LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - SEASON 2 CHAPTER 58
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Keira could not see who had just gotten shot because it was dark.
She ran towards Zach and could hear Leon laugh, “Ha ha ha.” After that laugh, Leon coughed up blood and dropped the gun from his hand, along with his body to the ground.
After Keira saw Leon’s body slump down to the ground, a great sense of relief washed over her. Her husband was alive, they were now together, and finally, they no longer had to fight…
She quickly went to Zach’s side, but the sea waves were getting even rougher. She had to hold onto the lifelines firmly to prevent herself from falling overboard.
The boat was still cruising speedily on an automatic pilot. Zach immediately turned it off and slowed the boat down so the impact of the strong waves would lessen. He disconnected all electrical equipment because of the lightning. Nothing seemed to work because of the heavy storm. Even the communication radio to get help was not working.
He looked around for some survival and emergency gear inside the speed boat.
“Wear this!” he shouted as he went to Keira who was still holding onto the lifelines. He helped Keira put a lifejacket on her first before he put one on himself.
He then moved to pull the lifeless bodies of Draco and Leon towards the center and the lowest part of the boat.
He had finished gathering all of the emergency supplies he could find and some life-saving equipment and put it all in a backpack he now was wearing. He went back to Keira and tied himself to her with a rope. If anything should happen, they at least would not separate.
“Are we going to die now?” Keira mumbled because the boat was being tossed about by the waves too much.
They had no choice but to let the boat follow the current of the sea because steering it manually would not only be a completely futile attempt, but also a dangerous one. Zach smiled at Keira and held her tight as he said, “No, we won’t. Make sure you stick with me.”
Zach added in jest, “Besides, if we were to die now, at least we’ll be together, right?”
Then his face turned serious as he stared directly into her eyes and said, “I love you, Keira… Thank you for never giving up on me…”
Keira was already feeling cold because of the chilly winds. With shivering voice, she complained, “Shhh! Shush! Don’t say that. We still need to fulfill my promise to my parents… To give them grandchildren to play with. So we must not die like this. You hear me?”
Zach chuckled and wrapped Keira in his arms even tighter. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Yeah, let’s go back home soon…” A lot of things still awaited them in the future, so they must survive.
…………….
The Military force finally arrived and had secured the ship. All of Leon’s men were captured. “Stop!” May said in a loud and authoritative voice when the soldiers were about to put Riley and Cobra together with the rest of Leon’s men.
“They are General Lim’s friends, so don’t mix them together with those evil hoodlums!” instructed May with a raised eyebrows. The soldiers looked at Jeru to get his approval and the latter nodded.
Riley and Cobra thanked May who had now been staring at Riley with rounded eyes. “What’s your name?” she asked. Riley felt a bit awkward so he just scratched his head. Cobra elbowed him, so he quickly answered, “It’s Riley.”
“Alright Riley, I’m May. Thank you for saving me. Don’t worry, they will just ask you some questions later. I’ll see you around…” She grabbed Riley’s hand to shake it before she left to ask for Keira, leaving Riley bewildered.
“What’s wrong, boy? Cat got your tongue?” Cobra snickered when he noticed Riley, who was usually a chatterbox, seem to be tongue-tied because of that girl.
Lana let out a sigh of relief when she saw Drey and May were both fine. “Where’s Keira and Zach?” she asked as she looked at Thea’s who was looking so pale.
Then she looked at Jeru who was yelling frantically.
“We need to find them now!” Jeru shouted to the soldiers. The thunder and lightning roared through the sky simultaneously, but his stern voice could still be heard.
“Sir, it will be too dangerous to dispatch the men at this time… We need to quickly escort you back ashore before the strong waves come this way,” answered the squad leader in charge.
It was true. Given the current weather, Jeru himself knew that it would be hard to find Keira and Zach.
It was dark except for the lightning flashes from the sky. And the rain was too heavy. A storm was coming. The earliest time, on which they could conduct the search operation, would be as soon as daylight broke.
May cried after hearing about what happened to Keira and Zach. Lana hugged and comforted her.
“How come both of them are missing now? We came here because of them!” May garbled as she sobbed continuously.
“We have to go, Sir,” one of the soldiers said.
A few hours later, Jeru and the rest of the team were safely dropped ashore where the medical team awaited them.
Thea was not feeling well and she almost fell onto the ground, but luckily Jeru was quick to catch her and brought her to the ambulance. The doctor examined her thoroughly and ordered, “Bring her immediately to the hospital!”
Jeru frowned at the doctor’s words. He gave the doctor a puzzled look because he knew that Thea was not injured at all. She did look overwrought, but it was probably because of the violent night that she had to witness, as well as the fact that Zach and Keira had gone missing together with Leon and Draco.
The doctor clicked his tongue and said loudly, “Her baby’s condition must be checked. You didn’t know she’s pregnant?”
Jeru widened his eyes. May, Lana, and Drey dropped their jaws.
“She’s pregnant?” May murmured in shock.
Their gazes followed Jeru, who quickly went inside the ambulance with Thea.
“Who is the father?” May muttered in disbelief.
