Broken (Endurance)

by Thomas, April

  Makayla was in too much pain to wrap her head around what he’d just said.

  ***

  The demon grinned as he saw Tamarius standing there with Makayla. Tamarius slowly put Makayla down. "Babe, I need you sit down over by that tree while I kill this monkey," he whispered to his wife.

  Makayla obediently followed his instruction and leaned against an old tree.

  Maxwell soon appeared, slashing his sword across the demon’s back. Max tackled him to the ground and punched him nonstop. The demon vanished and reappeared behind Makayla. He wrapped his hand around her face, covering her mouth as she began to scream. Everyone turned to face him as he vanished with Makayla into another dimension.

  Tamarius screamed as Maxwell ran to his side. "I can't lose her!"

  "What are you going to do?" Maxwell asked.

  Tamarius turned to face his brother. "She's carrying my child. I can't live without them." He turned around and, with his sword in his hand, he stabbed the earth, opening up the portal the demon had vanished through. He looked back at his nephew then his brother. "I'm not coming back without her." Tamarius stepped into the portal and disappeared.

  ***

  Mei watched in amazement as Archangel Uriel played and talked with her son. Cressida sat next to her on the couch bewildered. "So he is a real living angel," Cressida said to Mei.

  "Yes." Mei smiled.

  "And you’re not a little freaked out?"

  "At first it's a little frightening. You only hear about these things in the Bible or happening to other people, but after the initial shock and disbelief wears off, and it does, it's like you don't want them to ever leave. Their presence fills the room and it's like being five years old on Christmas morning. I don't think I can truly find the right words to describe it."

  "I think you just did." Cressida smiled. "He is so tall and intimidating."

  "Yeah," Mei whispered.

  Uriel abruptly stood up and looked out the back sliding glass door. Maxwell and Max were approaching. Uriel felt their turmoil as he watched them enter the home. Cressida and Mei jumped to their feet and ran to their husbands.

  "Max, where's Makayla?" Mei asked, as she looked past them.

  Max fell to his knees, crying and unable to speak.

  Mei knelt beside him and gently rubbed his back. “What is it, Max?” she whispered.

  Maxwell punched a nearby wall as he began to sob. Cressida knees buckled. "Tamarius and Makayla?" she said, before collapsing. Uriel caught her before she hit the floor.

  He set her on the couch and walked over to Maxwell. "Now is the time you will need to be strong for your brother and Makayla. You will have to keep this family together." Uriel touched Maxwell on the shoulder.

  "What's going to happen?" Maxwell asked.

  "It's hard to tell right now. Nothing is settled," Uriel answered.

  "I thought I’d lost him before," Maxwell cried. "He's my baby brother."

  Uriel nodded as he patted him on the shoulder. He looked at Max and Mei who cried together on the floor. He turned his attention to the baby who was climbing off the couch and walking to his parents. There was a sound at the sliding glass door and Michael, Gabriel and Lahael walked in.

  Uriel stepped towards them. "It is done," Michael told Uriel.

  Gabriel instantly knew what was going on as he watched baby Uriel try to console both his parents. He smiled as he walked over to pick him up and talk to him. He wanted to give his parents a chance to pull themselves together. Max sat up and held his wife. He still couldn't speak and just stared off into the distance.

  "What can we do?" Michael asked Uriel.

  "Orders have not been given yet," Uriel replied.

  Maxwell looked at Cressida who lay on the couch. She was starting to stir. He rushed to her side and helped her to sit up. "Are you all right?"

  "Are they dead?"

  "No. It's hard to explain." Maxwell didn’t know the right words to say.

  "Challenge me," Cressida snapped, now with a more open mind.

  "We chased a demon that was chasing Makayla. We failed to kill him and he vanished, Maxwell explained as the rest of the family listened in. “He took Makayla with him."

  "Then what happened to Tamarius?" Mei asked.

  "He said he wouldn't come back without her." Maxwell left out the part about her being pregnant. Everyone was upset enough as it was. He didn’t want to add more.

  "How am I going to explain this to grandma?" Mei cried.

  "All we can do is pray they both return safely."

  "So there is hope?" Max said.

  "Nothing is impossible with God."

  The three angels smiled at each other as they watched Maxwell pull his family together. Gabriel handed the baby back to his mother. "We will always be around if you need us," he announced to the family.

  "You’re leaving?" Cressida asked.

  "We are being called. Maxwell, we will let you know," Michael said as he turned to Maxwell.

  "I think it would be wise if no one else knew about what has happened today," Uriel added.

  One by one they vanished. Max comforted his wife as he tried to pull himself together.

  Maxwell stood up and faced his family. "We will all have to become very good actors over the next few days. Mei you must not tell Lin. She wouldn’t understand and she would tell her brother. We need to try to keep this as hush hush as possible. We don't know how long they’ll be gone. We need to come up with a story," Maxwell said as he began to pace.

