Legal Notice: This story and all character are © 2001-2002 by Benjamin Zmoda unless otherwise specified. This story cannot be distributed, sold, or used for commercial profit without written permission from the author, nor may this story be mirrored on any other site without consent.
Of Earth, Sky, and Everyone in Between
Chapter 4
After Scarlet had left, Leo leaned back and thought about his predicament. Much to his frustration, the answers continued to evade him and all he succeeded in doing was angering himself. Peeved, he carefully lifted himself out of his bed and walked over to the window.
As he looked out he felt himself begin to calm. He discovered that he was in a room several stories off the ground. He was also pleased to find that he had a good view of the surrounding area. He lost track of time as he stared out at the skyline, and was startled when he heard a slightly familiar voice behind him.
"You really shouldn't be on your feet. The more you move around, the more chance you have of bursting those stitches."
Leo whirled around and found himself face to face with the doctor he had met last night. "I'm much more likely to split something if you sneak up behind me like that!" Leo yelled. "Learn it now... I hate it when people surprise me!"
The doctor paled. "Sorry about that," the doctor whispered, "I didn't know."
Leo glared for a moment, then turned his attention back to the window and turned his mind back to his previous thoughts. After a few uncomfortable moments the doctor cleared is throat. Leo looked over at him.
"Are you still here?" he asked insolently.
"Umm... yes," the doctor began, obviously intimidated. "I just needed to draw a blood sample to see how things are progressing."
Leo sighed and turned to face the doctor. "Fine, let's just get it over with. Where do you want me?"
"If you could just lie back in the bed, it would be easier."
"Fine," Leo replied as he turned and sat down. "But be warned, I'm not in the best of moods right now, so my temper is on a very short fuse."
"I'll be careful of that," the doctor replied as he inserted a syringe into Leo's arm and drew a small amount of blood. "Now that that's done, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.
Leo was silent for a moment. "I think there is..." he finally responded.
He looked the doctor straight in the eyes. "I can't handle being cooped up," he admitted. "Is there any way you could take me on a tour of this place or something? You know, just to take my mind off things."
In truth, this was one of the last things Leo wanted to do. He did, however, want to learn as much about his surroundings as possible. When the time came, that would make things much easier.
The doctor was caught off guard by this request and took a few moments to answer. "Well, I don't see how that will be a problem," he began, "But it's not a good idea for you to be moving around too much until you've had more time to heal."
"Okay," Leo said, his disappointment clear in his tone of voice. "In that case, can I make a phone call?"
"Of course," the doctor replied, relived to have a task he could easily fulfill. He reached into the pocket of his lab coat and produced a cell phone. "Just be sure not to run up my bill if you're calling long distance."
"No problem," Leo kidded.
Turning his attention to the phone, he quickly dialed a number that he had memorized years ago. It rang once before it was answered by a young voice.
"Rodger Franklin speaking. How may I help you?"
Leo smiled inwardly. Rodger was one of the other workers at the circus. He was the closest thing Leo had to a brother, as far as Leo was concerned.
"Hey Rodge, it's me."
"Hey Bird-Man! What's shaking?"
"Shut up, Snake-Boy. Listen, I need you to pick up a few things for me from my trailer. You have the key, right?"
"I've had a key to your trailer since before you gave me one," Rodger joked. "So what is it that you want?"
Leo told him.
"No problem. I'll swing by later today. Right now, Art's going on a rampage, trying to get everything ready and repaired. I'll slip out as soon as it's safe."
"Thanks buddy, I owe you one."
"Don't worry, I'm keeping score."
Leo cut the connection and handed the phone back to the doctor.
"Thanks. That'll help a lot. If you don't mind, I think I'll try to catch a nap. If a hybrid comes by to see me while I'm out, let him in. I'm expecting him."
The doctor nodded and Leo stretched out on his small bed. Things seemed like they were finally starting to go his way.
# # #
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Zelda and Nancy were talking in the apartment they shared.
"I still can't understand what happened last night," Zelda told her friend. "Everything happened so fast, I couldn't quite make sense of it. All I can really remember is trying to get away from it after that guy pushed me down."
"Forget about that," Nancy responded nonchalantly. "Did you find out anything about the lion?"
Zelda fixed her with a cold stare. "Hey, maybe you can let things roll off your back easily, but I have a bit of a hard time doing that," she growled. "But to answer your question, no, I didn't. The fight broke out before I could ask about him."
"Besides, I don't know why I took an interest," she continued. "He is with the circus, and he'll probably be out of town before anything could come up between us, even if I did go after him."
"Hey, lighten up," Nancy scolded. "You never know what might happen. Besides, at least you know where to find him." She pointed to the flier that Zelda had picked up from the restaurant the previous night.
"Yeah, but after what happened it just seems like it would be so awkward."
"You have no sense of adventure," Nancy joked, before taking on a more serious tone.
"Look, I want to see you happy and I know something was happening between you two. If there's a possibility, I don't want it to pass you by."
