by Karmon Kuhn
I swiveled the direction stick and the craft jerked down and around the cloud of creatures. Just as we passed, I looked back and saw the other vehicle. It’s driver hadn’t been as quick. Rather than pulling up or down, the driver had chosen a side maneuver, but not soon enough. As we sped away, I caught a glimpse of the juz̈uṣùs̈ as it crashed into the solid wall of a thousand marine bodies.
For a time, we were only surrounded by anonymous vehicles full of anonymous creatures. And once we were out in the open sea camouflaged in the vehicle, we saw nothing but some marine life and the seascape. We were silent for a long time, afraid to make noise and ruin our good fortune. But eventually, Penny spoke.
“I thought I was gonna die there,” she said, and I could hear the quiver in her voice.
“I’m so sorry, Penny. I know that I will never be able to correct this, but I never wished you harm. It was never my intention.”
“I know.” Her tone implied forgiveness, but I didn’t deserve it.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure I understand it completely myself, and I don’t really remember some things. I know it isn’t over, though.”
“What do you mean?” Dread hollowed the pit of my stomach.
“The uh . . . I don’t know what to call them. The things in there communicated a lot and sometimes, they even spoke in English about what they were doing. Once when they were giving me the shots, I heard them say that no one had survived as long as my cohort had. They called me something weird too. Oroth… shoo . . . something. It was like a weird chant.”
“Horothsḧuges?”
“Yeah! How did you know that?”
“It means ‘fertile one’. In the old times, my people worshipped a deity by that name.”
“At least that makes sense,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, that’s an obvious reference to knocking us all up! I’m not the only human they did this to.”
“How many others were there?”
“I’m not positive, but I saw at least three.”
“What in oceans are they trying to achieve in the labs?” I offered the question up, but I knew there was no answer.
Penny let out a tense breath beside me and then she said, “Natalie,” she paused and took off her hood, “I don’t want to die.”
Tears welled up in her wide eyes. I had no words and simply placed my free hand upon her face. I hoped the touch would soothe her in some small way. She cried then for quite some time, letting the rivers on her cheeks splash onto my hand, leaving trails across her dirty face. And, I drove on with no real direction.
***
At some point in the night, Penny fell into a disturbed sleep. Her body was in constant, fitful movement, and her face wrinkled, relaxed, and then tensed over and over. Each time the pattern continued, I was distracted from my driving. What was happening in that mind?
After hours, dim, citrusy daylight seeped through the overlain water. We were nearing the shore. I couldn’t check the navigation without the possibility of being tracked, so I didn’t know which shore.
I pulled into a sandbank to eat and rest. Thankfully, Moz had put his bag into the juz̈uṣùs̈ before Zhoshi had arrived, so there was food. I peeled open the edible seaweed wrapper of some dried fish. I’m not sure if it was the sound or the smell that woke Penny, but on hands and knees, she crawled over, and I offered her some.
She wrinkled up her nose and scooted away from the stench. “I’m not hungry.”
“Are you sure? It has surely been a while since you’ve eaten.”
“I just feel kinda nauseous. Honestly, that smells like hot garbage.”
“My apologies.” I put it back in the pack, hoping that would mask the smell. Just in case, I changed the subject to provide a distraction. “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s safe to go to my family. I don’t want them to get hurt.”
“Is there somewhere that you want to travel? We could go there.”
“I’ve never gone very far north. The idea of long, cozy winters again after living in California sounds kinda nice,” she said without smiling.
I smiled, despite the neutrality of her face. It was good to take a moment and think about what life had to offer and not just what we’d lost.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked me.
“I’ve read about the Northern Lights and always wanted to see them.”
“What if we go to Alaska? We don’t need passports at least. Well, I won’t, I guess. Heh.”
“Yes. Alaska is a good idea. My people prefer warm weather. The cold can be deadly. I don’t believe they would choose to travel that far to find us unless we leave evidence. If we are careful, I think that would be an excellent escape.”
“What can we do about the rest of them? We can’t just leave those women down there.” She winced and held her belly again. Her breathing became more deliberate.
“I know, but first we need to get you somewhere safe, make sure that you are okay, and come up with a plan of action.” I said.
“I think,” Penny started and was interrupted by the sight of an oncoming juz̈uṣùs̈.
We both held our breaths as it stopped in a sandbar and disappeared before our eyes. The tension in the air was palpable as we waited to see who would exit. When the door slid open, the interior of a personal juz̈uṣùs̈ peeked through the open slot and then, a familiar face. Zhoshi. It was him. Somehow, he’d found us.
Chapter 21
“W
hat do we do?!” Penny whispered harshly and wedged herself between the seat and control panel at the front of the vehicle.
My eyes darted around the juz̈uṣùs̈ and searched for an answer. Nothing came. Meanwhile, Zhoshi swam closer. Camouflaged or not, we were sitting ducks. As calm as the waves were today, Zhoshi would pinpoint our location by sending his vibrations eventually. It was just a matter of time.
