The Forbidden Trilogy (54 page)

For breakfast? Well, not for me to judge.

She'd been a rock the last few months, helping in so many
ways.

It seemed this walk to the clinic would be my coming out
party, in a manner of speaking. By the time we arrived, everyone in school knew
the baby was coming.

Brad walked down the hall quickly, and stopped to hug me.
"I just heard. Got here as quickly as I could. You okay?"

I didn't know how to answer that. Brad had been Drake's best
friend their whole lives, and had helped us both when we escaped the
Rent-A-Kid's evil baby-making clinic. He'd been indispensible as a friend, and
a huge support to our cause with his blog, which grew in popularity daily.
Still, I wanted his best friend, not him. He knew it too, but did his best to
be there for me and the baby during this whole ordeal. "Yeah, I'm okay.
And I'm so glad you're here. Just... you know, cover your eyes if bits are
exposed." I cringed at the thought of people, even Susie, seeing so...
much of me.

He chuckled and put his arm around me. "I'll make sure
no one looks."

We walked to the clinic together, and I tried to smile as
more well-wishers passed by, but their thoughts swirled through my mind. They
were worried about me and the baby, and more than a few wondered if the baby
would even be normal.

No one knew what to expect when Ana arrived. She was a
mystery to everyone, but to me... I didn't even know. She was just mine. Mine
to love and protect and raise. Mine.

But she should have been ours.
Oh, Drake.

I set aside all thoughts of him as Susie led me to the bed
I'd be using for the labor. After a full exam, she smiled. "You're eight
centimeters dilated, Sam. She's coming soon."

That meant... well, yeah, that meant things down there were
preparing for a baby to push through.
Oh boy!

Where the hell are Luke and Lucy? I need them!

The sun beat down on Lucy's face, hot and bright. Something
stung her cheek and she slapped herself without meaning to. That woke her up.
In a panic, she opened her eyes and looked around.

Where am I?

Memories trickled into her... the dark water rushing to meet
them. Fear, panic.

Luke's power held out just long enough. Their drop through
the sky had slowed, allowing them to hit the water with less force.

Both conscious now, they released each other. Luke worked to
unhook Lucy from her parachute before the mass of sinking nylon pulled her down
to the bottom of the ocean.

Lucy looked up, searching for Beleth, the man named after a
fallen angel, the man who could change his body into anything, and even add
wings. But the night did not yield its secrets to her.

Only the light of the full moon prevented them from drowning
in darkness.

"Luke, we have to swim. There must be a shore somewhere
close. Robert told Beleth we were near the base, so we have to be near
land."

Luke grunted, probably too tired to speak.

She listened carefully and thought she detected the sound of
lapping waves. That must mean a shore. With one arm over the other, she pushed
her tired, cold body to swim, grateful that they'd at least been wearing their
gear when all this happened.

Luke swam by her side.

Lucy's backpack weighed her down, making each stroke harder,
but she refused to let it go. The sphere in her pack pulsed softly, sending her
a warm, glowing energy that kept her from freezing in the icy water.

Luke lagged behind, drained by the use of his power and the
torture he'd endured.

She reached out for him. "Come on, you can do it. I
think I hear the shore."

"What's it saying to you?"

"Haha, you're so freaking funny. You should save your
strength for swimming."

Rain beat down on them and the water surged and fought
itself, fed by the energy of the storm.

Muscles burned, eyes grew heavy, but still they pushed.

When Lucy felt the solidness of earth under her feet, she
nearly passed out in relief, but they could still drown in this water.
"We're almost there. You can walk now."

Luke stumbled and she caught him and helped him to shore.
They collapsed on the wet sand, too tired to find shelter or food.

Too tired to do anything but pass out.

***

Crystal blue waters lapped against the pale sand. To Lucy's
left, a rocky cliff jutted into the water and a water fall fell from it,
filling the quiet morning with the sound of water splashing. Inland, a forest,
or maybe jungle was a better word, blocked her view of anything beyond, filling
her vision with trees that created a canopy over the land. To both sides of
her, the watery edge curved around, making her think they were probably on one
of the smaller islands in Hawaii. Though she'd traveled the world many times
for assignments, she'd never been to Hawaii. This wasn't exactly how she'd
envisioned her dream vacation.

