Survival Instincts (Book 1): Sacrifice

by Andersen, J. . J.

  SACRIFICE

  By J.J Andersen

  This book is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are completely fictitious.

  SACRIFICE.

  ©2019 BY Nicole Cooper and Samantha Andersen.

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book is dedicated to all our family and friends x

  SACRIFICE

  Survival Instincts Book 1

  What if the monsters, weren’t the worst things out there?

  PROLOGUE

  Finally, his perfect blue eyes closed. It had only taken two hours, but the sleep deprivation was well worth it in that moment. So sweet, so innocent and finally asleep. Rocking back and forth in the chair, Raelynn peered over at the cot. Was it really worth the risk of waking him up and moving from the hard, wooden rocking chair? She warred with that decision until the obnoxious, loud ring of her phone pierced the silence that had taken too long to gain. Holding her stirring baby boy closer, she lifted herself from the chair, doing a gentle jiggle to gain feeling back into her numbed bottom. Raelynn shuffled over to her phone that rested on top of the dresser. The light of it filled the room, as the vibration of the call made it move slowly across the wooden surface. Picking it up, she checked the caller ID.

  “Dad?” She answered in a hushed voice. Why was he calling at two thirty in the morning?

  “Hey Kiddo,” He started, his voice raspy and strained.

  “Is everything okay, Dad? It's two thirty in the morning.” She asked, distracted by her son, Jake who had woken to the sound of her voice and as usual, was tugging on a loose curl that had fallen from the brown mop on her head.

  “There's something going on, Kiddo. I know this is abrupt, but you can't trust anyone, not José, no one. Something's going to happen. It’s big, and it’s about to go live. People will die because of it. You need to come home to Iowa now, so I can protect you.” He blurted. Rae rolled her eyes at his panicked words, which hinted at yet another conspiracy theory of his.

  “You need to slow down. Have you been drinking again? You know I can't leave. José wouldn't dare let me go. It’s hard enough to even be let out of the house, let alone back home to Iowa. It’s a four-hour flight away from him, Dad.” She said, repositioning Jake who had been getting fussier, the longer her attention wasn’t on him.

  “No Raelynn, your husband’s in the middle of it and it's bigger than your shambles of a marriage. Sneak away in the night, he can't know you’re gone. You have to trust me.” He continued and although over the years she had tried to indulge her fathers’ ramblings, this time she wasn’t in the mood. She placed Jake down in his cot and began subconsciously pacing the room, a trait that had always annoyed her father, yet had always been her reaction to speaking to him.

  “I know you don't like José, but I didn't get much of a choice thanks to your gambling debts. We can't take this back now. Go to bed, Dad and I'll call you in the morning when you're sober, so your words make more sense.” Rae patronized him, leaning over the cot and rubbing Jake’s stomach gently.

  “No, this time I mean it Rae. You have to trust me, something's going to-” She cut off her dads’ plea and looked into the blues eyes of her son, that mirrored her own. Raelynn knew she couldn't just leave and risk José hunting her and Jake down.

  “No Dad, if I can't trust José, then why should I trust you? The last time I made that mistake, you married me off to the highest bidder and now you want me to leave? It's too late for that. The damage is done.” She finished the conversation and hung up the phone, throwing the device on to the rocking chair. She leaned over to pick Jake up, focusing her attention on him, trying to forget her fathers’ words despite the pit in her stomach urging her to heed them. She put her phone back in her pocket, then sat back in the chair, rocking gently in an attempt to get Jakey back to sleep.

  “That my Son, is why you haven't met your grandfather,” She whispered to him, then leaned her head back and looked up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.

  “Drunk” Raelynn muttered.

