Salt The Earth

A pregnant woman is kidnapped by her superhero boyfriend’s nemesis because he believes her pregnancy is the key to finally getting his revenge.

Tropes – Forced Proximity, Villain Romance

The screen door slammed behind Lina with a satisfying crack. 

 

Danny followed her out and stopped her from getting into her car. “Can we talk about this?”

 

She glared at his stupid pretty face. “You squirted irradiated semen into my vagina! Do you even care what that could do to me?”

 

“Of course I care!” Danny gripped her shoulders a little too tight and pulled her close. “It’s a gift, Lina! It’ll make you stronger like me, more resilient. Make our baby superhuman!”

 

“Baby!?” Lina tried to push him away but he held fast. “There’s no baby! I’m on birth control. And I never asked to be made stronger!”

 

Danny stilled and she was finally able to break free. He took a deep breath. “You’re pregnant. I can already hear the heartbeat.”

 

“No,” she shook her head, eyes widening, “it’s not possible.”

 

He sighed, “When you chose me, you chose all of me. I told you we would be tied to each other forever. What did you think that meant?”

 

“Not this!” Lina ran a hand down her stomach. It didn’t feel different. She hasn’t been nauseous or sick. No weird cravings. She couldn’t be pregnant. “I don’t want kids, and you didn’t even tell me about the curse before we had sex. You didn’t give me a choice! Not a real one!”

 

Danny’s face turned to stone. He took a menacing step forward. “You said you love me. If you love me then the curse shouldn’t matter. Or did you lie?”

 

Lina stepped back. Her body was shaking. She couldn’t think straight. Her head was foggy. Her vision blurry. She tried to focus on the whites of her shoelaces. All she wanted was to leave, leave, leave.

 

“Lina?” Danny’s voice sounded a million miles away. “Lin—” 

 

When she looked up, she was no longer having a panic attack in Danny’s driveway. She was in a meadow surrounded by tall, ancient looking trees. Daylight was streaming through the thick canopy overhead but it was oddly silent. No birds twittering or squirrels climbing up trees or wind blowing through leaves.

 

“Danny?”

 

“Danilo isn’t here.” 

 

She whirled around. A dark figure stepped away from the shadow of one of the thicker trees. His long gold hair brushed the shoulders of his white linen shirt. His icy blue eyes held her in place. His deep baritone sent chills down her spine. “So you’re the one carrying his child. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

 

“Wh—who are you?” Lina glanced around the empty meadow. Was it just her or were the shadows closing in on them?

 

The man tilted his head as he took her in from top to bottom. His blank stare was impossible to read. “Me? I’m no one special. Just someone with a vested interest in your safety.”

 

Lina took a step back, then another. The man followed her step for step. The clearing was getting darker. The shadows were creeping into her periphery. “Why? You don’t even know me.”

 

The man smirked as he took another step in her direction. “You see, Danilo and I go way back. And that baby you’re carrying is the key to breaking his curse.”

 

“And you don’t want him to break the curse? Were you the one who cursed him?” Lina’s back brushed against bark. The man was only a few feet away now. 

 

“You misunderstand me. I want to break his curse. Danilo has been a thorn in my side for much too long. Without the curse, he’s no match for me.”

 

Lina gasped, “Oh my God! You’re Radon! Danny told me about you. His nemesis. Didn’t you used to be friends?”

 

Radon scoffed, “Friends, sure, until he killed my sister and left her body for the wolves to find. She was also pregnant but your dear Danny wasn’t quite ready for fatherhood. What a difference 200 years makes.”

 

“What?” She was starting to feel light-headed.

 

“I wanted to kill him but my mother thought the curse would be more painful. Cursed to walk this Earth forever alone until he found a woman to love him and bear him a son.” Radon rolled his eyes. “Who would’ve thought the curse would make him a prime candidate for science.”

 

Lina was panting. Her vision was getting dark around the edges or was that the shadows? “I’m, I’m already pregnant. You’re getting what you want. You didn’t need to take me.”

 

Radon put his hands against the bark on either side of her head and leaned in until his face was inches from hers. “Exactly. I wouldn’t want Danilo to get second thoughts.” His eyes darkened to navy blue. “Again.”

 

Lina gave into the black tunneling her vision and fell face forward into a firm chest. When she woke, she was laying on a plush bed in a single room log cabin. Radon was kneeling on a bearskin rug and poking at a fire roaring in the wood stove in a corner of the room.

 

The room spun a bit as Lina sat up to take in her new surroundings. The cabin was cozy and rustic. There were two windows on either side of the room. A tiny dining table across from the stove with one wooden chair. A chest of drawers by the bed. A counter with a small basin on top and stacks of plates, cups and cutlery on the shelves below. Overhead hung pots and pans and plants and herbs in various states of drying. A large water jug sat half full in another corner.

