Noah's Arc

The next four months were plug-and-play. We made time for our friends, had a fantastic dinner with Sam and Mikayla, and had plenty of together time. We were fully integrated into our new routine, and Roxanne's tummy would get a little larger each week. Roxanne and I planned to have the homebirth and had everything planned out. Roxanne was not on maternity leave because Dr. Smith advised she could work at a limited capacity, and despite my objections, Roxanne said she wanted the distraction. She was as worried as I was. One early morning, around 4 A.m., I was wrapping up a domestic dispute report when I got a phone call from Roxanne. She exclaimed, "Landon is coming right now!" I blurted, "We are on our way." I texted Corey, threw the truck in gear, and floored it to the hospital. I parked the truck, grabbed Merlin, and we ran inside. A nurse pointed to a room, and we entered. Roxanne was in full labor, and she was screaming. I ran up to her and held her hand. Merlin retreated outside because watching a vampire birth wasn't on his to-do list. I said, "You're doing great." She had a vice grip on my hand and explained, "I was doing fine today, but then Landon decided he wanted to come early." I looked at Dr. Howser, and she said, "This is not uncommon, and with your abilities, I am not surprised." She looked at Roxanne, "Okay, sweetie. It's time to push." Roxanne screamed, and I looked down at Howser. It was the longest 20 seconds of my life, and I knew it would be okay when I heard Landon crying.

Howser gently held him, and he was massive. Howser wrapped up Landon in a blanket and placed him on Roxanne's chest. Roxanne was crying, and she said, "He is beautiful." I proclaimed, "He is perfect." Howser briefly took Landon to do some tests, giving Roxanne and me a minute. Roxanne cried, "He's been gone for 5 seconds, and I already miss him." I said, "Me too." I kissed her on the forehead and said, "You did great, and I'm glad I was here in time, but I am sorry we couldn't have the home birth." She smiled, "Landon had other plans." Howser brought Landon back and handed him to me. He opened his eyes and revealed ocean-blue eyes. I asked Roxanne, "Does anyone in your family have blue eyes?" She said, "No. Do you?"

I shook my head, and Howser stated, "That is interesting but not concerning. Beyond the blue eyes, he is perfectly healthy." I handed Landon back to Roxanne, and he instantly started to nurse. Merlin returned to the room and put his paws on the bed. He sniffed Landon and then started bouncing up and down. I asked, "Are you excited to have a brother?" Merlin barked and then sat at the base of the bed like a sentinel at his post. I told Roxanne, "Merlin will never let Landon out of sight." Roxanne giggled, "Our new nanny." Howser stated, "I want you two to stay for four hours to ensure everything is okay." I said, "Thank you for caring for Roxanne and ensuring Landon was okay." She nodded and left the room. 

At hour two, Hyde boomed, "THE SKY IS BLACK, AND THEY ARE COMING. LEAVE NOW." Before I could process what was said, "There were explosions in the distance. I got a call from Corey, and he yelled, "THE CITY IS UNDER ATTACK BY DRAGONS." He composed himself. "Get Roxanne and leave Cabo de Libertad." I started to object, "I am not leaving..." He interrupted, "I appreciate it, but you must leave. We will not win this fight, and you must protect your family." I said, "Thank you, sir. It was an honor." He started to say, "The honor is..." but I heard a loud explosion and the phone went silent. Merlin began to bark frantically, and I said, "Roxanne, we need to leave." Howser ran into the room and addressed Roxanne, "Hank is right. You four need to leave." I remarked, "Thank you." I carefully picked up Roxanne, clutching Landon, who was crying, and sprinted to the truck. I could see flames in the distance in every direction, and black clouds ate the bright blue sky. A nurse came running out with us and opened the passenger door. I carefully put Roxanne inside, opened Merlin's rear door, and jumped in. Roxanne asked, "What's the plan?" I said, "We are going to the house, and I will grab everything of value, and then we will go from there." She said, "I trust you." I was terrified that I'd fuck it up and get us killed, but I knew I had to fight for my family. 

