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  “Stop it!” Sandra hissed. “Just stop it. I’m scared okay?”

  I sighed. “I know you are. So am I, but unless Darrios and Evan charge through that door before Podredo does, it is up to us to save ourselves and your children...both of them.”

  Sandra turned the cleaver over in her hands. She glanced over at me and I noticed a tear slide down her cheek. She rubbed her belly with her empty hand. “I won’t let him hurt my babies. I’ll do anything to protect them, even if it means I have to kill that son of a bitch with a meat cleaver.”

  Something skittered over my feet and then under the bed.

  “Ahh!” I screamed, jumping behind a chair. “What the hell?”

  Eva giggled and then slapped her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Mommy. It was an accident.”

  “What was?” Sandra and I asked in unison.

  “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to pet them.”

  She pointed to the cage, now missing the half dozen or so little animals that had been locked inside only moments before.

  “Oh my God,” I blurted out, staring at the empty cage, and then allowing my eyes to dart around the room in search of the escaped little fuzz balls. One scurried across the floor in front of me. I gasped, jumping back.

  “Maggie, I told you, they won’t hurt you. Focus please, will you?” Sandra crouched down and hugged Eva. “It’s okay, honey, but I need you to listen very carefully to what Mommy has to tell you, all right?”

  The toddler nodded, obediently.

  “Remember I told you about the bad man who brought us here?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t want to frighten you. I need you to be a big brave girl. Can you do that?”

  “He’s coming back, isn’t he, Mommy?”

  “We think he might be. But we’re going to try to fool him. Maggie and I are going to make him think we’re still tied up. You have to pretend like you’re still asleep, like you were before. Lie on your side facing the wall and keep your eyes closed, no matter what you hear, okay?

  “Okay, Mommy,” she said, her voice slightly quivering.

  “That’s my girl.”

  “Where’s Daddy? Why doesn’t he come and get us?”

  “He’s trying to. That’s why we have to do this. To give Daddy more time to figure out where we are.”

  A few minutes later, we heard a commotion outside and then Podredo’s voice.

  “Take that, motherfucker! The hunter is mine.”

  Something screamed. Sandra clutched Eva to her and covered the child’s ears, staring at me wild-eyed.

  “He’s here, Sandra. C’mon, get Eva up on the bed. Hurry.”

  She snapped to it, picking Eva up and setting her onto the bed. “Remember honey, just pretend you’re asleep and keep your eyes closed until I tell you. It’ll all be over soon.”

  Eva did as her mother instructed, but it was easy to see the child was terrified. We all were. Sandra and I got back in our positions but I doubt either one of us had taken a breath.

  I knew our plan was shaky, but it had to work. I didn’t know what we’d do once we killed Podredo, assuming we were able to. We’d still have to wait for Darrios and Evan to come and get us back to Inland. That is, if Podredo hadn’t succeeded with his plan.

  The door opened, redirecting my attention to the situation at hand. I glanced over at Eva, who convincingly, seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

  “Fucking scabras,” Podredo muttered, coming through the door sideways, dragging a large bundle the size of, oh God, a body.

  He looked over at me, then to Sandra, not giving Eva the slightest notice. “They tried to take my prize.” He dropped the bundle to the floor and then stepped over it to shut the door.

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t take my eyes off the lifeless bundle lying there. Please don’t let that be Darrios screamed inside my brain.

  “So aren’t either of you even a little curious to see what I’ve got here?” he asked sweeping his arm over the bundle like a game show hostess over a prize.

  Sandra looked at Podredo and then to me, terror in her eyes. Podredo noticed it too and he smiled cruelly. He took a step toward me. Nothing but trepidation filled my chest, making it difficult to take in any air.

  “What about you, whore of the hunter? Don’t you want to see what I’ve captured?”

  I desperately tried to hide the fear in my eyes. I didn’t want to give Podredo the satisfaction. He bent over the heap on the floor and pulled back the corner of the cloth. Sandra gasped and wasn’t able to stop herself from covering her mouth with her hands. It was Evan. That definitely changed our plan.

  “Oh God, no!” she wailed.

