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.

Suddenly the militia began to yell, and their footsteps headed towards the door. The sound of gunfire began to grow. Could it be the resistance? Maybe we will make it after all. The sound of the militia vehicles and gun fire began to fade farther away. As another wave of pain came rushing over me, my eyes began to get heavy. I have lost too much blood. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard the armoire that hid the door to the small basement I wasn’t hiding in start to slide across the wooden floor. I blinked my eyes open as much as I could. I saw him coming down the stairs with a woman behind him. Was it Mark coming down the stairs, or was I hallucinating. The light from the doorway cast a glow around them as they came down the old stairs. Was I dreaming? I closed my eyes. Am I already dead? My body trembled uncontrollably as Mark picked up my head and placed it into his lap. “I’m here ladybug. I’m here, and I found someone to help,” he whispered. “She has lost a lot of blood, can you help,” Mark said to the woman. “Tiana, I am a doctor. I am going to try to help you; how far apart your contractions?” I heard the women’s voice reply. I opened my eyes in confusion and disbelief. A doctor? All the doctors had been taken into custody by the militia. We had heard rumors of doctors who escaped the militia and were helping the resistance. But there was no sign of the resistance here. How did mark find a doctor? Is the militia allowing her to help so they can take Marley? Did Mark make a deal to save our unborn baby's life? But what life will she have as a slave to the militia? The woman made her way to my side and then placed herself in between my legs as she pulled her dark brown hair back and secured it out of the way. A heart-shaped locket hung from her neck. “Tiana, it’s time for you to push. We need to get the baby out so we can stop the bleeding,” she said with authority. “We don’t have time to wait.”