Zelda fell silent. Nancy gave her a look of sympathy. "Look, if you want to go see if he's around later, I'll go with you. It'd do me good to have some exercise anyway."
Still, Zelda wasn't sure. Playing things slow had kept her safe, so far, and she didn't know if she wanted to drop her guard. At least... not yet.
# # #
A few hours later, back at the hospital...
Leo was once again wide-awake by the time Rodger arrived, his unusual coloration drastically clashing with the whitewashed walls of Leo's room.
Rodger was another of the more bizarre looking hybrids working with the circus. His combination of weasel and skunk were almost perfectly balanced in his figure. His base color was brown, but he still had the trademark stripe of his skunk lineage, and a slightly darker backside made it much more pronounced.
He had with him a large case, which he presented to Leo.
"Thanks man, you're a life saver," Leo said as he opened the case and removed a guitar, one of the few mementos of the family he once had. "I really appreciate this."
"Hey man, you'd do the same for me," Rodger replied. "Besides, I didn't want you to go stir-crazy while you're trapped here."
"Thanks. Hey, you want to hang here for a while? There's not much to do, but you'd make good company," Leo said as he checked to make sure the instrument was still tuned correctly.
"Wish I could, but I need to get back before I'm missed. I'll come back if Arthur ever gets off of his little power trip. See you around," he said with a wave.
"Catch you later," Leo called after him.
Alone again he fell quiet, staring at his guitar. He felt the familiar ripple of memories spread across his mind, and in a moment, the world he was in was not his own.
Memory...
He was scared. She was after him again. She still blamed him for that death. He dove behind a table, breathing deeply and searching for an escape. As logic returned to him, he circled around the interior of the house to reach his room.
He grabbed a satchel off the floor and quickly crammed some clothing into it. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the room. He raced to the window, threw it open, and was about to leap out when he remembered something.
He raced to the corner where he picked up a guitar he had leaned there earlier, one of the last gifts he had ever gotten from his father. He ran back to the window just as the door opened behind him.
It was her! And she had a gun this time! She started yelling something he couldn't quite remember then raised the gun and fired.
The shot went wide and he didn't wait around for the next. He threw himself out the window and spread his wings...
Leo snapped back to reality with a gasp, then began to cry.
# # #
Back at Zelda's apartment...
Nancy had gone out to the gym, leaving Zelda alone to work out her thoughts. As she let her mind wander, her thoughts kept settling back on Leo. She could easily remember his smile, his calming voice, and above all, his courtesy.
Every time her thoughts stopped like this, she shook her head to clear it and try to see things in a new perspective. Her mind, however, would not leave her alone. After about half an hour, she stood up and grabbed her car keys and a flier. As she locked the door of her apartment behind her she thought about leaving Nancy a note, but then disregarded the idea.
I won't be gone long. There probably won't be anything between us anyway, she thought. This decision satisfied some part of her and she continued on her way without further incident.
# # #
Jessie, who was cutting work at the time, was the first to spot the civilian car pulling into the parking lot. After guzzling the last of the soda she had in her hand she jogged over to see what was going on.
Zelda was a bit surprised when she saw how deserted the grounds were. She looked down at the flier she held in her hand. No doubt about it... this was supposed to be opening day...
She looked up to see a tigress jogging towards her. She looked familiar.
"Hey, sorry. We're shut down for a few days while we make some repairs," the tigress said as she approached. "Hey wait... I remember you!"
"Yeah," Zelda said, "I was at the restaurant yesterday. You're Jess, right?"
"That's me!"
Zelda took a deep breath. "Look, I was wondering... By any chance, would Leo happen to be around?"
Jessie stared for a moment, and then slapped her forehead. I KNEW it, she shouted to herself. Wait a minute... she doesn't know what happened!
"Whoa girl," Jessie said. "I've got news for you..."
# # #
Later, Zelda walked back into her apartment, still in a state of mild shock. She was so distracted, she walked right into Nancy. Zelda looked up and groaned.
"You go to see him?" Nancy inquired.
"Yes I did," Zelda replied with a foul undertone.
"So what happened?"
"He wasn't there."
"So where was he?"
Zelda fixed her roommate with an icy glare. "He's at the hospital. He got banged up more than anyone thought in the fight."
This gave Nancy pause. "Is he alright?" she finally asked.
"From what they can tell, he's fine."
"Great. Did you find out which hospital he's in?"
"NANCY!"
Nancy flinched and gave Zelda a guilty look. "I was just curious," she whined.
"I don't see how I manage to put up with you," Zelda grumbled. "Will you ever stop it with the questions?"
"Sorry," Nancy murmured before slipping off.
Zelda watched her friend go, then grinned to herself. Sorry Nance, she thought to herself as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, but I want to do this on my own. Besides, Jessie said that company would be good for him.
She tucked the paper with Leo's hospital information back into her pocket then sneaked into her room, wondering the best time to pay Leo a visit.