The Unexpected War

by Jean-pierre Breton

  The moonlight gently floated in, partially illuminating Lara’s face, as I softly slid my hand along her waist and wrapped my arms around her. She giggled, rubbing her nose against mine, lovingly. “I don’t want you to feel guilty anymore for what happened, Lance. I’m just as responsible as you are. I knew you weren’t ready, but I took the pills anyway and got myself pregnant, without even talking to you about it,” she whispered softly.

  “But—” I began.

  She placed her finger against my lips with a gentle smile. “Who sat up every night rubbing lotion on my body so that I wouldn’t get stretch marks?” she asked.

  “Me,” I replied.

  “Who would gently sing to the baby and read to her every night while I was pregnant?” she asked.

  “Me,” I answered again.

  “Who almost died trying to save her?” she asked.

  “Me,” I replied with a smile.

  Lara got a bit choked up, and a single tear gently slid down her cheek. “That’s right. It was you,” she whispered, stroking my hair. I could see that she knew I was on the verge of tears as well, as she smiled joyfully. “You’re the best father … husband … friend that a fiend like me could ever ask for.”

  I gently stroked her back while slowly working my hand along her body, down past her waist. She giggled softly, giving me a playful slap. “Same old Lance,” she joked, kissing my chest affectionately.

  “Same saggy Lara,” I retorted with a laugh.

  “Hey! That’s it—no sex for you tonight,” she threatened playfully.

  I laughed, kind of relieved, not wanting to do it while I had my child in the same room anyway. I stroked her gently for an hour or so as we chatted casually to one another, which was rare. There were usually so many things about each other that we hid, resulting in our never actually having many heart-to-heart conversations in our relationship.

  “So what did you want to be before the war?” she asked me, while propping herself up on my chest, making sure not to put pressure on my wound.

  “Um, I don’t know,” I lied, looking away sheepishly.

  “Come on, Lance. I won’t laugh,” she promised.

  “An astronaut,” I told her, and I wondered if my silly grin covered my entire face.

  She burst out laughing, burying her face in my chest. She continued laughing so hard that tears began streaming down her beautiful face.

  “Hey, you promised you wouldn’t laugh!” I objected, giving her a playful shove.

  “So why … ha-ha … why did you want to be an astronaut?” she asked me, trying to stifle her laughter as she composed herself.

  I shrugged in embarrassment, thinking about the question. “I was always fascinated as a kid by the stars and the different planets. I wanted to one day go into space and just see for myself the other worlds. I heard that scientists were landing on plants like Mars and Venus and getting closer and closer to finding life on another planet.” I paused for a moment with a smirk and then said, “I didn’t know at that time that the creatures would end up coming to me.”

  The same smirk spread across her face, and I gave her a kiss. She lay on top of me, purring contentedly to herself. “Well, is this what you expected?” she asked, holding her hands out on either side, allowing her claws to rip through her fingertips. She flashed her eyes red with a smile that was sort of transformed by her razor-sharp teeth and gave me a playful wink.

  “Not really,” I told her with a laugh.

  She turned back to her normal self, saying, “I find it funny how you’re no longer scared of my transforming.” She giggled, pausing to stroke my hair lovingly. “When we first met, you used to be so nervous around me. Now it doesn’t even seem to faze you.”

  I laughed. “I know you would never hurt me.”

  She smiled and kissed me. “Always remember that, Lance,” she whispered as the silence of the night surrounded us.

  We lay there staring at the ceiling as the light of the moon spilled through the window. The dull sound of gunfire was mysteriously absent from the night air.

  Chapter 20

  Lara and I only got a few hours sleep that night. Rashellia’s whimpering woke us periodically throughout the night, and Lara would get up to attend to her. Rashellia hated being alone, so this apparently was her way of getting our attention.

