Chapter 9

"Listen, there's things I can take and a couple things I can't and one of them I can't take, is when my older brother.. who is everything I want to be, starts losing faith in things. I saw your eyes last night. I don't want to ever see your eyes like that again, okay? I'm serious."

Merrill's voice woke Alicia up from a deep sleep. She opened her eyelids and saw Merrill and Graham talking.

"Is it over?" she asked.

Merrill kneeled beside her and said, "They evacuated about three hours ago. How'd you sleep?"

"Surprisingly good."

He kissed her forehead and brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"We made it, baby."

Alicia smiled and said, "You're my knight in shining armor."

The raspy sounds of Morgan's wheezing filled the air.

"He needs his medicine," Merrill said, "He's been like that for a while."

Graham asked, "Have they said anything about our area?"

"Philadelphia and its outlying counties are cleared, but who knows for sure?"

They glanced at Morgan, who was lying limp on the ground. Graham turned to Merrill.

"He's not strong enough to fight off another attack."

"I know. We need to be sure before we open that door, Graham."

Alicia said, "Use the baby monitor. It's in his back pocket."

Graham carefully removed the monitor from Morgan's back pocket and turned it on. There was no static or unusual noises.

"That's good enough for me," Merrill said.

"Me too."

Merrill walked to the door and opened it slowly. Then he ascended up the staircase as Alicia and Graham watched nervously. He disappeared at the top for a moment, then reappeared.

"We're good."

He came back down to help Alicia up the stairs. Her foot was still throbbing in pain. When they got to the top, they were met with a ravaged kitchen.

Graham said, "You get the medicine and I'll take him in the family room. Get the syringe as well. We might need to give him an epinephrine shot."

Alicia and Merrill rummaged through the debris, trying to find the medicine.

Merrill said, "Honey, you should be relaxing in the other room. You don't want your foot to get infected."

"It'll be fine. I want to help."

Finally, they found the box of syringes and the medicine.

"Is that it?" asked Alicia.

"Yeah. Let's go."

As they walked into the family room, it felt as if their hearts had literally stopped beating in their chests. A reptilian-like creature, about 7 and a half feet tall, was holding Morgan in its arms. Alicia noticed that three of his fingers are missing.

'That's the one that was at Ray's house,' she thought to herself as panic began claiming her body.

"Don't move," Graham said.

The creature made clicking noises and tightened its grip on Morgan.

Alicia whimpered, "Merrill.."

"Stay calm, baby."

She felt a sudden sensation, almost as if her life was flashing before her eyes. For some unknown reason, one memory stuck out more than the others.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The September air was exceptionally warm that night. Alicia and Merrill sat on a blanket, in the grass of the backyard. They had escaped the rush of Philadelphia to spend a weekend back home in Bucks County.

"I don't think my contract's going to be renewed this season," Merrill said, his voice heavy with disappointment.

"Why would you say that?"

"Nobody wants a player with a strikeout record like mine on their team."

"True, but who could deny a player with the minor league home run record?"

"Baby, I wish I had your optimism."

"I agree with Colleen. You should swing away, no matter what anyone says."

"Easy for you guys to say."

Merrill changed the subject and ran his hand across her stomach.

"Have you felt the baby move at all today?"

"A little."

"I think that I want a boy this week."

"Why?"

"So he could play baseball and actually hit the bad.unlike his dad."

"Merrill, you're making me depressed. Don't be so down on yourself. You're one of the best players in the league and you know it."

"The world would be a beautiful place if everyone thought like you, but it doesn't work that way. That's why I need you in my life- for making me feel good about myself."

Alicia smiled and looked up at the sky.

"I think you can literally see every star in the sky tonight."

Merrill held her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "It's beautiful."

Alicia turned her head to face him and said, "Just swing away, baby. Like Colleen says. Who gives a damn what they think. Swing whenever it feels like you should."

He looked into her eyes and stroked the side of her face.

"Do you even realize how much I love you, Alicia?"

"I think I have a vague idea- but maybe you remind me."

"How?"

"By giving me one of your amazing, amazing kisses."

Merrill placed his hand behind Alicia's neck and lowered her body so that she was lying on the blanket.

"Merrill," she whispered, "I wish I could freeze this moment. It's so perfect."

"Like someone I know.."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Alicia snapped back into reality and her eyes focused on Merrill's prized baseball bat that hung on the wall beside her. Then she slowly moved her eyes across the room, and they met with Graham's.

"The bat," she whispered.

"Swing away, Merrill," Graham murmured.

Merrill was still frozen, so Graham spoke louder.

"Merrill. Swing away."

Merrill looked at the baseball bat and without any hesitation, grabbed it from the mount it was resting on. As he tightened his grip on the bat's handle, the creature held its wrist out in front of Morgan's face. A mist sprayed from a pore and into Morgan's nostrils. Bo finally showed her true emotions and let out a horrific scream, which caused the creature to turn. Merrill screamed and hit the creature in the back. It dropped Morgan to the ground, and Graham scrambled to his side. Merrill hit it again and it fell to the ground and against a bookcase where three glasses of Bo's water sat. The water spilled on the creature's shoulder, and its skin began to react. As Graham picked up the syringe Merrill had previously dropped, he looked at Alicia, and then they looked at Bo.

'She knew,' Alicia thought to herself.

Graham hurried outside with Morgan and Bo followed behind them. Alicia didn't want to leave Merrill alone with the creature. An idea popped into her head and she ran into the kitchen. She found the bucket that she used to mop the floor and filled it with water. She carried it as the water sloshed from side to side and entered the living room.

"Throw it, Ali!" Merrill screamed.

With all her might, Ali swung the bucket towards the creature and the water saturated its back as Merrill simultaneously struck it with a fatal blow. It crumbled to the ground and they watched as it took its final gasps of air. Merrill threw down the remaining piece of the bat and took Alicia by the hand. They ran outside and stood before Graham, who was holding Morgan in his lungs.

"The poison didn't get in," he whispered, "his lungs were closed."

Alicia's stomach dropped and her heart felt heavy in her chest.

"Merrill," she whimpered, "he's.."

Merrill was visibly fighting back tears.

"Graham.."

"Don't touch him."

Bo grabbed Merrill's leg for support and said, "Daddy?"

"Don't come near him."

They all became lost in prayers and tears until they heard a weak voice say, "Dad?"

Alicia couldn't believe her eyes. She had been preparing for the worst.

"Did someone save me?"

Graham let out a sob and replied, "Yeah, baby- I think someone did."

As Bo ran to Graham's side to hug him, Merrill held Alicia in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"It's over," he whispered.

She looked up at him and wiped a tear from the side of his face.

"Merrill, I love you."

"I love you too, baby. I love you too."

*Don't think it's over!! This story is definitely not finished yet..*