by Night, H. T.
“My youngest?” Lena asked.
“Yes, they both have been delivered. It was a Caesarian section operation, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at you.”
The doctor and nurses were pretty overwhelmed. It was going to take a lot of money to shut them up. Thank goodness, we had Hector for that.
“Let’s clean you up and put you into a fresh bed,” one of the nurses said.
“Are they healthy, Jo?” Lena asked.
“They are amazing. They are the two of the most beautiful babies I ever seen.”
“Can I see them?”
I looked at the two nurses who were holding Joshua and Jason and motioned for them to bring the children over to Lena.
I placed a pillow behind Lena’s head, so she could sit up.
I watched as the first nurse put Joshua in his mother’s arms for the very first time.
“This is Joshua,” I said. Joshua had the blue tag on his toe. I guess this was so we could tell them apart.
“He’s so tiny.” Tears dripped from her eyes. I had never seen so much love pour out of her.
“Don’t forget this guy.” The nurse had handed me Jason—he was wrapped in a blanket, with just his head peeking out.
I handed Jason to Lena. “This is the reason why you’re pain-free, sweetheart. Your son healed you on his way out.”
Lena looked at me, surprised.
“How is that even possible?”
“Not exactly sure, all I know is that I couldn’t do it. Then this little bundle of joy was being removed and he touched you and the rest is history. It looked like something out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in how you both lit up when he was healing you.”
Lena’s expression said it all. Then she closed her eyes and said, “I’m so tired.” Lena looked up at me, her face filled with love and exhaustion.
“Why don’t you get some rest, Sweetie?”
“I don’t want to give them back,” Lena said lovingly.
“Well, they will be with us for a very long time.”
Lena looked up at me and said, “I love you so much, Josiah. Thank you.”
“Thanks for what?” I said. “You did all the hard work.”
“Thank you for choosing me.”
“We chose each other, babydoll. We chose each other.”
Lena gave back her children to the nurses and we all left the room and went downstairs to give Lena some well-deserved rest. The boys were put in the nursery in the cribs that Tommy, Hector and I assembled. The nurses were working together to make sure everything was safe and healthy for the babies.
I sat down in one of the rocking chairs we had set up in the room and looked at my two sons. It was the first time I had a chance to stop and smell the roses in regard to my boys. These two beautiful boys were my flesh and blood. They were the two most beautiful babies I had ever laid eyes on. I thought my chest was going to burst with emotion.
I got up out of the rocking chair and walked over to Joshua’s crib and picked him up. He was a little fussy, but I held him anyway.
“Hey, little guy,” I said. “I’m your daddy.” I kissed him on the forehead and brought him over to the rocking chair and rocked him for about twenty minutes. My shoulder was killing me where the werewolf had taken a bite out of it. Injuries were common occurrence to me, but it was bothering me nonetheless.
I eventually got up and put him gently back in his crib. The nurses watched me like a hawk, being that I was a new father and they were making sure that I was gentle.
I walked over and looked down at Jason. He looked up at me and was pretty sure he couldn’t see me. This amazing eight-pound boy had done a miraculous thing tonight. It was pretty overwhelming. I looked down at him and said an unusual thing to a newborn, “Thank you, son. You did something for your mother not even your father could do. You’re an amazing child.”
Then something odd happened. This little tiny baby reached out to me with his right hand. I looked down and was confused. I stuck my finger in his palm and smiled. Then the most amazing thing happened. His little hand lit up once again and a power surged throughout my body. Every pain and ache left my body. Holy crap! My son was healing me!
This went on for about thirty seconds and when it was over. I took off my shirt and my bite mark was gone. I was completely healed.
What the hell kind of child was this? It appeared that he was even greater than I, the Chosen One.
Chapter Nineteen
It had been 48 hours since the twins were born. I had spent just about every waking minute of those 48 hours with the Lena or the boys. Lena was doing amazing. Whatever healing our son Jason did on the way out of Lena’s body made her as healthy as she had ever been. One would have never known that she had given birth only two days ago. Jason, however, made me extremely nervous each time I touched him. It was like holding the ring in Lord of the Rings. I had no idea what kind of power the kid possessed. All I knew is that he was a healing machine. My other son, Joshua, appeared to be a normal baby. These days, that was a wonderful thing.
But it was time for Atticai and Donya’s reunion. Although Donya had assimilated nicely in our home, this was not why we went out and rescued her.
I let Donya know the day before that I was planning on bringing her to Atticai on the following day. I had put it off for the obvious reason of the babies being born, but there was also a part of me that was afraid of how Atticai would react. Would he be grateful that she is still alive? Would he be pissed that The Deity knew of her whereabouts and never told him? Would he be upset that once again I was the one who showed him up? Or would he be practical about it and just be happy that the love of his life was back in his life again?
I wondered how Atticai would feel about her being so old. Not to be weird, but I thought of Donya as beautiful and even sexy, even at sixty-plus years old. She had a strong sex appeal. She had cleaned up pretty good since being back. Yari had made it her mission to get her looking as beautiful as she could. Yari dyed her hair a silky black color, leaving gray streaks in it. It looked incredibly classy. She reminded me of an old-school Hollywood actress, such as Lauren Bacall or Elizabeth Taylor.
