The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (5 page)

“Can you drive me to the hospital?” she asked in a tight voice, “I tried to get a hold of Dutch, but they don’t expect him back for at least an hour.”

“Oh my God… of course… are you alright?”

“My water just broke,” she said. Her voice was shaking.

I took her arm and led her to the front door, “Wait one second!”

I raced to my room and snatched my purse, digging for my keys. I slipped on a pair of shoes and hurried back to Abby, who was grimacing in agony, her hands clenched in fists.

“Abby?”

She looked up at me with pain in her eyes, and clamped onto my arm, her grip loosening a little as she panted out a few breaths
.
“That was a major one,” she
gasped
.

We stepped onto the porch, and I turned to lock the door. I was just helping her down the steps as Ethan came up the walkway. He took one look at us and his eyes flew open wide.

“Uh oh,” he said.

I handed him my keys, “You drive.”

I helped Abby into the back seat of the Rover, climbing in alongside of her. Ethan’s freaked out eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and he started the car, turning to back out, “Are you okay Abby?”

She gasped
again
, gripping my arm even harder as another contraction tore through her body.

“They’re really close together,” she managed to
choke
out.

The drive seemed to last forever, and with each contraction Abby started spitting out strings of obscenities through gritted teeth, cursing out every other driver and traffic light, words spilling out of her mouth like I’d never heard before. I understood. I had a very good idea of the pain she must be experiencing and it made me feel completely helpless.

“Hang in there,” was the only advice I could offer.

We pulled up to the emergency entrance and Ethan jumped out to get help
. B
efore I knew it, Abby was being wheeled into a delivery room, her hand still clamped down on my arm.

“Go get Dutch!” I called to Ethan as the door swung shut between us.

The minutes dragged on like hours as nurses bustled around us, helping Abby onto a table and positioning her feet in the stirrups. The way she was writhing in pain made my examination earlier in the day seem like a walk in the park.

“You’d best tell the doctor to hurry.” I heard one nurse mutter to another after she checked Abby’s condition between contractions. Within a few minutes the obstetrician arrived, cheerfully greeting Abby and taking a seat between her feet. I kept a hold of her hand and brushed the hair from her sweating brow, meeting her eyes.

“Where’s Dutch?” she wailed.

The doctor looked up at us, her face calm but serious, “Everything’s going to be just fine. It’s time for you to start pushing,” she told Abby. Just then Dutch burst through the door, and I was as relieved to see him as Abby was. He took my place at her side and I backed away, forgotten.

“You’ll have to wait outside,” a nurse told me. I slipped out of the room to find Ethan
just
outside the door.

I slumped into his arms with a sigh.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I think she’s having a baby,” I said, without a hint of sarcasm.

Our eyes met and we laughed. We fell into some cushioned chairs in the hallway holding hands. It didn’t take long for Dutch to pop his head out the door like a crazy cuckoo clock
.
“It’s a girl!” he hollered, disappearing back into the room.

After what seemed like a very long time the doctor bustled out and Dutch re-appeared to invite us in. Abby was propped up in bed, magically transformed back into her normal peaceful self. She held a squirming little red faced baby, bundled in a pink blanket.

“We’re going to name her Adria,” she
announced.
“Do you think your father will mind?”

I shook my head no as I fought back tears.

~

When
Ethan and I
got
back to Abby’s, I showed him the last kitten. We played with it a little, trying to get it to stand up on its weak hind legs. It was a spunky little fellow, and pulled itself back and forth between us until it was exhausted, its crooked little tail dragging along behind it.

“Come here,
little
stumpy,” Ethan called.

I looked at him sideways, “Did you just name that cat?”

“I guess I did,” his eyes met mine with a smile. “So, are you coming home with me tonight?”

“I’d better stay here with Stumpy,” I yawned. “I should get the house cleaned up for Abby when she brings your sister home tomorrow.”

He sighed, “I have some studying to do anyway...  Is it just me, or is this taking forever?”

“I’ll be there tomorrow, I promise,” I whispered, kissing his ear.

Ethan smiled, squeezing me closer, “What a day. I can’t believe I officially have a little sister.”

I snuggled into him, resting my head on his shoulder and stifling another yawn. Me too, I thought,
and
a new little cousin.

“Dutch and Abby sure looked happy,” I mused.

“Yeah,” said Ethan, “And now I know that they’re perfect for each other.”

“How’s that?” I asked sleepily.

He chuckled, “Because my dad’s a sailor… and Abby can
sure
curse like one.”

~

C
hapter
T
hree

LANDMINE

~

“That’s great news honey! Tell your aunt I’m looking forward to seeing her… and meeting Dutch too. I’ve had a few delays, but I promise we’ll have a big celebration when I get back.”

Dad’s voice sounded very small and far away on the phone, and it made me miss him once more. I
’
d grown used to being without him, but it was high time he came home. I couldn’t wait for him to meet Ethan.

“
And
when will that be?” I asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. It seemed like every time he got close to finishing his research, one problem or another cropped up, keeping him weeks past his original deadline.

“Two weeks, tops. I promise. I just need to collect a few more samples.”