 

Radon filled a mug from the kettle sitting on the stove and held it out to Lina. “Drink this. It’ll help with the dizziness.”

 

She eyed the mug and the man attached to it. “What’s in it?”

 

Radon sighed and took a sip from the mug while holding her gaze. Then he held it out again. “It’s a mix of herbs known to ease discomfort, not poison.”

 

Lina took a sip. It tasted gingery. The trail of warmth down her throat into her stomach instantly cleared her head. “Wow, it worked!”

 

He rolled his eyes and went to stir a pot of stew on the stove. “It usually does. Herbal remedies aren’t my specialty but that one’s as simple as they get. I figured the teleportation didn’t sit well with you.”

 

Lina jumped off the bed. “That’s right! How did you do that? Are you in the program too? Is this your superpower?”

 

He paused in his stirring for a moment then answered without a backward glance. “I’m a witch. Or warlock. Whatever you prefer.”

 

Lina blinked and took this in stride. After all, her boyfriend was a two hundred year old immortal super soldier. “Okay sure, why not? There are witches and witches can teleport people on command. Cool.”

 

“It’s not that simple. It takes a decent amount of power and planning, even then something could go wrong. It’s much easier to travel to someone than to bring them to you.”

 

“And why did you bring me here? Do you really think Danny would try to kill me?”

 

Radon ladled the stew into two bowls. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not taking any chances.”

 

“So what? You break the curse and get your revenge and then what? You live the rest of your immortal life happy and free while I’m stuck raising a baby by myself?”

 

Radon glared at her then at the single dining chair. “Once Danilo is dead, I’ll leave this mortal plane. You’re free to do whatever you wish once I’m gone.”

 

Radon pulled out the chair and glared at her again. Lina sat down and held up a spoonful of stew. “Great. Here’s to the next 9 months of torture.”

 

Except it wasn’t torture. Once she accepted the fact that she was stuck in the middle of the woods with a strange witch, it was actually kinda nice. It took a minute to get used to the outhouse. But it wasn’t hard to get used to waking up to a stunning view of the valley below.

 

Radon gave her plenty of space. He spent most of his time hunting and foraging in the woods which meant she was free to roam as well. She had no clue where she was so he wasn’t worried that she would run away.

 

Lina spent her days lazing in the sun, reading books Radon had tucked away in the cabin. She experimented with cooking deer meat and hiking. The only time she really saw Radon was in the evenings. 

 

Radon told her stories about his travels and his long life. He spent a lot of his time tracking Danny down and thinking of ways to kill him. He was only able to survive this long because he was feeding off Danny’s infinite lifeforce. He used it like a battery to recharge and stay young.

 

One day, Radon made her laugh without meaning to when he burned his hand on the stove and let out the filthiest curse she’d ever heard. He thanked her for bandaging his hand with a brand new paint set the next day. She used it to paint the first sunset they saw together.

 

The first time she tried making elk stew was a disaster. Radon took the first bite and with a straight face, he told her it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. She took a bite and nearly spat it out. It was crazy salty. She looked up at him and broke into a smile. He’d cleaned his plate.

 

At night, they laid down and watched the firelight play on the ceiling. He gave her his bed and slept on a bedroll on the floor beside her. 

 

It was a dream until she passed out one day in front of the cabin.

 

Lina was walking down the cabin steps to gather firewood when she was hit with a dizzy spell. She missed a step and tumbled to the ground. She closed her eyes for just a sec. When she opened them, Radon was leaning over her. She was laying in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV bag and a heart monitor.

 

“Don’t get up. How are you feeling?” He said as he took her hand in both of his. 

 

Pregnancy was no joke. Lina spent the past few weeks puking every morning. She was always tired. No matter how much she rested. And she didn’t seem to be putting on any weight. But maybe it was too soon for that. She couldn’t be more than two months along.

 

“Okay I guess. Tired. What happened?”

 

“It looks like you fell. I was worried you hit your head so I brought you to the nearest ER. They’re running a few tests to make sure you’re okay.” He stroked her palm with his thumb. “You’re going to be okay, Lina. You have to be.”

 

She squeezed his hand. “I will be. It’s supposed to be exhausting. I’m growing a whole person.”

 

A few minutes later, a middle-aged doctor wearing a face mask and gloves came into her room. 

 

“Hello, Ms. Gutierrez. We recorded an unusual amount of radiation from you. Specifically around your uterus. You seem to be suffering from radiation sickness. The ultrasound showed that the embryo is growing normally but an x-ray shows a loss of bone density in your pelvis. It’s not critical at this point but if this continues untreated, it could have dire consequences. Increased risk of cancer. Not to mention if the bone loss gets worse and you try to deliver naturally, the force of childbirth could shatter your pelvis. The internal bleeding could kill you.”

 

Lina looked from the doctor to Radon. Radon’s face was hard as he stared down the doctor. “So having this baby will kill her?”, he said, letting go of her hand.

