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My eyes cut to Derrick’s back and I feel my resolve. It doesn’t matter. Nothing does but getting Derrick back. I ignore the pregnant woman who keeps calling for me and wrap my arms around Derrick from behind.
“Come back to me, man. I know you’re in there. Fight it!”
His body vibrates in response and he groans, slapping his hand on his temples as if he is trying to physically dislodge something from his mind. He tries to jerk my hand away, but I hold on tighter.
“Derrick!”
“You won’t be able to reach him. Not now, not while he’s still gaining control of him from within.”
I growl over my shoulder at her, pissed that my selfish actions have hurt Derrick like this. “So, tell me what I need to do!” I bellow, desperation lacing my voice.
She takes a hesitant step forward, and I glare daggers at her. She is part of the problem!
She closes her eyes and hangs her head for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself. “I bore a mark on my body upon my birth into this world. It signifies that my body is to be the vessel so that when the time came and he arose from his slumber, he would retake this world through me. The moment I found out about this prophecy, I hid it as best as I could. I kept it a secret. My mother escaped the cult with me in her arms and tried her best to make me live the life of a normal human, but she couldn’t stop me from falling in love,” she hiccups.
Derrick’s body falls to his knees and I fall with him, my arms still wrapped around his shoulder, pulling him close to my body as I listen to her tale.
“I thought he was a good man. And he was, in the beginning. Chase was everything you could ever want in a husband. Tall, caring, loving. Everything was perfect until I got pregnant…”
“I need to get Derrick to the car,” I blurt out, tired of this story already. She needed to tell me how to fix Derrick, not some long ass life story. My anger simmers beneath the surface.Of all the women we decide to save, it had to be the daughter of the water devil that wants to take over.I lean over and force Derrick onto my shoulder as his body goes limp. The dead weight makes my feet sink into the sand and my steps slower, but I grit my teeth and keep going until the car appears in the abandoned parking lot. I wasn’t sure if she was following me and at this point I was on the brink of no longer caring.
I squat and gently place him on the ground beside the vehicle as I shove my hand in my pocket, looking for the key. It jingles loudly as my hands shakily unlock the car.
“Are you listening to me?” she asks from behind.
“I’m trying to save my friend!” I growl, aggravated. “You either need to get to the point or go to the cops yourself because right now, you are not helping!”
James
I grunt,trying to pick up Derrick’s unconscious body again. The pregnant woman helps to open the back passenger seat door and I mumble a thanks before sliding him in. When I get on the driver side, she gets in on the front passenger side.
I look at her but don’t say a thing as I put the vehicle in reverse and head back onto the road the way we came in.
After a few moments of awkward silence, she continues her tale as if we were never interrupted.
“The moment he found out about my past, he became distant. His behaviors changed to something I didn’t recognize. He was mean. The complete opposite of the man I married. My initial assumption was that he was having an affair and in hindsight, I would have easily accepted that over what the truth was.” She turns to me with haunted eyes and I can’t help but take an audible gulp. “He was a member of the cult we just escaped. They tracked me down and followed me. They knew everything about my past! I didn’t realize they sent him to make me fall in love, to impregnate me for their own nefarious means!” she sobs.
My throat gets tight but I keep driving the best I can in the dark. How did my simple life turn into this?This is all surreal. There is something she isn't telling me.
“Everything I knew has been a lie. Even—,” she hiccups. “Even my mother knew, but no one told me anything. I learned this while a knife was sticking out of my mother’s back in my own home, where she tried to warn me. They threatened to kill me then and there if I didn’t agree to go with them.”
I grind my teeth together hard, trying to bite back my thoughts. It isn’t her fault. It isn’t Derrick’s fault. The world is a shit place, full of assholes and now we all find ourselves here.
I have to concentrate on what needs to be done and not what I should have changed. If I were to lose Derrick now, I never got a chance to tell him how much he meant to me, how much his presence in my life kept me going despite the stupid decisions I made—despite the stupid circumstances I found myself in.
Derrick was always there for me and I’m going to be there for him till the end. I’m going to find a way to bring him back.
“So you’re telling me we don’t know how much longer we have until this world ends? What’s going to happen? Are we going to get flooded by sea monsters until nothing survives? A sea apocalypse?”
I shake my head in disbelief and remember I never even asked her for her name. I practically know her whole life story from this drive. The least I can do is not call her pregnant-woman in my mind.
“What’s your name?”
She’s been staring out the passenger side window and startles when I ask her. She blinks a few times before clearing her throat. “Delizah.”
I nod in acknowledgement. “What else is there? Is there anything else I need to know?”
Internally, I’m trying to decide if going back to my apartment is a good idea. I was part of the cult for years. If what she’s telling me is true, they probably have back information on everything in my life as well. I quickly look over my shoulder at Derrick, whose eyes are fluttering and glowing every so often. He’s always been a recluse in most ways. I need to take us to his place. It might be our safest bet for now.
