Page 28 of The Final Storm
We need to get the boys.
I hurry my feet down the hall, poking my head into each room. The further I travel, the fewer people I find. I worry these men sent me out of engineering knowing I shouldn’t be here, and I won’t find Sam.
When I’ve almost given up, I spot him from a slanted window at the end of the hall and pick up the pace. He’s in a deep conversation with someone. His face is stern and agitated. They sit in chairs across from each other in a conference-type room with windows down one side. I stumble to a stop when I almost reach him, and the person he speaks to comes into view.
It’s a woman.
It’sthewoman.
The woman I followed outside the medical unit.
My heart leaps into my throat, and a surge of panic overtakes me, making my body sway, and I grip the wall for balance. I stare for a moment, to be sure, to check my mind that almost thought I was going insane.
It’s her. I’m tired, not crazy. That’s the woman I’ve seen in my visions, and she’s arguing with Sam. Her arms flail up at something he’s said, but he doesn’t budge. It looks as if she might hit him. There’s a tremble in her movements. She’s erratic, about to jump out of her chair at him while he stares back at her, seemingly unaffected.
My feet shuffle forward, and I’m lifting my knuckles to the window without thinking through my actions. I tap a few times, hard and fast, and they both twist their necks in my direction.
I look directly at her, avoiding any eye contact with Sam, refusing to look away and let her out of my sight. Moving my hands along the wall, feeling my way until I reach the door and fumble with the handle, we keep our eyes glued to one another. She’s the first to jerk her gaze away, and she grabs a bag on a nearby table and stands to leave. Sam says something to her I can’t hear through the enclosed room and makes a “get out” motion with his hands. She stomps over to the back door of the room.
“Hey!” I shout as I get the door open. “Stop! Who are you?”
Sam grips my elbow as I shoot past him, holding me in place. I keep my eyes on her back, twisting my body to get away from his grasp. He holds firm and hisses at me. “What are you doing?”
The door flies open, and I almost snarl at her escape when she stops. She looks up to the ceiling, her dark hair cascading down her back, and turns her chin over her shoulder, watching me from her peripheral. Our build and features are the same, along with the apparent loathing we have for each other. She raises her hands to her hips and flips around, answering my questions with her own.
“Who am I?” she shrieks. “Who the fuck do you thinkyouare, and what are you doing here?“ My presence disgusts her, making her body shake and her face contort with rage. “He doesn’t want you here. No one wants you here. You weren’t supposed to even be here, so do us all a favor and go away.”
The room spins, closing in on me. She’s the woman my vision warned me about, but I’m no closer to understanding who she is or why she hates me. A part of me is screaming for me to fight back, to yell at her. I belong by my husband’s side, but I can’t form the words.
“Go,” Sam hisses. There’s a moment where I’m unsure if he’s speaking to her or me, but her eyes shift in his direction, and she curls her lips back in rage. Before she barks another word, Caleb storms into the room.
“We can hear you next door…” He trails off, scanning the room, his jaw dropping at the sight of us all.
“Get her out of here,” Sam orders. Caleb rushes to the woman and wraps an arm around her shoulders, urging her to turn around. She hits him in the chest, but it has little effect. His hands grab her biceps, giving her a gentle shake, and he hisses something into her ear, dragging her along with him out the door.
I watch the scene frozen in place, waiting for some flicker of memory or a clue about what transpired.
“Who is that?” I seethe. Sam whips me around but doesn’t respond.
“Answer me,” I insist, but he just keeps holding me back, pressing bruises into my skin with his grip. “Why aren’t you saying anything? That’s the woman. Who is she? Are you… is something going on with her?” I don’t believe it when I say it, but she’s a force strong enough to enter my visions and scream at me to leave. There’s something I should know about her.
“No,” Sam insists. His eyes grow wild. “I would never. It’s complicated.”
“No, but it’s complicated. What the fuck does that mean?” I claw at his fingers, lowering my body to push away with my weight. “She’s the one I saw. She’s in my visions and she’s important. Does she work with you?”
“Yes,” he answers.
My nails dig into his skin. “Fucking one-word answers. Let me go. Why are you holding me back?” I’m begging, unable to break free without his consent. “Please, let me go after her.”
Pain flashes across his face, and he adjusts his grip. “No.”
“Fucking hell, Sam. Could you give me more than a yes or no? I came here to apologize, but you’re making it damn near impossible.” I shake my shoulders and let out a frustrated scream. “You’re keeping something from me.”
“Let’s go visit with Morgan and Luke,” he deflects. His grip loosens, and I free myself, but too much time has passed since the woman left. She’ll be impossible to find now, slipping away yet again in the depths of this ship.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I almost spit at him in disgust. He’s so aloof to my anger, so I rage more. “Sam, this is killing me. I can’t take this. You’re making me…” I shake my fist in his face, trembling from the core of my body outward. “You’re making me feel crazy. Please, who is it?”
“Please don’t do this. Can you trust me just a little longer?” He reaches for me, and I step back, tripping over a chair in the room and fall on my hip, the same one I injured months ago. Sharp pains shoot out from the spot and I yelp. “Fuck, that hurts,” I groan.