I rustled through Moz’s satchel hoping to find some sort of answer or assistance. To my surprise, there was something. A hunting spear. I recognized it as the display item that had been featured in Moz’s office. I wasn’t sure if he’d included it as a means for finding food or as a weapon, but I knew how it would best suit us now.
“I need to end this,” I said.
“What do you mean?” asked Penny, eyes wide.
“He’ll never stop unless I make him stop.” I crawled to Penny’s side and kissed her softly. “I love you.”
Then, I pulled up her hood and mine and slid from the bottom-facing escape hatch. The small ripples of my movement alerted Zohshi to my presence, and he sent a threatening wave that even my human form could identify. I immediately took cover behind the vehicle.
I had the fishing spear inside the sleeve of my suit, so I only had one shot at an attack. As soon as the weapon ripped through to strike, I’d have a few minutes’ maximum to get back in the vehicle without drowning.
He swam and searched a bit more, and I let him. I wanted him to be angry and unfocused. After he’d swum around in circles, his tail created huge, manic vibrations in the water and showed his frustration. It was time. I leaned my legs out passed the edge of the juz̈uṣùs̈ and kicked them a few times.
In an instant, he charged forward. I gripped the spear with all of the strength in my body, and as he turned to face my side of the juz̈uṣùs̈, I thrust the spear forward and dug its sharp end into the fleshy part of his shoulder just below the clavicle.
Water began filling my suit. I took a breath so deep that my lungs ached, but I held it there. My hands were still on the embedded spear and Zhoshi jerked backwards, pulling me back with him. The force knocked most of the air from my lungs. I let go, but now that my hand was visible, he had a target.
As the water clouded with red, Zhoshi grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me toward him. He whipped his tail wildly until he connected wi
th part of my body. Out of impulse, my lungs heaved for more air. Instead, my mouth and throat filled with seawater, and I sputtered. As much as it burned, I wasn’t overwhelmed by the approach of death. Was this really drowning?
I tugged at my arm and flung my feet around, but Zhoshi had a firm grasp. He held me there, and even though my face was still covered, he looked me directly in the eyes as he wrapped his long fingers around my neck. The water was no longer flooding my lungs, but I’d simply traded drowning for being choked to death. I flailed and grabbed at his hands, but he only tightened his grip.
As the corners of my vision clouded, I rallied my last bit of strength and tugged hard on the weapon from protruding from Zhoshi’s shoulder. For the first time, his grasp faltered.
Strong spurts of red streamed from his torso and mixed with the cool water until it was a deep crimson. I pulled away from his now weak fingers and swam backward to avoid his tail as it whipped around. Even weak, he was faster than me. He caught me in the back of the head, and even more shadows collected in the periphery.
A large gash of Zhoshi’s skin and tissues remained on the sinking spear, and the prospect of a meal quickly attracted predators. A shark approached from the darker depths just behind him. I paddled as fiercely as I could away from my enemy. And, the shark had interest only in his food.
The roar that Zhoshi produced along with every whip and swat of his tail created torrents in the water as the shark quickened its ascent on him and then took its first bite of his flesh. Each of his movements was useless against the monster. I turned my eyes and gasped in more salt water as I paddled to the dent in the sand where my juz̈uṣùs̈ must have been.
***
In the vehicle, I coughed and retched to release the ocean from my lungs. The salt burned and scratched even after it splashed onto the floor. It was a miracle that I hadn’t drowned. Perhaps, it was a benefit of an incomplete modification.
Penny sat suitless in one corner of the juz̈uṣùs̈. Her face was wet and smudged, and she was shaking, her lips tinted blue. The water from my exit had soaked her clothing. I crawled toward her.
“Why did you take off your suit, Penny? It keeps you warm.”
“I think there’s something wrong,” she said.
“We’ll go to the shore, okay? And find somewhere warm where you can stay. Then, we’ll come back to the juz̈uṣùs̈ and set out after you’re feeling better.”
“I can’t.” She doubled over onto the wet floor, breathing heavily.
“What is it? Are you,” I began and then saw bright red staining her pants and spreading into the water beneath her.
“I don’t think it’s supposed to feel like this. I. . .” Again she was interrupted, but this time with a whimper.
“What’s happening?” I asked her, afraid to get the answer.
“I’m,” she started and then had to breathe, “in active labor.”
“In labor? You’re going to give birth?! Now?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ve been having contractions all day, but they’re . . . frequent now. Must be under a minute apart.”
She screamed and there was more blood. I quickly drained all of the water from the juz̈uṣùs̈ and searched everywhere for the vehicle’s emergency medical supplies. I was able to find some disinfectants and a heated wrap to cover her with.
“I need you to help me slide off my pants.” She tugged at them weakly.
I unbuttoned and unzipped them and then pulled them down her legs and off her feet. They left a smear of red along her skin. I’d learned about the birth process and reproduction for several species, but nothing had prepared me for this. She reached her hand down.
“What do you see?” she asked me and then leaned forward with her face tense and teeth clenched.
“I do not know.”
“Is it the head or feet or . . .” Again, she stopped short and doubled over.
