Excerpt: The Unborns

Excerpt: The Unborns by Taayler Gray

It often escapes me, the purpose of it all, as I’m lost in wonder and fondness of her. The stillness I’ve mastered alongside dancing leaves has sharpened over the days, as has the wind. She’s habitual, leaving none to the imagination. Moving only my eyes as I watch, the rest of me observes my surroundings. Tightening my grip around the branch, I swing to the ground and start towards her door. “It is time,” I whispered to myself. My steps, indistinguishable from the passing motors, lead me along. I stood immovable. Flashes of imagery of her gazing at the nothingness that was laid in front of us. Curiously, though, I didn’t ask what she saw. I reached for the nob, but hearing her footsteps moving closer to the door, I knocked instead. She opened it. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she gave a gentle smile and asked how she could help me. If only she knew, I thought. For a moment, my eyes felt deceitful, but they dilated as I captured her in my memory forever. A permanence she was unaware of. I reached my hand out and she met it before I could cross the border of her home. “I’m Eryn,” I responded. I had imagined this moment for decades. Leaving me questioning, what is time and how has she not moved with it?

“Eryn,” she repeated. “You look familiar. Do we know each other?”

“We do, Midael.”

She stood there wide-eyed, in remembrance of something. The hairs on her shoulders raised and just as quickly she tried closing the door. In less than a second, I pushed the door wide open.

“Please, I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s been a mistake!” She exclaimed.

I stepped inside and she stepped back. “How has there been a mistake?” I questioned, moving closer to her.

“I.. I am not Midael. I don’t know who that is.”

“Fortunately for you, I’ll help you remember.” Moving quickly, I gently placed my hand on her temple. Feeling the urge to caress, I looked away and continued to suffuse my thoughts into hers-- showing memories I’ve kept guarded through time. Imbued, Midael slowly gripped my hand and started to squeeze.

“Why are you here, Eryn?” She was emboldened by the growing thoughts.

“Hello to you, too,” I responded.

“I’ll strike you where you stand. You better remember who you’re talking to.”

In this moment, I remembered her coldness and blindly following behind. I remembered the soft moments in passing. The softer moments in private. I remembered being captivated.

“I do not remember allowing you to speak to me that way. You’ve been gone much too long to even almost believe yourself to be above me. Mind your tone.” I turned to show my neck. The mark.

Midael took a deep breath, “How long has it been?”

“Time isn’t relevant just yet.”

“How long?!” She screamed.

“Three centuries.”

“Why? Why would you leave me here?”

“You’ve been spared…” I stood tall.

“Spared! You’ve always been naive. How many are left?”

“These are questions I won’t answer. Your presence has been requested.”

“If it’s not already obvious, I’ve built a life here. I can’t just leave.”

“You will do what is asked of you,” I responded. I could feel the heat rising in my body and my fists tightening as I glared at her.

I had attempted detachment before-- long ago before she left and while she was gone. I had to detach from the idea of her existence. But that was only decades ago. I’d held on for so long. Her standing before me, removed from our experience, as if intimacy was never shared, made me realize my mistake. This woman before me was not the woman I met years before, but that was not the only problem. The lack of recognition gave her away. The questions should have been different. The questions should not be at all. She’s been trained differently. The woman I was with would have noticed and attempted to kill me before I could reach her doorstep.

“Where is she?” I asked, stone faced.

Smiling, “took you long enough,” she responded.

There was a familiarity that I did not understand, but I no longer hesitated. I threw a knife from my sleeve and moved behind a wall within the home. “Where is she?” I yelled.

“Oh, Eryn, you’re such a disappointment.” I could feel her moving around me, almost spatially unaware. This was someone entirely different. Feeling a different type of fear, I uncovered myself and put my hands in front of me, unleashing energy that would paralyze only those unborn, giving me an idea of who and where she may be from. She disappeared. I ran outside to check, lapping the land, finding nothing.

This person had information they shouldn’t have had, making them much more dangerous. But where is the real Midael?

I closed my eyes and noticed my people descending around me.

“I do not need your rescue,” I said boldly.

“I know. We are here for your continued protection,” he said sternly.

The situation is much worse than I imagined. I have to find the real Midael. I have to find her alive.