Being (Being Saga, Book I)

I

Roxa went to her and kneeled. "Lord, if you cryin'..." She waited for her to lift her head, but instead of meeting her gaze, Iela's attention went to the child. They both stared holes at the quiet thing, who was just content as can be.

Iela finally fixed on Roxa, eyes wide.

"...We need to get her safe."

Roxa's shoulders leveled, but her jaw remained locked. " Safe from what? What you done?"

Iela didn't answer at first, hypnotized by her radiating seed.

"...I don't know."

That helpless look on her face was enough to put a fire under Roxa's sneakers. She shot up and hustled to the front door to grab the duffle bag.

"No. I'll get the bags. You get the car."

"You can barely stand."

With a grunt and a grand appearance from the veins in her neck and temple, Iela got to her feet and finished pulling up her jeans. Roxa watched her jaw lock as she made it to the bags as fast as she could. She checked on the life that was breathing quietly in her arms before she headed to the bedroom to get her own packed bag out of the closet.

In less than an hour, Iela had heaved the last of their apartment in the trunk of her black car. It was her unofficial first child. When Roxa found her that's where she was sleeping. It was hers now and she held onto it like no previous owners existed.

"Give me the keys."

"I'm drivin'. Here."

Roxa held the child out to Iela but didn't miss the brief pause when she placed the bundled joy in her arms. They got in the car and sat there a moment, minds racing.

"Where we goin'?"

"Just head south. You'll know when to stop."

They met in the rear-view at the exact same moment.

"Are you sure?" Roxa asked.

Iela instinctively pulled the child closer to her chest. It looked like they didn't have a choice.

Suddenly, a sound seeped into the car, filling it with a rumbling bass.

It was humming. Out of nowhere. Not any specific tune. It just hummed. Steady and soothing. Neither Iela nor Roxa seemed to hear it as she started up the car.

The hum, the voice, was strong. It drowned out the engine and the tires, but the child's ears had perked up as she looked around in wonder. She was the only one that could hear The Voice. It was like a lullaby. The glow began to soften as if it really was being calmed.

The black car disappeared out of the apartment complex and down the street amidst the humming and into the unknown. Into another town and another life.

***

A few sparse rows of common garden flowers added color to a dark cement tower that was at the epicenter of a dead-end street.

Azaleas. Baby's Breath. Gardenias.

The house was tiered, but modest. Iela's car rested in the curve of the inner circle just nearing past where the neighbor's fence separated both properties. Iela most likely parked there on purpose. They were the only Voids on the block as far as she could tell. If there were others, they'd take a bullet before admit it.

The Voice was humming again, a familiar tune this time, but a tad different. It had grown to fit the one being comforted. What once floated, was now leaden with a sort of redundant triteness.