Sunwalker Sneak Peak

Here is an short little excerpt from Sunwalker, let me know what you think:)

At first glance, it would appear to be a normal hospital room; white tile floors, white walls, bright lights—but for some reason it felt strange. Normally he would have a staff of nurses assisting him. But Elaine had requested—or rather, demanded—,that it be just the two of them.

            “Aaahhhh!” Elaine screamed as she struggled through the exhaustion, forcing her little kicker out in a bittersweet moment, grasping the rails of the bed for support. She rested a moment and then wiped the sweat from her forehead with a small washcloth, setting it back down on the small table beside her bed.

            Adam guided the baby out carefully. He clamped the cord and cut it. Normally that would be a privilege reserved for the father, but there was none, he thought sadly. He moved the baby over to a small table, and switched on the heat lamp. It was a girl. Adam worked carefully and quickly, suctioning and cleaning her off.

“Oh, no!” he gasped.

            Elaine glanced over.  “No!” Elaine sobbed into her pillow.

            He set the infant down in the small plastic portable bassinette. It was identical to the ones used in hospitals. He turned to her, his eyes fighting back the tears. “Elaine. I’m so sorry…I know what this meant to—”

            She fought back the tears. “Boy or girl?” she asked, glancing over at the half-bloody infant that lay crying in its bed.

            Adam shook his head. “Elaine. Don’t you think knowing will just make it harder? I’ll dispose of it quickly and then you can put this all behind you.” He turned quickly and reached for the baby.

            Elaine bolted straight up. “Don’t take another step,” she ordered.

Adam hesitated. “Don’t worry, you won’t see a thing. You shouldn’t have to watch this.” He turned back towards the small bed. Why did this have to happen?

            Elaine pulled herself up out of her bed, half staggering, blood trailing down her legs. “Adam, if you lay one finger on my baby, I WILL kill you.” Her eyes were half crazed.

            Adam stopped, stunned. He had thought she had merely not wanted him to dispose of the creature in her presence. She couldn’t really want to keep it. He turned and put his hands up slowly, trying to show her he meant no harm. He walked cautiously towards her, much in the same way a parent approaches a child who is holding something breakable that they don’t want dropped, and spoke hesitantly. “Elaine. Please...lie back down. “ He warily reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

            She shook it off violently. “I’m keeping my baby,” she insisted.

            She had clearly lost it. Adam coaxed her back into the bed and pulled up a chair. He took her hand in his and caressed it slowly. He spoke to her carefully, as if talking to a scared child. “Elaine, I know how much you wanted this. I wanted it too. Of course we all would have loved for a part of Dylan to go on living. I know you miss him. I miss him too. But that thing has to be destroyed. There are laws. Dylan would have—”

            Elaine spat back angrily. “Don’t you dare say Dylan would have destroyed our child. NEVER!” She shook her head fervently, tearing her hand away from his. “Just because you were his brother doesn’t mean you knew everything about him. I know he would have protected our child. We created that baby out of love. It cannot be wrong.”

            Adam sat quietly beside her, trying to think of a way he could rationally explain things to his sister-in-law, who was obviously not thinking clearly.

            “Boy or girl?” she asked softly.

            Adam glanced over at the whimpering creature in the bassinet. “Girl.” He sighed reluctantly. Maybe if he just gave her a minute, then she’d be able to see things clearly, begin to think rationally again.

            Elaine smiled, gesturing to her daughter. “Bring her to me.”

            Adam shot up out of his chair, nearly knocking it over. “NO!”

“Adam, bring her to me or leave. Either way, I will keep her and you will not tell a soul.”

            Adam regarded her incredulously. He started to speak, but she cut him off.

            “You swore to Dylan.” She shook her head back and forth. “You swore before he left on his last assignment, that if anything happened to him, you would protect me and our child. This is my miracle, my little piece of him,” she reminded him.

            Adam turned in frustration and paced beside the bed. “That,” he pointed at the crib, “is not the child that he was envisioning!” he yelled. He didn’t care anymore. He had tried to be patient and that clearly wasn’t working.

            Elaine propped herself up in her bed. “And did he specify?” she yelled back. “He knew the risks and still he wanted a child. Did he tell you only to protect the child if it were human? NO! He was prepared for either and so am I!”

            Adam slumped back down in the chair, burying his face in his hands. “Elaine, please!” he begged. She was being impossible; the law was clear, the creature had to be destroyed.

            “My daughter,” she demanded.

            He opened his mouth, as if to argue, but sighed instead. He slowly walked back over to the small creature that lay in the bed. She appeared so human. Could Elaine be right? Would Dylan have wanted him to protect this being?

            He pulled her out and finished cleaning her off. She would have been beautiful for a human baby. She had the same jet-black hair as her mother, and although most babies’ eyes changed color within a few weeks after they were born, he doubted hers would. She had the same dark green eyes as her father. He cleaned out her mouth, avoiding the four prominent sharp teeth.

            He wrapped her in a white receiving blanket and brought her to her mother.

            Elaine reached for her eagerly and caressed her in her arms. “Hello, Lilly. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”

            “You are not naming that monster LILLY!” Adam screamed.