"You're crazy. He'll never do that now. You should have shown him you were capable of better judgment, not worse. You're only proving his point by kidnapping me. Let me leave. I won't tell him about you. I need a clean, warm place to deliver a healthy baby. Don't you have children? Wouldn't you want them to be born in a better place?"
"My ungrateful children turned their backs on me. It was my own daughter that told the old king about the waterfall. She betrayed me. If her mate did not guard her at all times, I would have drowned her already. You will have to suffice," he declared.
Maxxus
Word reached Maxxus that Josie had truly found the salvation of Talonia. Acer had run to tell him of Hope's miraculous recovery. His humiliation was complete. Josie had not abandoned him or his people. He was a fool. Ego and a bad attitude had caused unneeded pain and loneliness for them both. He must beg for undeserved forgiveness. If it was too late, then that would haunt him forever. His soul was already ripped to pieces, so how much more could it hurt if his imaginings came true?
Unheeding of the freezing temperatures, he ran outside. The spaceship was dark, and the calls to Josie's communicator went unanswered. After pounding on many doors and waking crew members, he was finally escorted to her chambers by a sympathetic engineer. Afraid she would not answer if she knew it was him, he asked his escort to rouse her. No one answered.
Perhaps she had returned to check on Hope. Shaking from the cold, he banged on Daer's door. Shara opened it, cradling a gurgling Hope. "Is she here?" Maxxus demanded. "I want to apologize. Please, let me in."
"You can come in, but Josie is not here. She went back to the ship to rest."
"No, you are lying! I was there, and she is not. Let me see her, now!" Maxxus ordered.
"Look for yourself. I am not hiding her, uncle," Shara calmly replied. "Stop yelling. You are scaring Hope, and she has endured enough—not that you cared. Call Daer or Kelan. Maybe she could not resist being part of the inoculations or deploying the cure to the atmosphere, despite her need of rest."
"I cared, of course, I did. I could not come. I would have been in the way and made you nervous. You have no idea how confused I have been. I figured it all out, though. I need Josie, whatever the cost."
"It is about time, Maxxus," Daer said as he entered. "Four months is a long time to ignore your mate. You are lucky she loves you so much and did not seek another."
"She would not do that. We are soul mates," Maxxus stated.
"And yet, you told her it was ended. You cannot have it both ways," Daer replied.
"I know that now. Have you seen her? Is she helping you or Kelan?"
"No. I spoke to Kelan a short time ago. She let him know his calculations were correct, then went to the ship. I ordered her to rest."
"She did not obey. No one is in her chambers. Where is she?" Maxxus demanded.
Daer and Shara stared at each other in confusion. There was nowhere else for Josie to go. She was not needed in the lab, her work there was concluded.
"What is it you are not telling me?" Maxxus inquired. "Your faces say you are worried. Talk to me!"
"She was not feeling well when she left. She spent too many hours working and then caring for Hope. I am ashamed to admit I allowed it despite her condition because I was so scared for my daughter. It is possible she is in her quarters, but cannot answer," Daer told him.
"Her condition? Is she ill? I was told the humans were not affected."
"It was supposed to be her decision to tell you. She even said she would do so in the morning, but I guess you need to know now. She may need help. Josie is pregnant," Shara announced.
Maxxus paled and stumbled forward, "Pregnant? She has held this knowledge from me for four months? What a fool I am. She knew, but could not say anything, because I told her to leave. I gave up on her, not the other way around."
Daer hung his head and admitted, "She is not four months pregnant. She is eight months along. I allowed her to hide it after I discovered her secret because you did not want her. She did not tell you for the first months because she was so shocked. Everything in her life was moving too fast. Once time had passed, she was afraid you would be angry, thinking she was deceptive. Then, of course, you sent her away. It has been a tragedy of errors that could get worse if we cannot find her. It has not been an easy pregnancy. The baby may be arriving early due to stress. She could be in danger."
Maxxus was dumbfounded, but he could not deal with his own feelings now. He had to find Josie. "Shara, keep calling her communicator. I will get Hesher to send all soldiers in search of her, and I will personally knock down her door in case she is in her chambers. This is my fault."
"I am here, Maxxus. There is no need to give me orders or knock down Josie's door," Hesher declared from the still open doorway. "One of the refugee children brought me a message. Josie is a hostage. Her captor demands to have his authority and reputation renewed. He wants an apology from you or Josie will not live. The child said the man looked familiar, like his previous village elder, but he had long tangled hair, torn clothes, and smelled of rotted meat. The child has been questioned thoroughly. He knows no more. He was afraid to follow the man. However, he did see him headed north into the desolation. The soldiers are at your service."
"I remember him. The man is crazy! He will hurt her no matter what I do. An apology or promotion will not bring back his honor or make others see him as a leader. He lost that respect all by himself. I will see him dead if he so much as touches a hair on her head! No one goes out to the desolation, so he may have left footprints in the snow. I doubt that he still has the ability to transform. It is possible they have not been covered up yet. He is too crazy to realize such a mistake. We have a small chance of finding her before he does something to cause her harm. Hurry!"
"I will come too," Daer stated. "She came for Hope, and I should have taken better care of her."
"No, you and Kelan must continue her work. It is what she would want. Save Talonia for her and my child," Maxxus replied.