I got a call from Mike, and he stated, "Hank. Are you guys okay?" I said, "Yes, for now. I have Roxanne Merlin and Landon. We are headed to the house to get some things, and then we will get out of town." He warned, "The dragons are attacking from every direction except the ocean." Roxanne butted in, "Mike. Bring Sabrina to our house, and we will figure it out together." Mike responded, "Don't worry about us." I interrupted, "Four brains are better than two, and this will be a hell of a problem to solve." There was a pause, and Mike accepted, "Okay. We are on our way." I said, "See you soon." We flew down the highway, and the roads were eerily empty. As we drove up to our gate, it didn't open. I told Roxanne, "Stay here." She nodded, and I got out. No one was in the booth, so I went to the front of my truck and grabbed the winch cable. I attached it to the large gate and returned to the truck. I got in, and Roxanne asked, "Is this going to work?" I voiced, "I hope so." I threw the truck in reverse and got the cable taught. I accelerated, and the gate lurched forward but stayed shut. I put it in drive and pulled ahead. I told Roxanne, "Get out of the truck and stand far away." She nodded and got out. I popped Merlin's door and instructed him, "Don't let them out of your sight." He nodded and hopped out. I got right up the gate and put the truck in reverse. I jammed my foot to the floor, and the truck exploded backward. The gate blasted open, and as predicted, the movement caused the truck's airbags to deploy. I put the truck in park, used my claws to rip the bag off, and got out. I ran to Roxanne, and she cried, "Are you okay?" I said, "Yes, but we have to keep moving." 

 I cradled her, still holding Landon, and sprinted to our house. I set her down and looked back in the distance. The fire had reached the city center's high-rises. We went inside, and I told Roxanne, "Get out on the deck." She nodded and ran out with Merlin right on her heels. I ran upstairs and threw everything of value into a duffel bag, including the photos of Roxanne and me, a fireproof safe Roxanne had, an emergency 20,000 in cash, a few bags of blood, silver bullets, and my spoon of mass destruction. I ran down the stairs just as Mike and Sabrina entered. Sabrina ran past me and saw Roxanne outside. Mike announced, "There is no way out of town." Before I could say anything, my phone rang. I picked it up, and it was Martinez. I heard the sounds of the ocean and waves crashing. He asked, "Hank. Are you home?" I said, "Yes." He responded great." I am coming to get you guys." I replied, "There are four adults, a baby, and a dog." He joked, "Noah's Arc is on its way." I said, "See you soon," and I hung up. I told Mike, "Get ahead of your things, and we need to head towards the water." He nodded and returned to his vehicle. He quickly returned, and we carried our bags down to the deck. Roxanne and Sabrina were waiting, and I said, "We need to head down to the ocean." Roxanne expressed concern. "What's the plan, Henry?" I said Martinez is coming to get us, but we must leave." She looked concerned, and I said, "It's our only plan, and we will sort out the coincidence later." She said, "Okay. I trust you." We all ran down the stairs to the beach, and the boat awaited us.

We climbed in with our baggage, and Martinez accelerated away from the beach. I looked back to see a massive dragon perched on top of our house. The boat was a sturdy military craft with just enough bucket seats for everyone. I carefully proceeded to Martinez and asked, "How did you know?" He started to say, "You will..." but the sun above us disappeared. A dragon was flying above us, and it shot a spear out of its mouth, going through Martineze's skull into the dash. The boat lurched to a stop, and I drew my pistol. I shot all 21 silver bullets into the creature, and they had no effect. I quickly reloaded in a desperate attempt to save everyone. The beast wound up firing another spear when the roar of an aircraft pierced the sky. A fighter jet appeared in the distance and shot a missile with large blades protruding from it. THe dragon it fell out of the sky like an airplane shot by flak. With a scream, the dragon careened into the water, causing a plume of water to shoot up. Roxanne asked, "What the hell is happening?"