Roth

by Jessica Frances

  For a few moments, I do feel hope. Then, I take a deep breath, and we hit the water. My hand loses Marduke’s, and while my feet never hit the bottom, I am aware I have shot through the water for a long way down. For me to get some much needed oxygen, I need to get back up to the surface.

  There is no momentum for me going up, though. I need to work my legs and arms fast to pull myself back to the top. My legs continue to burn from the effort and I’ve lost my backpack. There is a strong current running through the water, and for each stroke, I manage to pull myself farther up. I also feel myself drifting more to the side.

  I see above me the water is lighter and know I’m close now. I blow out my remaining air, freeing my lungs and hoping to buy myself a tiny bit more time. I am forced to breathe in water just before I reach the top, and I cough it out, my lungs burning and my throat feeling raw. I almost fall back under the water, but my legs kick out, keeping me afloat.

  Arms pull me to the side as I allow Marduke to swim us to the edge, finding relief when he lays me down over the embankment. My legs are still in the water, but the rest of me isn’t. I keep my eyes closed, my breathing heavy and hard.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, his hands touching me as he inspects me for any hidden injuries.

  “No,” I pant, my heart beating erratically in my chest. I’m not sure I will ever feel okay again after what we’ve just faced.

  “Where are you hurt?” At the desperation in his voice, I open my eyes, watching him as he again looks me over. His hand holds my arm and he touches along me from my hands to my shoulder, feeling for any tender area or a possible break. As soon as he’s satisfied, he moves to my other arm, leaning over me.

  There is panic and concern in his gaze, but also something tender as he looks over me. His touch is gentle and feels loving to me. Every touch I feel is like he’s touching my heart. He’s becoming a part of me.

  “Is it the baby? Is something wrong with the baby? Mattie, talk to me!” His gaze is wild and scared.

  “I’m okay, I think. Help me sit up.” When I hold out my arm, he takes my hand, pulling me up into a sitting position. “Are you okay?” I ask him, holding my head as my vision swims a little.

  “Yes. Come forward and drink some water.” He leans away from me and cups his hand into the water, bringing it to my mouth where I suck in every drop. He does this several times, even though I could easily do it myself, and each time, my eyes watch him.

  The air turns electric, different from the thick air that is caused by the heat. I don’t want to break this spell moving between us, the adrenaline still pumping through my body, making me feel more alive and turned on more than ever.

  Unfortunately, my mind doesn’t switch off like I need it to. Worries and fears bombard me and pull me away from the moment we’re sharing.

  “What do we do now?”

  He stares at me a little longer. I know he’s still stuck back in our moment, most likely disappointed that I’ve pulled him away from it and into our never ending problem.

  “As much as I hate to leave the water, I think we might have no choice. If we stay here, we might be trapped, and the water won’t protect us forever.” He looks at the tall, overhanging trees. The cliff might keep the fire stuck above us, but that doesn’t mean the fire won’t spread down here and be able to cross over the river.

  “But what if there is another fire coming from that direction? We could be running straight to our deaths,” I point out.

  “I didn’t see smoke coming from this direction, however that’s not to say in a few hours the fire doesn’t consume this part of the forest, too. If we decide to leave, we have to do it now.”

  He’s right about that. I’ve looked straight ahead as we fell. While I didn’t see any smoke or indication of a fire, I sure did see a hell of a lot of trees and greenery ahead of us. After the massive bout of exercise I’ve just been through, I’m not keen to repeat it.

  “You think that’s our best option?”

  “Yes.”

  I know he would never put me or this baby in jeopardy, not more than I have already managed to help get us into, anyway. Therefore, if he thinks going forward is our best option, then I have to trust him.

  “Okay, let me just dip back in the water for a second.”

  I didn’t exactly get to enjoy the feel of the water when I was almost drowning in it, so I slip back in, staying close to the embankment to avoid getting dragged away in the current. I sink under the water, wetting my hair and loving the feel of the cool water on my skin. It feels as good as any shower I am likely to get. I’m relieved to see the black gunk has washed away from my jumper and not stained it.

  Not long after I get in, Marduke joins me, also appearing to embrace the feel of the water. Soon, he’s pulling me close to him and wrapping his arms around me. He leans in and kisses me, gently at first, though quickly growing more demanding.

  He waits for me to lose myself to him, until my legs are wrapped tightly around him and my mouth is a slave to him, then he pulls away.

  “If we had more time, I would not be saying this, but we need to go.” He frowns. I don’t think he’s frowning at me but at himself for the words he’s just spoken. I can feel how turned on he is, and a small part of me wants to torture him a little for starting something he can’t finish.

  Only Marduke can make me feel so hot, so wanted and so in need. It makes me love him even more. So focusing on my love for him and the fact that I know he’s making the right decision, I hold off torturing him. For now.

  I send a silent prayer that we’ll make it out of this alive and will get the chance to finish what we’ve started.

  I give him a quick, chaste kiss, loving the smile he gives me in return and the small dimples that appear, and then I climb out of the water. I roll up my pant legs until they are sitting over my knees then pull the jumper and t-shirt off me so I only have on my vest. The heat is too hot to be wearing more layers, and with only Marduke here, it won’t matter who sees me wearing the vest.

