Page 80 of Alien's Eternal Mate

“President Gro?”

The voice on the other end of the call sounded young. Too young to have been alive when I actually served as president. He was so young he could not mask his trepidation at speaking to me.

“No longer am I president, lad, but I am Gro.”

“My apologies. Your lifemate has collapsed and is at the medical intervention facility on Candle Island.”

My heart stopped in my chest. I carefully set Rolli on the floor and picked up the handset, changing the call from speaker to private mode.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice edged with panic.

“She was performing well at physical therapy, but after she took a hydration break she complained of pain in her chest before collapsing.”

“Didn’t you idiots take her vitals before you let her work up a sweat in therapy? You know she just had surgery.”

“Her vitals were well above the established parameters. There truly was no warning, sir. The doctors want you to come in straight away.”

“I’ll be there within the hour.”

I ended the call. When my youngest daughter arrived and our eyes met, she knew there was trouble.

I kissed my daughter and granddaughter goodbye, and then took the air car out to Candle Island. I no longer piloted the vehicles myself. There was no need. The computer did a much better job than I did.

Unfortunately, it gave me time to worry and brood over the worst possible outcomes. Arael was only a few years younger than me, and I had passed my second century long ago. The Physicker had told us her time was limited.

My vision blurred with tears. I broke down, my body wracked with heavy sobs.

I managed to compose myself when I arrived at the medical facility. The head physicker met me personally at the landing pad. That was not a good sign.

It only got worse as he walked me to my wife’s room. Complications from the surgery and advanced age. A prognosis impossible to pin down. I’d say about four weeks on the long side…

I entered the room, and she looked up at me, a big smile on her face.

“Hello, beloved. You’re just in time for dinner. Would you like the red paste or the green paste?”

I had intended to be strong for her. But seeing her there, so cheerful and smiling and full of life, was more than I could bear. I let go with an ugly sob and raced across the room, throwing myself across her frail form.

“Don’t die,” I begged between sobs. “Please, don’t die. Don’t leave me, my love. Please.”

“Oh, Gro…or should I say Carter? Please don’t be sad. I’m not. I’ve had the most wonderful life, and it’s all because of you.”

I lifted my face from her bedsheets, now damp with my tears.

“Arael, it’s not right. It’s not fair. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I know. But you should know that I’ll never leave you. Not really. I’ll always find you, my love, no matter where your soul roams in this galaxy. Time and space are no barrier to those who share a soul.”

She kissed me, tender and sweet. I embraced her, careful not to squeeze too hard.

“Arael, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” she said, her voice faint and soft, as if she were on the verge of sleep.

I sighed, trying to see the bright side. Four weeks. We still had four weeks to spend together. It wasn’t over, not yet.

“Did you tell Rolli that I mastered the Photonic Flute overnight? Because that’s setting the bar a little bit too high, don’t you think?”

I waited, but she did not answer.

---