CHAPTER 6

Clara stared at the door as though her desperate thoughts could somehow bring him back faster.

Eventually, she gave up on waiting and sprung to action.

She gently placed Emma back on the sofa and went inside.

A few minutes later, she came out with a bowl of warm water and a small towel in her hand.

An unsettling weight settled deep in her gut as she stared at Emma's shivering body.

Her little face was flushed, and tiny beads of sweat had gathered on her forehead.

Clara pressed the back of her hand against Emma's forehead again.

She yelped, immediately pulling her hand away.

“Why is she so hot?” She muttered worriedly to herself.

She immediately dipped the towel into the warm water, squeezed off the excess and placed it gently on Emma's forehead.

Emma let out a soft, uncomfortable groan as she weakly reached for the towel on her head.

“No, sweetheart. Don't remove it,” Clara said quietly, trying to keep her panic under control. “It will make you feel better, okay?”

The little girl opened her eyes halfway, searching the room for something.

Her brows creased slightly. “Where's Dad?” Her weak, little voice asked.

Clara's chest tightened. “He went out, but he'll be back soon.”

She sat next to Emma's head, rubbing her arms gently in a bid to make her more comfortable.

Her eyes flickered to the door every now and then, but there was still no sign of Benjamin.

Frustrated, she reached for her phone and dialed his number.

She didn't want to bother him, but his daughter needed him at the moment. She had no choice.

The line rang, but there was no answer.

“Come on,” she muttered, ending the call before trying again.

There was still no response.

Her heart began pounding as different thoughts ran wild in her head.

Could it be that Benjamin was stuck in the storm?

She remembered in her past life the damage the storm had caused.

Maybe Benjamin encountered another problem on his way back?

As much as she didn't want to, she couldn't help but think about that.

Especially not when Emma was getting worse right in front of her.

She looked down at Emma. Her breathing was labored and shallow.

Guilt tugged on Clara's heart.

The child was innocent. She had no idea what was happening, no understanding of the danger she feared. She was simply sick and frightened, waiting for her father to make everything better.

Clara immediately caught herself slacking and snapped out of her trance.

She had promised Benjamin she would watch Emma and she wouldn't break that promise.

She replaced the towel on Emma's forehead and used another to wipe her neck and arms.

“Your daddy will be back soon,” she whispered. “Just hold on a little longer, okay?”

Emma made a faint sound in response.

For several minutes, Clara concentrated on keeping her comfortable and watching her breathing.

She didn't know whether this fever was the same illness she remembered or an ordinary infection that had arrived at the worst possible moment.

But she knew enough to be afraid.

A sudden gust of wind struck the building, rattling the windows.

Clara glanced in the direction that the wind came from, looking out of the window.

The storm had darkened the sky so completely that it was difficult to tell whether it was evening or night.

She tore her gaze away, deciding to focus on Emma instead.

Then her phone vibrated in her hand.

Clara snatched it up from the table in front of her, hoping it was Benjamin calling her back.

Instead, it was a message from Kyler.

“Oh my–!” She exclaimed to herself.

Emma's fever had taken the majority of her attention that she had forgotten about Kyler.

She began blaming herself as she opened his text.

‘Have you settled in? You were right. This storm is crazy. I hope you're safe.’

She quickly typed a reply.

‘Yes, yes. I'm safe. Are you? Stay indoors until the storm passes.’

She hesitated before adding another message.

‘And don't come here tonight. The roads are dangerous.’

‘Okay,’ he replied simply.

Clara put her phone aside, throwing her head back in frustration as she let out a loud sigh.

A small movement from beside her caught her attention right after.

She turned to it to see Emma twisting beneath the blankets.

Clara's brows furrowed.

“Emma?” she called, panic daring to seep into her tone.

She watched as Emma's fingers curled tightly into the fabric, her face twisting as a strained whimper escaped her lips.

Clara watched, frozen in place by the strange phenomenon happening before her.

She began reaching for Emma, attempting to carry her into her laps, then suddenly, Emma's whole body jerked.

Clara recoiled, her face paling.

Another violent spasm surged through Emma's tiny body, causing her arms and legs to stiffen. Her head twisted in an uncomfortable position with her breathing coming out jagged and irregular.

“Oh, God!” Clara shrieked. “You’re having a seizure!”

Clara immediately moved the objects around the sofa out of the way, simultaneously reaching for her phone with shaky hands and calling Benjamin one more time.

“Emma, sweetie, stay with me!”

Emma couldn't respond, however.

Her body convulsed uncontrollably and all she could do was cry from the pain.

Clara's stomach turned cold.

She had seen people convulse before, but this one was different.

There was something strange about the way Emma stared at her, as though she were looking at something Clara couldn't see.

“Emma, can you hear me?” Clara called, leaning into her.

Emma suddenly reached for her, her fingers digging into Clara's arm.

Pain instantly shot through Clara's body.

“Ah!”

Before Clara could pull back, Emma clutched her again, scratching desperately as another spasm ran through her body.

Clara gritted her teeth in pain, but refused to pull away simply because the thought of leaving Emma in that condition made her sick to her stomach.

“It's okay. I'm here,” she said softly.

From the corner of her eyes, Clara saw the bowl she placed on the small table shake.

Clara's head snapped towards it, convinced she was seeing things.

There was no wind in the room, how then could the water inside be rippling?

Before she could make sense of what she was seeing, the bowl slid several inches across the table and toppled over, hitting the floor with a loud crash.

At the same time, a cushion lifted slightly from the sofa before dropping back into place.

Clara went completely still.

“What the...?”

Emma convulsed again, and the objects around them rattled.

For a moment, Clara forgot about the fever.

In her previous life, she had heard stories about people developing extraordinary powers, though many of those stories had sounded like desperate rumors.

And the apocalypse wasn't supposed to begin for another three weeks.

Clara's heart hammered against her ribs.

Was Emma turning into something else?

Emma's fingers tightened around her arm, and the child let out a distressed cry.

Clara immediately turned back to her.

“I'm here, Emma. I'm not going anywhere.”

Emma's nails dug even deeper, piercing Clara's skin until blood slowly oozed out.

Outside, the storm raged on, unbothered by the chaos in Clara's world.

Clara worried about Kyler and Benjamin, but she had even bigger issues at hand.

If Emma turned out to be a victim of the disease people had in her previous life, she would be forced to take her life.

But she wasn't sure that was something she could do.

She had thought facing her wicked in-laws and preparing for the apocalypse would be the hardest part of her journey.

She had been wrong.

Nothing she had bought could tell her what was happening to Emma.

A loud crash sounded outside, followed by the distant blare of a car horn.

Emma's body jerked once more.

Clara leaned over her protectively, ignoring the fresh sting on her arm.

“Hold on, sweetheart. Your daddy is coming,” she said, praying silently that it was Benjamin's truck that she just heard.

The doorbell rang loudly, interrupting her thoughts.

Clara's head snapped up, her eyes finding the small rectangular screen next to the door.

As soon as she saw Benjamin's face, relief washed over her.

“It's open!” She yelled as she struggled to mask the pain that pounded within her as Emma clawed at her.

The door flew open and Benjamin rushed in, drenched from head to toe, panting.

Relief washed over Clara, her eyes stinging with tears of joy.

“You're back,” she breathed, still holding onto Emma's jerking body.

Benjamin stood still, eyes widened in horror as he stared at her.

“Why are there objects floating in the air?”