“The head, I think.”
“Good, good. What color is it?”
“I can’t tell. I just see,” I paused.
“What?!” she asked with alarm.
“There is too much blood to tell.” I answered.
“Fine. Just tell me the color when you can see it.”
“What can I do?” I was helpless.
“I need water.”
I could see more blood spilling out of her, and I fought the urge to push the thing coming out back in. She was breathing hard and leaning back against the wall, her whole underside exposed. I took some fresh water from the satchel and poured it daintily into her mouth, supporting her head and neck as she leaned them back. She nearly choked on the water as another wave of pain hit her. Her body involuntarily strained to push the tiny creature out, and I saw more and more of it, little by little.
“You need to help me. I need it out!” she screamed.
“How can I help?”
She panted and then answered, “When I push, you just need to pull. Don’t grip it tight. Just . . . pull lightly. I need the help.”
“Is that safe?” I asked her.
“It has to be!” She got up into a squatting position. “Another one is coming! Aaaaahhh! Pull!”
I slid my palms carefully around the slippery crown of the child and maneuvered lightly as she pushed. Penny’s legs shook from the effort. She nearly collapsed onto the ground after the contraction passed.
I rubbed her back and tried to keep her calm and warm for a moment until she told me to pull again. She kneeled this time, leaning forward, unable to expend the energy to squat. She screamed, and I pulled until I saw the forehead. She leaned forward on her elbows to rest, and I wiped the infant’s skin to see it clearly.
“It is a little bit purple! Maybe red.”
“When the head is out, you need to pull it the rest of the way. If it’s purple, the baby isn’t getting,” Another contraction interrupted her. “Oxygen.”
She panted again and her brows softened, but there was still a long way to go. After a particularly bad push, Penny grabbed my wrist and looked me in my eyes, “Promise me that you’ll save the baby. Get the baby breathing, okay?”
“We’ll help the baby breathe.”
“Just . . . promise me.”
“Of course.”
In spite of everything, Penny fought through and brought the creature out into the world. It was strange to see the little thing looking up at me. This tiny organism manipulated in a lab. I wondered at first if it was entirely human until it blinked its dark, brown irises to the deep amber of the oɦiṣod. A marvel born of a human. Some scientific creation. Or abomination, I wasn’t sure.
I heard Penny panting again and pushing. The rest of the umbilical cord had dropped to the floor and, in a matter of moments, the placenta was born in two jagged pieces. I handed her the shivering infant, and she laid him on her soaked and sweating chest.
“It’s a boy.” I told her.
“I need some water.”
“I brought her the fresh water and she shook her head.”
“Salt water,” she croaked.
I pressed and repressed the fill button of the vehicle so that just a bit of water flowed in. I collected it in a small cup from the med kit and brought it to her. She used the salt water to gently irrigate the infant's nostrils and then leaned him forward and patted him on the back until he let out a squeal and cried.
For the first time, she smiled. “My boy.”
***
I looked at her pale and placid face along with the red smears on the floor. In retrospect, I should have known how it all would end so much sooner. I should’ve known like Penny had, all along.
She weakly held him against her with straining arms. At her request, I cut the umbilical cord and wrapped him in sterilized cloth from the medical kit. She cried, leaving trails of tears through her sweat and blood smeared. I couldn’t be sure which emotions inspired the tears, but I thought a few of them might be joy at the sight of him.
She leaned her head back and grimaced. Blood still spread beneath her, and I hurried to find some kind of solution in the medpack. Anything that might preserve her. Anything that might let Penny stay with me.
“Don’t leave,” she pleaded, “I don’t think I can do this much longer. Just sit with me. Please.”
Her speech was slow and low like a whisper. I ran my thumb across her face to wipe away some of the stains and to feel her skin. She pouted her lips in a kiss and leaned the weight of her head into my touch.
“Please take the baby. He’s so heavy,” she said and I complied, being careful to support his head. She continued, “I want you to tell my dad that I’m gone. His name’s William Anderson. In Victoria Falls, like we talked about. I don’t care what you tell him. I just don’t want him to wait for me. And, take care of Liam. I don’t know how he’s here, but he is. And, he needs someone.”
“Sshhh. Don't say that. You’ll be fine. I’ll find a way, Penny. You’ll take care of him with me,” I replied.
She struggled to turn her head to look at me directly and gave a weak smile, “I knew that I wouldn’t make it as soon as I ended up at that place, but at least I got to see you one last time.”
I fought the tears, but they came anyway. We sat there in the blood and muck, and she hummed a song that I’d never heard with her hand on little Liam’s chest. With her head on my shoulder, I could feel the vibrations of her vocal chords shaking through me, the sounds of sorrow and pain and then peace until she closed her eyes and the song ceased.
I said her name quietly, but she didn’t respond. I nudged her with my shoulder and still, no response. I laid the infant carefully onto a clean bit of ground and checked her neck for a pulse. There was nothing.
I began to wail and laid my head on Penny’s soaked shirt, panting against her chest and screeching, “No!”