4338.207 · July 26, 2018 AD
Before I've Even Had Him
Paul's scream rewrites everything. What Jamie finds at the lagoon's edge defies comprehension—his son, the one he only just learned existed, lying motionless with a wound that shouldn't allow survival. Against all medical logic, Joel is still breathing. And Jamie will carry him through dust and desperation to whatever slim hope remains.
The universe waits until you've finally found peace, then delivers the kind of scream that changes everything.
Jamie's tranquil morning ends with Paul's terror echoing across the lagoon. What lies on the sandbank stops his heart: Joel—his son, the child he never knew he had until recently—with his throat cut from ear to ear. The wound is savage, unsurvivable. The arteries should be severed. There should be no life left.
But Glenda's hand finds a pulse. Barely. Impossibly.
Jamie's rage finds Luke—accusations, a thrown fist that doesn't connect, fury that has nowhere productive to go. But rage won't save Joel. Only action will. So Jamie lifts his son—a boy he's never raised, never known, never had the chance to love properly—and carries him through dust and desperation toward camp.
Each step is a prayer. Each breath is a promise. Maybe he'll get the chance to be a father after all.
