Radioactive - Book 1: Birth 🪼

Twenty Eight

R
I'm still affected by the poison from Triffin but I'm able to gather enough strength to stand. When I see Triffin attacking Nalak, I seem to find the adrenaline I need and rush to the kitchen, grabbing the butcher knife. I run back in and use my added strength to drive the knife into the middle of Triffin's back. He screeches as Nalak practically crumbles to the ground, two puncture wounds on his neck oozing two lines of blood. I run to him and can see his eyes beginning to droop.
"Come on!" I yell. He looks up at me and I hold out my hand. "Come with me if you want to live!"
I don't mean to steal a line from a movie but the situation is pretty much this: if he stays, he and his baby will die. He lifts his hand and grabs mine weakly. I grab it back and pull him up, his full bodyweight colliding into me. I stumble backwards, but I finally get his arm around my shoulder so that I can take him out of the house. I have no idea where we are; hopefully, we're still in the city. I open the door and find that we are... on the outskirts of the city. I roll my eyes at the cruel irony of it but I look at Nalak, who seems to have gotten a little strength back.
"You alright?"
"No... I just had some dude suck on my neck to drain my blood. I'm pretty not okay." He growls, glancing at me.
I chuckle. "Sorry, I guess that was a stupid question. Either way, can you walk a little?"
"Just enough."
"Well, I'm running off adrenaline, so pretty soon I'll be as knobby kneed as you are at the moment. Help me out a little so that we can head back."
"Head back? Head back where?" he asks, looking around for the first time since we got out.
"We're on the outskirts of town. We need to go back to town to make it harder for him to find us."
Nalak seems to steady his weight and is moving a lot faster as we walk now.
"R, he's a blood-albino. They smell blood, especially yours. It doesn't matter where we are, your blood will lead him to us."
"Then I guess... I guess we'll have to find something to block my scent."
"Let me guess, lavender again?" Nalak says with a growl.
"I think that's the only way we can truly get away from him. Don't worry; it's only for him. As soon as the coast is clear, I will chuck that thing somewhere else."
Nalak doesn't look too convinced but he does seem able to help me along down the straw covered path.
"How's the baby? You don't feel anything bad, right?"
"How should I know? This will be my first and final. I think this is better left done when we're both coherent and we are safe. Right now, let's just get to the friggin city."
I nod and we get ourselves over there.

*********************

Luckily, what I was hoping for actually happened and we had pulled into the swampy forest area along the small patch of woods behind the city where it leads to the ocean. But, it is a straight shot from where we had tried to stay earlier today. I sigh in relief and look at Nalak. He looks a little sick.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine. Between getting sucked dry from the neck and then running around with a baby inside of me, finishing me off, I have to say I'm pretty peachy." He quips.
"No, I mean, you look a little sick. Are you alright to make it?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"I'm going to set you in the car and gather our stuff from the room, if it's still there, and then I'm going to drive as far south as I can."
"He'll have gotten that knife out by then."
"I meant tomorrow morning. We need some sleep... I have an idea but you may not like it."
"I get the lavender thing, so I mean-"
"No, it's something else. I'll explain it when I go get our luggage. It's a little bit cozy..."
Nalak lifts an eyebrow. "Cozy?"
"Yeah, just trust me, okay?"
Nalak sighs as I open the car door and set him in the passenger seat. I leave to go to our room and find a few pieces of clothing and stuff still left. One of our suitcases is open and so I start to shove everything I can find into the suitcase. I come across a box and pick it up. It says Nexenaf on it and I see that it's for pregnant men. I look inside of it and see two of the pills already have been taken; I stick that in the front of the suitcase. I'd have to have a big talk with Nalak when we were both alright and Triffin wasn't trying to eat us. I found the car keys and snagged the suitcase, coming back to the car.
I open the backseat and throw it in there, getting out the Nexenaf. I get in the front and hold out the pills.
"Here, I figured you'd want these."
Nalak looks at the box and takes it gingerly, putting it in the door panel.
"You have to believe me when I say that I was going to tell you about the baby, Ramey... Honest..."
"We can discuss this later. It's not that I don't want to it's just that we have to get away. We can talk about everything once we're safe."
Nalak nods and I drive off to head towards the Badlands.