Luke groaned and sat up, joining Lucy in her survey of their
surroundings. "Morning, Sis. You survive okay?"

She stretched out her body and mentally scanned all
important parts to make sure she hadn't sustained any serious injury.
Everything hurt, but nothing felt injured. "Yeah. Sore, tired and thirsty,
but I'll live. What about you?"

He'd had it worse, and Lucy worried about the dark circles
under his eyes and how pale his face had gotten. Even his bright blue eyes had
lost some of their spark, and now looked washed out and tired.

"I'll be fine. But yeah, I'm thirsty as hell."

Nothing like swimming through salt water and running for
your life to dehydrate you.
The more Lucy thought about water, the more she
craved it. How long could someone survive without water? Her survival teacher
had said they could live without water for maybe three days, under optimal
circumstances. She considered the state of her body and the level of
dehydration she already suffered from.

Yeah, no. I won't make it three days.
And by the
looks of Luke, he had even less time.

No matter, as she didn't intend to be stranded that long,
and they could surely find some fresh water somewhere.

She rose to her feet, grunting under the pain of exhausted
muscles, and pulled Luke up. "Time to hunt for water."

The walk gave them both a chance to explore the island and
stretch their bruised and tired bodies. Lucy led them towards the waterfall
she'd seen, in hopes that it was fresh water and not salt. "It looks
pretty close, maybe a ten- or fifteen-minute hike?" Her wetsuit clung to
her in uncomfortable ways, but she was loathe to change into clean clothes
until she could rinse the salt and sand from her body.

An hour into the walk, she began regretting her choice to
hike in the wetsuit.

Another half hour and they finally arrived at a small lake
fed from a waterfall above, and the lake in turn fed the waterfall she had seen
from shore. For a moment, she forgot about her thirst and admired the beauty of
her surroundings. The water caught the sun and shimmered like liquid crystal.
The rocky shore of the lake had a colorful assortment of rocks that, when wet,
shone like gems.

They approached and looked into the lake, at their own
reflections.

Lucy wasn't vain, but even so, she shuddered at the mess
that looked back at her. Her long hair had turned into a nest of tangles that
any bird would be happy to lay eggs in, which might not be so bad; at least
they'd get some food out of it.

Luke nudged her. "Just ten or fifteen minutes,
huh?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, then realized how dry and
thick it felt. Her thirst crashed into her and she plunged her hand in the cool
water and drank greedily.

Once they both had their fill, Lucy told Luke to turn his
head while she peeled off her wetsuit and plunged naked into the water to rinse
off the sweat, dirt and salt. She would have given a kidney for a bar of soap
and some shampoo, but she sucked it up and did her best, then got out and sun
dried in a private spot behind a rock while Luke took his turn in the water.

Her pack included khaki cargo pants, an IPI t-shirt, and a
sweater. She slipped into the clean clothes and dug through her pack to find
her cell phone and walkie-talkie.

Luke, who'd already rinsed and dressed, frowned at her.
"Who are you going to call? Everyone's dead."

Lucy refused to think about that, focusing instead on the
mission. "Not everyone. Someone in HQ must know where we are or what to
do. Someone must be monitoring the lines."

She tried the walkie-talkie first, but only heard static.
None of the channels worked. Next she tried her iPhone, but it didn't get a
signal. She flipped through the pages of her apps, as if Apple made an app for
"Escape from a deserted island." With a deep sigh and shoulders
slumped, she turned the phone off to preserve batteries, and stuck both useless
pieces of technology back in her pack.

Now satiated by the water, a desperate hunger clenched her
stomach. "I'm starving. We need to find something to eat."

"Don't think there's fast food here, Luce."

She smacked her brother in the arm. "We'll find our own
food, smartass."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. With what, handmade spears
and bows?"