  Sleepily, I got up to join Lara, glancing in the crib where Rashellia was on all fours, ripping apart her pillow with her tiny teeth. She had sprouted her little wings, which protruded from her back. Her attitude strengthened more aggressively as she bit deeper into the pillow, thrashing it all around and sending feathers flying all over the place.

  I couldn’t help giggling, which diverted Rashellia’s attention from the poor pillow to us. She glanced up at me, growling playfully. I saw the bones in Lara’s hand shifting, accompanied with the dull cracking noises as she carefully placed her fiend paw in play-fighting with Rashellia.

  Rashellia rolled over onto her back in a defensive position, beginning to flail her little paws wildly, protecting her tummy as Lara tried to tickle it. Rashellia soon got tired, and her human skin reformed over the scaly, hard skin as she settled down into her new pillow, tuckered out from the play-fight with Lara. Lara placed my hand against Rashellia’s chest, gently feeling her heart.

  There was no heartbeat. “Aw, you’re an immortal, just like your mommy,” I told her.

  Lara changed her hand back, gently tickling Rashellia under her chin. The baby responded with a sleepy yawn as she fought to stay awake, her head bobbing uncontrollably. Lara and I giggled, staring down at her.

  “Good night, sweetie,” we both whispered, kissing her head affectionately as she drifted off, giving us a few more hours of sleep.

  I heard Lara get up a few hours later and silently get dressed. A moment later, I heard her bustling around in the kitchen, probably getting breakfast on-the-go for me. She really was a great wife; I don’t think I could have ever asked for anyone better. I lay in bed lazily for another ten or twenty minutes, until the delicious smells of breakfast slowly drifted into our room.

  I got up and went over to Rashellia’s crib—she was snoozing contentedly. “Rashellia,” I whispered cautiously, giving her a light shake. I didn’t want to spook her and have her rip apart my arm or something. She opened her little eyes a second later, yawning and wiping at her eyes with her tiny paw.

  “Hey, sweetie, how’s my little buddy doing today?” I asked her.

  She purred happily, squirming around in her crib and begging for me to pick her up.

  “Hey, Daddy,” Lara called to me as I emerged through the bedroom door a moment later, cradling Rashellia. The baby’s arms instantly shot out toward her mommy, excitedly.

  “Hey, Mommy. I think someone’s hungry,” I told her in a babyish voice, handing Rashellia over to her. I sat down at the table, where Lara had already served us breakfast. I glanced up from my food to see Lara taking off her shirt and bra to feed Rashellia. “Do you have to do that here, buddy?” I asked her with a nervous laugh.

  Lara glanced over at me with one of her warning glares. “She needs to eat, Lance.”

  “Yeah, but why not just do it after breakfast, in our room or something?” I asked her cautiously, knowing this conversation would probably lead to a fight.

  “Fine! God forbid I disturb you from your busy schedule,” she snarled, getting up from the table and storming away with Rashellia. She slammed the door to our room behind her.

  I sighed unhappily. I had a feeling that Lara was on her tricnoses, as I heard her muttering profanity to herself in the other room while she fed Rashellia. The rustling of a crib a few moments later indicated Rashellia being tucked in, soon accompanied by profanity. The door swung open violently as Lara stormed through the living room and over to the sink, where I was washing our dishes n
ervously.

  She seemed about to say something, but instead, she sat down at the table and angrily began to eat. I knew she was in the mood for a fight, and I think she knew that too, but I was determined not to give it to her. I walked over to the table, buttered two pieces of toast, and poured her a glass of bag blood and then set it all down beside her plate of eggs. She glared at me, but I just avoided her stare and walked back to the kitchen.

  “Bon appétit,” I called cheerfully over my shoulder.

  “So you’re just going to ignore the fact that I’m mad? Huh, Lance? Is that the game we’re going to play today?” She teleported to my side and her eyes flashed, turning blood red, to show me she wasn’t playing around.

  “You’re not mad,” I whispered gently.

  She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pinned me up against the counter with her fiend strength. “Don’t tell me how I feel!” she screamed at me, angrily grabbing the plate I had just washed and smashing it against the counter.

