Chapter 195: Hades’s new son.

Chapter 195: Hades’s new son.


Sunshine took the bear cub to the vet clinic in the second wall. Not even for one moment did it leave it her arms, clinging to her like a little baby.


Hades, Dwayne and Owen still escorted her.


Hades had one arm around her, and they looked like a couple that was bringing a baby to a hospital to see a doctor. But what they had was no baby. And everywhere they passed, people stopped and stared.


Behind them, Dwayne pushed a translucent containment pod that smelled faintly of burnt popcorn and looked like an egg that had been sliced in half.


It was a relaxation pod for a pet turtle that Sunshine had repaired a long time ago, but the owner did not like the smell, so it was abandoned, even though she was paid for the job.


Dr. Soraya, lead veterinarian on the base approached first, meeting them at the reception desk. She had been told that Sunshine was bringing in an injured cub. Her expectations were something feline related. What she saw instead was something that looked like a bear cub and a paw that could have been the size of her head. It had eyes that shimmered like a gem that was trying to flirt.


It was whimpering, clinging to Sunshine’s jacket like a child seeking a mother’s comfort. When she approached, it buried its face in her shoulder and purred.


"I am going to go ahead and guess that it is not a cat." Soraya said.


"Definitely not." Hades answered.


"Mutated or mutant?" She asked.


"Mutant." Sunshine answered.


Soraya did not display any fear. Rather, she leaned forward and said, "Okay, so you’re not from around here."


Sunshine was curious, "Aren’t you afraid?"


The other vets and people around them looked afraid. Many stood frozen, scanners and thermometers in hand as they did not dare come close to the creature.


"Please." Soraya waved her hand. "Look at that baby, it is scared and clinging to you like you are mommy of the year. There is a general rule on the base, if the presidents are not scared, nobody else should be." She turned around. "Follow me to the treatment room."


They followed her to the treatment room and Sunshine placed the cub on the bed.


Gemini, Soraya’s intern and assistant sat at the computer to input the information of their new patient.


"Species." Soraya asked.


"Err..Purple bear." Sunshine said.


Soraya was skeptical. She guessed that Sunshine was as clueless as her about what the creature was. In reality, Sunshine simply didn’t want to give away too much information as people would want to know how she knew what she did.


"Let’s start on treatment first." Soraya said.


Sunshine sat down, cradling the cub like a baby. Hades handed her the large milk bottle she had prepared.


Soraya blinked. "Are you feeding it now?"


"It will keep it calm as you examine it." Sunshine said. "He had already imprinted on me. If I hand him to you, he will panic."


Gemini entered the information on gender.


The cub suckled the milk gently, humming as if it was drinking a delicacy. Its eyes were glued to Sunshine’s face--like it was memorizing it for future emotional blackmail.


She smiled at it; a dotting look in her eyes.


"I guess Castiel has a younger brother now." Owen whispered to Dwayne. "Look at the way Sunshine is eyeing the cub. I know a motherly look when I see it."


Dwayne whispered to Hades in turn, "Congrats boss. You did not even need to put in the work in the bedroom to have another baby."


Hades scoffed lightly.


"So, what are you going to name him?" Dwayne asked. "It looks to me like he is going to be sleeping in bed between you and your wife."


"Talk about a honeymoon killer." Owen sniggered.


"I think the apocalypse killed the honeymoon." Dwayne whispered.


The milk bottle emptied. The cub yawned, revealing a mouth lined with tiny white teeth and purple insides. Then it snuggled into Sunshine’s chest and began to snore.


Soraya flicked the injection with the sedative. "Show me the furry baby butt--or cub butt."


Sunshine closed her eyes. This was a part she was not sure she could watch. Hades took the cub because he had been to many doctors’ appointments with his sons.


It puzzled him how a woman that held no hesitation when it came to killing was afraid to watch a cub being injected.


****


The following morning, a pale mist shrouded Westbrook Mountain. The air was even colder it was -35 degrees. They had entered the harsh winter, and it was as if it was mother nature’s intent to bury everything in snow.


It was so heavy that it was taking a bit longer than usual to melt off the bubble.


Lucky for those at Fortress four and their neighbors, warmth still lingered because the thermaline seeds had matured, more were still planted all over the base walls and hung up inside the houses.


Hades woke up first to check on the bear cub that still had no name. It was still sleeping. He went to check on the teams that were heating parts of the roads on the base that were frozen.


By the time he returned home, breakfast was sitting on the table. Sunshine helped him take off his jacket and replace it with a warmer one.


As they sat down to eat, chattering started.


"Mommy, tell us about your pet, Ariel said that you have a baby bear." Castiel burst out before even taking his first spoonful of pumpkin porridge.


She saw excitement in the children’s eyes. They would not give up until she gave them some answers.


"I already saw baby White; he’s a patient under my care." Earl raised his shoulders.


Castiel raised his hand as high as he could. "I want to see him too."


Sunshine smiled faintly at their curious eyes. "Earl you don’t work for the vets. White is not a patient in the medic bay. But yes, we have a new family member. His name is White because he has white fur. Yes, he is a baby bear--a cub." She spread butter on the bread. "But you cannot meet him for now because he needs to rest and heal. I will bring him over to live with us soon."


The children squealed.


Hades laughed at the children’s chatter which was among themselves, their voices overlapping excitement.


Castiel bounced in his seat. "I have never seen a baby bear, can he roar? Does he have big teeth? Can we ride him?"


"Castiel," Ariel scolded, though her eyes sparkled. "Did you not hear mum say that White is sick? Besides, he is not a horse so you cannot ride him."


"What if he is a horse-bear?" Castiel asked.


Ariel groaned.


Their parents let them talk for a while before steering the conversation elsewhere.


"Tell us about dinner at your grandma’s last night." Sunshine said. "I heard you made a new friend."


"We met Leonard." Ariel answered.


Castiel frowned. "His name is Leo."


"No, it’s Leonardo." Earl jumped in.


The three boys suddenly started to bicker over the name. Their parents sighed. Why couldn’t they ever agree on anything?