  "Well, they travel a lot," Max said.

  "Right, so if anyone asks for them, we’ll just tell them they’re on a business trip."

  "Agreed." Cressida stood next to her husband.

  "Everyone go and get cleaned up. Lock yourselves in your room if you must cry, but get it out of your system. We need to pretend that everything is fine," Maxwell instructed.

  They all walked to their rooms, locking the doors behind them. Maxwell got down on his knees and began to pray for his brother and himself. He wasn't sure if he would be able to pull off such a big lie.

  Soul Reaper

  Tamarius stood face to face with the demon who held his wife captive. Makayla was bewildered as she looked around her. They stood in a portal. It was windy and loud. Makayla looked back at Tamarius. She’d never seen him boiling with such rage. His sword was drawn and he was ready to fight.

  The vortexes repeatedly opened and closed all around them, revealing a glimpse of another strange world. "Tamarius!" she yelled.

  "It's okay, baby!" he yelled back. His eyes remained steadily on the demon.

  The demon laughed as he held onto Makayla. Her hair flew around his face and he inhaled her fragrance then grinned at Tamarius. He wanted Tamarius to lose control of his emotions, but he was a tough nut to crack. The demon leaned down and slid his tongue all the way down Makayla's shirt, gliding between her breasts. Makayla screamed as the tip of his tongue touched her in places she didn't want to be touched by a demon.

  Tamarius swung his sword, cutting off the demons tongue. His black blood spilled everywhere as he hollered in pain. His tongue fell to the floor and was sucked into another dimension. Makayla bit down hard on the demon's arm. He released her and brought his hands to his mouth as his blood poured from it.

  Makayla ran to Tamarius. He grabbed her and kissed her head, grateful to have her in his arms.

  The demon lunged at them. Tamarius predicted his move and stepped aside while pushing Makayla behind him. The demon stood up and turned to face them. Again he leapt forward, but this time a portal opened behind them. Tamarius jumped back, knocking himself and Makayla through an unknown portal. As they fell through the vast and dark air, Tamarius tried to hold onto his sword and his wife. Makayla was slipping out of his fingers and he had to choose.

  Tamarius let go of his sword and clung on to his wife. He tried to see where the sword landed, but lost track of it when they began to fall through clouds and then into a crystal blue ocean. When they c
ame up for air Makayla was holding her stomach, trying to fight back the contractions. Tamarius had no time to figure out what had happened to his sword as Makayla gripped onto him.

  "What's wrong with me?" she asked, struggling to speak.

  Tamarius placed his hand on her stomach. It was hard and he began to take off her shorts.

  "What are you doing?" Makayla asked. "Look, I know you missed me, but this is no time to get freaky," she protested.

  "You’re having a baby," he replied.

  "What? Did I just hear something crazy come out of your mouth?" Makayla snapped as he ducked his head under the water. Tamarius was amazed at how her stomach had swelled all of a sudden. He came back up for air smiling at his wife.

  "Hold onto my shoulders and when you feel the next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can," Tamarius instructed.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes,"

  "Well, then I hope you’re ready," Makayla replied. She felt another contraction coming.

  Tamarius pulled her closer and pulled her legs up to rest her feet on his thighs He held onto her as Makayla bent her head down and pushed as hard as she could. The baby's head slid out and Makayla tried to catch her breath.

  "What if the demon comes back?"

  "Don't worry. Just focus on the baby." Tamarius looked around them. He didn't see the demon or his sword and worried about where they could both be.

  "I'm ready," Makayla said, again bearing into the contractions. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth as she pushed. She could feel the baby's shoulders pass and his body slip out. Tamarius caught him and brought him to the surface. He quickly cleaned out his mouth and nose and the baby began to cry.

  "He's beautiful," Makayla cried.

  Tamarius kissed his wife. "I love you so much." He held her.

  "I love you."

  "Here, hold him while I bring you to shore." He swam with one strong arm as the other clung to his wife.

  Makayla kissed her son and held him close, amazed at the gift she’d just received.

  "Wait here. Let me see if I can find something to cut the cord with," he said the moment they reached solid ground.

  Tamarius returned with a broken shell, its edge sharp and jagged. He cut the umbilical cord and released his son.

  "I need to push again," Makayla complained.

  "What?" Tamarius asked.

  "Afterbirth?"

  "Oh, okay." He took the baby.

  "I will catch up with you. I need to clean myself up." Makayla swam away.

  Tamarius felt uneasy about leaving her in the water, but decided he would watch her from the shore. Makayla moved further still wanting her privacy as she pushed out the afterbirth and cleaned herself off. Feeling like a new woman she emerged from the water.