  Chapter One

  Jakey’s soft cries filtered through Raelynn’s sleep dampened mind, rousing her from her light sleep. She frowned as she found the other half of her bed empty, with José already up and about, but not attending to their son. With a huff, Rae sat up from the warmth of her bed, immediately tying her loose brown curls into a messy bun atop her head. Pulling the blankets from her legs and swinging them over the edge, she got up. Rae stretched, yawning as she pulled on some black leggings over her slender, sun kissed legs. They needed a shave, but that seemed to be their permanent state since embarking on the journey that was motherhood. She chuckled to herself then shuffled her feet into a pair of grey fluffy slippers. Jake’s cries had quieted down, so she let him wake properly and took her time doing the same. She walked over the wooden floorboards to the floor length windows beside her bed, opening the cream curtains with instant regret, shielding her sleep crusted eyes from the piercing rays of the sun. Turning around quickly to avoid the glare, the sun’s warmth wrapped itself around her back, almost like a comforting hug she often craved. Rae sighed wistfully, then left the bedroom to check if Jakey was ready to get up for the day.

  Walking down the hall, Raelynn passed the bathroom, steam and light escaping from under the door. A typical Monday morning where José got ready for the day by showering as soon as he got up then headed off to work at his lab, leaving Rae and Jake to their own devices.

  Entering Jakey’s room right opposite the bathroom, his pale blue walls were dimly lit by the sun that tried to escape through the still closed curtains. Her angel stood up from his happy, seated spot within his crib, at the sight of his mom walking into his room. Dropping the small elephant toy that he had been holding, he leaned against the side of his cot, gargling with happiness, chanting ma-ma-ma.

  “Good morning, little man.” She cooed to him, his adorable grin and chubby cheeks erupting with his charming giggle, the tears from his awakening cry still glistening in his beautiful, blue eyes.

  “Are you hungry, my handsome man?” He made a sentence that was incomprehensible at her words, but she took it as a yes.

  Raelynn picked him up from his cot and placed him on her hip, wincing as his body put pressure on a healing bruise that she was trying to forget existed. She quickly placed him on his changing table to change his diaper, not bothering to put pants back on him, already feeling the heat of New Mexico hitting her. She tickled his chubby little stomach before picking him up again, making a beeline for the kitchen.

  José was already in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper by the time she walked in with Jake. Her husband’s usual smell of freshness and cologne filled the morning air and while it affected her on a hormonal level, he managed the same aloof manner he always did and pretended not to notice her presence.

  “Can you pour me a cup, hon?” Rae asked as politely as she could, hoping even a little of his attention might be turned to her, but she should have known better. He simply grumbled in her direction without so much as a glance away from his newspaper, taking a sip of his own coffee as if proving he had heard her but didn’t have any intention of fulfilling her request. With a sigh, Rae placed a very happy, oblivious Jake in his colourful, polka-dot feeding chair and clipped him in. She smiled, in awe of his happiness.

  He got even more excited when she reached into the fridge for his favourite breakfast; a banana. Peeling the perfectly ripened yellow skin and breaking the banana in two, Rae gave it to him, wishing her own happiness could be achieved so easily. He took one of the halves, promptly gobbling the piece with happy gurgles in be
tween the mush that began to fall in clumps from his mouth. Rae smiled at his behaviour, at his joy, then moved to the bench to pour her coffee that as suspected, remained in the coffee pot. She poured the hot, black coffee into a mug, looking up at Jake as he squealed with excitement, being his usual talkative self. The distraction cost her though and before she could pull away, the coffee had overflowed from her mug, spilling onto the marble countertop, scorching the skin of her hand and splashing back onto her pyjamas. She gasped, pulling her hand away, wincing as her eyes met José’s. He was scowling.

  “You’re fucking useless, woman” He snapped, folding his newspaper and tossing it to the other side of the bench. Raelynn winced at his harsh tone, her hand shaking as it placed the jug back on its stand.

  “I'm sorry.” She managed to utter through her trembling.

