The Rapture

BONUS CHAPTER - FREE

PEARL

MONTHS LATER

"Merry Christmas," Dumuzi said, placing a box wrapped in glittery silver paper on the small, round table in front of me. It had a dark red bow, all nice and frilly, and my heart cinched right in my chest. 

It reminded me so much of home. Of Earth. After the tight pinch, a flood of warm came, and I gave him a smile. 

But then the pinch came back. 

I pursed my lips. "It's Christmas?"

I guess I wasn't paying much attention.

"On Earth, Oui," François said behind me, fiddling with some silver ribbon a table. She was putting together her own gift, it seemed. Who was it for? For Shadrach? 

I didn't have time to wonder for too long, because she stopped and sorted through a large box of baby garments, all of which had been handmade by elderly Enukis mothers, whom I had yet to meet. She was sorting them by size because Dumuzi and I couldn't go through them all by ourselves.

There were a ton.

Despite her recent busy schedule, she made time to see me, which was nice. She'd been a member of the council for a few months now, and her role was to oversee the defense of our home planet and to work on communication and teamwork. Her most recent goal was to integrate our civilizations together on a small scale, which the council deemed ridiculous and opposed strongly.

She was holding her ground, though, and I knew she would win out. 

She was doing it for a good reason; more numbers, more power. She believed that there were good humans that could learn Enuki technology and prepare themselves for a looming war; one that might involve even them.

As if we needed a war when we were picking up the pieces of our recent global catastrophe. 

Earth couldn't be sitting ducks. Knowledge was power, and Ona would forever be a threat. He had to be dealt with, but the cosmic laws were strict. We couldn't make the first move, only he could, and just as Dumuzi said, it could be years or decades.

The thought made me swallow hard. 

My son would be grown—a child—around the time the war began. Dumuzi was had a plan to keep us safe and was sure that Ona would meet his demise.

I hoped he was right, because this Ona had been the topic of many nightmares as of late...

"Thank you." I cleared my throat. "I'm kind of... gifted out, though. You didn't have to give me anything."

I glanced around our stylish, glittery room at all the boxes, flowers, and gifts given to me by various Enukis over the past couple of months. Even with the threat of a distant war, Dumuzi and his people were adamant about upholding a sense of normalcy.

I was gifted soaps, candies, perfumes, bouquets, jewelry, gowns—everything you could think of. Everybody was excited and celebrating, and all I could do was not panic and pee when I sneezed. Even a present from his mother sat unopened on a loveseat. As I thought about her gift, I made a face because that pinch was back. 

Or was it the baby kicking my ribs? 

I tugged on the red ribbon wrapped around Dumuzi's gift. I sat up, cradling my planet that was my stomach, and raised an eyebrow at what was inside. Man, I was a truly terrible gift-receiver. Was it the autism, or was that just... me? 

"Candies," Dumuzi muttered, looking a bit worried. For me? "Mainly for after the delivery."

Candies?