Silence Tells the Cruelest of Lies

Matt wasn't lying when he said that innocent people would pay. Somehow he managed to procure a daily copy of an international human newspaper, which told horrific tales of unexplainable deaths around the world. I knew these deaths were of Matt's doing, because every story told of strange black blood.

Ryder's mysterious illness vanished after several days, and he was soon back to his normal rambunctious self. I spent my every waking moment in the nursery with my children. Matt had developed a rather psychotic air, and I thought it best to steer clear of him. Ever since the incident involving Matt threatening Ryder with the Reaper Blade, Ryder had begun to embrace his role as a big brother. Not just to Aileen, but to the new baby as well.

"Mommy, I'm cold!" Ryder complained. He threw his toy plane to the floor and came over to me. "And I don't feel good no mores."

Surely you're not sick again, I said warily. I placed my hand to his forehead, and sure enough he was abnormally warm. What's wrong?, I asked.

"My thwoat," Ryder answered, and I noticed how raspy his voice was. "And I'm cold!" Suddenly, my three-year-old swayed on his feet, and I caught him as he fell. Sitting in my lap, he began to shake and shiver, and I quickly recognized this to be the chills. "C-Cold," he said again.

Come on Ryder, we'll take you to the nurses' office, I suggested. This time my son did not object when I picked him up and headed for the door.

"Mama!" Aileen cried. I turned around and saw her reaching for me, her small face screwed up in a pout. Oh, I couldn't leave her here alone! I would have to take her with me. But how?

Suddenly I remembered the baby stroller stashed away in the closet. I quickly placed a whimpering Ryder in his crib, and dashed to the closet. The stroller, pink and belonging to Aileen, was in its storage position, and it consumed two minutes of my time getting it undone. I snatched up Ryder and settled him in the stroller's seat, then picked up Aileen.

"Mommy..." Ryder moaned weakly.

I ran my hand through his hair comfortingly. I'd never seen my son this sick, and it was scaring me. But I couldn't let my fear show, lest it frighten Ryder even more. Shh baby, I purred. Mommy's right here.

In the nurses' office, Ryder was once again regarded as a leper of some sort. But I would not stand for these nurses ignoring my son when he was this sick. No, I would not let that happen. I wheeled the stroller, Ryder in the seat and Aileen balanced precariously on top, up to the main desk and smacked my hands on its surface.

The nurse sitting at the desk jumped and looked up. "Miss Calyx," she said breathlessly, sounding startled. "What do you need?"

Ryder is sick again, I informed her. Very sick. And I'd like you to tend to him right now.

"O-Of course, Miss Calyx," the nurse said shakily. "I'll see if there's a room available." The nurse walked out from behind the desk and scurried down the hall.

"Mommy, I'm hot now," Ryder whined. He began to thrash around in the stroller, and I reached a hand down to calm him.

The nurse returned shortly thereafter. She led my little entourage down the hall and showed us to an exam room, which was completely identical to hte one we'd visited last time. "Would you please pull your son out of the stroller so I can check his temperature?" the nurse asked. I pulled Ryder from the stroller and onto my lap, placing Aileen in his seat, and it scared me to see how limp he was. He was also unbelievably warm, and he was shaking. The nurse performed the same actions as the nurse we'd seen last time, sweeping the thermometer across Ryder's burning forehead and blinking at the reading in surprise. "Miss Calyx, your son's fever is very high," she informed me.

"One hundred and six degrees," the nurse answered meekly. "I think it would be best if we admitted him the infirmary, so that we can figure out what's wrong with him in a safe environment."

If that's what's best, I agreed. The nurse took Ryder from my arms and motioned for me to follow her from the room. I snatched up my daughter and went after her, abandoning the stroller in the exam room.

The infirmary was quite small considering the size of the castle. There were only fifteen rooms in the entire ward. The room Ryder was placed in seemed to be catered specifically to his likes. The main part of the walls were painted a hunter green and the trim running the length of the top of the room was army camoflauge print. Normally this would have excited my toddler. But when the nurse carried him into the room, Ryder barely moved. In fact, his eyes were closed, and he was distressingly still. The nurse laid him down in the bed and hooked up to his various IVs, then left the room.

Ryder shook his sleep, and his tiny body was coated in a thin layer of cold sweat. It hurt me deeply to see him like that. One of my children was sick, very sick, and I couldn't do anything to help him. But Ryder was young. Surely he would pull this without major adverse effects. I stayed with Ryder, playing with Aileen to distract myself from his sickness. But when she slept I sat at Ryder's bedside, stroking his hand. I only wished I could sing to him.

At a nurse's insistance, I took Aileen and left the infirmary. It was late and she'd had such a long day, so Aileen was snoozing against my shoulder by the time we reached the nursery. I laid her stomach-down in her crib and kissed her forehead before I left. As I walked to my own bedroom, I laid my hand on my stomach, which now sported the characteristic baby bump of the first trimester. I hoped this baby turned out like the other two.

In our bedroom, Matt was already stretched out across our bed. His eyes were closed, but opened as I entered the room, revealing his sleepy black irises. "There you are," he mumbled. "Where have you been?"

In the infirmary, I answered, closing my eyes. Ryder is very sick.

Matt smirked in a way that scared me beyond words. "Finally," he said darkly. "I thought the toxins would never take full effect."

Toxins? What toxins?, I asked with panic in my voice.

"Calyx, I told you time and time again that if you did not tell me where Jimmy was that innocent people would die," Matt said, starting on the lecture I'd heard what seemed like a million times before. "But apparently my killing all of those humans was not enough to change your mind. And so I have infected your bastard son with a deadly monster toxin. Only I possess the cure for it, and I will it to you only if you reveal the location of your precious Jimmy's hiding place."

This is your fault?, I asked, jumping away from the bed. My three-year-old son is laying in a hospital bed dying because of you? How could you be so fucking cruel?

Matt's face immediately darkened. "Don't talk to me like that," he growled. "This is my Realm, I am the king, and I will do whatever I need to do to save the Realm from the things that threaten it."

You would kill an innocent child to prove your point?, I gasped.

"Actually Calyx, whether Ryder lives or dies is up to you," Matt said. "I told you I would give you the cure to his disease. All you have to do is tell me where Jimmy is hiding."

At that moment, I did the only thing I could do. I ran from my bedroom, away from Matt and his horrible ultimatum. I did not stop until I stood at the doorway to Ryder's infirmary room. My son was still sleeping, still shaking, still sweating. I floated across the room and sat down next to his bed, taking his small hand inbetween my own hands. I was incredibly conflicted right now. I had a major decision to make, and there was no right choice.

Did I sacrifice my son to save Jimmy? Or did I betray Jimmy to heal Ryder?