  “Watch what you’re doing next time, or I'll make you sorry!” He bit back. She cowered back against the counter, her hand fumbling for a cloth to clean up the mess she’d made. His hand reached for her wrist, gripping it tightly, his fingers digging into her supple flesh. Rae’s bottom lip quivered as she thought of what he was about to do to her for being so clumsy, she should have been more careful, especially with Jake so close. He was the only reason she dared to speak before he had punished her for her mistake, this time.

  “Please don't do this in front of Jake.” Raelynn begged, looking over at their son who had grown uncharacteristically quiet, his eyes fixed on them. José looked at Jake then back at Rae, his jaw clenched, eyes glaring, and she thought for sure she saw true malice in his eyes before his face relaxed and he sneered at her. He shoved her hand away from him then turned back to his coffee as if nothing had happened. Rae let out a relieved breath, sneering was infinitely better than the alternative, she thought as she rubbed her wrist that would probably bruise, adding another mark to her collection. José pulled her from her thoughts as he emptied his coffee cup, picked up his briefcase then went to the door, yanking it open and turning back to her.

  “I'll be back on my morning break, make sure you’re here.” He demanded and without a kiss, a goodbye or even a sorry, he left the house, slamming the door behind him as usual.

  Releasing a trembling breath, Rae tipped her unfinished coffee down the sink; her stomach was still turning from her altercation with José, so she wasn’t quite ready to add anything to it yet. Composing herself, Raelynn plastered a smile on her face, rubbing her eyes gently before turning her attention to her son who had gone back to babbling.

  “Right little man, let's get ourselves ready.” She smiled to him, holding out her arms to pick him up “Shower?” She asked, earning her an excited clap from his sticky hands. He reached his arms out, letting Rae pull him from his messy chair. She knew she would have to clean it before José got back home and put it at the top of her to-do list after their shower.

  Turning on the shower, Rae undressed herself and Jake out of their sleepwear while waiting for the water to heat up. She knew José was not a good husband and that what he did to her, wasn’t okay but as long as it wasn’t their son, then she would suffer for him. In spite of that though, they were very lucky in the sense that they had everything they needed and more when it came to material things. José had a really good job at a science laboratory that supported them well, so when they had been looking for an apartment, back when she had believed José was everything she could ever want, there had been plenty of options. Unfortunately, José didn’t like any of the ones with a bath, so she’d had to settle on a large shower instead. She had grown used to it though and had adapted to sharing her shower time with her favourite little human.

  Placing that little human on the floor of the shower, Rae pulled the storage box of toys from under the sink that José had insisted on and placed them in front of Jakey to play with then hopped in herself. She let out her messy brown curls, her head growing heavier as the water saturated her. Rae checked the bruises that lay all over her body. Everywhere was discoloured in blues and purples, healing ones now a dark brown. Raelynn carefully washed over them and even managed a quick shave over before turning her attention to Jake who was slobbering over a yellow rubber duck. She lathered him in soap, then rinsed him off before turning the shower off, wrapping towels around them both so they could get changed. She took Jake to his change table and put on a fresh diaper, putting ‘get more nappies’ on her to-do list for the day. Raelynn dressed Jake, putting him in some grey shorts and a white shirt with a shark printed on it saying ‘Jawsome’ underneath. She grabbed her favourite shoes for him; his little white converse that had his name on the side. She wished they were her favourite because of how cute they were on him, but it wasn't. They were her favourite because José had bought them, she hated to admit that to herself but as she stared at Jake’s name across the little shoes, a small tingle of happiness ruptured through her that José had put in that much thought towards their son, thought that he didn’t normally have. The kind of thought that only came after one of their many fights.

  Pushing the memories of those fights out of her mind before they could manifest, Raelynn picked up Jake, grabbed a few toys from his room then took him through to her own room to get herself changed. She put on some simple black leggings, a loose grey long-sleeve shirt that was stretched from when she had been pregnant with Jake. She tucked the shirt loosely into her leggings then added her own pair of white converse. Rae left her hair out to dry, applied a bit of mascara, if only to make herself feel better then gathered Jake and his toys up into her arms.

