The Deathtaker's Daughter

by S. L. Baum

  “Doc?” Pete tried again.

  Opal silenced her husband. “I want to be here. Doc knows what he’s doing.”

  Adeline held the door open while they all filed into the house. Krista directed them into the living room, and Opal sat down in Abe’s favorite comfy chair. Sitting on the ottoman in front of her friend, Krista reached out and grasped Opal’s hands. It was time to find out why Doc hadn’t driven straight to Greenville General.

  No words were necessary. Krista knew exactly what had to be done; find out if something was wrong with Opal, the baby, or both. She knew Opal’s blood pressure had been somewhat high recently, but Doc hadn’t seemed overly concerned about it at the time. But to bring her friend over to her house, rather than drive them to the hospital, meant something must have changed. Krista opened her senses and let herself tune in to her Deathtaker senses. She smelled something new, something that hadn’t been there a few days before – sour and stale, decayed and desperate – something that clawed at both of their lives.

  Chai finally broke the silence. “That baby is failing because your friend’s body is about to reject it, and she might go too… right along with the baby.”

  Opal whipped her head to the side and stared at Chai. She knew very well that Krista’s mother shouldn’t be in the house. Opal, Pete, and Doc were so worried about the baby that none of them had questioned why Chai Vita was in Cedar Creek, let alone why she was on the Webber property. “Why is she here?” Opal wondered aloud. “And what is she saying?”

  “Be quiet,” Krista hissed at her mother. She had wanted to speak with Doc quietly, so they could discuss the prognosis, but apparently there was no hope of discretion with Chai. She’d blurted out the tragic facts without thinking about anyone’s feelings.

  Opal squeezed Krista’s hands tightly. Deep in her gut, she knew if Chai said the baby was failing, it was true. Her eyes pleaded with her friend for the kind of miracle only she could offer. “Isn’t there anything that can be done?”

  “Oh, God. This can’t be happening,” Pete breathed, his legs had gone suddenly weak. “You can help us, Krista, right? We’re not going to lose our baby, are we?”

  “It’s not just the baby,” Opal whispered to her husband. Unlike Pete, she had fully processed Chai’s words and she’d realized the awful truth.

  Adeline gasped.

  “No!” Pete shouted. “Doc, we should have gone to the hospital. I told you I wanted to go to Greenville.”

  “I know you think I’m gambling with their lives, but I really didn’t think there would be enough time,” Doc told him. “Krista is our best chance at saving one of them.”

  “One of them?” Pete looked at Doc in disbelief.

  Opal breathed in deeply and looked from her husband to her friend. Her face was calm and there was sadness in her voice when she spoke, but she was determined to make them understand her decision. “The baby, Krista. If you have to make a choice, you save the baby, not me. Pete can move back to Woodside with the kids, so they are a safe distance away from you afterward. My daddy can visit them there. It’s the best solution. It is the only solution.”

  “Doc and I will do everything we can for you both,” Krista assured her friend.

  “Promise me, Krista!”

  “I don’t think–”

  “Krista!”

  “I promise, Opal. If it comes down to a choice, I will save your baby.”

  “I think I should go get Jim,” Adeline whispered. She leaned over the chair and kissed Opal on the forehead. “I love you, Precious Opal Stone. Don’t you lose hope. You are a strong woman, remember that.”

  Tears spilled down Opal’s cheeks as she tried to smile at Addy. “You take care of my daddy.”

  “You are going to be there to do that with me,” Addy insisted.

  Pete tried unsuccessfully to stifle a quiet sob. He knew he shouldn’t give in to despair, so he wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. Krista was there. Krista could help them. But the awful truth was, he wanted his wife by his side, and he would fight for her to stay with him. He couldn’t imagine living without her. How was he supposed to choose?

  “We are both here,” Chai stated the obvious, as if reading his mind. She pointed to Krista and then to herself. “Two Deathtakers means two deaths that can be reversed. Am I the only one working on a full tank here?” Chai looked around the room with exasperation, questioning the mental capacity of the Cedar Creek residents. “It seems quite obvious!”