  The reminder that we’re alone knocks me back to the fact that Hank isn’t here.

  “What happened to Hank?” I glance around us, hoping to just stumble upon him and find him uninjured from any fire or fall, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

  “We lost him. I’m sorry, Mattie, but we don’t have time to search for him, either. He is smart and strong; he’ll know to keep going until he makes it out of the forest. We’ll see him as soon as we make it out of here, too,” he says it confidently, and I take strength from his words.

  If Marduke believes Hank can do it, then I can believe it, too. Hank is tough and has the best motivation of all. If he doesn’t make it out of the forest alive, he’ll never have the chance to see Lisa again. That won’t be acceptable to him.

  Besides, he made a promise to Kane, and he won’t easily break it. I’m rather in shock at what we’ve just witnessed. After the long chase through the forest and constant fear of being burned alive, the events we’ve faced feel like they happened days ago already.

  Kane and Hunter are dead. One murdered and one sacrificed himself to try to save everyone back at the camps. I might have hated how Kane felt about Marduke and how he treated both of us, however I can’t fault his integrity. He was placed in a horrible position, having just lost his girlfriend because of Marduke’s people. What’s more, we’re all facing these awful creatures because of them. Even if Marduke’s father isn’t the reason behind this attack, we’re all not on Earth because of him.

  Kane might have been a decent person on Earth, but what he saw and what was taken from him turned him into the angry, bitter man I knew. I can’t continue to hate him in death because I can’t blame him for his prejudice against Marduke.

  Unfortunately, if we make it out of here alive, he won’t be the last person we have to face who hates Marduke on sight. If they find out who he truly is, humans will probably easily find themselves entering a blind rage around him.

  Can I really desp
ise someone who has every reason to be upset? We’ve all lost multiple people; all had our lives and homes stolen from us. But humans can be full of honour and strength. We can sacrifice and be brave for the good of our own people. That is what Kane did. He knew he had life-threatening injuries and we were all likely going to be dead if those eggs hatched before we made it out of the forest. The others still in the camp only had one chance, which was for us to destroy the nest then and there. So he gave away any option or hope to try to make it out of there himself, even gave us some time to make a run for it before he started that fire.

  I may have not liked Kane, but I can respect him. Hunter, too. He came into the forest knowing our mission was not one we’d likely survive.

  I feel proud to be human, and thinking of how much strength we’ve all shown from this experience, I feel even more hope for Hank. He won’t give up, and he will make it out of this forest alive.

  “Ready?” Marduke interrupts my inner speech and stares at me in concern. Who knows what type of expressions I have just been making.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” I give him a smile, trying to convey to him that I have hope now.

  We take the last drink of water that we might have for a while since Marduke doesn’t have his backpack any longer, either, and we have no canisters to store any. Then we walk away from the river.

  My feet squish in my shoes, my socks wet and uncomfortable feeling, but I relish the fresh feeling I have after our swim. My clothing is already drying from the hot weather, and I know I will soon just be covered in sweat instead of being damp from the water, yet I keep moving forward.

  I have a good feeling about what we’re going to find. When Marduke quickens his pace, I don’t voice my body’s complaints. I just up with him.

  If only I knew we weren’t going to get to the destination we intended. Instead, we’re heading into trouble, every step we take only getting us closer to our doom.

  If only we had stayed at the river.

  Chapter 16

  Mattie

  We’re beginning to jog when we hit our first problem. There are fallen leaves covering the ground, and unfortunately for Marduke, a small rock is hidden from his view. His foot lands on it unevenly and it twists his ankle so he rolls over it.

  He grunts in pain, falling to the side and landing heavily on his other leg.

  “Marduke?” I have taken a few steps passed him, my momentum driving me forward, but I know instantly that something is definitely wrong.

  I race to his side and watch him try to stand up straight, but as soon as he puts any pressure on his foot, he winces in pain. He ends up collapsing back to the ground.

  “Is it your knee again?” I ask in concern, recalling the injury he suffered on Earth.

  “My knee was fixed as soon as I was back with my own people. I only needed one injection to sort that out,” he says distractedly, his gaze staying on his foot.

  “Really?” He only needed one injection to fix his knee? I can’t imagine if we had that ability for sports players back on Earth. I thought for sure he would need a knee reconstruction. I assumed he must have had some sort of surgery on Oden, but really, I had sort of forgotten about his injury. “Is it your ankle?”

  “Yes, but I’m fine.” He locks his jaw tight and attempts another step forward, but as soon as his foot attempts to carry his weight, he crumbles under it.

  “You’re not!” I lift his pant leg up and see the swelling already beginning. I know if I take his shoe off right now it will balloon out from swelling. “Oh, shit,” I mutter.

  “Just keep going on without me,” he pleads.

  “I can’t leave you here alone. You’ll starve to death, or worse, one of those creatures will find you, or the fire.” My voice shakes, fear creeping up over me as it dawns on me Marduke is injured enough to cause us many problems.

