Broken (Endurance) (51 page)

"Some freak stole my shorts," Makayla joked.

Tamarius handed her the baby and took off his shirt.  He wrapped it around his wife's waist. "This is crazy you don't look like a woman who just gave birth."

"I feel like I'm in some kind of freaky dream." Makayla laughed.

Tamarius looked at his wife. "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

"What? What do you mean? You did listen to me... right?" Makayla asked, puzzled.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I should have taken the time to really look into what you were seeing."

"I don't think we could have stopped this from happening." Makayla turned to look up to the sky. The sun was high and bright while numerous stars twinkled with amazing clarity creating a mythical blend of day and night . "Where are we?"

"This is not home." Tamarius looked at the stars and noticed their peculiar alignment. "I've never seen stars in that alignment.

"Please tell me little green men aren't going to come out of somewhere," Makayla joked nervously as she looked around.

"The most important thing is that we are together." He wrapped his arm around her.

"What are we going to eat?" Makayla asked." And, how are we going to feed him? How do we know if I even have milk?"

"Well, I can find out for you," Tamarius teased.

"Ah...no. I just gave birth to your son... don't touch me." Makayla walked away.

Tamarius laughed. "Ah, come on. It was just a suggestion." He caught up to her.

They walked to the shade of a large palm tree. Tamarius cleared a spot for them to sit down and figured out how they were going to get back home. Makayla held her son and smiled.

"Babe, what will we name him?"

"Solomon," Tamarius answered right away.

"Really?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, I love Solomon, it's just..."

"No one is perfect and he was very wise... the wisest to be exact."

"You’re saying our son will be wise."

"Look who his mother is." He smiled at Makayla.

Makayla blushed as she held her son up. "We have nothing for him," Makayla complained.

Solomon began to cry and Makayla cradled her son in her arms. "I think he's hungry."

"Come here and lean on me while you feed him." He knew the importance of her comfort and wanted to do everything he could to make it easy for her.

Tamarius leaned against the palm tree and Makayla nestled between his legs and leaned against his broad and solid chest. She was a natural at breast-feeding Solomon. Tamarius sighed with utter contentment as he held onto his family and smiled as mother and son bonded.

"Don't get mad at me when I tell you this," he said, "I was told you were going to have this child. I was told when you were already five months pregnant."

"T, you knew all along that I was pregnant? This is why you wouldn't let me work out and you kept shoving food down my mouth?"

"Oh, the food things was all you... or... him."

"Why, didn't you tell me?"

"I was told not to. I don't know all the reasons, but I just obeyed."

"Is that why you were so overprotective?"

"Overprotective?"

"Yes, over..."

"Only a fool would spend his jackpot all in one day."

Makayla understood exactly what he meant. "So what do we do now?"

"I need to find my sword."

"You can't summon it?"

"Not if I don't know where it is."

"Why did you let go of it?"

"Well, I was not going to let go off you." He pulled her closer.

"I would have been all right." Makayla remarked.

"We don't know that, and besides, you were in labor."

Makayla could see that their discussion was slowly turning into an argument. "I don't have the energy to argue with you."

"You’re not supposed to argue with me." Tamarius kissed her on the neck.

Makayla looked down as she felt Solomon release her nipple. His mouth was open with traces of milk around it. He was completely relaxed and comfortable as he slept in her arms. "I can't believe we have this sweet little baby," Makayla said.

"Solomon is a good name for him," Tamarius said as he gently brushed his son’s hair.

Makayla felt every muscle in her body relax as she held her son. She was exhausted and being in a serene utopia made her want to sleep and enjoy the quiet.

Tamarius could not relax, but didn't want Makayla to know how panicked he really was. He could feel her body relaxing and knew she needed the rest. He leaned back and looked out at the ocean wondering about the whereabouts of his sword.  In the distance he saw a great bird, big and regal like an eagle, with blue and green feathers. It soared over the ocean then dove into the clear blue water.  Only seconds later it emerge with Tamarius’ sword in its beak. Tamarius wanted to jump up, but could do nothing as he watched the bird disappear into the distance. He leaned back on the tree trunk. He would have to hunt that bird down and rescue his sword.

They needed to get back home. This was not where he wanted to raise their first child. Tamarius cleared more space beside him and repositioned himself so that Makayla could lay down with him. He placed his newborn son on his chest and pulled Makayla into the crook of his arm.

He looked up at the sky, admiring the unique beauty of it all until he fell asleep.

