Coming from Nowhere

CHAPTER ONE

JD stared out the cockpit at the blackness beyond, wondering how she had gotten into this situation. So much had happened in the short time she had been awake, and she didn't understand half of it. Where had she gone wrong? She reached out and placed her hand on the glass. The coolness migrated from her fingertips to her wrist, and she leaned forward and placed her forehead next to her hand. She closed her eyes.

The door slid open and shut silently, but JD didn't realize anyone was there until they placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look upon Alex. He stood just a few inches taller than her, and was a very muscular man. He had jet-black hair cropped close, ice blue eyes, and a square jaw. His mouth was normally cocked to one side in a half grin and there was a sparkle to his eyes, but as she looked at him, his lips were turned downward in a frown and his eyes were glassy and red.

"We're here," he spoke softly.

JD cringed as Alex slid an arm around her waist. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and the pair hobbled down the loading ramp. At the bottom, the light temporarily blinded them both. When she was able to focus, JD was astonished by the towering white city before her. Huge buildings with pillars, reminiscent of the Greek and Roman temples, rose thousands of feet into the blue sky and stretched out to the right and left as far as the eye could see, surrounding them in all directions. She noticed that Maxx and Dale were a few feet in front with a stretcher suspended between them. Her breath caught as she noticed Chris. His breathing was shallow and the skin that wasn't covered with cuts and bruises was pasty white.

They continued forward onto the marble landing pad when a group of women dressed in bright red togas emerged from the building. Ten of them lined either side of the walkway and stood at attention with spears clutched between their hands. A woman in a radiant white gown with a gold sash and flowing cape followed them. Alex and JD stepped up to the woman. It wasn't until after he had kissed her knuckles that JD recognized who she was.

"JD," Lady Celia spoke, "you look like utter hell."

Celia had long black hair that fell to her waist. She was slender with a dark complexion and had dark red lips that sat on a perfectly oval face. Her brown eyes sparkled with sympathy as she looked JD up and down.

"Please, get them inside. The doctor will be with them shortly." She waved her hand and ushered the group in.

They walked through the foyer into a large square room adorned with pillars and statues and furnished with chaise lounges and plants. It was painted white with accents of gold. The lady stopped and directed Maxx and Dale to take Chris into a room off to the right, then proceeded toward Alex and JD.

"You can put her in the room next to Chris's. I have summoned a doctor, and she should be here at any moment."

Alex nodded and then took JD to her room. She stopped him before they got to the door and requested that she be taken into Chris's room. Alex obliged, and Maxx left the room to drag in one of the lounge chairs. Alex set her gently down on the cushions, and they all stared at the unconscious man before them. No one spoke. They just stared in silence until the doctor burst into the room.

She was an older woman with graying hair and lines that curved from the outside of her eyes and mouth. She glanced at Chris briefly and muttered a "My God" before grabbing her stethoscope and beginning the examination. After a few moments, she turned to Alex and Celia.

"We have got to get him to the hospital. I don't have the equipment here to do anything for him."

Alex shook his head. "We can't do that, ma'am. If you let us know what you need, we can send someone to get it."

The doctor pressed her lips into a thin line. "He could have internal bleeding, and the only way I would be able to catch it is by doing a series of tests. You have to let me take him to the hospital."