Chapter Seven

The meeting went better than anyone could have expected.  Claiming that she had plans that couldn’t be altered -and also that she wasn’t willing to divulge what they were- Alice wasn’t able to attend, but she assured Arthur that she was eager to go on the mission with them and would follow whatever rules and plans that they put into play.  That was good enough for Arthur even if it didn’t quite sit well with Kendra and Rex.

“I don’t know about taking her with us,” Kendra said as she and Rex stepped outside of the house for some fresh air and privacy.  “I can’t explain it, but something isn’t right with her.”

“Do you think it’s because she’s obsessed with Felix?” Rex said with a grin.

Taken aback by his comment only briefly, she smiled in return. “She’s pretty obvious, isn’t she?”

“To everyone but him, I think,” he replied.

“Felix has been lost since Ari… what happened,” Kendra offered. 

“Before, I think,” he said with conviction.  “He was confused long before we came here.  I sometimes wonder if he should have married her.  I question if he was thinking straight.”

“She was pregnant,” she reminded him.

“Not with his child,” he replied. “He was trying to do the noble thing and I get it.  I just question if the noble thing was the right thing.”

“You have to remember that it isn’t easy to meet someone of the opposite sex in today’s world,” she said, defensively.  “The fact that he’s handicapped only adds to that dilemma.  He felt like the luckiest man in the world to have caught Ari’s eye.”

Rex threw his head back in laughter.  “That man has had more women after him in the few short years that I’ve known him than I’ve had in a lifetime on this earth.”

She cocked her head to the side.  “Jealous?”

He pulled her close and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Not on your life.  I know when I’ve found the best there is.”

A small giggle escaped her. “Smart man.”  After a moment of silence, she added, “I probably shouldn’t be talking about this, but it’s troubled me for a while.  My aunt gave Felix a concoction that she came up with to help him perform in the bedroom.  I noticed a change in him after that. It makes me question the side effects.”

“I didn’t know that she did that,” he said with surprise.

“It’s a bit personal,” she said. “The only reason that I know is that he told me about it.  I guess he was excited about the fact that he was still a man or something.”

Rex pulled away and looked down at her with a scowl. “So, he told you?”

She looked up at him and firmly said, “We were raised as brother and sister.  We’ve always been bonded.  Of course he’d tell me.”

“He may have been raised as your brother, but Ari’s accusations were not unfounded.  Don’t even try to tell me differently,” he grumbled.

“You never said anything to make me think that you were bothered by it,” she said with a shocked tone.

“I know my wife and trust my wife.”  He thought for a moment and then shrugged.  “I wasn’t raised with siblings.  I wouldn’t know about the bond, but I guess it can be tight enough to be a bit intimate.”

Ignoring his comment about the possibility of an intimate bond between her and Felix, she opted to focus on the rest of his comment. “Didn’t you have anyone to confide in?”

“My uncle and a few members of the group, but I wasn’t as open with my information as Felix seems to be with you,” he replied.

“He’s a sensitive man,” she said.  “Surely you’ve noticed.”

He smiled and nodded. “Indeed.”

“Am I interrupting?” Felix asked as he stepped out into the cool night air.  “It’s stifling inside tonight.  I thought I’d grab a bit of air before I retire, but if  you want to be alone I’ll move on.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kendra said in a tone that was a tad bit forceful.

“It’s good that you came out.  I wanted to ask your thoughts about the meeting,” Rex said.

“My thoughts?” Felix asked with confusion. 

Rex searched for the right words. “Maybe not the meeting so much as Alice.  I wanted to ask you what you think about taking Alice with us.”

Felix’s face took on a look of sadness. “Because of what happened to Ari?”

“Not at all,” Rex replied.  Then, as if realizing the implications of his statement, he quickly added, “I mean, of course that, but more.  Kendra and I don’t get good vibes from her, but we can’t place them.  We’re just wondering if you feel the same?”

“It’s difficult for me to look at her and not be reminded about what happened, but it’s getting easier as time goes on,” he replied.  “Yesterday, I actually held a conversation with her. It was the first time since I met her. I was struck by how well aunt’s treatment worked on her face. It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

“She does work wonders,” Rex offered.  “I’m sure Alice is grateful to her.”

“She seemed a bit messed up to me,” Felix mused. “I never took the time to think about what type of an impact Ari’s death might have made on her.  I was so wrapped up in my own misery…”

“She seems to be handling it okay,” Kendra broke in.

“I thought so too until we talked and I saw how broken up about it she really was,” he said.  “I think she just puts on a face for us.  She was an orphan who was raised by an unkind group of wanderers, you know.  They were going to eat her, but Arthur saved her.”

“What?” Kendra bellowed.  “She’s a cannibal?”

Felix shook his head and scowled. “I didn’t say that.  I said that she was raised by wanderers who ate people. I never said that she ate them.   When they ran from the cyborgs, they got lost in the tunnels.  They wanted to eat her when they got super hungry and thirsty.  She escaped them and was found by Arthur.  When they followed her here, he ran them off.”

“No wonder she’s so devoted to him,” Kendra said.

“It does explain their unusual relationship,” Rex agreed.  “He dotes on her like Olga dotes on you.”

“My aunt doesn’t dote on me,” Kendra said with surprise.

“Live the life that I’ve led and you might think differently,”  he said. “I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing. It’s good, actually.  I was just pointing out that I was having a difficult time understanding why Arthur was that way with Alice.  Now, I get it.”

“His doting ways could mean trouble in the long run,” Kendra said.  “He’s blind to her.”

“Blind to what?” Felix asked.  “Just what has she done or is she doing that we need to be aware of?”

“I don’t know,” Kendra replied. “It’s more a feeling.”

Felix’s brows knit together with disapproval. “If anyone should have reservations about Alice, it should be me.  Yet, I’m willing to give the girl a chance and be grateful for her help.  She was raised as an orphan within a group of wanderers on the surface.  Her life experience could prove invaluable to us.  Do you really want to toss it out the window because of a feeling that you can’t justify?”

“You seem to have taken a liking to her,” Kendra said in a tone that sounded accusing.

“Jealous?” he asked, defensively.

“Ari hasn’t been dead for very long,” she replied in an accusing tone.

“It’s been a few months and you of all people knew the dynamics of my relationship with her,” he replied with hostility in his voice. “I’d expect a bit more understanding from you, sister.  Or, was that just something you said but didn’t mean?”

“Oh, we’re brother and sister alright,” she growled, “which is what gives me the right to stand here and say that I think you should start thinking with your head instead of your man tool for a change.”

“That was cruel,” he mumbled.

“Maybe so,” she replied, “but it needed to be said.”

“Did it?” Rex asked as he walked past them both.

Kendra’s jaw dropped at her husband’s comment as she watched him walk into the house without so much as a backward glance.

“You can be cruel and crude at times,” Felix said as he also started back toward the house.

“You don’t get to walk away from me like that,” she barked.  “You and I haven’t finished our conversation.”

He turned and looked at her long and hard. “I think we have.”

Something in his mannerism made her hold back on her next comment as she watched him follow Rex into the house.