued him was what looked like a casserole with salmon, potatoes and eggs that had bits of diced vegetables and herbs throughout.

They ate in silence, and only when all of the food was gone and both felt sated did Sofiya seem to warm back up to her companion. She poured both of them a fresh cup of coffee and took his hand, pulling him to the large sofa in the main salon. With gentle but assertive gestures she got the male to sit before also sitting down. Then she did something completely unexpected and leaned over so that she was all but lying on his lap.

“Richard…I do not know how to begin this…so if I say something wrong, please give me a chance to make it more clear before you make a conclusion.” She turned her head up to look in his eyes and waited for him to nod before continuing. “I am realizing how you are feeling about me. I…I feel very attracted to you as well. But there are things that you must know. There are things that I must tell you about me before we may consider anything beyond this moment.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out, turning her head and looking at the far wall.

Richard was suddenly very nervous. He had no idea of what she could want to tell him, and the worse thing he could think of was that she was gay and he had no chance at all. It was almost like being back in junior high school and coping with his first crush all over again; the feelings of uncertainty and doubt with elation and joy thrown into the emotional maelstrom. He swallowed hard and waited for her to continue.

“You already know that I was once with the United Nations. I worked as an investigator with others to document crimes against Human Rights. My husband and I both were investigators. Most of our work was being in the Middle East and in Africa, but we were also sent to Asia and once to the Baltic. It seems that those places are always having wars. So much hate and anger…”

She sighed again before continuing.

“It was to the disputed region between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia…another place that has seen too much of war, that our team was assigned. There were stories of entire towns that had been attacked and burned with horrible things done to men and women and children that my husband and I were ordered to see if they were true.

“For twenty years the two countries have committed crimes against the other, but it is always the people that suffer so. But this was the job that Aleksi and I chose to do, to try and make the world a better place, but I see now that will never happen. We thought we could help make the world safe and happy.

“We…we found the town that had been attacked. Richard…it was so horrible. There were homes that had been set to fire…the families shot by guns as they tried to escape the flames…”

Richard shuddered at the horror in her voice from the event and put a paw on her shoulder to try and comfort her. Sofiya patted his fingers in gratitude before resuming her tale.

“I will never forget the smell as I stepped through the wreckage. I had been through that village before. Houses of white with dark wood, now all of it black and burned. I found a family in front of their house…holding onto each other in the end, but they looked like blackened bits of wood that were only in the shape of humans. There were two larger ones holding three little bodies…each one even tinier than the last, the walls behind them filled with bullet holes.

“The team had just began to take pictures of it all, both still shots and video to show our superiors when men came rushing from the woods all around the village. We tried to run to our trucks, each one, and even ourselves clearly belonging to the United Nations. The men did not care. They…they began shooting. I watched two of my friends fall…I did not need to look to know that they were dead.

“I made it to the woods with my Aleksi and one other. We fell to the ground when the shooting began, crawling through the ash and mud and…things I do not wish to think about. We went under the trucks and made it to the woods. Until I heard the sound of a single gun. When I turned to look back, I saw my Aleksi.”

Sofiya paused in the telling of her story to wipe at both eyes.

“He only glanced my way once to make sure that I was away safe. The men…the men, they did not even ask any questions or try to use him for gain. As I lay under a thorn bush, one walked up a-and put his gun to Aleksi’s head and pulled the trigger. I had to bite my hand so I would not scream, my own teeth drawing blood.

“We hid as the bodies of our friends…of my beloved husband were searched for anything of value. They did the same to the trucks. It did not take them long to be done with things. They must not have seen Mikail and I escape because they did not look for us.

“When it got dark, I helped Mikail stand as he had a bullet wound to his leg and though he could walk, it was not very well.” The vixen looked up at the other Fur, her pupils dilated to their fullest as she recalled the events. “We left that village to find help…and my entire world lay dead in the street…shot like an unwanted dog. I really didn’t care if the men came back and killed me, too. The only reason I went on was to find help for Mikail. He had just learned of the birth of his first child. For some reason that seemed to be the most important thing in life at that moment, I knew I had to get Mikail safe so he could one day see his new son.

“It was near morning when field workers found us on the road. We had almost made it to the little hilltop place where a UN force was. I begged them to take my friend to get help. His leg was bleeding very badly and I was afraid that if he lost anymore blood he would die. They agreed to help…for a price.”

Richard immediately knew what she meant and breathed a soft, “No.”

The vixen nodded. “There were six of them. I… but I did not care at that moment. My body was a negligible price. They had their way, then took us most of the way to the outpost, the others still using me as we traveled.

“After that, I did not care about anything anymore. I no longer cared if people killed each other, or what happened. This planet could have burned, too, for all I cared. I still do not care about most people. I am a Fur now. I will worry about the others like me, the friends I have made, and let the others take care of themselves. That is why I joined the AHCP. So that I could leave this planet for another one, to find a world where there is no war.

“My last reason for caring about anything on this planet has been taken from me.”

Sofiya rolled to a sitting position, putting distance between her and the silver fox. “I…I am not proud of what I did. It was necessary to save the life of another. Since then I have never let another man touch me in that way and the last man that I have ever kissed was my husband on the day that he was murdered. I promised myself that no other man would ever be with me unless he could win my heart, but he would also have to know of the things that I have gone through, of the things that I have done, and accept that as well. I will not lie or hide what has happened to me. I also know that you must be disgusted, that you see me as little more than a poviya…who-”

Richard put the finger of his hand to her mouth to prevent her from finishing the word and shook his head. “I don’t think that at all.” He ran a hand through his black head hair and shook his head again before regarding her with a smile. “It does explain a lot, though. Why you are the way you are and try to help so many of the other Vulps.”

“But…I…I am zemlya…soiled! No one can want me! Not like that!”

“That doesn’t make you any less of a person,” the silver fox said as he moved closer to her. “It shows that you will do what’s necessary to protect another. It shows that you can think of more than just yourself. And it shows me why Aleksi was in love with you.”

“But I am-”

“A victim. You did what you had to, to survive and to protect another and get him the help he needed. I think you’re one of the strongest people that I have ever known, Sofiya. I know why you were chosen to lead us on Bastien.”

Richard looked at her and within him a silent war raged, so many emotions that he had trouble sorting out one from the other. He felt anger at what had been done to her and his heart broke at everything the little vixen had endured. Protective feelings welled within him, and at the same time he knew that he had to show restraint.

Tell her! one part of him screamed. He resolutely turned from that, though. It was too soon and she needed time to mourn, to gain her mental and emotional equilibrium. Looking at her, gazing into her yellow-green eyes, he knew that she was waiting for him to say what he wanted as well.

Before he gave into a moment of weak selfishness, Richard stood and took her hand, pulling her to her feet and led her to her room. With his free hand he pulled the covers on her bed down and nodded to the clean sheets. “C’mon. You’ve been through enough for one day. It’s time to get some sleep.”

“But-”

He smiled warmly. “No buts. We’ll have time to talk again later. I promise.”

Sofiya slid up onto the mattress, moving far enough over so that there was room for the silver fox. When all he did was pull the blankets up over her and under her chin she looked at Richard with disbelief. He didn’t even attempt to give her a kiss, the only form of affectionate contact was the brushing of her still human head hair back before withdrawing and exiting the room and shutting the door after turning off the light.

“Ya tebe liubliu, Richard,” she whispered as a single tear rolled from her eye. “I love you…”

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.