There was a thump on the roof of the house and my heart hammered in my chest as the camel-dragon-lion burst into the room with two friends behind him.
Time to get the hell out of dodge.
I had no idea how to drive. Like, I lived by the beach with Uber and a nine walking score. Who needed a car? But I sure as fuck wasn’t letting that stop me now. Without another worry, I jammed my foot on the gas and prayed the walls of this room were paper thin. My plan was to crash through it and hopefully not knock myself out … just like the movies.
With a lurch, the vehicle burst forward and I braced myself as it smashed into the wood paneling, splintering it around me, but not stopping us from zooming off into the warm night air.
Thank you, universe.
Praising the fact that I was still conscious, I navigated the wheeler down a rocky hill, scanning the darkness and seeing only shadows. Screeches rose up around me and I somehow managed not to scream as tiny yellow lights flickered in the sky above.
The brief hope they were stars was dashed as they moved—hundreds of pairs of eyes—watching me.
Pressing my foot harder on the gas, I aimed for the open lands that were hopefully chimera free. Keeping one hand on the wheel, the other held the shotgun, the butt resting against my shoulder. I’d watched The Walking Dead enough times to know this fucker would kick back at me. Hopefully my shoulder could handle the force.
When a blur of fur and feathers flew at me, I aimed and pulled.
Nothing happened.
Glancing down at the back of the gun, I had no idea what the fuck I needed to do to make it shoot. I started clicking and switching everything I could, all the while steering with two knees.
Another beast flew at me. I briefly closed my eyes while pulling the trigger, expecting that this time they’d rip my face off when the gun didn’t work.
The blast threw me back, the vehicle swerving around haphazardly since I was currently using my knees to steer while shooting. Oh, and my eyes had been closed.
Might as well start texting next, just for the full experience.
My shot mustn’t have hit anything, because they were coming at me again, only this time I didn’t shy away. The next shell ripped into two of them, bits of meat and blood raining across the vehicle. My ears rang as I shook my head.
The baby kicked and I looked down at my swollen belly.
“All good, baby girl. Don’t worry, we’re safe,” I lied.
This was what being a mom was, right? Bearing the burden of fear in this fucked-up world. Little white lies to protect their innocence.
Keeping my foot floored on the gas, one hand back on the wheel, our little four-wheeler left the rocky landscape, hitting a flat barren desert. Using my knees again, I loaded the shotgun with more shells, hit all the levers, and waited for another attack.
It never came.
I guess seeing your friends blown to bits was a good warning.
After ten minutes I started to relax. The sun glowed orange and fiery on the horizon. Day already? What was this insane world? Nothing made sense.
Not questioning it, I drove toward the sunrise and kept my eyes peeled on the horizon around me. I must have driven for an hour before the four-wheeler started to stutter. I’d gone from dry, cracked, black earth to the type of muddy swamp you'd find in Florida. I just prayed that there were no chimera alligators here. Riding into the mud, I started to worry as it got deeper and deeper and the gas gauge got more and more empty.
Finally, the vehicle sputtered to a stop and I chewed my lip, doing a full 180 to check out the situation. What was once a hot and barren land was now … rapidly filling with water.
“I’m in hell!” I declared. “Baby girl took me to hell.”
Come on, Cronus. Come find me.
Chapter 14
Water came up from seemingly nowhere, rising rapidly while I placed the shotgun in my backpack and started going through my Bear Grylls training.
I’d drink my own pee if I had to. Bring it on, you fuck of a planet.
This world was some kind of shapeshifter. It went from snowy tundra, to desert, to flood zone over the course of hours.
As the water kept rising, I eyed the trunk secured on the back. It might float. If Titanic was anything to go by, then wood totally floated. Unstrapping the large trunk, I eased it out onto the rapidly-rising water, and I could have kissed those horrible sins when their vessel floated.
Okay, so now we going for a little boating trip, no biggie. Crawling out onto the trunk, I had to clutch the sides and steady myself. I also had to avoid the small crack at the top where the sins were trying to escape. Grabbing a piece of plastic from the four-wheeler, I yanked up and tore it off to make myself a little paddle.
Hah! I was good at this.
#TotallyGoingToSurvive
Reaching out to the four-wheeler, I snatched up the backpack strap and pulled it toward me as a wave came out of nowhere and threw me onto the trunk. I had to drop the backpack in order to catch myself so I didn’t hurt my belly. I let a curse word fly as the backpack floated away.
Water, shotgun, stale crackers—all gone.
Baby girl kicked and I sat up on the trunk and rubbed my belly. “We’re fine, baby girl, but if you could bring me back to Daddy now, that would be great.”
She went still. Nothing.
Maybe she was protecting me. Maybe if she opened the link to Cronus, it would also open it up to everyone…
Or she had no idea what was happening and had glitched me here.
Grabbing the makeshift paddle, I scooped it across the water, and after a few minutes of this, a building appeared on the horizon.
A large red brick building that appeared to be on dry land.
“Thank fuck,” I breathed. “Don’t cuss,” I added for the baby.
#ParentOfTheYearAlready
After paddling for what felt like forever, my arms ached to the point where I could barely lift them. I had to lie on my back, panting and regain my strength with small breaks. The waves had died down, so I was just stationary floating with the sun beating down on me. I was going to need some water pretty soon. Was this water fresh or salt? Most likely since this was an alien world, it’d be full of crazy parasites and bacteria.
Come on, Cronus. Fucking find me! I’d begun the talking-to-myself phase of losing my mind.
After a short break, I found the strength to keep paddling, and eventually hit the edge of the water.
“LAND!” I screamed.
Hopping off the trunk, making sure the necklace was still securely in my pocket, I heaved the sins onto shore. Having the sins so close was starting to take a toll on me. Dark thoughts plagued me, and I knew it was from those bastards.
What if we never leave here? What if Cronus never finds me and I starve to death, or die of thirst or chimera attack? What if I’m not strong enough to save my daughter?
Trying to block them out as I heaved the trunk toward the red building, the scent of mildew wafted strongly in my direction. When I reached the door, the smell was almost unbearable. Leaving the sin trunk at the opening, I stepped inside, covering my mouth and nose with my damp shirt.
Inside, hundreds of wet books littered the ground—it looked like an old library destroyed by water. Even worse, the books looked recently wet, with lots of water pooling in places. The tide had clearly receded, but it would come back again, so this was not safe.
“What do I do?” I breathed. I wouldn't make it through the night here, and I desperately needed water after paddling.