“Hurry back,” I told him. I could hear some voices in the background.

“Sweetie, I have to run, one of the farmers I’m working with is taking me out to his fields. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I hung up with a frown, uneasy. So much about me had changed since he went away; I was having a hard time imagining how it would be between us when he returned. I was stronger than he realized, and much more independent. I had been hardened by ordeals I had purposefully kept from him, tempered like a steel blade by hot anger and cold determination.

I pulled up to school early
and
made my way to the science building
,
slipp
ing
into the advanced marine biology class
.
I
sat in the back, ducking down and trying to be unobtrusive. Professor Powell came in and spoke to the class about the work they
’
d be doing at the lab. I tried to disappear behind another student, but I think he noticed me. I was grateful when the lights came down and he gave a presentation about the Citation, a new research ship the University had just acquired with a generous
private contribution
.

I sat up in my seat as he proudly showed us pictures of the craft, describing its special sonar capabilities and underwater cameras. The ship boasted custom made tanks, and was equipped with sling hoists to lift large fish and marine mammals. It was a floating laboratory, and Professor Powell would be taking it on his maiden voyage in the coming weeks. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

His voice was excited as he ann
ounced the ship’s first mission:
a fully funded year-long study to catalogue the genetic diversity of the many species of dolphins and porpoise that frequented the bay. The ship had been outfitted with air propelled net cannons that could ensnare and immobilize even the fastest cetaceans for quick capture, using the hoists
to
scoop them up.
They
planned
to capture and temporarily hold some of the larger marine mammals at sea; measuring, weighing, and taking blood samples before releasing them back into the ocean.

I realized it would be the perfect mermaid hunting vessel, and I wanted to throw up. Everything Yuri had told us about their plans was ringing true.

When the professor went on to tout the latest genetic sequencers the program had just received due to the generosity of the late Congresswoman Barbara Watson I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. The lights came up, and several students ask
ed
questions about the launch schedule and various aspects of the research, but I could no longer focus. My mind was racing, my thoughts elsewhere.

What could I do about it? I imagined sabotaging the ship, breaking into
it
to destroy the equipment
and
making it look like the work of
a protest
group… Or maybe I should go directly to the source and hunt down Nathan Edwards
… I sighed with frustration.
A
s angry as I was, I
knew I wasn’t
capable of murder as a pre-emptive measure.

Then there was the muse Olivia. S
he was encouraging this whole endeavor, and perhaps seeking immortality for herself as well. The thought occurred to me that most of the
hybrid
council members would probably jump at the chance to extend their lives of luxury; no doubt many of them could care less who they had to destroy in order to achieve endless life.

I looked up to meet the professor’s eyes. The class filed out and I got up to go, trying to lose myself in a throng of students before he could intercept me.

“Miss Vanderpool–
” he called out as I passed. Did he know? Now I was getting paranoid.

“Professor Powell,” I replied, stopping at his lectern.

“I thought that was you,” he smiled with friendly eyes. “Aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves? This program is set up incrementally, although with your background, you might be uniquely positioned to move ahead a bit faster than the average student.”

I looked down modestly, “I’m sorry I didn’t ask before I audited your class… I must admit, I’m very curious about all the new research. I find it extremely exciting.”

He laughed his agreement, “Oh yes! This program has truly undergone a Renaissance in the past few months– do you think your father might be interested in stopping by the lab to take a look?”

I looked up at him with a smile, “That’s a wonderful idea! He’s due back from his latest research project in about a week. I’ll bring him by then.”

Ha! I thought, nepotism strikes again. I hurried out with a smirk, wondering why it hadn’t occurred to me before. I was sure that Dad would like to see the facilities out of sheer scientific curiosity; unfortunately, he would also be uncomfortable with my sudden interest in marine biology. I was thinking about how to ask him about it when an old familiar feeling stopped me in my tracks.

A sharp stabbing pain blinded me, and I groped for the wall, rounding a corner to lean against the bricks to steady myself.

~

I was
weightless, strangely suspended. My hair was flying all around, waving in front of my eyes slowly. I struggled to pry a man’s hand off my wrist,
one finger at a time. His body slowly spun around, and we came face to face. His eyes were wide open, regarding me with a blank, flat stare. They were cold and lifeless, the eyes of a statue. I
knew
that he was dead
,
and I
shrank away
in horror.

~

W
hen my mind cleared I found myself crouched on the ground, my head in my hands. I looked up, relieved to see that no-one was around, and
I
leaned
back
against the wall
to catch my breath. Great. I was underwater with a dead man, only I was very much alive. That could only mean one thing, and I shuddered down the whole length of my spine.

I had no stomach for sitting through an art history lecture after that, so I left campus early, retreating to the safety of my car to recover. Ethan and I were going to start moving my art studio into his place this afternoon, and I drove to Abby’s, thinking about how much better I’d feel once I was wrapped up in his arms again.

I wondered how he would react if I told him what I just saw, and I waged an internal debate over how to handle it. I hated to worry him, but he had a right to know. I wished my visions were more concrete,
but
they never seemed to telegraph anything
,
other than the fact that more trouble was on the way. Like we didn’t know that already.