  Tamarius watched his wife come out of the water. She covered herself with her hands and stretched her T-shirt down as much as she could. With an amused chuckled, Tamarius got up, cradled his son carefully in his arms and walked towards her. "Did you forget something?"

  "Some freak stole my shorts," Makayla joked.

  Tamarius handed her the baby and took off his shirt. He wrapped it around his wife's waist. "This is crazy you don't look like a woman who just gave birth."

  "I feel like I'm in some kind of freaky dream." Makayla laughed.

  Tamarius looked at his wife. "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

  "What? What do you mean? You did listen to me... right?" Makayla asked, puzzled.

  "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I should have taken the time to really look into what you were seeing."

  "I don't think we could have stopped this from happening." Makayla turned to look up to the sky. The sun was high and bright while numerous stars twinkled with amazing clarity creating a mythical blend of day and night . "Where are we?"

  "This is not home." Tamarius looked at the stars and noticed their peculiar alignment. "I've never seen stars in that alignment.

  "Please tell me little green men aren't going to come out of somewhere," Makayla joked nervously as she looked around.

  "The most important thing is that we are together." He wrapped his arm around her.

  "What are we going to eat?" Makayla asked." And, how are we going to feed him? How do we know if I even have milk?"

  "Well, I can find out for you," Tamarius teased.

  "Ah...no. I just gave birth to your son... don't touch me." Makayla walked away.

  Tamarius laughed. "Ah, come on. It was just a suggestion." He caught up to her.

  They walked to the shade of a large palm tree. Tamarius cleared a spot for them to sit down and figured out how they were going to get back home. Makayla held her son and smiled.

  "Babe, what will we name him?"

  "Solomon," Tamarius answered right away.

  "Really?"

  "You don't like it?"

  "No, I love Solomon, it's just..."

  "No one is perfect and he was very wise... the wisest to be exact."

  "You’re saying our son will be wise."

  "Look who his mother is." He smiled at Makayla.

  Makayla blushed as she held her son up. "We have nothing for him," Makayla complained.

  Solomon began to cry and Makayla cradled her son in her arms. "I think he's hungry."

  "Come here and lean on me while you feed him." He knew the importance of her comfort and wanted to do everything he could to make it easy for her.

  Tamarius leaned against the palm tree and Makayla nestled between his legs and leaned against his broad and solid chest. She was a natural at breast-feeding Solomon. Tamarius sighed with utter contentment as he held onto his family and smiled as mother and son bonded.

  "Don't get mad at me when I tell you this," he said, "I was told you were going to have this child. I was told when you were already five months pregnant."

  "T, you knew all along that I was pregnant? This is why you wouldn't let me work out and you kept shoving food down my mouth?"

  "Oh, the food things was all you... or... him."

  "Why, didn't you tell me?"

  "I was told not to. I don't know all the reasons, but I just obeyed."

  "Is that why you were so overprotective?"

  "Overprotective?"

  "Yes, over..."

  "Only a fool would spend his jackpot all in one day."

  Makayla understood exactly what he meant. "So what do we do now?"

  "I need to find my sword."

  "You can't summon it?"

  "Not if I don't know where it is."

  "Why did you let go of it?"

  "Well, I was not going to let go off you." He pulled her closer.

  "I would have been all right." Makayla remarked.

  "We don't know that, and besides, you were in labor."

  Makayla could see that their discussion was slowly turning into an argument. "I don't have the energy to argue with you."

  "You’re not supposed to argue with me." Tamarius kissed her on the neck.

  Makayla looked down as she felt Solomon release her nipple. His mouth was open with traces of milk around it. He was completely relaxed and comfortable as he slept in her arms. "I can't believe we have this sweet little baby," Makayla said.

  "Solomon is a good name for him," Tamarius said as he gently brushed his son’s hair.

  Makayla felt every muscle in her body relax as she held her son. She was exhausted and being in a serene utopia made her want to sleep and enjoy the quiet.

  Tamarius could not relax, but didn't want Makayla to know how panicked he really was. He could feel her body relaxing and knew she needed the rest. He leaned back and looked out at the ocean wondering about the whereabouts of his sword. In the distance he saw a great bird, big and regal like an eagle, with blue and green feathers. It soared over the ocean then dove into the clear blue water. Only seconds later it emerge with Tamarius’ sword in its beak. Tamarius wanted to jump up, but could do nothing as he watched the bird disappear into the distance. He leane
d back on the tree trunk. He would have to hunt that bird down and rescue his sword.

  They needed to get back home. This was not where he wanted to raise their first child. Tamarius cleared more space beside him and repositioned himself so that Makayla could lay down with him. He placed his newborn son on his chest and pulled Makayla into the crook of his arm.