I ended the useless call and set my phone down. I laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
I’m not sure how long I was asleep, but I woke up due to a nasty cramp in the bottom of my belly. I wasn’t sure what was causing it, but on top of the cramps my stomach tightened and twisted in the onset panic. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark and until I felt I could walk through the pain. After which I got out of bed.
I saw a backpack sitting on a chair and felt for a flashlight. I found one after a minute or two of frantic searching.
I made my way slowly to the bathroom trying not to cry out in pain. When I got to the bathroom, I turned on the flashlight. There was no blood, but the cramps were intense and didn’t ease up.
I sat down on the floor because I couldn’t stand the pain and just focused on my breathing. I had given birth before and vaguely remembered the pain of it. But this felt different somehow. This didn’t feel right.
I tried not to focus on the worry and dread trying to wash over me. I just focused on breathing.
I made a pillow out of some towels and somehow eventually fell asleep on the bathroom floor. I woke up to Daniel gently shaking me.
“You alright?” He asked kneeling next to me.
The sun was coming in through the windows and casting shadows against the light in the room.
Daniel looked extremely worried.
“I’m okay,” I said, “I just had some terrible cramps.”
He wiped my hair from my face, “You need a doctor. Maybe we can get Luther in here.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. I felt better. While at least the pain had become a dull ache rather than the intense craziness it was before.
“No, Shelly. You need someone to check you out.”
Daniel helped me up off the floor and I laid down on my bed. I quickly fell back asleep.
When I woke up again, I was screaming. The pain had returned worse than before. I felt like I was being ripped open. The pain felt like a dull knife cutting into me. I was blinded by the intense pain washing itself over me.
I imagined there was a zombie inside me, trying to claw its way out of me. The pain was too much. I knew I must be dying.
Chapter 14
“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” I heard a woman say.
It sounded like it was coming from above me.
“I think the stress of the last few days was a little much on her,” she continued.
My eyes were heavy and refused to open. It was like they were being weighted down. It reminded me of the pain killers I took when they removed my wisdom teeth and I figured I must have been sedated.
I kept telling myself to open my eyes. I kept willing them to open but they would not. I wanted to scream.
“But the baby?” I heard Daniel ask.
His voice making me smile to myself. I didn’t hear the answer to his question. And that made me want to scream even more.
“Open damn it,” I thought. Willing myself to wake up.
Finally, my eyes cooperated, and a light overhead blinded me. I moved my hand to shield my eyes. I looked around to take in my surroundings. It looked like I was waking up on a cold hospital bed, but it didn’t look like a hospital room.
“Oh, thank God,” Daniel said as he walked in through a curtain and saw me.
A woman with half pulled back black hair and a nice smile walked in.
“Hi Shelly, I’m Dr. Rebecca Diggers. I’m the OBGYN in here. You gave this man here quiet a fright. How are you feeling?” She asked.
I sighed, “Tired.”
She nodded, “Well, you and the baby have been through a lot.”
“Where am I?” I asked.
I was avoiding the real question I wanted to ask. The one that was filling me with dread.
“It’s a warehouse,” the doctor answered. “It’s now our medical unit since the hospital was closed and bordered up.”
A strange chill ran through my body. The thought of the hospital where Jackie had been. Where she ate her father. It had been shut down and boarded up. It was deemed unsafe. Something about that made me extremely sad.
“How did you know to get me?” I asked. I was so confused.
I felt a light touch on my hand and looked to see Daniel running his fingers over the back of my hand.
“They came to get Phoebe and took you right away,” he said.
I swallowed and took a deep breath, “What about the baby?”
“Heartbeat is still strong, but now that you’re awake we’ll have a proper look,” Rebecca stated.
Rebecca wheeled in an ultrasound and sat down next to me. She put the cold cream on my belly, and I winced. She put the wand on my belly and a loud whooshing sound filled our little corner.
“Like I said that heartbeat is strong,” she said and looked at the monitor.
Daniel fully took my hand in his and squeezed it tight. I looked at him. His eyes glinting in the light. I smiled. I knew at that moment he was going to be a great dad. I had known it for a while but at that moment it truly hit me how good he was going to be. I then leaned my head into his arm.
“The baby really seems to be doing fine,” she said. “You, on the other hand, need to rest. The stress did you in.”
“Well, zombies popping up out of the ocean will do that to you,” I stated.
