Page 26

I was setting up the flowers in the vase, trying to make sure they looked right.

I glanced at the beautiful dinner I had brought in instead of us going out.

As much as I wanted to take her out for a fancy dinner, Katie needed rest more than anything.

I wanted her to still have a nice dinner even if she didn’t have the stomach to keep much of it down.

I wanted tonight to be special, and I wanted to tell Katie how I felt. That I loved her and that I didn’t want to live without her. I wanted this to all be real, and I wanted us to be a happy family now that she was pregnant. That, even if the start was messy, I wanted all of it.

We had come a long way, and I wanted Katie to know I was on her side. This pregnancy changed a lot, but it didn’t change how I felt about her.

I had set up flowers and put the food out.

I had the candles lit and had some soft music to play while we had dinner.

I was just about to get her to the bedroom when my phone vibrated.

I glanced at it, seeing that it was Katie.

I frowned, confused. Why was she calling me when she was lying down in the bedroom? Was she not in her room?

I answered the phone. “Katie? Where are you? I didn’t realize you weren’t even home.”

Noise filled the phone as if someone was gasping and unable to form words. I pulled my phone back and stared at it for a second before I pulled the phone back to my ear.

“Katie?”

“I…I..I…” I could hear that she was hyperventilating and unable to form a word, and every part of my body locked up. I knew she was in danger or something had happened.

“Katie, take a deep breath in. In through your nose and out through your mouth.”

“I..”

“Katie, do what I say.” I moved towards the front door and grabbed my keys. “Breathe slowly. Calm down and tell me what’s wrong. Where are you even? I didn’t even realize you weren’t home.”

“I I…I went to the lab.”

I scowled. She was supposed to stay home and relax, so why did she go to the lab?

“Okay, what’s going on? Did something happen?”

“I came to the lab, and no one was around. I thought it was odd…”

That was concerning, considering how many labs they had in the basement, and she told me they always had at least a pair of people down there in case of an emergency. The hair on my body rose, and I opened the door and stepped outside.

“There is no one there?”

“No, I found them….the darkness got out. It…it got free from the container I had it in.”

I froze. Hadn’t she said that wasn’t possible? Didn’t she say that wasn’t going to happen? “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. I..I just…I went into my lab, and it came at me.”

My eyes widened, and the word settled deep in my gut. “Are you hurt!? Did it hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m not hurt. But I found a few people down here, and they were all unconscious. I had to call the police and the Council because the darkness is on the loose.”

We knew that. She only had a small part of it in her lab, while the rest came and went wherever it seemed to want to go. We knew that it was controlled by a person, so it could be anywhere. So many questions formed.

She started to cry again. “I thought they were all dead. I came down here and I thought everyone had died. I thought I killed them all.”

“Breathe, Katie.” I tried to soften my words imagining she was freaking out. I’m sure she was terrified and had no one around her to lean on. I would have panicked, too if I ran across a bunch of people unconscious.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said, hurrying down the steps. “Just breathe until I get there. I’m sure everything is going to be okay.”

“No! That’s why I’m calling! I think it’s coming for you. You need to stay inside and keep an eye out.”

I paused as she said those words. I didn’t understand why she would think that. It didn’t make any sense. But then again, hardly any of this made sense to me.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Henrik, I mean it. I think that it’s coming for you. You need to stay inside. Please. I don’t want you getting hurt again. You’re just starting to get back on your feet.”

“I’m not going to hide,” I grumbled as I unlocked my car. I turned the key, but suddenly everything disappeared.

“Katie?” I said her name, but heard nothing in response. I panicked and realized I wasn’t near my car. I was surrounded by darkness. There was nothing around me.

“Katie!” I screamed her name, but the words didn’t come out. It was like I was locked somewhere far away from my body.

I did a circle, looking around, finding nothing but darkness. Not a hint of light to run towards. I swallowed, feeling panic starting to set in. I could feel my heart racing, and I waved my hands around trying to feel for something that wasn’t even there.

And then I felt anger surrounding me. Anger and hatred. I felt it grab at my skin, pulling at my clothes. It was like someone was sinking their claws into my skin, and pure pain erupted around my entire body.

“They had this coming.”