  She had to get things tidied before José got home so she placed Jakey in his little playpen and began her usual routine. Clean the highchair, tidy up the toys from the shower, put the washing on, do the small amount of dishes leftover from the morning and pour a cup of coffee. Rae talked to Jake, checked in on him and copied his gurgles and babbles as she cleaned before right on cue, he began crying. She smiled as she looked up at the time and came back into the lounge. 10 o'clock, which meant morning-tea time.

  “Hungry Jakey?” She asked with a knowing smile. Jake clapped his hands with an excited squeal in response.

  Rae reassured him that she was getting his food then went to the kitchen to make his food. She pulled out a cookbook and opened it to the chocolate muffins; the ones she knew José loved, hoping it would help make up for her clumsiness earlier and that just maybe, he wouldn’t be as mad with her. She put on her music and danced around the kitchen, baking and checking on Jake as she went. She was just putting them in the oven, when the front door opened and slammed behind José’s intimidating form.

  Instead of greeting her in any way though, he walked straight passed Rae and down the hall. He came back with a notebook and briefcase, placing them both on the counter she was just using to make icing.

  “Where’s Jake?” He asked in a distant tone as he looked around the room and found their son, happily playing in his pen. He walked over to Jake without waiting for her response.

  The question had Rae caught off guard. José never took any interest in Jake. It had been eight months and she was certain; it was the first time that her husband had ever acknowledged their son directly. Trying to stay unalarmed by his unusual attention on Jake, she continued about her baking and tried to pretend like she didn’t want to go over and make sure José was playing nice. It wasn’t long before José stood from his position beside the playpen and when he did, Rae almost dropped the piping bag she was holding. José had never held Jake. And yet there they stood, father and son, Jake on José’s hip as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “I need to take Jakey to work.” He explained, knowing the question had been forming on her parted lips.

  “Uh, why?” Raelynn stumbled out, partly because she was daring to question him and second because he had just called their son Jakey, which was another thing he had never done before.

  “It's uh, bring your kid to work day. I had a meeting this morning so there was no point in taking him then, so I
thought I'd grab him on my break instead.” He said with a charming smile, one she had fallen for before and one he used when lying to others about what happened behind closed doors. A smile she didn’t trust. But why would he lie? Why did he need Jake? Or was she just being paranoid and overprotective? Deciding that was more likely, Raelynn nodded.

  “Okay. But can you bring some diapers back with you?” She asked, needing the confirmation so she knew they were coming back, even just to placate her paranoia.

  She watched from the window as José left with their son. Her lip was numb from her teeth chewing on it constantly. Her stomach turned as he strapped Jake into the car seat in his car. She wanted to run out there, tell him no, he couldn’t take Jake anywhere, but she knew what would happen; she would have more bruises for her collection and José would leave with Jake anyway. At least with her acceptance, it kept José in a better mood while with Jakey.

  Once José’s car was gone, Rae turned back to the kitchen, unsure what to do with herself or what to think. It was the only free time she’d had in eight months and she would give it up in a heartbeat, to know her son was safe and back in her arms. She started cleaning up her baking mess then froze;

  Jake never got his morning tea.

  Worried he would be hungry and crying, irritating José, Rae packed the muffins from the oven into a container then shoved some more food, nappies and formula into a bag for Jake. She didn’t know how long José was going to have Jake and her son would need a nap once he had eaten-which meant a bottle or a tantrum and the images of José reacting to tantrum was so horrifying, it had Rae picking up her pace. She grabbed her keys, swung the bag onto her shoulder and was about to leave when she saw José’s notebook and briefcase still sitting on the counter. Torn between getting Jake his supplies and knowing what José was working on, Rae bit her lip. She reached out a timid hand, running her fingers across the smooth leather of the case. She had always wondered what he had been working on. José had always told her to mind her business, but he wasn't here to tell her that, this time.