Sacrifice

Chapter Seven

Will ate his breakfast quickly and went outside to delight in the morning sunshine.  He had no idea that he could enjoy something as simple as sky, birds and sunshine so much as he did now.  But soon his mind turned to their escape from the griforis.  His mind churned in confusion.  How could a wound as bad as Dad’s not hurt him?  He shuddered as he saw in his mind the horrible scene in the cave.  Was he mistaken in what he saw?  Perhaps in the dim light it could have looked worse.  But he had seen Dreel calmly take the knife from Dad’s back.  He saw the blood on the knife blade.  And how could Dad have come down the cave with the defenses on?  It took longer than just a few minutes to go down that corridor.  The questions kept coming, incessant in their desire for answers, buzzing in his brain like bees in a hive.  They confused him and demanded answers.

“Welcome back, Will Robinson,” the Robot intoned from behind him. 

Will started; he had been so deep in thought that he had not heard his mechanical friend approach.  “Oh, hi, Robot.  Thanks, it’s good to be back.”  He sat down on a rock and watched two small cat-like mammalians fighting over some kind of nut or fruit.  Just who was Dreel?  The griforis seemed to know who he was, or rather what he was.  How did Mom and Dad get a hold of them?  Sighing, he watched as the red-furred animal finally wrested the fruit from the brown furred one and ran off into the bushes. 

“Will Robinson, you do not seem very happy for someone who has just been rescued from captivity,” the Robot intruded on the boy’s thoughts. 

“Robot, how did Dad get down that cave to rescue us?” Will asked, hoping his analytical friend would be able to help quiet the persistent questions. 

“He walked, Will Robinson.”

Will peered closely at the Robot, knowing he had not been programmed for humor.  “Robot, that’s not very funny.”

“It was not meant to be.  But you are asking a question that, I believe, your father would prefer explaining,” the Robot replied. 

“Dad’s asleep.  He said something about talking to us later…”

“Then you must be patient, Will Robinson.”

“They stabbed him, Robot.  In the back!  But it didn’t seem to bother him that much.  Dad’s different somehow.  I can feel it,” he persisted, looking plaintively at the mechanical man.  “Tell me, what is it, Robot?”  Little fingers of dread started marching up and down his back. 

“Will Robinson, wait for your father to wake up.  He will explain everything to you.  I think he would prefer it,” the Robot repeated.

“You know, don’t you?  Tell me, Robot.”  The Robot stood resolute.  “I order you to tell me what’s wrong with Dad….  Please?”

“I was not commanded to keep this information a secret, but it is not right for me to tell you,” the Robot said, an almost wistful quality in his mechanical voice.  “Nevertheless, since you have ordered it, I will.  There is nothing wrong with your father; he is just changed.  The only way he could safely go down into that cave to rescue you and your sisters was to allow Dreel to make him a nur-Vandir, or rather like a nur-Vandir.” 

“What’s a nur-Vandir?” Will asked in a hesitant voice.  The little fingers of dread turned into goose-stepping soldiers.

“Dreel and his companion are nur-Vandir.  A nur-Vandir is a being that is not alive as you or the rest of the family is alive.  Vandir are also immortal.”

“Dad is not alive, but immortal?  That doesn’t make sense.”  His shocked mind could not comprehend what the Robot was telling him.

“On Earth, Will Robinson, the closest thing to what your father has become is a vampire,” the Robot pronounced quietly. 

“A what?” Will asked, disbelief coloring his voice.  “They’re make-believe, fiction.”

“No,” the Robot said.  “Apparently, there is basis in fact for the vampire legends.  Your father went through a mutative process that inured him to the deadly effects of the griforis defensive system.  It also inures him to the effects of aging, hence the immortality.”

Will’s mind reeled and he stared at his mechanical friend while he tried to understand everything the Robot had told him.   Dad was immortal; he couldn’t die.  Things couldn’t hurt him.  Being a vampire meant he was stronger, too.  Will saw that in the cave.  It was like having Superman for his father.  “Wow!” he breathed.  “That’s why the knife didn’t hurt him.  That’s awesome.”

“Your father is not happy with the change,” the Robot pointed out.  “He only did this because he saw no other way to free you and your sisters.”

“But why?  Why would he be unhappy?” Will asked, listing what he saw as advantages.

“For one thing, he is afraid that his diet will put you and the rest of the family in danger,” the Robot said simply.

Will gazed at the mechanical man, but the Robot said nothing more.  His diet?  Blood! Vampires drank blood.  Suddenly the implications of the Robot’s statement hit him.  “Dad wouldn’t do a thing like that!” Will exclaimed, horrified at the thought.  

“I believe you are correct, Will Robinson, but your father doesn’t believe it yet.”  

Then feelings of guilt washed over him. If they had only made their escape the night before….   And he thought of Dad.  The boy couldn’t even imagine what his father must have gone through.   

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Sitting against the bulkhead near the access door, head resting on his knees, John tried to focus on the sounds of the birds singing outside, clinging desperately to anything that might blot out the horrible dream.  Or was it a vision, a vision of the future?  He rubbed the back of his neck, closed his eyes and listened.  A flute-like warbling rose above the sounds of all the other daytime creatures.  As the soothing song continued, he felt his thoughts calming.  He didn’t hear Maureen’s approach. 

“John.”  Her voice was soft and full of love and compassion.  He looked up and saw her reaching for the control button to close the door.

“No, please leave it open.  The outside sounds are soothing,” he said.

“Nightmare?” she asked.  He nodded.  “Related to your new physiology?”  Again he nodded.  “John, we both know that you made the only decision that could have been made.  As horrible a decision as it must have been, it was right.”

