The Sadian Chronicles: Book 2: From Mercury To Venus

A New Arrival: Part 2

Ed Brewster rambled on while giving Marianna directions to his sister's farm. All the while she felt as if they were being followed. As she drove her unborn child's rambunctious kicking continued. It slowed a few times allowing her to catch her breath. "Hey, calm down in there."

"How far along are you?" he asked but she looked at him strangely. "The baby," he clarified.

"Oh," she said, feeling a little foolish at not understanding his question. "Seven months, my own little miracle. My loving boyfriend decided he didn't want it, and threw me over a cliff."

"An ya ain't dead?" Ed asked with a look of astonishment on his face.

"If I am, no one told me," she said jokingly but she thought she should give him a real explanation. "Ed, I heal fast, and I feel the child does, too. It's possibly the reason we both survived."

Marianna offered no more information on the subject, the memories of Marcus were much too painful. It stunned her how she trusted Ed Brewster, a man she just met, but he was a lost soul just like her. She was becoming better at detecting truth from lies. She wondered why she believed he was telling her the truth, or she wanted to believe as much.

"Turn here," he said a pointed his figure to the left. "Her farm's just passed those woods."

Marianna followed his directions until she saw a little farmhouse with an attached chicken coop with other animals running to and fro. On the opposite side of the farmhouse, there was a beat up red barn with paint chips peeling. It had an adjacent wooden fence looking like it might topple over at any moment.

Marianna parked the truck close to the woods. She felt a certain kinship with the dark fields. The once feared now revered woods had become a sort of a seductive lure for her. Blood of death and the awakening of dreams held the only spark of life she could hold on to. Now she had something else, the tender life that was still growing inside of her.

"Ellie!" Ed shouted as he got out of the truck.

Marianna felt an eerie chill course through her veins. The door to the farmhouse swung open and closed, making a loud crashing sound. The wind was becoming harsher as Ed screamed his sister's name over and over.

"Ed, wait," Marianna called, but Ed Brewster already entered the farmhouse. Seconds later, a loud scream could be heard coming from inside the house.

Marianna ran towards the house and entered through the banging screen door. "Ed, are you in here?" she called out.

She looked around the living room until a voice called out. "Leave here, civilian?"

Marianna could see a man in a camouflage jumpsuit coming towards her with an oozy. "Big man with a gun," she said, coming towards him. "Where's Ed Brewster?"

"Stay back, civilian," he said, calling her by the generic term for a second time.

"Put the gun down," she demanded but the man did look like he was going to back down. "You wouldn't shoot a pregnant woman, would you?"

"I will if you don't stay back," he said and in a way he was bluffing.

"No, you won't," Marianna said, circling around him but back up even one step. "Now, where is Ed Brewster?"

"Stay back," he shouted but fumbled.

She now had the head of the gun in her hands. It fired and nicked her shoulder. "You hurt me," she shouted looking pissed off. "Nobody hurts me." She felt the change coming on as her fingernails grew, and her skin pigments took on a darker hue. She had become the demon once again. Her victim shrieked in her grasp. She disposed of the body throwing it into a corner and entered the forbidden room.

She found Ed shielding a woman while two men beat on him. "Leave him alone," Marianna screamed, yanking one of the men off of him.

She used her claws to gut one man and threw him towards the window. Ed came out of the shadows equally angered by the treatment he received from the men. His arm grew three times its normal size and he raised it and pounded the man onto the floor.

With the silence of the calm but violent air Marianna ceased her monster form and returned to her human one.

"Eddie, who is this?" Ellie asked, rising clumsily from her haven corner.

"My guardian angel, Ellie." Ed came towards Marianna, but she stepped back. "Are ya alright, ma'am?"

"No, I promised myself I would never do that again." She put her head in her hands and turned away in shame.

"You saved our lives," Ellie said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's your name, girl?"

Marianna turned towards her ready to speak, but Ed beat her to it "Fanta," he said, "An angel sent from heaven."

"Yeah, she sure is," Ellie said looking relieved that the danger was over. "Now, what we gonna do about these here trespassers?"

"Bury them and forget that they were ever here," Marianna said without even thinking twice.

"Fanta, what are ya sayin', girl?" Ellie asked looking shocked that she would suggest such a thing.

"We should call the sheriff," Ed suggested making a beeline for the phone. She noticed that had one of these old rotary models.

"You do that, and we'll all end up dead," She said and Ed stopped cold after picking up the receiver. "Think about it. Those men were with the United States Army. Local authorities won't protect you from the damn government. Best thing the two of you could do is bury these three goofballs and get the hell out of here."

"They're dead," Ellie said. "Once they don't come back..."

"They'll send more," Marianna said with an intense look in her eye. "They always do."

"Fanta's right," Ed said and put the receiver to phone down. "If I hadn't come back here..."

"Eddie, if ya didn't I'd be dead, and...." Ellie couldn't continue. The reality of the situation must have hit her at that moment.

Through their mock argument, Marianna slumped over whaling in pain, while a puddle of water stained the floor.

"Oh, my goodness, Eddie, she's havin' a baby," Ellie shouted and came towards her.

"It's too soon," Marianna screamed as the pain hit her.

"Not accordin' to the youngin'," Ellie said and put her arm around Marianna for support. "Now, come on in the bedroom and lie down." Ellie led her into the other room. Once inside she shouted to Ed, "Clean up this mess, will ya?"