  Doc said what everyone else was thinking. “Your tank is clearly not full. In fact, it looks nearly empty. It doesn’t appear as if you’d be of much use to anyone. Can a Deathtaker that already looks like death do any good?”

  “I’ll do fine,” Chai huffed. “I know exactly what this body of mine can do and what it can’t. Adeline, just go off and do what you need to, and you, there’s no need for crying,” she pointed at Pete who, despite his best efforts, still had tears streaming down his face. “And you, little momma, your little dude is on his way. Gather your strength and get ready for the pain, it’s coming soon.”

  Opal looked at her in shock. “It’s a boy? We never asked to find out. Did you already know it was a boy?” she asked Krista.

  “Yes. But you said you didn’t want to know until the baby came, so I didn’t want to say anything,” Krista told her friend.

  “Well, the baby is coming now,” Chai pointed out. “She might as well know.”

  Opal cried out as a shock wave of pain radiated throughout her body. “Oh, God. There it is. I’m in definitely in labor.”

  “Addy, go,” Doc gave the stern order, and Adeline rushed out the door.

  “Let’s move you to the guest bedroom behind the kitchen.” Krista took her friend’s hand and helped her stand up. The guest room was the only place to lie down on the first floor, other than the bedroom Abe had taken over after forcefully insisting that Sam and Krista take the upstairs master when she’d officially moved in. There was also the couch, but nobody wanted to have a baby on a couch. “You might be more comfortable lying down on a bed.”

  “I’ll be more comfortable when this is over,” Opal mumbled as they moved into the guestroom. She moved her head closer to Krista’s and spoke in a near whisper. “I’m serious, you know? If it comes down to it, and your mother can’t get the job done, you save my baby boy. Don’t worry about me. I’ve lived my life, he should have a chance to live his.” Opal cradled her belly and looked down at where her baby was. He was supposed to have more time to grow, more time to be safe in the care of her womb. “You’re seven weeks early. You aren’t supposed to be coming out yet,” she whispered to her unborn son.

  “I promise, your baby will survive. And I swear, I don’t feel your body screaming in distress right now. I don’t want you to be in fear of any of this. I just want you to concentrate on birthing a beautiful baby boy.” Krista wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not. She didn’t get a strong death-vibe from Opal’s body, so she was hopeful, but she could definitely feel the baby. He wasn’t going to last much longer.

  After they got Opal onto the bed, and propped her up with some extra pillows, Pete carried one of the kitchen chairs into the room and set it next to his wife. He didn’t know what to say, so he just held her hand.

  Adeline crossed over the lake on the rope bridge and walked down the well-worn trail. She was moving faster than she had in several years, and making record time. She dreaded the news she was about to share with Jim. When she came upon the clearing, she found all four of them standing near the fire pit.

  Sam saw her first and rushed toward her. “Is she gone already?”

  Adeline shook her head. “Don’t say a thing like that,” she scolded as she breathed hard, trying to ignore the pinch in her lungs. Her mind was focused on Opal; she hadn’t realized he was talking about Chai.

  “What? You have a sudden affinity for my mother-in-law?”

  “Sorry. No. Chai is still there,” she said.

  “Ha! I
did hear you say Chai before. I knew it.” Eva pointed a finger at her father. “Why are you guys being so weird?”

  When Adeline looked up at Jim, he knew there was something more serious than Chai’s unexpected visit bothering her. “What is it, Adeline?” he asked. “You look so worried.”

  “It’s Opal.”

  Jim grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. “What’s wrong with my girl?”

  Addy glanced at Eva, but she wasn’t in a state of mind to censor herself. “Doc showed up with Opal and Pete. Something’s wrong with the baby and Doc’s worried for both of them. He said they’d have never made it to Greenville in time, so he brought them to Krista.”

  Eva grabbed her father’s arm. “Oh, no, Daddy. What’s wrong with the baby?”

