Delivery of Hope
The floorboards gave away the position of the militia above us. If they discovered us, we would be dead. I timed my breathing with their footsteps. With each wave of pain, I clenched my teeth down on my tattered shirt. As the pain increased, my body shook. I tightened every muscle in my body to keep my shaking from making a sound. If the militia didn’t discover us, I might be dead soon anyway. I was losing too much blood. Would it be better to get it over with now? Allow my body to shake and scream out in pain? Let the militia find us and end things quickly. They would take her though and I couldn’t let that happen. We were running out of places to hide, and my hope of ever finding the resistance was fading. What kind of world is this for Marley. He should have been back by now with supplies; I can’t do this on my own. Maybe there was nothing left in the pillaged town, or the militia could have found him. It might just be the two of us now. But what if I don’t make it. I bared down as another wave of pain came rushing over my body. The contractions were getting closer together. It was getting harder to stay quiet as the pain was becoming almost unbearable. Not now. If you come now, they will find us. I held my breath and tightened every muscle in my body in an attempt to remain undetected.
