Echo Book 2

38. Waiting Room

I sit on the stage at the front of my dad's meeting hall. It looks more like a movie theater or stage. But it's at his house and he named it a meeting hall.

"If you're going to be turned into a vampire, sit in the middle. Kinnik servants that side. Mine over there."

I watch everyone find their spots. Cleome is bossing 10 women around. She gives them paper and pens.

Tim tilts his head. "I think she's telling them how to sit."

Me and Ohro crack up laughing.

He shakes his head. "Cleome, give everyone paper and pens."

Malax kisses my head. "Those 10 work for us. I have their papers. What do we have here?" Malax stares at someone getting wheeled in. He's in a wheelchair with a tube of blood going into his head.

Ohro shrugs his shoulders. "That's my dad. He's not doing well. The doctors say he is bleeding in his brain."

I watch Tre run to him. He's on the phone before he gets there.

Tim nods. "We'll figure it out. Woman, do the servant stuff before your mom has a meltdown. I've had to tell her twice not to send them out for stuff."

"Better you than me." Malax gets down and goes for Ohro's dad. Then Tim follows him.

Kane and Mary come up with us. Then the 3 of them sit at the table up here.

I guess this is me. "Thank you for coming everyone." There are a lot of people here I don't know. Must be everyone's parents. "I'm going to explain some things to the servants first. Then they're free to go." Momma smiles at me. "First, all of the people in the middle are going to be gone for a few weeks. Servants, you will continue to do your jobs. Cleome is the head servant for my house. She will be leaving for a few weeks as well. The rest of you will be getting your training from the Kinnik servants. Cleome will guide you more when she comes home. But for today, learn about the cleaning from the Kinnik servants. Questions?"

"Are we trailing them?"

"Yes, for today that would be perfect. Learn how they do things."

Momma stands up. "Our houses are run differently. If you keep the cleaning up until Cleome gets back, that's what she wants."

"Next is the Kinnik servants. My parents will be leaving for a few weeks. The kids will remain in the house. You need to take care of them. Now, I want to introduce Kane and Mary to you. Mary will be on the planet. She will be inspecting both houses and making sure everything is running smoothly. Kane will be on the planet as needed to help with that. I want everyone to look at him. He is permitted in the houses whenever the hell he wants. Do not get in their way. They work for my throne and have crown immunity here."

Hunter stands up. "Lovely speech. What the hell is crown immunity?"

"The only people who can find them guilty of anything are Ax and Tim. They hold full immunity on this planet. As does everyone on my throne."

"Am I on your throne?"

"I guess so."

Malax cracks up laughing. "No. There's more to it than that. Kane and Mary do have immunity here and are directly protected by the throne. Do not mess with them. Do exactly what they say. Now move on."

"Help can leave the room, except Cleome. Those of you being turned into vampires. You will be placed on a ship above the planet. Tre is back there. He is a doctor and will make it as painless as he can for you. TRE WAVE." He waves me off. He's still on the phone.

Kane stands up and takes over my speech. "Turning you into vampires can take anywhere from an hour to 26 hours. It depends on a lot of things. Tre will be there to administer medicine if needed. After your initial turn, you will have to be able to feel your blood levels before I let you return to the planet. You need to be able to understand your vampire powers and know the signs of when you need blood. I will be teaching them. That part can last from a few days to 2 months."

I sit between Ohro and Mary. I need a break and people keep asking Kane questions now.

Omar takes Ohro's dad out. Ohro leans towards me. "Should I be concerned about that?"

"No. He's my doctor."

"The doctors here only gave my dad a few weeks to live. My mother is dragging him everywhere, looking for anyone who can help. Can they turn him into a vampire?"

"I have no idea. They will if they can. Malax was nearly dead when they turned him."

"You said he was injured. It didn't sound bad."

"The aliens ripped his entire arm off. Scared me to death. Part of his shoulder was gone. He kept coughing up blood. He made it though."

"I hope my dad will make it."

"Me too."

Mary smiles at us. "You can go with his dad. You don't have to sit here, you already know the plan."

I stand up and Ohro shakes his head. I pull him up and take him with me.

Omar glances at us. "He has about a week. He's not speaking well, and your mother is..."

"Yea, I know. She's messed up. She keeps dragging him everywhere. She won't listen to the doctors."

"Do you have any older siblings or does your father have an emergency contact that can take over?"

"I'm their only kid. He had no siblings and his parents are gone."

Tre shakes his head. "He's still a teenager, Omar."

"If you can fix him, my mom will be fine again. She's stressed out. Everything is breaking her. My dad, she can't pay the bills..." He shrugs his shoulders.

Tre rubs his face. "It's Johen all over again."

"Yea, it is." Omar puts his hands on his dad's head. "I can't heal this with magic. We can turn him into a vampire, but his body might not be strong enough to live through the shift."

