Earth Blend (11 page)

Gregg took it from him and held it briefly
before moving in another direction. “He went this way.” Gregg
stumbled upon one of Austin's sneakers.

A new panic began to settle inside of Julie.
She ran ahead to keep pace with Gregg. They found the other sneaker
and then the jeans he had been wearing. “Austin!” She cried out
into the night.

A sound came from their left. “Austin!”
Julie called again and listened. The sound came again from the same
direction. Julie charged through the brush, her flashlight swinging
wildly. She found him then, lying naked near a tree. He was curled
in a fetal position. “Oh my God, Austin!” She ran to him and lifted
his head up. “Austin! Can you hear me?” She went inside his body
with her essence and breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive.
The brightness of his Blend seemed duller than before. She scanned
his body, looking for anything that needed healing. She couldn't
find anything amiss.

Gregg and Jacob knelt down next to them.
Gregg placed his hand on Austin and did his own scan. “He is going
to be okay.” Gregg reassured Jacob and Julie.

Austin groaned in Julie's arms and buried
his face against her. “Julie.” He whispered.

“
I'm here, I'm here.” She whispered
back and held him tighter as tears fell from her eyes.

“
Austin.” Gregg lightly touched the
boy's shoulder.

Austin lifted his head slightly. “Uncle
Gordi?”

“
Yes, it's me. You're going to be
okay. Can you stand?”

“
What's happening to me?” Austin cried
out before seeking Julie's warmth. He began to shake.

“
Austin, let's get you dressed and
take you home. We will figure out what is happening.”

Austin glanced down at his body. “What
happened to my clothes?”

“
They're right here, son. Do you
remember what happened?” Jacob asked.

“
Dad?” Austin was still
disoriented.

“
How about we get him home before we
start asking questions.” Julie was angry at the secrets being
kept.

Gregg helped Austin put his clothes back on.
The four walked in silence back to the car.

“
I'm not going back to the house.”
Austin said when he saw the direction the car was
heading.

“
Austin, your mother's worried about
you.” Jacob said.

“
You need to rest.” Gregg
added.

“
I'm not going.” Austin's voice
deepened as thunder rumbled.

Julie saw Gregg and Jacob glance at each
other in the front seat.

“
Let's go to my apartment. Austin can
relax and we can talk.” Julie suggested. She felt Austin relax next
to her. “I live in the apartments next to the hospital.”

During the ride, Jacob called his wife to
tell her that Austin was okay. Gregg called Marcus at Julie's
suggestion to relay the same information. She could tell by the
conversation that Marcus was none too happy about having to wait to
get his car back.

Inside Julie's apartment, she guided Austin
to the sofa. Once settled, she asked “Do you want to lay down?”

“
I'd rather have something to eat.” He
smiled at her.

“
I can order a pizza.” She
suggested

“
Fully loaded?” He teased.

“
Fully loaded it is.” She smiled and
placed her hands on his face. She remembered the night they shared
a fully loaded pizza at Eli's apartment.

“
I'll order it.” Jacob volunteered. He
took out his phone and called the only all night pizza place. He
knew the owner personally and got him to deliver a pizza even
though they had already ended delivery for the evening.

Julie hadn't noticed how late it was.

The four sat around in silence for a
few moments before Gregg finally spoke. “I know you all have
questions.
There were many secrets kept over the
years
. I
think we should all get some food in us before we start discussing
things.”

“
Secrets and lies.” Austin
interjected.

“
As you both know, sometimes lies are
necessary for our own protection.” Gregg explained.

“
Protection?” Julie questioned. “How
can you call it protection when we don't know the truth? How are we
supposed to know what we need protection from?”

“
I will explain things-” Gregg began
to say.

“
Explain everything? Or just the
things you think we found out about?” Austin asked.

The doorbell rang, making Julie jump. Austin
placed an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. She
melted against him as Jacob rose to answer the door. He returned
shortly carrying two large pizzas. Their conversation was put on
hold as all four ate several slices of the pizza. Once everyone had
had their fill, the remainder of the slices were put in the
refrigerator.

All four returned to the living room. Julie
and Austin sat together on the sofa while Gregg and Jacob sat in
the two arm chairs.

“
I'd like to start by asking you some
questions, Austin.” Gregg announced.

“
No. You do not get to ask questions.
I'm tired of being told a bunch of lies. I want the truth. Why did
you not tell me the truth? Why did you let me think that woman was
my mother?” He directed his last question to his father.

Jacob stood, the anger evident on his
face. “That is enough, Austin. I will not tolerate your comments
against your
Mother
!
She gave up everything to take care of you. Even after
finding out that I am a Blend she didn't abandon us. She wanted you
to have a normal life as much as I did.”

Julie could tell by the look on
Austin's
face that before now, he had not known his father was a
Blend.

“
What? You're a Blend too? What the
hell? Are you even my father?”

“
He is your father, Austin. Your birth
was... unconventional.” Gregg spoke up.

Austin was visibly shaking.
“Unconventional?” His voice cracked as he spoke. “You are both
insane.” He turned to Gregg. “You told us that we were blended into
human fetuses. Of course that's unconventional. If that man is my
father,” he gestured to Jacob, “How is he a Blend?”

“
Austin, I need you to calm down and
listen. I'm going to explain everything.” Gregg tried to
placate
Austin.

“
Austin, let's give him a chance to
explain.” Julie suggested.

“
How are we going to know
he won’t tell us
more lies
?”