I knew by this point that looks and age were the last thing that mattered when two lovers had been separated as long as they had. I also understood that she really wanted to look good for their meeting.
We were set to take off to Atticai’s ranch at 9:00 p.m. I planned on driving her over there in my truck. I wanted to make it as normal a meeting as we possibly could. I asked Lena if she wanted to go. I thought it would be a welcoming gesture if we both delivered Donya to Atticai. After all that the three of us had been through, I thought it was a bit poetic. Lena loved the idea, as I knew she would.
We both got ready and went to Tommy’s room to pick up Donya and take her to her man. Donya had been staying in there the last couple of days, thanks to Tommy’s generosity. I knocked on the door. In a moment, Donya answered it. My mouth dropped. She was a vision of loveliness. She was wearing a light green dress that accentuated her eyes and complexion. “You look stunning,” I said.
“You are absolutely beautiful,” Lena added.
“You both are too kind. I’m a very old lady,” Donya answered.
“So what?” I said. “In the history of the world no one deserves this more. You deserve this moment. Don’t worry about age or time. Just think about how wonderful it is to see him again.”
“How does he look?” Donya asked.
“He’s very handsome,” Lena said.
“Yeah, if you were into the whole bean pole with moppy-hair thing that they had going on in the sixties. He hasn’t changed much,” I added.
“He still looks twenty-five?” Donya asked.
“Not really,” I said. “If it’s any consolation, the last time I saw him, he looked pretty aged.”
“How so?”
“He isn’t happy. Atticai hasn’t had much joy, probably since you went missing. To be honest, it explains a lot, k
nowing now that he lost you so many years ago. I’m hoping that seeing you lights a fire under his ass, and he will want to start living again.”
“Do you think he’ll be that excited?”
I looked at Donya and took her in and honestly said from the bottom of my heart, “Yeah, I think he is going to be elated.”
“Well, let’s get going. It’s going to take about an hour to get there.”
Around 10:00 p.m., we pulled up to Atticai’s ranch. “Wow, I’m nervous,” I said. I looked at Donya, “How about you?”
“I definitely have anxiety. Then again, I have had anxiety for the last forty-plus years.”
“Why don’t you and Lena stay back and I will go to the door first? I don’t want to overwhelm the poor guy.” I stepped out of my truck and walked up to the muddy pathway that led to Atticai’s house. I looked back at the girls. Donya was in the front seat and Lena was in the seat directly behind the driver.
All right, here goes nothing.
I turned around and walked up to his big wooden door. I knocked. No one answered. I waited and knocked again. Again, no answer. I checked the handle to see if it was unlocked, and it was. I opened the door and peeked my head inside. “Atticai!” I said loudly. “Are you here?”
Then I heard footsteps at the top of his staircase. “What do you want, Josiah? I’m tired,” Atticai bellowed down to me.
“We need to talk.”
“For the love of God, go home!”
“This time, I’m positive you’re going to love what I have to say.”
“Love? I don’t love anything. Especially something that would come out of your mouth.”
Atticai was going to make this hard, but what else was new? “Please come down here, so I can speak to you.”
Atticai grunted and made his way down the stairs. Damn, he was tall. He took his sweet time, making sure he put both feet on each step, staring at me with a glare that suggested this better be worth it.
Finally, he was downstairs. He walked over to his living room where his rocking chair was and sat in it.
“You know, you might be 300 years old in age, but your body is still damn healthy. I don’t know why you have a rocking chair.”
“Please don’t give me any advice. I came down here. I’m tired. So, please. Tell me. What is this great bit of information you have to tell me?”
I looked at Atticai for about ten seconds before I spoke. Then I simply said, “Donya.”
Atticai quickly looked up at me. “Who told you about her?”
“That’s not important. What’s important is this next bit of information I’m about to share with you.” I now had Atticai’s full attention. “She is still alive.”
“That’s impossible. I searched every nook and cranny in Europe for her. I spent years doing so.”
“What if I told her I know where she is?”
“I’d say you’re a damn liar.” Atticai was now agitated. I think there was a part of him that thought I just might be screwing with him. I needed to speak to him in manner that he would trust.
“Atticai, she was on an island just south of the Philippines for the last forty-plus years.”
“What is she doing there?”
“She was in a prison camp.”
“Was?”
“Where is she now?”
I smiled. When I did, Atticai’s expression was that he was about to crap his pants. “Hold on,” I said.
“No, fuck you, Josiah. Where the fuck is she right now?” Atticai stood up and in the blink of an eye, was up in my face. I think if I was anybody else, he would have struck me with his hand. But at this point in my life, even Atticai knew better.
“Atticai, I need for you to relax and listen to me.”
Then Atticai’s eyes opened wide like a kid on Christmas morning. “She’s here, isn’t she?”