  “This isn’t you; it’s your tricnoses,” I reminded her, turning my back to her to finish off the remaining dishes. I pretended that I wasn’t scared of what she could do to me, but inside, I was frozen solid by the grip of fear. “You’re not going to attack your husband while he has his back turned to you, are you, Lara?” I called over my shoulder.

  I heard her angrily breathing behind me, trying to calm herself down. “Turn around then,” she grunted threateningly.

  I ignored her, knowing if I challenged her, it would be the end of me. I almost jumped out of my skin in fright as I felt her hands wrap around my waist. To my surprise, she gripped me in a hug, standing there a moment in silence.

  “I’m sorry, Lance. You’re right. This isn’t me. I’m acting so foolishly,” she whispered apologetically, having a brief, clear moment as she seemed to realize what was going on. Tears trickled down her face for no reason as she left my side and sat down to eat.

  I finished the dishes and then carefully pulled a chair up beside her. “What’s wrong?” I asked comfortingly, patting her shoulders.

  “Nothing. Just the usually tricnoses stuff. I hate it,” she whispered to me, rubbing her stomach unhappily as she gloomily ate her eggs. “Great, now my eggs are wet,” she muttered unhappily, sniffling with a hiccup in between every few words.

  “You’re a real mess today, eh?” I asked her with a laugh.

  She looked up from her food and began to giggle to herself, even as she sobbed uncontrollably. She nodded her head in embarrassment as she buried her face in my T-shirt, getting it sopping wet. “I hate tricnoses so much,” she whispered unhappily in between sniffles.

  “Don’t worry; you’re not the only one,” I muttered while patting her reassuringly.

  “You could always get me pregnant again. Then we won’t have to deal with it for another ten months or so,” she joked.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll take a rain check on that idea,” I snickered. “Time to pull yourself together. We have a baby to look after,” I reminded her, leaning my head against hers affectionately as she purred softly.

  Lara nodded in agreement, wiping away a tear. She finished eating and then helped me with her dishes. “I’ll cancel our day with the others. We can do it some other time,” I told her as we dried the last plate and placed it in the cupboard.

  “No, that’s nonsense. You go have fun with them. I’ll stay here and do some work around the house. I need to clean up this pigsty anyway. Bring them by tonight,” she proposed, “and we’ll all eat supper together.” She gave me a hug before heading toward our room to lie down.

  “Are you sure, buddy?” I asked, following her to the bedroom.

  “Of course. Go have fun,” she replied firmly.

  I tucked her in, momentarily leaving her side to give Rashellia a light peck on her forehead. “All right. Well, I hope you and Rashellia have a good time together. Eating popcorn and chilling at the movies is no fun anyway,” I teased her.

  She laughed, throwing her pillow at me as I left. “You’re sleeping on the floor tonight!” she called after me.

  I laughed, quickly making my escape into the hall. I glanced up and down, wondering where to go. I had never been in this city before; all I knew was that I was supposed to meet everyone at the movie theater. It took me about half an hour to finally find it. I showed up just in time. “Eh! Better late than never, huh?” Grant called to me as the group spotted me.

  “Ha-ha. Shut up. I’ve never been here before,” I told him, giving him a playful punch.

  “I got your ticket already,” Tina told me, welcoming me with a hug.

  “Perfect, thanks. Sorry, guys, for being late,” I told them. “David, where’s Carana?”

  “She’s sick,” he told me and then winked.

  I nodded knowingly. “So is Lara.”

  He laughed sympathetically, as Grant and Tina wondered what the secret joke was. The movie was brutally bad, so we ended up leaving early and heading down to the pool hall. We played a few games—Grant and I destroyed Tina and David.

  “Nice games,” Grant said, gloating over our three victories in a row.

  “I was just warming up. We’ll get you next time,” David responded, and Tina nodded in agreement.

