dread. And yet, how could he refuse? It was expected of him, just as total allegiance to Xanthia was expected of him.
He walked out of the city, needing to be alone. A narrow path ran alongside the river that supplied the city with water.
Stripping off his uniform shirt and boots, Micah cleared his mind and began to run, losing himself in the sheer physical act of running.
His pace quickened as the miles went by. His legs ached, his side felt as if it were on fire; perspiration dripped from his body, and still he ran. But no matter how fast he ran, how far he went, he couldn't outrun Lainey's memory, couldn't run away from the fact that he'd been grounded for a solar year; couldn't run away from the knowledge that, sooner or later, he would have to fulfill his obligation and join with Adana.
He ran until his legs refused to obey, until the pain in his side forced him to stop. Dropping to the ground, he threw back his head and loosed all his pain and frustration in a long anguished cry.
He sat there for a long time, reviewing his past, his life on Xanthia, the numerous flight honors and commendations he had accumulated in the last fifteen years. He thought of how little he had to live for on Xanthia, and how much waited for him on Earth.
Sitting there, gazing at the city that glowed beneath a pale pink sky, he bade a silent farewell to his old life. If all went well, he would soon be with Lainey. If he failed...
A wry smile lifted a corner of his mouth. If he failed, all his problems would be over.
Permanently.
Lainey glanced over her shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched, but there was no one there.
Another bizarre manifestation of being pregnant, no doubt. Pregnant! Numerous doctors had assured her that it was impossible, that she would never conceive, and yet here she was, five months pregnant, and the father was thousands, millions, of miles away, totally unaware that he was going to have a child.
When she had asked the doctor how such a thing was possible when she had been told time and again that she was barren, he had only shrugged and smiled, somewhat sheepishly.We are not infallible , he had replied.Couples who have been told pregnancy is impossible often conceive once they stop trying so hard, or they adopt a child .
Unlocking the door, she went into the kitchen and put the groceries away, then went into the living room and sank down on the sofa, her hands resting on the swell of her stomach.
Pregnant. She had never contemplated the discomforts of being pregnant when she had dreamed of having a baby; she had thought only of the joy of having a child.
That joy was hard to recall now. She had been nauseated the first three months. Her ankles were swollen. Her breasts were tender. She cried at the least provocation.
She managed to keep busy during the day, but at night she was haunted by memories of Micah, of dreams filled with bizarre landscapes, of nightmare images of deformed babies with blue skin and webbed hands and feet.
She was carrying an alien baby.
Her emotions were out of control, soaring to heights of great joy and plunging into the depths of despair. If not for the support of her parents, she was certain she'd have lost her mind. Her mother came by every day to make sure she was all right; her father called from work, and stopped by on his way home.
They brought her silly gifts to make her smile, and a crib for the baby. Her parents painted the spare bedroom a soft shade of yellow. Her father bought a baseball glove; her mother bought a doll. They drove her to the doctor, took her out to dinner, to the movies.
She loved them all the more for their patience and concern, but late at night, after her parents had gone home, she was alone with her fears, and with the ever-increasing certainty that someone was following her.
Part One Chapter Twenty-One
He took nothing with him, no mementos of his past, nothing to remind him of what he was leaving behind.
Clad in a pair of black breeches, a long-sleeved black tunic, and black boots, Micah took a last look at the spacious rooms that had been his home for the last ten solar years. The walls throughout were a restful shade of blue