  Podredo narrowed his eyes when he realized her hands were free. Sandra jumped up off the chair and ran to Evan, dropping to her knees and cradling his head against her chest.

  “Please, baby, please,” she sobbed. “Please be alive.”

  The next sequence of events happened in what seemed like light speed but at the same time ran through my mind in slow motion.

  “How did you get out of your restraints?” Podredo demanded.

  Eva, hearing her mother’s panicked distress, sat up, and upon seeing her mother weeping and rocking her unresponsive father back and forth, scrambled off the bed and cried out, “Mommy...Daddy!”

  Podredo reached out to grab the child, but she ducked out of the way and ran behind her mother. He stomped toward them and that’s when I made my move. I leapt off the bed and with every bit of strength and rage I could muster, I drove that knife right between Podredo’s shoulder blades.

  He grunted and whirled around, looking like some sort of deranged dancer, trying to reach for the large metal blade protruding from the center of his back, but neither his arm nor his stump were long enough to grab it.

  “You fucking bitch!” he screeched as Darrios burst through the door, bruised and bleeding. Two other men I didn’t recognize followed right behind him, other hunters, I imagined.

  Podredo glanced over his shoulder at the men and then back to me, giving me an evil smile right before he changed into what I can only describe as a tarantula, only with one burned up leg, large filmy eyes, and scaled wings. The knife clattered to the floor.

  I froze, my eyes unable to leave the angry, hairy little beast crawling toward me, blood oozing from its back. I heard myself whimper.

  Funny, back home, spiders were the scariest thing I had going. They’d been my worst fear, but now, considering all I’d been through, I thought I might just be able to step on it if I got the chance. Yuck.

  “Maggie, don’t panic. Stay calm,” Darrios said in an overly-calm tone of voice.

  I shook my head, backing up slowly. I heard Evan moan. At least he was alive, thank God. I heard Sandra laughing and crying at the same time, not noticing as the big spidery thing continued toward me. Darrios tried to flank it, but it kept coming. I backed into the wall, nowhere left to go. This was it. Oh God, I really was going to have to do something. I tried not to hyperventilate.

  Just as the eight-legged Podredo came within striking distance, out of my peripheral vision, a flash of movement caught my eye. Almost quicker than I could comprehend, two of Podredo’s escaped pet fur-balls descended on him and devoured him, splitting him between them. I sucked in a breath and then shivered with revulsion. As grateful as I was to them, it was still gross.

  Darrios grabbed me and crushed me against his chest. I clung to him and wept. I gulped in mouthfuls of air, my body racked with sobs; residual terrified sobs, relieved sobs, and happy sobs, all rolled in together. Darrios held me close, stroking my back and comforting me.

  “Ssshhh, Maggie, it’s okay. Let it out. He’s gone...for good. I’m here.”

  Finally, the sobs let up and I pulled away. I took Darrios’ face in my hands and gazed into his eyes, at the gashes above his brow, and the bruise on his left cheek.

  “Am I still pretty?” he asked with a smile.

  I burst out laughing an
d nodded vigorously. Darrios leaned down and kissed me deeply. I could feel the fear and worry he’d felt for me within that kiss.

  Evan, now sitting up, cleared his throat loudly, drawing our attention away from each other.

  “Jesus, get a room,” he said teasingly.

  Everyone laughed. Darrios and Sandra, at the same time, asked, “What happened?”

  Darrios motioned for her to go first. Sandra’s eyes filled with tears. She glanced from Darrios to Evan, then to Eva and me.

  “Maggie and I were baking cookies. The doorbell rang.”

  She sniffled. “It was him, but I thought it was Jeff...Jeff’s dead.”

  Evan caressed Sandra’s face. “We know, babe.”

  “He turned into that...that...thing right before our eyes.”

  She looked at Evan pleadingly, tears streaming down her face. “He threatened Eva. We had to...”

  Evan pulled himself up and embraced his wife. “Ssshhh, babe. I know. You did what you had to for our daughter.” He gazed into her eyes lovingly. “Look at me, Sandra. We’re all okay and...cover your ears, Eva.” I hurried over and covered her ears. “That motherfucker is dead. That’s a good thing.”

