Page 5 of The Final Storm
“Well, you underestimate my intuition with this. And the world isn’t over. I’m standing in it watching Luke play with an adult-sized slingshot,” I argue. “Since when are we not in this together? Since when do you not trust me?”
Sam cups my cheek, but his expression remains stern. “I love you and trust you, but I have my own thoughts about the dangers on that ship. We can’t make every decision based on your sight.”
Luke lets out a howl, and I jump. A whiz of something shoots behind Sam’s head and makes a few pathetic skips on the water. BeLew double over in laughter at his attempt while Tank shake their heads.
Sam turns to the boys. “A bit short, don’t you think?”
“That was a practice shot. You just wait,” Luke shoots back.
Sam cracks his knuckles in their direction. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
I grab his arm as he walks away. “Don’t end our conversation like this.” I’m usually the one changing the subject, so I know when it’s happening to me. “I haven’t finished my thoughts. You need to hear my point.”
“I need to whack that boat with a giant slingshot.”
“He’ll be just a minute, Luke,” I holler over Sam’s head.
“No,” he shrugs his arm away, “I’ll be right now.”
My face burns red with anger. He’s brushing me off, and I need to leave before I say something I shouldn’t, before I scare Luke or the boys if they overhear me. “I’m going for a walk,” I yell at his back. Sam’s shoulders rise. He wants to tell me no, but not badly enough to start an argument.
“I can go with you,” Lori chimes in.
I shake my head. “Someone needs to keep them in line. I won’t go far.”
She crosses her arms in disagreement, but I turn on my heel in a huff, storming off at a fast pace before anyone can follow.
“We don’t know-” Sam starts, but I’m out of the clearing before he can continue. He wants to warn me it’s dangerous, but there isn’t a step I take without some danger following.
My pace slows when I’m sure he’s not chasing after me. I want to visit the others, but that’s not a good idea. Part of our shore is elevated and pitches out more into the ocean. Rocky waves make it difficult to fish, but it would provide a better view of the ship. Maybe I could get close enough to see a giant sign that reads,Dean’s dead. I don’t know, but it’s something to do. I need to be closer to it.
What am I trying to see?
If nothing more than blowing off steam comes from the trek, I can live with that. It’s further out than Sam would want me to go, but I’m not worried.
The typical twenty-minute walk takes me longer, my frustration fading with each step. Considering how caught up men get with dumb toys, I doubt any of them notice my absence. I make it through the brush to the open sandy beach, feeling better. I’m not always right, even though I have a leg up with my visions. Sam has a right to have concerns — to disagree.
The Galene bobs in the distance, and my vantage point makes its hull appear crisper and more in focus. Nothing new comes to me as I stand at the edge of the pebbled shore. The waves pull in, splashing cold water on my ankles, pulling my heels further down in the sand as the water draws back outward.
We have decisions to make, and visions fog my thoughts. For so many years, I was certain the future couldn’t be altered, my fate etched in stone. Even now the reality that things could be different, that I am part of changing my fate… It’s hard to imagine.
A pang hits my belly as Morgan stirs inside. I run my hand along my stomach, giving her a slight push on one side. It cramps and a sharp pain shoots through my core. The rain changes from a mist to larger droplets that sting my shoulders. I give the boat another glare, no more certain of what to do next than when I spoke with Sam an hour before.
I turn to head back, and my first step sends a sharp pull between my legs. I bring both hands to my stomach, which now feels rigid beneath my fingers. A few more steps and I vomit without warning.
Fuck.
It’s maybe two miles from our house, and that’s a long distance to make alone in this condition. I could go through the treeline and cut a mile off the trip. That path is thick with foliage and my legs will suffer the consequences, but I can’t stay here. Sam will look for me soon and send someone back to the house, but he won’t think of searching out here.
I groan, knowing what I should do, and what I have to do. At some point, I’ll run and I quiet my mind to accept that fact. I never expected this to happen so soon. A few months to go still, but I know in my gut this is it.
I will give birth tonight with cuts from the brush covering my legs, but she’ll be perfect. Maybe small, but just fine. This vision isn’t changing, and the future I saw so long ago is here.
Rain falls harder as I quicken my pace to the tree line. Another contraction just as I step into the dense woods. I steady myself by a tree and breathe, turning back towards the ship. Its lights reflect in an oval on the ocean water. Waves break the pattern closer to shore, but one side has lights flickering out of sequence. I lift my body when the contraction subsides and squint my eyes at the front left corner of the hull.
Brighter lights reach out on the water in a beam that moves in our direction. They create a reflection out of sequence from the waves like a shooting star stands out from its kin in the sky.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to turn away and start my journey back. Trees shield me from the piercing rain and I run, knowing what’s happening behind me.