"If we have to. I have no intention of starving to
death, do you? Besides, we can look for berries or fruit. Something to tide us
over while we figure out our next step."

He sulked and didn't reply, but he followed when she stomped
off.

Lucy didn't know what his problem was, but he'd better get
with the program or she'd have to kick his ass.

They retraced their steps into the jungle, heading along the
shore as much as they could to avoid getting lost in all the trees.

While Lucy and Luke had both been trained in outdoor
survival, so much depended on knowing the unique plant life of the area. Which
berries would kill you, and which would save you? Which roots were edible and
which would make you sick? Lucy had never been that interested in it, so she
retained only bits and pieces of the training.

"We should stick to eating fruits or vegetables that we
recognize, so we don't poison ourselves by accident."

"Wouldn't want that."

Normally, Luke was sarcastic or funny or witty... but though
his words were pure Luke, his tone was more like angsty emo teen. Nothing like
her brother's normal disposition. It had been a hard day and a half, but he
needed to snap out of it and focus. Nothing would be gained by sulking.

Lucy ground her teeth to keep from saying something she'd
regret later, and put her attention back on the jungle. What looked edible?
Nothing. She couldn't imagine putting anything in her mouth that lived in this
damp, stinky place. Maybe they could try fishing, or maybe hunting would be
better. Catch some meat, roast it over a fire. She'd had to skin an animal
before—not fun, but she could do it to placate the gnawing hunger in her gut.

The jungle moved around her like a living thing. Bugs
scuttled through the thick layers of leaves and mulch under her feet. A few
flying scoundrels bit at her. At least they could find a ready meal on the go,
she thought, as she slapped herself silly in an effort to kill them.

After another two hours of hiking through the dense foliage,
Lucy collapsed against a tree. "I need to rest. I'm dying."

Luke sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder. The warmth of
his body felt comforting and familiar. Whatever weird thing he had going on, he
was still her twin and best friend. She was glad not to be alone.

She nudged him playfully. "If we don't find food soon,
I might just have to eat you."

He tried to laugh, but it came out sounding broken.
"Sure. Go ahead and try. Besides, I've got too much muscle, I'd be chewy.
You, on the other hand, have some nice soft spots right there." He poked
her in the stomach and she squealed.

"Did you seriously just call me fat? You're such a
dork. I'm not fat. My abs are tighter than yours."

The banter would have been comforting, if it hadn't felt so
forced. She wanted her normal brother back.

Her sphere pulsed softly, the first time she'd felt it all
day, and the vibrations of power soothed her. A stillness descended on her, and
she wondered if this was the stillness Bethel had spoken of.

The moment shattered at the sound of something above her
head. On a branch sat a giant.... It looked like a butterfly, but about five
times bigger than any she'd ever seen. It had large soft wings colored in a
swirl of jewel tones, and it looked right at her.

She nudged Luke and whispered, "Check it out. A
freakishly large butterfly. Catch it!"

"I'm not catching it. And besides, that's not a
butterfly, it's a moth. Butterflies have skinny antennas, while moths have
furry ones, like that."

"And since when do moths have colorful wings? Huh,
smarty pants?"

"It's not a butterfly, and what do you want it for,
anyway?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could cook it. It's huge."

"Seriously? You want to eat some kind of weird moth?
What if it's poisonous? Thought we were only eating things we recognized?"

"You're the big bug lover, and you said it was a moth,
so you recognized it. And I'm hungry. People eat bugs. It's not unheard of. Did
you know that apes share a very similar genetic makeup to humans, and that if
humans ate more like apes, they'd be much healthier? Well, apes eat a lot of
green leafy vegetables, but guess where they get their protein?"

Luke shrugged.

"You're not going to guess? Fine. I'll tell you anyway.
They get it from bugs found in their greens. Bugs like this one. I'm not saying
we should start serving it for dinner at home, but for now, when we're so
depleted from using our powers, being attacked, jumping from a plane, swimming
through an ocean and passing out on a deserted island, yeah, I think we need to
get some protein in us however we can. And since you are apparently too chewy,
it's Bug Brunch time."