“Hold on…”
Atticai was not holding on. He ran to the front door and flung it open. I quickly followed him. Atticai sprinted to my truck from the front of his house. He ran up to my vehicle and stopped, staring at Donya through the windshield. He didn’t say a word as he was stuck in his tracks. He was paralyzed from the waist down. Then I saw something I thought I would live a thousand years and never see. Atticai began to cry outwardly. Not light tears dripping down his cheeks either. Atticai began crying out loud. “Donya? Is that really you?”
Donya seemed excited and nervous. I motioned for her to get out of the truck. Very slowly, she got out of the passenger side. She walked over to Atticai, who was still paralyzed with shock. She stood in front of him. She was so tiny compared to this seven-foot man.
“You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” Atticai said.
“I’m grayer,” she said. “And you look exactly the same.”
“I don’t really have a say in the matter.” Atticai reached out his hands and wrapped his long arms around Donya’s petite body. Donya collapsed in his arms. That was when I couldn’t take it. Tears dripped from my own eyes. I looked at Lena and motioned for her to join me. Lena got out and walked over to me, and she was crying, too.
We looked on for what must have been an hour and watched as Atticai and Donya hugged and kissed and just experienced one another’s presence.
Finally, Atticai looked at me and said, “How?”
“I found out about her. I found out about what she meant to you. So, I put my best man on the case. We did some research and found her.”
“The information was just available?” Atticai asked.
“When she disappeared in the 60s, there was no internet, and very few supercomputers, the likes of which we have surpassed by magnitudes. I have an amazing computer expert on my crew who was able to locate her. He found her location, and Yari, Hector, Wyatt and I went and got her.”
“Josiah did all the heavy lifting,” Donya said.
“It was a team effort,” I said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Atticai asked, confused. “I would have gone with you.”
“It needed to be an unemotional rescue. We weren’t sure what would happen. And if something went wrong, I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t let you go through losing her again.”
“I don’t know if I should be pissed or grateful that you blasted in there without me.”
“Atticai, just be thankful,” Lena spoke up. “You have a lot of people who care about you. Regardless of what you think you’ve become. We all care about you. More than you will ever know. This was our gift to you.”
Well said, Lena.
I looked at Lena and smiled. “I think we should let these two be alone.”
“I think we should.”
I walked over and gave Donya a huge hug. “If you need anything, ever, don’t hesitate to call us.”
Donya kissed me on my cheek. “You are an angel, young man. You are surely a gift from the gods.”
“Nope, just your everyday vampire.” I looked at Atticai and said, “You need to come by the house and see the twins.”
Atticai smiled. “I will. How are they doing?”
“You know 48-hour olds,” I said jokingly. “Always testing the waters. Speaking of which, we need to get back to them.”
Lena and I got in my truck and slowly drove off, waving at the new reunited couple. That went about as well as I could have asked for. I looked at my future wife and said, “Let’s go see the boys.”
Chapter Twenty
When we got back, we checked on the boys and Lena’s eyelids were heavy. I knew our kids were in good hands with Linda, the nurse. So, I took Lena to bed.
“That was something tonight,” I said.
“I never thought I’d see Atticai so happy. I always knew he was holding back when we were together. I thought it was because he was always preoccupied with being The Chosen One. Now, I realize he had been living with a broken heart for so many years.”
“Life is funny. There are a lot of things that don’t make sense as they are happening, but if you just perseve
re long enough, sometimes something amazing comes of it.”
“Like?” Lena looked at me. She began taking off her clothes and changing into her pajamas. She put on a pink nightgown that was a lot more on the sexy side than it was on the comfy side. I knew what that meant. Girlfriend was in the mood.
I gave her an excited look because it had been nearly a month since we last were intimate. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was about to kick off my clothes when I heard a knock on my door. Who the hell was that?
“Yeah?” I called out from inside my bedroom.
“Josiah? It’s Wyatt, we need to talk.”
“Now?” I asked. I looked at Lena.
“It must be serious, Josiah,” Lena said to me. “Wyatt has never disturbed us before.”
I was so exhausted I couldn’t even put two thoughts together, but one thing was for sure I was ready for some loving from Lena.
“Okay, hold on.” I still had my clothes on and I went to the door and opened it. I stuck my head out the door and saw Sion, Yari, Hector, Wyatt, and Tommy all were outside my bedroom.
“Josiah, this is serious. We need to talk to you,” Tommy said. That was all I needed to hear. If Tommy thought it was serious, then it must have been.
I stuck my head back into the room and told Lena I would be just a minute. My immediate feeling was something had happened to Jason and Joshua.
“Are the boys okay?” I asked, as I shut the door behind me.
“The boys are fine,” Yari said. “This is something completely different.” Yari paused and said, “Krull has been here.”
My heart leaped in fear for my boys. “He’s here right now?” I asked.
“No, he came by when you went to see Atticai,” Wyatt said.
“Here? At this house? He just showed up?”
“He didn’t come to the house. He went to the bunkers,” Sion said.
“Oh no! What did he do?” I asked.
“He recruited,” Tommy said.
“My men? He got to my men?” I asked.
“Yes, almost a third of them left,” Hector said.