As I looked around the room at my wife, sister, and our dearest friends, I couldn’t help but embrace the bittersweet feelings that surrounded this day. My 32nd birthday; the final birthday that I would ever spend without having the additional title of “Mom”. It was such a terrifying, yet exhilarating thought. Nikki and I knew we wanted to have a family together, but neither of us felt confident, as we were about to become first-time moms. We had done a lot with our lives already; traveled the world, found jobs that kept us fed, cultivated passions that brought joy into our lives, and of course, loved each other enough to make a life-long commitment to one another. Having this baby together was to be our next big adventure.
While I was excited to start this next chapter with her, I couldn’t help but mourn the spontaneous life we were leaving behind. I looked at each of my friends, pondering the experiences that I would miss out on them in the future due to my responsibilities as a mother. My friend Bailie caught my eye and beamed her warm smile at me. That loving look was enough to bring me back to the moment. After so many years, dreaming of having a loving family of my own, I finally felt like I had one. One that now I was adding to, in my own way. I grinned back at Bailie and put my hand to my stomach as I felt my baby stir against my abdomen. Those kicks had been so exciting the first time they had happened, so gentle, but now they felt like our baby was trying out for their first soccer team. I winced momentarily, trying to hide the grimace behind my smile as Anna handed me my next gift. I could feel Nikki giving me a side glance, noticing something felt off, as I powered through and tore into the brightly colored wrapping paper. It was a collection of snacks, a thoughtful letter, and a journal from my friend Chelsea.
Anna passed me another, this one with a large bow on top. “This one’s from me!” Hollered Tiffany from across the room, excited to continue to show off her thoughtful skill of gift-giving. I smiled back at her, knowing that this was her love language; it was how she communicated the words she never quite felt comfortable saying out loud. As I popped open the top of the box, I recognized the cover of a book I had pointed out to Tiffany at a small shop a few months ago. “Of course you remembered,” I grinned at her. I pawed through the paper in the box, excited to see her next sentimental gift. Suddenly, the kicks of pain I had been feeling a few minutes ago returned with a vengeance. Then, the seat under me felt wet. As a cramping pain ripped through my lower abdomen, I gasped and dropped the box of gifts onto the floor. The room went silent, aside from the distant “Babe, are you okay?” I could barely hear from Nikki beside me. Through gritted teeth, I gasped “Honey, I think something’s wrong. The baby was kicking really hard and now my abdomen feels like it’s splitting open.” Nikki grabbed my hand and everything started to go blurry around me.
The silence was deafening, until Bailie announced, “Shannon, I think your water just broke. It might be time to go to the hospital”. Through the blur, I could feel the collective gasp in the room. “Isn’t she still a month away from her due date?” I heard someone whisper through this new fog. Everyone started moving at once. Nikki grabbed my face and stared into my eyes for a few moments, enough to recenter me, before she dashed to the kitchen to throw together a bag and get the car keys. Bailie rushed to my side in her absence, speaking soothingly as she walked me through what was going to happen next. Things after that got a bit blurry until suddenly, Nikki and Bailie were helping me walk to the car, one on either side. Everyone was gathered around me outside now. As I looked around at this chosen family of mine one last time, I knew that our baby was going to be born into a world full of so much unconditional love. Bailie closed the door and Nikki pressed on the gas.
Her heart pounded as she raced up the final flight of stairs; in front of her stood the last locked door that she needed to hack into, in order to catch up to Drath. After all the decoding, puzzle-solving, and other decision making she had already made in the last 48 hours, this final task seemed impossible, but she knew it was necessary. She held her magnetic tool towards the lock and worked her magic in the connected digital interface for the tool. After what seemed like endless moments, she heard the final click. She was in. She shoved the tool back into her belt for safe-keeping. Then, she shoved the door open and darted inside the room. It was dark inside, and quiet. Too quiet. Suddenly, as she stepped further into the room, she heard that final puzzle close and “click” locked again. She swore silently to herself. Had he known she would make it here this quickly after all?
Before she could gather her thoughts, the room suddenly burst full of light. The metal shudders blocking out the full wall windows were crawling open silently, but the sudden brightness filled her senses to the point where everything seemed loud. She blinked hard to try to reorient herself to the room. As her senses came back to her and her heart rate was finally feeling manageable, she spotted him. There was Drath, in his dark glory, pawing carefully into the room. The smirk on his face was the first thing she noticed, and her body burned with rage.
“You’ve finally caught up to me, eh? Were the breadcrumbs I left behind more difficult to follow than I had intended?” He scoffed.
Her hatred grew stronger than she thought it could. He stepped into the center of the room, and she braced her whole body and tried to recenter her energy in a stable stance, prepared to end this pest once and for all.
“I’d be careful if I were you... one move and our planet gets wiped of all life.” He warned, noticing her attempts.
“Was this your plan all along?” She snarled
He raised an eyebrow at her, “Is that a genuine question? Of course it was. I thought I made that rather obvious?”
“I see you haven’t changed one bit.”
“And why would I do that? I am quite fond of myself, actually.”
Despite her mental exhaustion, she had to think fast. Up until a few moments ago, she and her team had been certain that they had had the advantage of surprise; they were convinced that Drath would anticipate them taking longer to reach him than they could. With that certainty disproven, their strategies were no longer viable. Although she could not fully tense her body to pull in energy, she could slowly filter it in through her pores. Perhaps, if she could delay him long enough, she could gather enough to throw him off balance.
“So what was the point of this? If you intended to destroy all living beings this whole time, why would you even bother leaving breadcrumbs?” She asked, trying to buy time.
“My dear, I don’t think you realize how fun it has been to watch you struggle. Very few beings have ever been as successful as you at following my trails and solving my little gifts.”
“How many others have you left trails for? Is it really all just for fun?”
“When you’ve been living for as long as I have, you have to find your entertainment somewhere. I think you have inspired my puzzles more than anyone else; I’ve felt confident that you would solve them and find your way to me. Really, you played your hand too soon in our little game. If you hadn’t let me onto your genius so quickly, perhaps you actually could have caught me by surprise today and saved your pitiful world.”
“So, you’re saying I was too smart for my own good?”
“Heroes like you always are. You always assume that your intellect, or your passion, or your care for other people, somehow sets you beyond even the strongest villain. I’m sorry to break it to you, but even you aren’t special enough to stop me! This has been fun, but unfortunately our games are over.”
This final, condescending speech was just long enough to gather what she needed to shoot a bolt of energy powerful enough to clip Drath’s neck. Blood shot forth instantly, spurting onto the floor.