 

“Possibly. It’s odd that the radiation is concentrated around the embryo since the embryo doesn’t seem to be affected. If—and this is very unlikely—, but if the embryo is the source of the radiation, then 9 months of continuous low-level exposure could debilitate her to the point of death. We’d have to run more tests to confirm.

 

However, in cases like these, where the mother is unlikely to make it to term, we recommend terminating the pregnancy. However, if you want to continue the pregnancy, we can treat the radiation sickness with potassium iodide. We can try some other things to keep you comfortable but you would need to stay here on 24 hour bedrest where we can monitor you and the fetus. If you make it to term, we can deliver via c-section.”

 

Lina nodded along but her head was elsewhere. The baby was killing her. Danny’s baby was slowly poisoning her to death. The only thing that could break Danny’s curse was breaking her. 

 

Lina tried to catch Radon’s eye but he looked far away too. He’d waited so long for his revenge. It was the one thing he wanted from her and now she wasn’t sure she could give it to him.

 

“There is one other thing. The current damage to your uterus and ovaries from the radiation will make it difficult to conceive in the future. If you decide to terminate this pregnancy, you may not be able to have children. That’s something to consider when making your decision.”

 

“Thanks, doc.” Lina said still staring at Radon as the doctor slipped out of the room. Radon’s gaze focused on Lina at the realization that she was basically infertile now. It was this baby or nothing.

 

His fists clenched at his sides. “Damn Danilo for not considering the consequences of his science experiment.” He took a deep breath and continued, “There’s a potion I can give you to flush out the radiation but it can’t restore your womb. That would require the kind of blood magic I don’t think your ethics would allow. But the potion would cause you to miscarry. What do you want to do?” 

 

“I have a choice? What about revenge?” 

 

His narrowed eyes ran over her face. “Of course, it’s your choice. It’s always been your choice. Forget about Danilo. What do you want?” 

 

Unfortunately, she couldn’t forget about Danny because he chose that moment to burst through the door. He directed his fiery gaze at Radon. “You! I knew it was you! What did you do to her!?”

 

Radon crossed his arms and morphed back into the calm, cool, collected man she met in the woods. “I kept her safe. Didn’t want a repeat of the last time you got someone pregnant.”

 

Danny growled and would’ve launched himself over the bed at Radon if not for Lina’s hand on his chest. “Stop! Danny please. We need to talk.”

 

Danny huffed and cradled the hand on his chest. Radon watched in silence. Lina took a deep inhale and exhaled a sigh, “Danny, I’m sick. Your sperm didn’t make me stronger, it made the baby radioactive. There’s a chance I could die before the baby reaches full term.”

 

Danny was shaking his head before she was done speaking. “No. No, no, no. There has to be something we can do. I’ll call the Program’s doctor, maybe he can fix this.”

 

She stopped him from reaching into his pocket. “There is something we can do. I’m going to terminate the pregnancy.”

 

Danny glared at Lina as he stepped out of her reach. “You can’t give up on our baby!”

 

Lina sighed and looked down at the sheet on her lap. “It doesn’t matter if the baby is born or not. It won’t break your curse.”

 

Danny shifted his glare to Radon. “Did he tell you that? He’s lying. He wants me to be miserable.”

 

Radon smirked, “I want you dead. There’s a difference.”

 

Lina chewed on her bottom lip. Her eyes still fixed on the crisp white sheets. “Radon told me you need a woman who loves you to give birth to your child. I can’t break your curse because… I don’t love you, at least not the way I thought I did.” 

 

She looked up at Radon. His soft eyes held hers. “I know that because now I know what it really feels like to be in love.”

 

Danny took the news like a punch to the gut. He backed into a wall and squeezed his eyes shut. Lina was afraid to move or make a sound that could trigger his temper. 

 

A chime came from Danny’s pocket. He checked his phone then met Lina’s gaze with a blank stare. “There’s an attack on the capitol. I have to go. Goodbye, Lina.”

 

Then he turned to Radon, “I took something from you, you took something from me. We’re even.”

 

“Not even close,” Radon sneered as Danny left the room. 

 

Lina let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “That went well.”

 

Radon smiled and took her hand. “Let’s go home. I’ll get started on the cleansing potion immediately.”

 

“Home?” Lina hoped her voice wasn’t too breathless.

 

“Yes. Our home.” Radon frowned, “Unless you want me to take you back to Chicago?”

 

She blinked back tears, “You still want me even if I can’t have kids after this?”

 

Radon’s frown deepened. He knelt down beside her bed and took both her hands in his. “Lina, you must know how I feel about you. It’s been in every single glance, every word, every moment between us these past few weeks. Love, there is nothing and no one I want more than you.”

 

Lina smiled through her tears. “I want you too. Let’s go home.”

 

He smiled and brought his lips to hers. Their first kiss but not the last.

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