The Megidda: First Daughter of Heaven

Chapter 7

Jess knew she'd been stuck on the back of a grumbling Harley for hours; staring at the leather-clad back of a man who seemed to know a lot more about her than she knew about him—much more. All she knew about the man who'd made her wrap her arms around him before speeding away from her house, was that his name was Calyx, he knew the monster who had her mother, and he had answers to her questions.

That's the only reason I came along, she told herself for the fortieth time. She'd only gotten on that bike because Calyx knew who the monster was, could tell her why she supposedly had a piece of the Great Scroll, and tell her more about The Megidda—whatever that was.

I'll make him tell me something—anything—as soon as we stop for food...if we ever stop for food.

Did the man not eat? Go to the bathroom? Jess certainly did both of those things, and she hadn't had anything to eat or a chance to use the toilet since the night before. She was hangry and was sporting a bladder ready to burst.

She nearly groaned in relief when Calyx pulled off the road and into a Gulp & Go. He turned off the engine, and Jess practically jumped from the bike.

Calyx eased his large frame from the Harley and moved to stand in front of her. She nearly grumbled at his wary expression. "You've got ten minutes, then we have to get moving. We can't stay anywhere too long." Calyx instructed, peering down at her.

Jess rolled her eyes. "I need to potty and I need to eat, I can't do that in ten minutes, and I certainly can't eat on that back of that bike, either." She glanced down at her barefeet, her pajama pants, and her light cotton t-shirt—everything she'd worn to bed the night before. "Also, I need to change my clothes. There really wasn't enough time to get dressed while the monster was trying to kill me and then you were dragging me out the house..."

After a heavy pause, during which Jess's bladder began screaming at her, Calyx nodded. "Fine, use the facilities and grab something to eat." He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, opened it, and handed her a fifty-dollar bill. "Make it quick, though, they aren't near, but they can catch up faster than you think."

Calyx turned to the pump and Jess took off toward the building, hoping that access to the bathroom didn't require her lugging a key and chain attached to a tire or something.

In less than twenty minutes, Jess had relieved her screaming bladder, had luckily found a cheesy I (HEART) Tacos t-shirt, and a cheap pair of flip-flops, and had purchased two slices of pizza, a bottle of water, a bag of chips, and a Snickers bar, and was dressed and back at the Harley watching Calyx watching the passing cars, his eyes focused and his whole body tense and alert.

He'd said they weren't near... Jess didn't need to think too hard to figure out who they were.

"You really think they will find us?" She didn't really want to know, she'd rather just go to sleep, wake up, and shake off the terrible dream. But it wasn't a dream.

I wish.

The expression he gave her made the blood turn to ice in her veins. "You are The Megidda...they've been waiting for this chance for 12 thousand years. Yes, they will find you, even if they have to burn the world down to do it."

She lost her appetite.

"You...you keep talking about this Megidda—what is it?"

Calyx looked at the food in her hands. "Why don't we find someplace else, someplace quiet, and I can tell you a bit more while you eat."

She didn't want to tell him that what he'd said had turned her stomach. She didn't want him to think that she was weaker than he already thought she was.