  We walked along the hall, passing right by my place by accident. “Geesh, the poor guy doesn’t even know where he lives,” Grant joked.

  “You sure you didn’t get a permanent concussion from that artillery?” David asked me playfully.

  “You’re about to get a permanent concussion if you don’t stop talking,” I threatened him with a smirk.

  We all laughed as we entered my place. We must have spooked Lara, because she dropped her glass as we came in. It shattered into a million pieces and spilled its contents all over. I glanced in surprise at Carana, who was staring at the six of us.

  “Is that blood?” Tina asked nervously. She and Grant backed up to the door cautiously, thinking Lara and Carana were going to attack us or something.

  Lara smiled awkwardly. “Oh, hey guys. We didn’t expect you here so early. Sorry about the mess. Don’t worry about it.”

  Carana got up to stand at Lara’s side with the same friendly smile.

  “Don’t worry, guys,” I said. “They’re safe. I’ll explain it to you later.”

  Grant and Tina relaxed a bit and stood next to David and me. Lara flicked her wrist, and her eyes flashed green, which instantly cleaned the blood and glass off the floor—it seemed to vanish into thin air. She smiled, quickly turning on her heels and bustling away with Carana into our room.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think you would be coming home this early!” Lara explained to me, embarrassed.

  “It’s fine. Grant and Tina were just a little spooked, that’s all. Are you okay? It looked like you bled a lot.”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Carana and I will be out in a minute,” she told me, going silent in my head.

  The rest of the gang and I sat down around the television. David and I explained to the other two what tricnoses was. Lara and Carana came out of the bedroom a moment later, just as we were wrapping up the awkward conversation. Lara flopped down onto the recliner on top of me, cuddling affectionately. Carana did the same to David, who looked at her in surprise.

  “Someone’s in a good mood today,” Grant said to David.

  “Leave them alone,” Lara warned him gently. She purred softly, giving me a light nip on my neck.

  “What’s up?” I asked her.

  “Nothing. I just want to cuddle with my man. I missed you today,” she whispered, casting a spell to warm up my cold hands.

  “Same here. I’ve just never seen you so happy during your tricnoses,” I laughed.

  “Well, there’s a first for everything.” She giggled happily.

  “You’ve got
ten a lot better at pool since the last time we played,” Grant told me, interrupting the little conversation Lara and I were having.

  “I had a pro to practice with,” I told him, nodding at Lara.

  “You guys played pool today?” she asked, patting my shoulder.

  “Who won?” Carana asked.

  “Lance and Grant cleaned our clocks, three games in a row,” Tina complained.

  David let out a defeated sigh, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “We will get them next time,” he promised Tina.

  “We went to a movie as well,” I added.

  “Was it any good?” Lara asked.

  “Nah, why do you think we’re here so early?” I joked.

  The rest laughed in agreement.

  “So what’s for supper?” Tina asked impatiently as we moved from the living room to the dinner table. She unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap, glancing around hungrily.

  “Turkey,” Lara replied, using her powers to make the oven door swing open and bring the turkey floating across the room to our table.

  All in all, we ended up having a pretty good evening. Lara and I destroyed them at a board game called Ramoli. It felt so good to be playing with her again, like a little kid.

  Ever since we had Rashellia, our relationship had kind of been up in the air. We hadn’t really had the freedom to do whatever we wanted to do. As a matter of fact, we barely had fun doing activities together anymore, so it was nice to see a smile on her face that was genuine. She sat on my lap, purring, while the others packed up the board game and got ready to leave. Tina and Grant were tired and departed together a short time later.

  “I think your sister is getting a little crush on Grant,” David said with a sly grin.

  “Shut up,” I laughed, having already noticed the developing connection between the two of them.

  “Hey, would you two mind taking care of Rashellia tonight?” Lara asked David and Carana. Carana nodded instantly, winking to Lara. David and I glanced at each other, confused. “Is that okay with you, David?” Lara asked.