Page 18 of The Final Storm
She wipes her cheek with the back of her hand and forces a smile. “So, what were you saying about the guys?”
Sam stops in front of us. He moves Luke’s weight to Caleb and jogs over. “We’re taking Luke directly to the medics. I’ll come back and get Morgan when I know they have someone available to check her out.”
His voice comes out clipped, and he almost chokes on the words as they leave him. He’s pale, and sweat covers his brow. The man has more endurance than a triathlete, and a five-minute walk with Luke and Caleb makes him look almost ill. Something isn’t right.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask. I bring my hand to his face, and he flinches. He fucking jolts back from my touch.
“S-Sam,” I stammer. “What’s going on?” I swear these ships are cursed. As soon as we step on board, someone goes crazy.
“Nothing,” he sighs. He clasps my hand in his and moves it to his chest, pulling me closer. I feel his heart beat wildly. “I’m a little overwhelmed. I-I’m sorry. I’ll be back. These recruits behind you, they’ll take you to some cabins.”
“Sam,” I say, his name louder this time. My voice echoes down the hallway and pulls Luke and Caleb’s attention toward us. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Go to the cabin. Everything is fine.”
Lori groans and Sam lets go of my hand when he walks back to Caleb and Luke. A man behind us gives a gentle nudge to my elbow, steering us down a hallway on the left. I follow them but keep my eyes on Sam until he’s out of my range of sight.
Lori reaches out her hands to take the baby, who now sleeps in the crook of my arms. I hand her over. The perplexed expression is still all over my face.
“So, that was weird,” Lori echoes my thoughts, looking me over.
“Did you see him recoil from me like I was some leper?” I croak. “What was that about?”
“That had to sting. I mean, I felt the pinch of that. But I don’t think he was all there or something. Caleb must have said something to him.”
I nod, lost in thought. Caleb said something to Sam, something that bothered him to his core and made him forget who he was for a moment.
“I mean, he looked like…” Lori continued. “He looked like he saw a ghost when he ran back to us.” She made a shivering motion with her body. “Could you imagine, though? A ghost on this ship. How much worse could things get than having some spirit wander the hallways at night?”
My steps falter, and I set my hand on the wall for support. Lori reaches her free hand to my side. “I’m just kidding. Oh my God, are you okay? Look, Sam is back on the ship they assigned him to. They’ll want him to speak to his superiors, and it’s not going to be pretty. I’m sure that’s the issue.”
I give a weak chuckle. “Right. He said something about that before.”
“See, don’t worry,” Lori says. She rocks Morgan in her arms. “They’ll probably make both of us report to duty. Who the fuck knows?”
Ghosts may not be real, but Caleb told Sam something that has him shaken, and I doubt it was about a meeting or a work order. He wouldn’t be afraid of that.
Something rocked Sam to his core and I feel it gnawing at him, eating away any semblance of calm I had coming here.
I straighten and brush my hands down my pants, focusing on keeping up with the men in front of us. Lori asks me if I can try to meditate on Luke tonight, and I agree, but I don’t know how much good it will do.
I know what I’ll see when I sleep tonight.
The woman dressed in white, the woman who told me no one wants me here.
Chapter 7
Paramour
Ipacethefloorfor hours, cursing Sam. The man of my dreams this morning is now the source of my bitching. “Sounds like marriage”,I murmur to myself and groan.
Lori and I have cabins with adjoining doors which look alarmingly similar to the ones in my premonition. It’s almost just as cold and quiet except for the sound of my cursing and pacing. I try to nurse Morgan and give up, offering her what little formula she’ll take. I’m thankful an officer brought it back to me when I asked, and I feel a bit of relief that our decision to come wasn’t completely misguided.
Tired of my rambling, Lori volunteers to lie down with her, knowing I won’t sleep a wink until Sam returns. She retreats to her room to rest, but her absence only makes me grow more restless. It doesn’t take hours to drop someone off at a medical unit. He should have come back by now. Every scenario runs through my mind, and I keep coming back to Caleb’s face when we arrived. His shock at my presence and the surprise I saw when Sam introduced me needs to be addressed.
“Where are you?” I say to myself.
This is bullshit.
