The Sadian Chronicles: Book 2: From Mercury To Venus

A New Arrival: Part 1

Chapter Seven: A New Arrival

As the months passed Marianna's pregnancy became more and more obvious. Even being such a small woman at five feet two inches, pregnancy seemed to agree with her. She read all the books she could find on the subject and learned of women being tired all the time in an article she recalled that spoke of the delicate condition, but Marianna felt more energized than she ever felt before.

She would often take trips into town against Carla's wishes. Ty called it the defiance of youth, but Marianna wasn't a child. She was a grown up woman who was about to become a mother herself. It aggravated her to be treated like a child. Even when her parents were still with her and had the means of protecting her she was far from juvenile, but tragedy made her strong. Sorrow gave her direction. Even with all her past mistakes, Marianna felt she was on the road to being happy.

She drove down the old country trail humming to the music on the radio. Some oldies station Carla always listened to. She would have turned it off, but the road was tricky and bumpy with too many twists and turns. The last thing she needed was to be distracted by the radio.

She finally stopped the car when reaching the paved road leading to the highway. She spotted a hitchhiker approaching her car, but Marianna showed no fear although she was cautious. The threat of Doctor Brown was still very much a part of her life, and that became apparent the moment she was taken in by Marcus.

"Ma'am, help me, please," the man said, approaching her window.

She looked upon the man's face to see the cuts and bruises on his face and arms. She said nothing at first. She couldn't even move not knowing what to think.

"Please, Ma'am, they're going to kill me... just like my wife. Please."

She saw the desperation in the man's eyes, and she couldn't deny him. "Get in," she said, reaching towards the other side of the truck to unlock the door.

He took it on cue and raced to the other side of the car to the passenger's side. The second he was inside she took off. "The name's Ed," he said. "Ed Brewster." Marianna was too distracted to reciprocate. She was too busy trying to make their getaway. She could hear the screams of the angry crowd behind her.

"You certainly are popular," she said, racing down the highway. "So why the fan club?"

"They killed my wife," he cried, holding his head down. "They killed her 'cause she was different."

"Not different, just special." She drove faster, steering off the highway and onto a deserted dirt path. When she felt safe enough, she stopped the car.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" she asked, exiting the vehicle.

"They killed my wife, because... because..."

"I know," she said, taking his hand. "You're hurt. Here. Let me help."

"Are you a doctor?" he asked but she shook her head.

"No, but I have other skills." She put her hands on the man's wounds. The blue glow imprinted her body. "Stay still. This won't hurt, not you anyway."

The man leaned against the front of the truck crying in pain, but his pain soon fled his body and into the body of his guardian angel. Marianna took the pain well, but it left her breathless and gasping for air.

"What did you do?" he asked in amazement. "It don't hurt no more."

Marianna gathered her strength while releasing the pain from her body. The man stood up and offered her a helping hand.

"How did you do that?" he asked, but she wasn't sure how to answer.

"An old family secret," she said jokingly adding a little laugh at the end.

"You're one of us, like me and my wife," he said with a look of relief on his face. "She's dead because of it. I promised to protect her, and I failed. My fault she's dead."

"It's not your fault," Marianna said, trying to alleviate his guilt. "We can't blame ourselves for what we can't control."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Marianna, but some people call me Fanta," she said giving both her names. For some reason she trusted this man she had just met. After all she did just save his life. "So, ah, why did they kill your wife?"

"Said she was a witch, but we just farmers with a little herd of cattle. There's been no rain all season. Addie just wanted to help, so she made it rain. Folks say she got the devil in her, so they came with torches and burned down our house. I tried savin' her, but I'm no healer like you. All's can do is cut down trees. Poor Addie, she was so young and pretty. I wish it were me who died and not her."

"Ed, you can't think that way," Marianna said and looked to the sky. It should have brought some comfort, but somehow it just made her feel sad and lonely. "I've lost people, too, but we just have to go on." Ed looked to the ground and away from her. His foot was drawing circles in the dirt. She looked closer and saw that he had written the name Adelaide. It made her think of all the people who she lost and it gave her feelings of sadness mixed with anger. "Those people who did this, they only lash out because they don't understand."

"I know that, and I'm sorry for blubberin'," he said looking up at her. She saw a tear in his eyes that he quickly wiped away. "Looks to me like you're pretty busy yourself. Father must be proud."

"Proud?" she said sarcastically while shaking her head. "When he found out, he tried to kill me. I don't call that proud."

"Sorry Ma'am," he said, and she felt that he was being sincere. "I best be gettin' on, before I cause ya any more trouble."

"Can I drive you anywhere, just in case that mob shows up again?" she asked, making the offer. After all she just saved his life and owed it to him to keep him alive.

"My sister's place, but she in the next town," he said and pointed in the northern direction. "You sure it's okay, cause I..."

"Don't worry," she said and climbed back into her truck. "If there's any trouble, I'm sure I can handle it." He hesitated but walked back over to the passenger's side. "I have other skills."

Ed accepted her offer, although he didn't understand why she would help him. They talked the entire way to Forester County where she learned his sister's name was Morgan Ellis, which everyone called Ellie. She also learned that he also has a brother named Jerry, who was killed five years ago by a bolt of electricity.

"Brewster family curse," Ed said and tried to make light of it, but she could tell the memory caused him a lot of pain. Losing a family member would do that to anyone. "We all got it, even Ellie. Special, ya call us, Ma'am, but cursed is more like it."

"Then we're all cursed," Marianna said as she kept her eyes on the road. Even though the highway was pretty much deserted, she wanted to be prepared for anything. "Sadians is the right word."

"Ya mean freaks a nature, like the elephant man and the batboy?" he said with anger in his voice. He was entitled after what he had been through. "'Sides rag mags, can't say I ever heard that word, ma'am, never thought a myself as a freak, 'til now."

"We're not freaks, Ed. A freak occurrence is a one in a million thing," she said, trying to enlighten him. "There's too many of us to support that theory. It could be hereditary, because my mother and father had it, too. Perhaps your parents..."

"No, Ma'am, just me and my brother and sister, started up when I was about five, same as Ellie and Jerry," he said happily relaying his story. "The Lumberjack trio we'd call ourselves."

"Did anyone know?" Marianna asked as she looked to see the turn off for Forester County. Ed didn't answer, and Marianna tried to clarify her question thinking he possibly didn't understand what she said. "Normals I mean."

"Na," he said and sat back in his seat. "The normal folks in our town don't see nothing. They figure if ya can't see it, hear it, taste it, or touch it, it ain't there." Then he turned to her and asked, "You believe that, Ma'am?"

"I can't easily answer that question," she said, still trying to concentrate on driving, but the baby inside her was kicking her again. She glided one hand across her swollen stomach and back to the stirring wheel. "I've seen too much to be that naive."