Red Tide² ━ FTWD

CHAPTER 13: Calm Before the Storm

RED TIDE

chapter thirteen: calm before the storm

[ season 2, episode 4; blood in the streets ]

DAY 21

"Are you close?" Madison whispered.

"A little more time," Daniel replied under his breath.

Katie looked over to the bar just as Madison did. Vida, their captor, had poured herself a drink by now — one of Strand's expensive Scotch brands in a crystal glass. She hadn't touched it yet, but looked at it with longing.

"One drink won't hurt her," Madison called over. "Once in a while."

The woman glanced up from her drink, shaking her head briefly. "I just like the smell."

"Good for you," Madison almost sounded amused as she said, "Wish I could say the same."

For a moment, it seemed Madison might leave their conversation there. Then, as Vida raised the glass, she pounced. "When's the last time you felt her move?"

Vida froze, the glass hovering a few inches from her face. After a second, the woman brushed it off, putting the drink back down on the counter. "I'm on the go a lot," she dismissed, but it was too late. Madison already smelled blood in the water. "I barely notice."

"I lost one," Madison shared, voice growing distant. "Between Nick and Alicia. One week her heart was beating — bap, bap, bap, bap, too fast to count. Next checkup...it just stopped."

Vida's voice was stone. It seemed she knew exactly what Madison was trying to do. "I'm healthy. My kid's healthy."

"Taking prenatal vitamins?"

"As if I'm gonna find any," she said, incredulous.

"When exactly was the last time you felt her move?" Madison continued to press.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Shut up."

"If she died, she may have turned," the Clark warned.

"She'd feel that, though, wouldn't she?" Ofelia asked, brows furrowed in what appeared to be genuine concern, though the edge in her voice was anything but. "I mean, if that thing was moving inside of her, she probably would have felt that."

She cocked the gun, aiming at Ofelia. "I said shut the hell up."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Daniel tried to draw attention away from his daughter.

Vida walked up to Madison, bringing the barrel right up under her chin. The woman didn't so much as flinch as she threatened, "I'll shoot you and I'll toss you overboard. Don't tempt me."