  Jim understood. If Doc Baker was choosing Krista over a trip into the city, a death was near. His daughter, his grandchild… It was too much for his brain to try to process, and he didn’t want to think about the awful possibility of losing either of them. “I’ve got to get to my baby girl.” He rushed away from the campsite without looking back.

  Sam and Abe stood stunned.

  “You still need to stay out here,” Adeline reminded Sam. “I’ll call you when it’s over, when she’s gone and you’re safe.”

  Adeline turned to follow Jim back to the house; she wanted to be there for him. She didn’t know how he’d cope if Krista and Chai were unable to keep both Opal and the baby alive and well. Addy shook her head in an attempt to clear it; she didn’t want to entertain that thought for another moment.

  “What’s happening?” Eva asked.

  Sam looked at Abe, but neither of them spoke.

  “What’s wrong with Opal and her baby, why is Chai here, and where are Jim and Addy going?” Eva stared at her father and Abe; they looked scared and they weren’t telling her anything.

  “Addy and Jim are going back to the house,” Abe answered the easiest question, because he wasn’t sure how to tackle the others.

  Eva didn’t like that answer. She wanted more information. “Why?”

  “I guess Doc and Pete and Momma are having a talk about how to best treat Opal and the baby.” It was a plausible lie and Sam hoped his daughter would be satisfied with it. “We should fish some more,” he suggested.

  Eva didn’t even hear the last part; she was trying to make sense of the first part. “Why would Doc and Pete bring Opal to our house? All the medical stuff is at their work.”

  Abe had a feeling his little niece would see through anything they tried to tell her. “They probably wanted your mother’s opinion, and they knew she was out camping.”

  “We should go back,” Eva said as she took a step toward the path. But she stopped and turned around to face her father. “Why do you always visit Chai on your own?” She asked the question she’d always wondered, but had never voiced.

  Sam had never visited Chai on his own. He’d die if he ever went near her. But one year, when Eva had asked why her father didn’t go to the motel with them on Christmas Eve, Krista blurted out that he’d already been there the day before. She’d embellished the story with even more details, saying that Sam had been there to help Chai get settled into the motel, and it was important that he stay home so Abe wouldn’t be alone during the holiday. A quick text to Sam had fortified the entire story, and the lie had been born. They’d all been telling it ever since. Eva always thought it was strange, but she had never questioned it.

  Sam reached a hand toward his daughter “You know why.”

  “I don’t think you guys told me the truth. I want to see Momma,” she stated, taking a few more steps away from her father.

  “Eva, come back here,” Sam spat out the command with more force than he’d intended. “We need to let them figure things out on their own, without getting in the way,” he added, softening his voice. “We’ll go back soon. I promise.”

  Abe walked over to Eva and kissed the top of her head. “Listen to your father, little one.”

  “Fine, have it your way.” It was a phrase Eva had picked up from Tianna, a teenager’s exclamation of frustration coming out of the mouth of a third grader. “Can I go in the tent and play my game?”

  Sam remembered Krista stashing their daughter’s tablet in the tent. Eva was only supposed to get two separate one-hour blocks per day while they were camping. But at that moment, Sam didn’t care if she stayed on it for the rest of the day. He nodded his head. Eva marched herself into the tent and zipped the flap closed.

  Chapter Six

  By the time Jim and Adeline made it back to the house, Opal was in active labor. The contractions were coming every three minutes, and Doc told everyone it probably wouldn’t be much longer. “I’d say she’s dilated to almost an eight, but I don’t do this all that often anymore,” Doc apologized for his uncertainty. “It seems to be progressing quite quickly.”

  “It’s us,” Chai whispered from where she was sitting on the floor. “Krista and I are an accelerant.”

  Opal had her eyes closed, with her head leaning back against the headboard, when Jim came in the room. “Opal, baby, Daddy is here.” He grabbed his daughter’s free hand, the one Pete wasn’t holding on to, and gave it a squeeze. “This baby is coming a lot sooner than expected,” he said with a soft laugh, trying to add some lightness to the gloom that was lurking all around the room.

  Opal smiled. “Babies come when they want to, I guess.”

  “I guess they do. I’m here for you. Just tell me what you need.”

