My body shook uncontrollably. Just as the pain subsided, movement outside the windows caught my attention. The guard at the door made a noise and shifted. He was nervous. Jared was here.
The shadows of the shells weaved back and forth. There was a large explosion, then a blotch of crimson sprayed against the mud on the glass, highlighted by a ball of fire. The glass broke, and my husband pushed through, his eyes wild but focused. He immediately attacked the guard at the door, filling the creature’s head with an entire clip of bullets. Once he fell to the ground, Kim ran into the glass opening. She made her way to the door, and closed it, holding her palms flat against the metal.
“I got it!” she said. She was covered in blood, and noticeably injured.
“Are you okay?” I called to her.
She smiled. “Never been better. You just worry about delivering that ba—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a shell burst through the broken glass and pointed his gun at Kim. She turned, her eyes wide.
“No!” I screamed.
Jared charged the shell, but was too late. The bullet burst through Kim’s chest, blowing her back against the door.
“Kim!” I cried, watching her limp body slide down the door to the ground. Her eyes were open, but she was dead before she hit the floor. “Kim!”
“Nina!” Jared yelled, running to me. He slid on his knees and released me from the restraints, and then slipped his backpack from his shoulders, opening it and pulling out supplies.
Before I could speak, the overwhelming spasms engulfed me. I wailed, but I wouldn’t push.
Jared checked between my legs, and his eyes grew wide. “He’s crowning, sweetheart. Push.”
I shook my head. “She’s dead.”
“I know, but you have to push.”
“I can’t.”
Jared smiled. “Yes, you can. You’ve done so well.”
I peeked at Kim. “They’re out there. Waiting for him.”
Jared touched my cheek. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to him.”
“They abandoned us,” I cried.
“Who?” Jared said, laying out sterile cloths.
“Heaven! Where are they? Where is Samuel?” The pain came again.
“Nina, push!” Jared said.
“They’ll kill him!”
Jared grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Look at me,” he said, watching me as I panted. “I won’t let that happen. We will protect him. Together.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “I don’t know if I can.”
“You can, and you will. Now, push!”
I nodded and pushed myself up on the heels of my hands. When the contraction came, I pushed through it. My voice was low and gruff and I grunted, using all of my remaining strength.
Claire and Bex jumped through the glass opening, and paused, seeing Kim’s body sitting still against the door. They walked over to her. Claire gently shut her eyes, and then she rushed over to me. She got on her knees behind me, and hooked her elbows under my arms.
I stared at Kim, but Claire used her cheek to bar my line of sight. “Don’t look, honey.”
I wailed, mourning for my friend. Claire hugged me tight. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she repeated, over and over.
Ryan leaned against the opposite wall, his rifle in hand, tears drawing clean lines down his dirty face.
“Could you grab a cloth and wipe her forehead?” Claire said. Ryan didn’t hesitate, digging through the pack and then patting down my brow. He combed back my wet hair with his fingers and then kissed my cheek. “Doing good, Nigh. Hang in there.”
I began to speak, but the urge to push came again, so I heaved. I pushed so hard that my body trembled. Yelling seemed to help, so I did. I yelled, and screamed, and cried out. I cried for Kim, and for the pain, and for fear of what would happen once Bean was vulnerable.
Jared held open my shaking knees. “You’re almost there, Nina.”
Just as he said the words, the baby seemed to spill out of me and into Jared’s arms.
He laughed out loud, in shock, holding his blood-covered child in his arms.
Claire helped me to relax back against the cushion, and then she assisted Jared in cleaning off the infant and cutting the cord.
Bex pushed his back against the door. “We’ve got some nasty ones on the way! They’re boiling up straight from Hell!”
Ryan gripped his rifle, and Claire stood. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “They’ve sent an entire Legion.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Mother
There is a distinct difference between the ability to create life and the innate need to protect it, to cherish it. Appreciating that life is the one being you love most in the universe becomes duty, and as a direct result, one must neglect all else to preserve it.
The mother that throws herself in front of an oncoming car, the mother that eats a can of generic peaches when the last bit of food isn’t enough to share, the mother that wears a ratty dress to work so that she can keep much-needed shoes on those tiny, precious feet…that is the distinction of a mother’s love: self-sacrifice.
The moment I heard the cries of the tiny, gooey baby in Jared’s arms, nothing else mattered. Not even me.
“Is he okay?” I asked.