_____
The waves were rowdy and the boat swayed so hard, tossing Keira and Zach out of the boat and into the open sea.
Keira let Zach held her tightly as she encircled her arms around his neck and tried her best to lighten her weight for him. She did not mind the saltiness of seawater that she had to take in every now and then, whenever the waves would crash over them.
Zach managed to grab hold of the rail at the stern of the boat, which had now been turned upside down, for support when the waves slowed down. They stayed like that overnight as they followed wherever the waves and the winds would lead them.
“Hang in there with me, we will survive this together,” Zach mumbled in Keira’s ear that made her chuckle. “Can’t you feel how tightly I’m hanging onto you right now?” Keira joked as she clung onto Zach’s neck even tighter.
They were now in open water, holding onto the capsized boat, and the wind was cold. But Keira was feeling pleasantly warm in the embrace of her husband. She soon dozed off.
She woke up, still in Zach’s embrace when the sun was already up, shining brightly in the sky.
“Zach…” she murmured to Zach as she looked around the open sea. She was tied tightly to him. But it was a frustrating sight. Wherever she would look, all she could see was water. Water everywhere.
Zach murmured back, “The sea is calm now.” Then he untied Keira from him and helped her up to be on top of the capsized boat. Keira should not be in the water any longer to help her preserve energy and to slow down hypothermia.
“Do you see anything?” asked Zach and Keira shook her head. Her stomach was starting to grumble. Zach cursed inwardly, they survived the rough weather but how would they survive the hunger? He only hoped there would be an island nearby where they could shelter themselves while they waited for the search and rescue team.
They stayed there for a few more hours while Zach swam to push the boat forward and Keira looked around, hoping to see something else, aside from the vast water.
“Do you think there are sharks here?” Keira mumbled trying to ignore the hunger she was feeling.
Zach grinned and replied, “If it was like in the movies, the sharks would be scared of us instead because you will be the one to attack and eat them alive.”
Keira laughed heartily. Not because she found Zach’s words so funny, but because she knew her husband was trying his best to crack a joke to lessen her worry. So she giggled and replied playfully, “At this rate, what about I attack you instead, my General? Because you look so yummy like a beefsteak to me, right now.”
Zach smiled, feeling happy to see his wife’s cheerful disposition. ‘She’s still in good spirits, thank God,’ he thought to himself as he continued to swim and push the boat forward.
Keira continued to look around but could not help to release a sigh. ‘Crap, It’s all water…’ she mused helplessly.
But finally, she saw something. Keira jolted up as she blinked several times to make sure that she was seeing the silhouette correctly.
“I think I saw an island… there…” Keira murmured as she pointed the direction to Zach. Zach saw it too and his face lit up. He suddenly felt fully charged to swim to the island.
“We need this boat,” Zach murmured so Keira went down into the water to help him push it to the island. “This feels like a swimming marathon, my General… I’m so glad I trained well for this. Let’s go and find something to eat soon!” Keira cheered happily.
Zach looked at the island from the distance. There were no boats so there was a possibility that it was an uninhabited island.
…..
Jeru watched over Thea all throughout the night and sighed as he instructed his assistant to get some breakfast for Thea and him should she wake up. The search for Keira and Zach had already started and he only hoped that the team would find them soon.
Thea moved and opened her eyes. “You’re awake… What do you want to eat? Are you hungry? My assistant will be back soon with breakfast.” Jeru asked in a row, his voice was full of worries.
Thea didn’t answer him, but instead asked, “Any news on Keira and Zach?”
Jeru let out a loud sigh as he shook his head. Then he added, “From now on, you must not think hard. You must avoid being stressed out. Think about our baby’s safety. Your pregnancy is in a sensitive…”
“What!” Thea burst out, interrupting Jeru’s words.
“Pregnant? Who’s pregnant? What are you saying? Ha ha ha…” Thea snorted with an awkward laugh.
“Why would you joke like that? Okay, it’s funny, but really…” she added, still laughing uncomfortably, but immediately stopped when she saw Jeru still having a serious expression on his face.
“Oh, crap…” she murmured as realization dawned upon her face. She recalled the date. They had been having very busy weeks that she had forgotten to monitor the date of her menstrual cycle. She was delayed for a week already.
Thea bit her lip because she knew who the father of the baby was. She had never had any intimate relationships with Leon because he no longer had a manhood. Leon had been castrated during his early days in the underworld as a form of punishment, and it was also the reason why he was so determined to rise to power; to take revenge on those who had humiliated him with the disgraceful punishment.
She had only ever had an intimate relationship with one person. And that person was sitting there in the room with her.
“I know I’m the father and I will take full responsibility for you and our child,” Jeru declared with a serious voice. Thea was perplexed upon hearing Jeru’s words. She tried to speak up her thoughts and said, “No! You don’t have to… I can take care of myself and my baby…”
Jeru’s face darkened as he said with a firm tone, “It’s not only your baby. It’s my baby too. You still have a debt to pay to me, remember? So pay me now. Marry me…”
“Huh…?” was the only thing that Thea could utter as she was rendered speechless by Jeru’s proposition.