“
I want you to know the truth, all the
truth.” Gregg said, glancing at Jacob. “I've wanted to tell you for
a long time.”

“
Then why didn't you?”

“
Out of respect for your father. Jacob
is your biological father. Human Blends have never conceived
children. The females' bodies reject the fetus as foreign. The male
Blends sperm have never been able to fertilize a female's egg. The
Blends' are only able to be created after the human sperm has
fertilized a human egg.”

“
So, you're saying I was an exception
to the norm?”

“
More so, your mother was. Your
biological mother is not human. She's an Earthling.”

9. When Worlds Collide

Austin and Julie sat on the sofa with their
mouths open. Neither had expected the revelations they were
told.

“
What... what does that mean?” Austin
stammered out.

“
It means you are not only a Human
Blend, but an Earthling. The only one of its kind, that we know of.
Earthlings are only created by the Mother Tree and the Earth. Your
mother should not have been able to conceive you.” Gregg
explained.

“
Eli said he can turn on and off his
human parts though, to seem more human when necessary. Could that
have been what happened?” Julie asked.

“
It's possible. The pregnancy was very
short. Austin grew to full term within a month. We were not sure he
would survive. We had to keep things... a secret. Your mother was
worried that she would be punished or worse, that they would
terminate the pregnancy if they found out. We let things play out
and you were born successfully. You showed no signs of being a
Blend or Earthling.
At first, we thought they
canceled each other out and you would just
be human. You grew and progressed as any normal human child would,
until recently.”

“
Does this have something to do with
his reactions of late? The moodiness and the--” Julie paused and
looked at Austin. “The storms! Is that Austin's doing?”

“
It may very well be. I'm just not
sure. We would have to do some tests.” Gregg answered.

Julie looked at Austin, who had remained
silent. “Austin... say something.” She grew concerned when he just
continued to stare.

Jacob came over to his son and knelt down in
front of him. “Son, I want you to know that I love you and am going
to stick by you. Your mother, your Earthling mother, cared so much
about you that she left to protect you. She did not want the others
to find out about you. Helene does not know you are a Blend. She
only knows about me because I could not hide the fact that my aging
was so much slower than hers. I want to tell you everything, answer
all your questions, and together we can deal with this. Please
understand, I kept this from you to shield you and keep you
safe.”

“
My mother.” Austin spoke, his eyes
refocusing on his father. “My real mother... where is
she?”

“
She's with her kind, Austin. It's
safer that way.”

“
I want to see her.”

“
Austin, the Earthlings cannot find
out about you. It could put you in danger.” Gregg had joined the
trio near the sofa.

“
What kind of danger?” Julie
asked.

“
I'd rather not find out. Julie, Eli
cannot know about this. I know you two are close but it would be
too dangerous for Austin.” Gregg made sure to impress upon Julie
the seriousness of the situation.

“
I want to be alone.” Austin said,
standing up and moving away from them.

“
That's not a good idea, Austin. You
are a bit unstable at the moment. Your body is adjusting to the
changes.” Gregg tried to make Austin see his reasoning.

“
I need time to... absorb. Please just
go. Julie will stay with me.” He turned to Julie, “Won't
you?”

Julie felt her heart break to see the
pain-filled expression on his face. She went over to him and
embraced him. He held her tightly. “Of course.” She gave her
muffled reply. She released him and turned to Gregg and Jacob.
“Just go. He'll stay here tonight and we will regroup in the
morning.”

Gregg was about to object but decided not
to. “Come, Jacob. We'll come back in the morning. I'm just a phone
call away.” He said to Julie before he and Jacob left them
alone.

Julie crossed the room and locked the door
before going back to Austin.

“
This is messed up.” Austin half
laughed, half cried.

Julie rubbed his arms and looked at him.

“
We'll figure it out, I promise.”
Julie said, picking a stick from the forest from his
hair.

“
I need a shower.” He laughed this
time.

“
Right this way.” Julie smiled and
took his hand and led him to the bathroom.

As Gregg and Jacob were leaving the
apartment building, they saw Eli coming in the main doors. He
stopped, noticing Gregg.

“
Gregg, it's good to see you. How are
you?” He said, shaking the man's hand

“
I'm good, Eli. I just stopped over to
talk with Austin and Julie. They are turning in for the
night.”

“
How is Austin? I know Julie was
worried about him.”

“
Oh, he will be fine. Time heals
all.”

Eli looked at the man standing next to
Gregg.

“
Forgive me. Eli, this is Jacob
Dorsett, Austin's father.”

“
Nice to meet you, Mr. Dorsett.” Eli
shook Jacob's hand.

“
Nice to meet you too. Doctor, is it?”
Jacob asked.

“
Yes. I am the Chief Surgeon at Smyth
County.”

“
Isn't that where Julie
works?”

“
Yes. She is invaluable to me and the
patients.”

Gregg was about to leave but then remembered
something. “Eli, you are the owner of this building, am I
correct?”

“
Yes, I am. Do you need a place to
stay?” Eli teased.

“
Actually, I may. I think it would be
wise of me to stay close to Austin and Julie and help them during
this transitional time.”

Eli was surprised at Gregg’s response.
“Well, I need to check and see what we have available. I'm in the
process of hiring a new in house manager.” He left out the fact
that his other manager had been killed when Luke and his gang
tracked Julie here. “But I don't see any problem with finding you
an empty apartment. I'm sure we can find you something. Can I let
you know tomorrow?”

“
Absolutely, and thank you.” He looked
at Jacob before turning back to Eli. “We'll be on our way then. See
you tomorrow.”