“They did this.”

“All this suffering.”

“It’s their fault.”

I kept turning, trying to pull myself free, confused as to who was talking.

I knew this anger wasn’t mine. While I had been frustrated with Katie, I didn’t feel this.

This was something that built up over the years.

It was what you felt when you had no other emotion to turn to, or you’d gone through all of them.

The feeling you get when something bad has happened.

I wanted out. I didn’t want to feel this. I didn’t even want to be near this feeling. But it was all around me. It was pulling at me, screaming in my ear and around my head.

“They did this! They will all pay.”

It was like someone was screaming in my head, and I covered my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut, just wanting it to stop.

“Stop!” I felt like my head was going to explode. “Stop, stop, stop!”

The only thing I could think about was Katie. My sweet, loving Katie. I hoped she was safe and that the baby was alright. I never wanted anything to happen to either of them. I wanted them to both live long lives, long and happy lives.

Katie was so strong and independent. If I were stuck here forever, I knew she would be okay. She might hurt for a while, a pain sort of like this, but she would move on. She would keep her head up. She would raise our child to be like her. Strong and independent.

I wanted that. I wanted a healthy, happy baby more than anything. A child who lived in little pain.

I could see it. I could see them running around the house, talking about science.

I could see a little girl walking after her, asking Katie for answers to equations.

She’d have her hair in pigtails. She could wear a little white lab coat and spout numbers like they made sense.

She would teach her how to play the flute and how to speak French.

I could see her being the sweetest kid, never judging people.

And Katie. She’d be so happy. She might have lost me, but she had a beautiful piece of something we made. She had our child. She’d squeeze them tightly every morning and kiss them goodnight each evening.

I could see her with a boy cheering on the side of the soccer field. She’d scream for him to run and to kick the ball. She’d already taught him the best moves and the way to get a goalie with math. He’d kick the puck into the goalie and everyone would cheer, but she would cheer the loudest.

But he’d run to her. He’d yell that he made it. That he scored. She’d hug him so tightly and tell him she loved him. Our child would cover them both in mud, but she was okay with that. In the end, she had him. She may not have me, but she had our child.

I could picture a life where she would be happy. No matter what, she wouldn’t be alone. That mattered more than anything. That mattered more than my being free. She is finally happy. Finally, having someone to love.

“Henrik.”

I could almost hear her. I was sure of it. Maybe it was a new taunt of the darkness. Perhaps instead of pain, I would have to think I could hear her calling my name, and she wasn’t. It was just a trick.

“Henrik, please.”

Why did she sound so scared? She sounded like she was afraid. It wasn’t what I pictured.

“Henrik, please. Come back to me.”

My body stiffened. Was she with me? I thought she was at the lab.

“Someone, do something!” I could hear her starting to cry. I felt her hands on my chest. I wanted so badly to grab them. I wanted to hold her but I couldn’t move. I was stuck.

I hadn’t told her how much I loved her. She had changed my life so much that I never wanted to go back. I never told her my feelings.

Her voice dipped. “Henrik, please. Come back to me. You can’t leave me. Not like this! I can’t do this without you.”

Suddenly, the darkness crept back and I realized that I was still standing in front of my car. Katie stood just a few feet away, looking at me with pain in her eyes. My eyes went past her towards Sam, who stood just behind her. Her eyes were trained, and I realized she must be using her magic.

“Henrik!” Katie yelled, pushing past a barrack and running towards me. She threw her arms around, falling into a sobbing mess. “You’re okay! I thought I lost you. Don’t ever do that again!”

I was confused. How much time had passed? How long had I been standing here?

She leaned back, reaching her hand up and cupped my face. Her eyes searched mine, looking in pain. “Are you okay? Where are you hurt? Does your chest hurt? Your lungs? Talk to me, Henrik.”

I stared into her eyes, trying to search for the right words. There were so many that I wanted to pick. That I loved her. That I never wanted to lose her. That she was the best thing that ever happened to me.

But before I could say anything, darkness engulfed both of them, but instead of it being pitch black, it was a bright white that made him wince in pain.

I clung to Katie, holding onto her tightly to protect her.

I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I was sure as well making sure that she was okay if anything happened between us.