  “I can’t walk on this and you can’t carry me,” he points out angrily.

  “I can try to.” I attempt to look optimistic, however he sees straight through me.

  “Even if you can carry me, which I doubt you could, I would slow you down too much.”

  “We’ve been running all day, Marduke. The first sun set a while ago and the second one is on its way down. We must be getting closer to the edge now, and we’re due for a break. If I keep walking us through the night, then we won’t be farther behind,” I try to reason, my feet aching with my offer of helping Marduke through the night. I wouldn’t be surprised if my shoes are covered in blood from all my broken blisters.

  “You need rest, Mattie, and it will exhaust you too much to carry me.” He shakes his head sadly.

  “Just put your arm over me and you can hop,” I beg, already grabbing his arm, encouraging him to place it around my shoulders.

  He pushes away from me instead. “Please, you must leave me. You have to save yourself and our baby.”

  “I can’t do this without you. I’ve already lost too much; I can’t lose you, too.” Panic begins to set in because I realise I can’t argue my way out of this, not to save Marduke.

  “I don’t want this for you and our baby. You shouldn’t have to die like this or at all. Not here, not now.”

  I collapse to my knees besides him, my chin falling to rest on my chest. “What type of person would I be if I just left you here to die alone?”

  He reaches out and takes hold of my chin, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “You’d be a smart person who values their life and is willing to grant me my dying wish.”

  “You’re not dying; you have a sprained ankle. At worst, it’s broken,” I snap, angry not only at our situation, but because Marduke won’t let me help him.

  “I’m going to die in here, Mattie. You don’t have to,” he pleads.

  “So if our situations were reversed, you’d leave me to die alone?” I ask, hoping to trick him into agreeing with me. I can do this; I can talk him out of this.

  “I would if I held our child in my hands. I wouldn’t condemn our baby to the same death when I could save it.”

  I begin crying because I know he has a point. I hate that he has a point. I despise him for making me understand that I’m the one in the wrong. “I don’t think I can leave you here, Marduke.”

  “I know, but you have to. You need to get to Oden. Do whatever you have to do to get there and find your sister. You still have people out there; you don’t have to be alone in this.”

  “But I need you. I can’t lose you, too.”

  “I’m sorry. I hate that I’m letting you down, letting our baby down. Please promise me you’ll leave and you’ll never give up. You’re the bravest, strongest person I’ve ever met. You can do anything you set your mind to, Mattie.”

  “Stop it! I won’t be able to leave you if you keep saying nice things like that,” I cry.

  “Okay, how about this. Get away from me and don’t come back,” he growls, but that makes me feel even worse than him saying the nice things. I throw myself into his arms, crying as I feel like my heart is being pulled out of my chest and someone is stomping on it.

  He holds me to him while I pray for a miracle.

  “Can’t we just call it a night and see if you’re any better tomorrow?”

  “I won’t get better that quickly, and there is still light, you should keep moving while you can,” he says, sounding reluctant. His grip around me doesn’t loosen and neither does mine from him.

  “But I haven’t said everything I need to say to you.”

  “Then say it to me now.”

  “It’ll take me hours to say it all, maybe even days or weeks.” I wonder if he’ll let me talk to him for long enough for him to feel better.

  “Then summarize it.”

  “No,” I state, knowing I sound difficult and upset.

  “Mattie,” he sighs, and I feel his breath hitting my neck. “What I was trying to say earlier, I meant every word. I don’t regret a thing, and I know I’m a better person for having known you. You mean ev
erything to me, and knowing that you carry our child fills me with so much joy. You have taught me what love is, and I love you and this baby with all my heart.” He moves his hand between us, resting it over my stomach and the vest. He can’t possibly feel anything, I haven’t even gotten a pregnancy belly yet, however his gesture brings tears to my eyes.

  “Please don’t make me do this,” I beg, not knowing if I’ll have the strength to walk away from him.

  “I trust you and know you’ll do everything to protect our child. Even if it means you have to do something hard, something that you don’t want to. I know you’ll do everything to keep our baby safe.”

  “Don’t do that. Don’t make me feel guilty for not wanting to leave you.” My arms feel locked around him now; my legs wrapped around his middle to keep me against him. Even if I could be persuaded to leave him, I’m not sure I have enough control over my body to actually move away.

  “You’re wasting time, Mattie. Please—”

  “When you came here looking for me, what was your plan? Where were we going to go?” I interrupt.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Were we just going to fly around? What about those people you had with you; were they going to come with us?”

  “They were with me to help you. If you were pregnant, they were going to help you through it, keep you healthy and help deliver the baby,” he explains.

  “And what should we call our baby? Do you have any ideas?” I lean against his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat under my ear.

  “I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “How did your parents come up with your name?”

  “I’m named after my great-great-great-grandfather. We all have family names. It is an honour to take on their name. If you do something to dishonour our family, then the name stops with you.”

  “So, you’d want to call our baby something from your family?” I hold in my look of displeasure at the thought of doing that. If that is what Marduke wants, I will suck it up.