  She nodded, burying her face in his chest, sobbing. Suddenly she stopped and asked, “How did he get you, Evan?”

  “I walked in the house and I could feel something was wrong...that something bad had happened,” he replied.

  “I came in behind him and wanted to run right back out,” Darrios chimed in.

  Evan went on, “When I ran next door and Shirley told me...” Evan sucked in a breath and shook his head, obviously trying to calm himself, but when he looked back to Sandra, tears glistened in his eyes. “When she told me I had picked Eva up, I knew. Darrios took off running and I was right on his heels.”

  “We didn’t know how much of a jump he had on us, but I was not going to let him get away again,” Darrios added.

  “He came at me as a plicken, waving at me to follow him,” Evan said. “I was stupid. Darrios was a ways ahead of me and instead of calling out to him for back-up, I went after the plicken on my own. He ambushed me.”

  “As soon as I realized what happened I ran to Brick’s Place to find reinforcements,” Darrios said.

  “Brick’s Place?” I asked.

  “It’s a bar in Midland,” Sandra offered. “The hunters hang out there, along with the bums and other dregs unfit for society.”

  I sensed Brick’s Place might have been a bit of a sore spot for Sandra, so I kept silent.

  “Anyway, Bruce and Tug weren’t working, so here they are, right smack in the middle of our drama,” Darrios said with a chuckle.

  I glanced over at the two men and they nodded to Sandra and me. They stood tall, men with a mission, not to be taken lightly, both of whom I’d want on my side in a fight.

  “Evan, can you walk?” Darrios asked.

  He nodded and struggled to stand, as if to prove it. He managed to get to his feet, leaning on Sandra.

  “Give me a minute and I’ll be good,” he said, noticing all of our doubtful stares.

  I went into the kitchenette and pumped some water into a glass. I handed it to Evan and he drank it down.

  “See? I’m fine now. Can we please get out of here? I’d really like to get my daughter and my wife out of this place,” he said.

  Sandra and I made eye contact. She pointed to Eva, the rodent cage, and then to me. She began laughing, hysterical laughter. I started laughing too.

  Before long we both were holding our bellies, howling with laughter. Darrios, Evan, and the other two hunters gave each other puzzled looks, but waited patiently for an explanation. I wiped my eyes and fanned my face.

  “Okay, okay...We’re not crazy. It’s just...” Another giggle escaped my lips. I covered my mouth and then pulled myself together and continued. “You guys are all such bad asses, and Podredo was such an evil, heinous bastard. Who would’ve ever thought that little Eva would be the one to take him out?”

  Eva smiled, hearing her name, but not really understanding why. The men again exchanged glances, but saved the puzzled looks for us.

  “That thing holding us hostage had a bunch of taluets in a cage,” Sandra explained. “Eva accidentally let them loose, trying to pet them. They ate him. They ate him.” She giggled and so did I. “How perfect is that?”

  Darrios failed to see the irony, apparently. He glared at me.

  “After the last time, the thought of you anywhere near him, let alone his hostage? I really can’t find anything funny about this right now.”

  I wrapped my arms around him, rested my forehead against his chest, and spoke into it. “He was evil, Darrios. Truly evil. This wasn’t your fault.”

  “Yeah, it sure didn’t feel like that a little while ago.”

  One of the other hunters spoke up. “We should go if we’re going to make Inland by nightfall.”

  At that, we all anxiously followed his lead and our little party headed out.

  ****

  We made it to Inland just before the sun set, but by then, Darrios was carrying Eva and the adrenaline rush had worn off for the rest of us. We walked in silence. I tried my best to avoid reflecting on the day’s events, but instead, fantasizing about what would occur once Darrios and I got back to his place.

  The two other hunters left as soon as we entered Inland. Now that the latest life-threatening ordeal had passed, I’d be going home soon.

  We said our goodbyes at the split in the road, Evan taking Eva from Darrios, trying not to show the strain it put on him, as they went their way and Darrios and I continued onto his place.