  “I hate to shoo you out. But, Daddy, I really don’t want you to see all this.” Opal gestured to the lower half of her body. “Can you please wait in the other room until he comes out and is ready to meet his Grandpa?”

  “He?”

  “Yeah. They told me it’s a boy.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him.” Jim didn’t want to leave, but he also didn’t want to cause his daughter more stress. He let go of her hand with reluctance.

  “I’ll put on a pot of coffee,” Addy suggested. “Jim, we can wait in the kitchen.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Jim responded, numbly.

  “Love you, Daddy,” Opal breathed as another contraction rocked her body. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

  “I love you too, baby,” Jim told her as Adeline gently took his hand and led him out of the room and into the kitchen.

  Krista’s back pocket began to vibrate; Sam was calling. “It’s not the best time,” Krista spoke into her phone, answering Sam’s call.

  “I’m sorry, but Eva is gone.” Sam pushed a branch out of the way and hiked a little higher up the hill he was climbing. “She snuck out of the tent and I think she’s coming your way. I’m out, looking around here, but I don’t want to come toward the house.”

  A brief moment of panic seized her. “You can’t come toward the house!”

  “I’m not. I swear. But the creek worries me. I’m trying to get a clear view of it.” He grabbed onto the edge of the rope ladder that connected to the old lookout tower he’d made with Abe when he was a boy. “Once I get on this lookout platform, I’ll let you know what I see. Hold on.” He put his phone into his shirt pocket and climbed the rungs. Krista could hear the grunts of exertion as he hefted himself to the top.

  Sam lifted the binoculars from around his neck and scanned the length of the creek. He quickly knew where their daughter had crossed. He put the phone to his ear and spoke to Krista. “She crossed at the boulders. And it looks like she slipped on the last one. The top of the last rock is all wet, and there’s a granola bar in the water next to it. I don’t see her though, and there’s not enough current today for the water to have actually carried her away already. But…”

  “I’m on my way out to find the little sneak,” Krista told him. “Eva took off. I’m going out to find her,” she explained to Doc. “I’ll be right back.” Krista looked at Opal and Pete. “I promise.”

  Opal nodded.

  “Babies don’t wait,”
Doc reminded her in hushed tones.

  “I know. I’ll be as quick as I can.” Krista rushed out of the room.

  Doc heard her offer a quick explanation to Addy and Jim before the sound of the door slamming behind her echoed throughout the house.

  Chai stood up and went to sit on the edge of the bed. “You guys are real good friends to my daughter.” She rested her palm on Opal’s rounded belly. “She’s built a real home base here, and your little family is a big part of that. This new baby will be lucky to have Krista in his life. You know, Eva talks about your girl Vinnie all the time. Where is she?”

  “She’s spending a few days at my parents’ house,” Pete answered her question.

  “Peter Venkman Jones, Precious Opal Stone, Lavinia who wears the pretty dresses… Krista and Eva both talk about you when I visit with them on Christmas Eve. I’ve soaked in every detail, even though they probably thought I looked bored and uninterested. It’s this damn brick wall I’ve built around myself. I was too scared to tear it down, even for them.”

  Doctor Baker looked at Chai with fascination. A different woman was sitting on that bed near Opal; it wasn’t the same hardened, cynical creature he’d met the night of Sam’s accident.

  “I don’t want her to lose you guys. If we have to save both you and your baby, we’ll never know for sure which one she can safely be around, so it would be better if she stayed away from both of you for the rest of your lives. She’d hate that.”

  Opal placed her hand over Chai’s. “We’d hate that too.”

  Doc nodded in agreement. “But if you know your daughter at all, you know she’d do what’s necessary and find a way to be happy with her new circumstances.”

  Opal gritted her teeth and breathed hard as another painful contraction hit. Chai felt the presence of Death. The baby’s heart rate had slowed considerably.

  “I want you to lock her out. Keep Krista away from the house.” Chai looked into Opal’s eyes, hoping the woman would see her sincerity, hoping Opal would understand where the request came from.