The previous night, a medical team took Darius and Darlene to the medical centre. Jacob, Janice, and Demarcus accompanied them. Darius received immediate medical attention. They scanned his head to check for any serious damage. Darlene was taken into a different room to receive a few non-invasive tests. Janice accompanied her.
‘Physically, she’s going to be fine. Just a few minor bruises,’ said the medical technician to Janice.
‘She’s not fine. Look at her face,’ replied Janice in a tense voice. Darlene’s face was red, and her eyes were puffy. She had not spoken since the incident.
‘She’s still in shock. She just needs some time to shake it off,’ said the medical technician. ‘The enforcers can be tough, but they are just doing their job.’
‘Sure, if their job is to terrorise my family,’ responded Janice sharply.
The technician put his hand on Janice’s shoulder. ‘She will be back to normal before you know it,’ he told Janice.
Jacob and Demarcus were sitting in the waiting room. ‘What has happened to this place?’ Demarcus remarked in a stressed tone.
Jacob looked at his son thoughtfully. ‘Nothing has really changed,’ he said in a calm voice.
‘A few days ago, Sapiens were fighting in the streets,’ replied Demarcus in a shocked tone. ‘Darius was arrested. Now the enforcers bashed him in the head, and he could be dying.’
‘Every few decades, a group of Sapiens will attempt to rise up against the system,’ replied Jacob. ‘Each time it fails. They are exposed as liars, fraudsters, or having nefarious intentions.’
‘Your brother got caught up in another of these groups. Sadly, our family is paying the price for it,’ added Jacob.
A medical technician approached them. ‘Darius is going to be fine. His injuries are superficial,’ the technician said in a happy tone. ‘We will discharge him in the morning. Make sure he gets plenty of rest.’
‘Just like that, everything is going to be fine,’ said Jacob as he looked at his son. ‘In fact, this will make us stronger as a family.’
Demarcus did not feel reassured at all. He felt this was only the beginning of his family’s struggles.
Janice and Darlene joined Demarcus and Jacob in the waiting room.
‘Are you taking her back to the temporary accommodation?’ Jacob asked his wife.
‘No, not ever,’ replied Janice.
The medical technician who saw Darlene overheard them. He approached them and told them, ‘You can all stay here tonight. We have plenty of spare beds.’
‘Thank you,’ responded Jacob and Janice together.
He led them to two double rooms. Janice and Darlene shared a room, and Jacob and Demarcus shared the other room.
The four of them woke up early the next day. They returned to the waiting room to wait for news about Darius. The medical technician approached them. ‘Darius is awake now if you want to see him,’ he said to them.
They entered Darius’ room. He was sitting up, eating breakfast. ‘You got breakfast. That’s not fair. I’m hungry too,’ cried out Darlene.
Janice gasped, ‘You’re talking again.’ They all wrapped their arms around her to give her a hug.
‘Stealing all the attention yet again,’ grumbled Darius in an upbeat tone.
The four of them went over and gave Darius a hug. Two medical technicians came in with trays of food. ‘We thought all of you might be hungry. So, we prepared a little extra food,’ said one of them.
The whole family sat together to enjoy breakfast. For a brief while, they were able to shake off the events of the past few days.
Not long after Darius was admitted to the medical centre, Vulay was brought in. This was done as a precaution to ensure she was not harmed during the incident with Victor. After a brief medical examination, they allowed Vulay to go home.
On arriving home, Vulay went into her lounge. She pulled out some old photographs of her and Victor. She flipped through them several times before lying on her back on the sofa. She stared up at her ceiling. All the memories of her time with Victor flashed through her mind. She remembered the good days when they were young. The fights they had. The passion they shared, on and off, for years. She thought about the possible future they could have had together. She imagined them living as a family, having children, and growing old together. She thought of how he died in front of her. She thought of how he was shot unannounced and how Arville gloated as if he had just been on a hunt. She lay there until dawn.
Eventually, she sat up. She knew Victor was gone, but his legacy had not died yet. The Inquisitives were his family. They were in trouble. She knew she could still help them. She got off the sofa, took a quick shower, changed into a fresh uniform, and headed back to the headquarters.