“I know that, Maureen,” he said in exasperation.  “But now I have to deal with the aftermath.  I did this to save the kids, who will save them from me?” he asked her.

Sighing, Maureen sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.  There was a pause and then he put his arm around her and drew her closer.  She desperately missed the sound of his heartbeat and the comforting rise and fall of his chest, but there was nothing that could be done about that.  “John, when you came up the tunnel, you were hungry, I’m sure.  Did you feel the urge to use the children?”

“NO!” he said forcefully, almost too forcefully.  She sensed a war of emotions going on inside her husband and her heart ached for him.  Wishing she knew what to say to him, she also wished she knew what would comfort her.

“You had a dream, dear.  A terrible, horrible dream that was based on your fears, on what happened to you the first night when your body was still trying to acclimatize and you were not under total control.  John, we have adapted to the situations that we have been thrown into thus far.  We will continue to adapt.  I trust you.  Now trust yourself.”

They sat quietly in each other’s arms, without the need to talk, comfortable, relaxed and somewhat content.  Finally he said, “Thank you, darling, I appreciate this.  I think I’ll go topside. In a few minutes, I want to talk to the children.”  Leaning over, he kissed her tenderly. 

As he was walking to the elevator, the Robot’s voice came over the intercom, “Professor, there is a call from Capt. Dreel.  Do you wish to take it down there?”

“Yes.”  He activated the small auxiliary communications panel.  “What can I do for you, Dreel?” he asked. 

“John, I hate to do this to you, but I desperately need your help,” Dreel said, his voice tight with anxiety.  “How spaceworthy is your vehicle?  You had mentioned problems that had forced you to land.”

“The Jupiter II is spaceworthy now.  We had finished fixing the major problems just before the children were kidnapped.”

“We need to talk in person, John, and soon.  We can’t wait for evening.”

“Very well.  Do you want to meet in orbit or further out?” John asked, puzzled by the nur-Vandir’s apparent anxiety.  That Dreel’s calm and poised demeanor was so shaken must indicate something terribly amiss.  

“Orbit is fine,” Dreel said, cutting the communications abruptly. 

John and Maureen walked into the dining area where Don and Judy were enjoying a cup of coffee.  “What’s up, John?  I thought I heard you on the communicator,” Don queried.  Judy picked up some of the breakfast dishes and took them to the sink. 

“Dreel needs to meet with me as soon as possible.  We were planning on launching within twelve hours anyway.  We’ll just move up the schedule.  Do you think we can take off right after lunch?” he asked, looking at his watch, still pondering Dreel’s behavior.  “Say, in about two hours?”

“Sure, everything tested fine last night,” Don replied.  “Anything serious?”

“I have no idea, Don.  Dreel wouldn’t say, but it sounded extremely important.”

As the sun reached its zenith, Don sat down at the pilot’s console and John went over the checklist on the navigational computer.  Leaning over, he spoke into the intercom.  “Everyone ready down below?”  When he received an affirmative, Don began the launch sequence.  The Jupiter II’s repulsor jets engaged and the craft gently lifted into the midday sky.  Soon they were floating in orbit around the dark side of the planet. John contacted Dreel and received the coordinates for docking.  Maureen joined them during the final stages of their connection with the Vandir craft. Within minutes the Jupiter II was locked to the nur-Vandir craft and they had climbed down the access ladder to Dreel’s ship. 

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“I wonder why Dad and Dreel had to meet here in space?  Dreel’s ship wasn’t that far away was it?” Penny asked, puzzled.  A great deal had puzzled her lately.  She had yet to understand her dad’s instant recovery from what had seemed to be a serious wound.

“Oh, my, Penny, you haven’t figured it out yet?” Smith asked furtively. 

“No, Dr. Smith.  Figured what out?” she asked, wondering if she was the only one on the ship that was puzzled by what had happened in the caves.  Judy had been mysteriously withdrawn ever since their rescue, and Will had been quiet all during the launch, not even begging Mom and Dad to let him help with the preflight checklist.

“Dad and Dreel couldn’t meet on the planet.  It was daylight,” Will blurted out before Dr. Smith could say anything.  He took a breath, wondering how in the world he could break the news to his sister gently.

“I regret saying this, Penny, but they are vampires,” Smith interjected.

“You’re joking, right?” Penny asked, her eyes wide in shock. 

“I wish he was, Penny,” Judy answered morosely.  “Apparently Dad allowed Dreel and Arist to make him a vampire so he could come and get us.”

Penny stood staring at the bulkhead, but didn’t really see it.  Her thoughts galloped like mustangs and her feelings churned violently, making her feel almost nauseous.  Looking up at her siblings with the beginning of tears in her eyes, she said softly, “He did something like that for us?”  Suddenly the revelation overwhelmed her and she ran to her cabin, her quiet sobs hanging heavily in the sudden brief stillness.

“You do realize the danger to the rest of us.  We have to take precautions,” Smith declared.

“Dad wouldn’t do anything to us, Dr. Smith,” Will asserted vehemently. 

“Well, he might not be able to help himself,” Smith responded. 

“Shut up, Dr. Smith, just shut up,” Judy said tersely, and stalked out of the room, her guilt haunting her.   She realized that Dr. Smith’s vocalizations were exactly what had flitted through her mind since their rescue. 

“Dr. Smith, that was a mean thing to say.   I don’t care what you say, I don’t think Dad would do anything to hurt us,” Will snapped as he, too, left the room. 

“Well, young William, for your sake, I sincerely hope you’re right,” the older man murmured, mostly to himself. 

End Chapter 7