The Soul Reaper lay face down in the sand.  He’d just washed up on shore. He’d hit the water in an awkward position and felt as though he’d slammed into a brick wall. The current had carried him to the opposite side of the island. Blue men with gills and pointed ears stood with spears in their hands as they surrounded the demon, waiting for him to wake.

They knew he was no good just by looking at him. They spoke amongst each other in their own language. As they edged closer to the demon, the Soul Reaper leapt to his feet and growled at them. The men prepared to throw their spears at him, but the chief approached and signaled with his hand for them to stop.

He had never before seen such a powerful creature and wanted to capture him. The chief could make good use out of him. He told his men to capture him. They threw ropes around the demon and tied him up.

Soul Reaper was confused by his lack of power.  He usually broke out of chains with ease, but in this world he could not. He was dragged away and locked in a cage. He wiped the blood from his mouth and remembered who’d cut off his tongue. He vowed to find Tamarius and make him watch as he raped and killed his wife, even if it was the last thing he would do.

Faking Normal

School was back in session, Max and Mei struggled to maintain a normal lifestyle. Max smiled at his wife as he held her hand. Mei lay on the examination table while the campus physician performed her first pregnancy exam. Mei was a surprising four months along and the expected due date was some time in May.

Dr. Hayward was happy to see one of the Martinez. She smiled at Max as she finished up checking on Mei. "How is your uncle?" She pulled Mei's shirt down and gently helped her up from the examination table.

"He's good. He just got married." Max tried to sound normal.

"Married? Your uncle? Tamarius?"

"Yes,"

"Martinez?"

"Yes."

"Married, you say?" She smiled.

The doctor turned to write some medical notes in Mei's file. Mei looked at Max and they both raised their eyebrows and fought back laughter. The doctor turned back around, still smiling.

"I remember back in college. We used to date." She smiled at the thought of her college years.

Max helped his wife off the table.

"You remind me of him... so thoughtful... caring."

Max smiled politely as she spoke. He really just wanted to get out of there. Hearing someone reminisce about his missing uncle was too much for him to bear. "Well, he is married and he’s very happy now."

"It's funny.  He never went steady with anyone... it was always just a date... except for that one girl…," Dr. Hayward trailed off.

"Oh, my goodness are you sure Dad is really your Dad?" Mei joked, looking over at Max.

Max laughed as they headed out.

The doctor quickly pulled her self out of her self-hypnosis. "Next month, Mei, don't forget."

"I won't." Mei called over her shoulder.

"What was that?" Max smiled as they walked down the corridor and out the double doors.

"Oh, here we go. Some more BS walking our way."

Mei giggled as Renee and Samuel approached them.

Samuel couldn't help but look confused. "What's going on here? Is someone sick?" he asked.

"No." Max smiled and looked at Mei. "We are on our second." Max proudly announced.

"Second what?" Samuel asked.  His confusion was exacerbated by Renee who jumping up and down.

"Second baby, stupid." Renee laughed, smacking Samuel in the shoulder. She ran up to Mei and gave her a hug. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Mei was surprised by her reaction.

"When... who... when is the due date?" Samuel asked, realizing that his plans were now ruined.

"In May." Max enjoyed every moment of Samuel's disappointment.

"That’s... umbilical... boy... That’s quick."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Renee asked.

"Boy," they both answered.

"Uh...ah...we think," Mei added. The campus had no way of finding out for sure.

"Another boy...ah." Renee was elated. Although she still had a crush on Max, she found herself falling for Samuel.  With Mei pregnant, maybe he would back off completely.

"We have to go pick up our son." Max put his hand around Mei's waist and pulled her away.

"See you guys around," Mei said as they walked towards the daycare center.

Renee and Samuel watched them walk away. Renee turned to face Samuel, a big grin on her face. "Pregnant... number two... you know what comes after number two?"

"My number one," Samuel retorted, walking off.

"You gotta be kidding me," Renee snapped. She chased after him, grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "They are happily married. Do you know how hard it is to find someone you can spend the rest of your days with and not regret it? Why are you so hell bent on taking something that isn't yours?"

"Because I don't lose!" he yelled into her face.

Renee took a step back, shocked by the venomous tone of his voice. "This is all a damn game to you?  Seriously? You’re willing to destroy three, no four lives, so that you can call yourself a winner.  Well, you are a loser, Samuel.  Only a loser refuses to see what's right in front of him." She stared at him a long, hard moment then walked away.