Ohro wipes his eyes off. He's about to bawl.

I give him a hug. "We have no options. If we do nothing, he will be gone in a week. If we turn him into one of us, there's a chance he will live. A chance is better than nothing."

Ohro hugs me. "Give him a chance."

"We're going now."

Ohro gives him a hug. "Good luck, dad. I love you."

"My boy." I can barely make it out. But I do.

Tre and Omar take him out. Ohro sits down and puts his head in his hands. I rub his back while he tries to calm down. Not much I can do. "Should we get your mom?"

"No. Let her have some peace. She'll be sick if we tell her. How long until we know?"

"Nadine said my body fought for 45 minutes. I was unconscious."

"I doubt if he has that."

"Everyone is different. We have to hope. Do you want to go up to the ship with him?"

"Isn't your ship at Phade?"

"They're not going on that ship. I have a smaller ship up there. It's for everyone turning."

He lays his head on my lap and bawls. "I don't know."

"Come on. We'll go up. I'll try to keep you busy for an hour. It'll be something different to look at anyway. Not that any of it matters. But it's something." I pull him to a shuttle.

He watches out the window. I know he's in shock. But he watches the planet get smaller and the ship gets closer. Then we get inside.

"Are we going to him?"

"No. We'll go to the command area. You can see space from there."

He shrugs his shoulders. "Everywhere is a big waiting room right now."

"I know."

He watches out the window like I knew he would. "Do I really work for you?"

"Yea."

"What do I do?"

"Try to keep up, I guess. I've never hired anyone, so I honestly don't know."

"How much do I make?"

I shiver. "I don't know. How much do you want?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"It wasn't nothing."

"I dated someone. I liked him. He paid for everything, then, after everything, asked me for half of the expenses. It stressed me out so much. I had no idea how much it cost. I tried to ask, and he told me I should know... I didn't know. I was willing to pay though."

"What happened after that?"

"I broke down and told Malax. I was so upset. I didn't know and didn't know how to figure it out. Malax said he was trying to scam me. He threatened the boy with lawyers. I never heard from him again."

"Is that the one that applied for a job?"

"Yes."

He laughs. "f*****g idiot."

"I didn't know any better. I was so excited to be asked on a real date. If he had told me about paying first, I would have done it. I don't have a problem with it. But he wouldn't tell me how much he spent." I shrug my shoulders.

"Yea, he was trying to scam you."

"I was going to give him $3,000 and hope it was enough. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but Malax made me. I was in tears trying to figure something out."

"Are you with Malax still, or are you with Tim now?"

"Both. They're my soulmates. I love them."

"They're fine with it?"

"Yea. I hear it's rare to have more than 1. But Nadine has 8. Eriska has 2. I'm getting used to it. But I know I love them more than anything. They're mine, and I would kill for them."

"As long as you're happy. So, I'll get 1 too?"

"Yes. I guess everyone has a soulmate. Humans can't feel the bond though. Vampires can."

"That's something to look forward too. Real love."

"Yea, it is. I can't even explain how real it is. It's amazing."

He smiles. "How about 1k a week? I could help my parents pay the bills. Buy groceries."

"Do you need groceries now?"

"Probably." He laughs. "My mom has been out of it. She hasn't cooked in forever. She's probably starving. I'll grab a burger or something when I'm out. I don't know if she has food in the house or not. I should have been keeping an eye on that."

"No. You're a teenager. You kept yourself alive. That's more than anyone could ask." I motion a brain. "Are they still in the meeting hall?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take them dinner and some water."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'll feed them tonight. It's about dinner anyway. I don't know about 1k though. I think I'll have to pay you in gold. I believe I'll have to pay everyone on my throne in gold."

"Why?"

"You can only spend our money on 1 planet. We go to a lot of planets. It doesn't really work." I shrug my shoulders. "I'm still sorting out the pay for my throne. I'll give you 50k. That'll buy groceries and pay the house payment for a couple of months, right?"

"Never let anyone take you on another date. The house payment is 1k a month. Groceries are $500 a month."

I nod. "Yea, I f****d that up. I try. Next time you go out on the planet, will you bring me a fast-food burger? I had one once and I loved it."

"Where from?"

"He said it was fast food."

"I'll get you a burger."

"Thank you. I'll get you some money when I go back."

"Damn, that boy f****d you up with money."

"How you mean?"

The door opens and Tre comes in. "He made it. You can see him but he is unconscious."

Ohro falls back in the chair and rubs his eyes. "Thank you."

I smile and pull him up. "Go sit with your dad for a bit. You'll have to go back to the planet when people start coming up. I'll send your mom up as soon as she's done eating."

"Thank you." He hugs me then goes with Tre.