  The minute we got in the door, the exhaustion took over. I stripped off my clothes and considered a shower until Darrios reminded me the water would have cooled with the sunset. I washed up, threw on one of his T-shirts and crawled into bed.

  All of my earlier hot, steaming fantasies fell to the wayside as I succumbed to the coma-like sleep my body craved. Darrios didn’t object, at least not that I know of.

  ****

  I awoke the next morning to noise in the kitchen. Darrios was rattling around in there, I dare say trying to wake me up. I groaned as I pulled myself into a sitting position. My muscles throbbed and burned.

  “Jesus, I feel like I got beat up,” I muttered.

  “You kind of did,” Darrios said as he sauntered into the room. “Are you going to sleep all day or can we get going?”

  “Where?” I whined.

  Yanking the covers off me, he said, “I have plans for us today, especially after yesterday. We need some R and R. I’m taking you back to the lake for a picnic.”

  Now that was worth getting up for. I washed up and dressed in no time and we ventured out into another beautiful, warm Celio day.

  We soaked up the sun, went swimming, and splashed around in the water like children. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed that much. We talked about everything under the sun, sharing personal stories and memories that we hadn’t shared before. It was cleansing and intimate. As the day wound down, I hated to leave.

  ****

  We made love countless times over the next few days, but no matter what Darrios did, I was still unable to reach Avascon. I was really beginning to think something was wrong with me. I voiced that opinion, but Darrios assured me that was not the case.

  “You’re perfect,” he said, “There isn’t anything wrong with you. It’ll happen. Maybe we’re just trying too hard.”

  We took a break the next day and went to visit Evan and Sandra. They invited us to stay for dinner, suggesting we barbecue. It was a lovely afternoon, so we accepted.

  While the guys were tending to the grill, Sandra and I prepared the rest of the meal in the kitchen. As usual, she didn’t mince words.

  “So I’m kind of surprised, again, to see you’re still here. I mean, you seemed to be in a hurry to get home. Is it because of Darrios and that molterg, or maybe...I don’t even want to say his name,” she s
aid with a shudder.

  I nodded. “Both, I mean that’s part of it. I want to make sure he’s okay before I leave.”

  Sandra smiled and glanced out the window at Darrios. “He looks right as rain to me. In fact, he did the other day when I saw him,” she said, slyly. “Maybe you’re having second thoughts about leaving?”

  I sighed and shook my head. I felt my lips quiver. “No, Sandra. I’m still leaving. I have to. Part of me wishes I could stay...a big part. I admit leaving is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought. I really have grown fond of Darrios.”

  “Only fond?”

  I let my shoulders drop as I plopped into a chair. “Okay, more than fond. I really am going to miss him...I’ll miss all of you, but I have to go back. Every day I stay here only makes it more difficult.”

  “So don’t go. Stay.”

  “I can’t. I have a whole other life that is just on hold. I have my brother and Aunt Gin, and I told you, I made commitments. I have to see them through. I can’t just abandon my other life. It’s the right thing to do. I have to go back.”

  I looked up to see Sandra smirking. I wrinkled my brow.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “It’s just that...I wonder. Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. Darrios and Evan came in with the meat, Eva right behind them, marching and humming. I smiled to myself at the resilience of kids. She seemed relatively unaffected by the whole Podredo incident, thankfully. Sandra and I ended our conversation and finished getting the rest of the meal ready.

  We visited for awhile after dinner, and then we headed back to Darrios’. As we were leaving, Sandra hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, “I hope I get to see you again, but if I don’t...I’m glad I got to know you...even if it was only for a little while. I won’t forget you, Maggie.”

  I smiled, but felt the tears welling up. “I won’t forget you either, Sandra. I’m sure we would’ve been great friends. And who knows, once I get everything sorted out, maybe I’ll find my way back here.”

  “I hope so,” she said.

  I wiped my eyes and turned to follow Darrios out the door. When we got back to the house, Darrios opened a bottle of Mulsket and poured two glasses. He handed me one, swirled his around and asked, “What were you and Sandra talking about? It seemed like you both clammed up as soon as Evan and I walked in.”