by Andrew Gates
So she decided to simply change the subject.
“How did you sleep?” she asked.
“Good. Better than last night, that’s for sure. I heard you and Ophelia talking for part of it.”
“Oh, did we wake you up?”
“Yes, but it was not a problem. I was taking the next shift on watch anyway,” he explained.
Iris was glad she did not have to take any shifts on watch. As much as she disliked her damaged hearing, she had to admit; not staying up at night was a benefit.
“How is Kaitlyn?” Iris asked, changing the subject again. She would try anything to stall for time.
“Still asleep, which is a good sign. She needs all the rest she can get.”
“Has anyone else started feeling symptoms?”
Dan shook his head.
“If they have, I’m not aware of it. I wouldn’t be surprised though. To be honest, I’m amazed only Kaitlyn and Rina came down with something so far.”
“Me too,” Iris admitted.
Once again, she recalled the old tale of Jamestown. Disease ran rampant for the English settlers almost immediately. It had been a little over a month now for the station survivors. She did not expect the group to remain this healthy for much longer.
Dan sighed.
“I hope that time doesn’t come soon,” he said. “Hopefully we can get far enough away from everything that’s trying to kill us.”
“You mean like the zombies?” Iris asked.
“Damn, I hate that name, but yes.”
Iris could not help but chuckle at that remark.
“I hate that name too,” she added. “Who came up with it?”
“Jallah said it first and the other kids started using it,” Dan explained. “I tried telling him that these creatures are not zombies. They’re alive! They have blood and they can think!”
“Any new theories on what they are?”
Dan lowered his head and shook it.
“No, no new theories. I still think they might be some sort of de-evolved human offshoot.”
“So you don’t think they’re a new creature?”
Dan looked at her.
“I don’t, but we’ve only encountered them once. It’s not like we’ve had a lot of opportunity to study them,” he explained.
Iris had to admit, he had a good point there.
“And you still think we can get away from the zombies by heading west?”
Dan nodded now.
“I do.”
“And your logic?”
He lifted his hands in the air.
“By the time of the Descent, 80 percent of the human population lived near the coast. Three quarters of Earth’s cities were by water. Did you know that?”
Iris nodded her head. She was impressed that he knew something so specific.
“I did know that, but keep in mind, that data is vague, Dan. How are we defining people who live near the coast? That data could include people living several hundred kilometers away.”
“Then we travel several hundred kilometers away from the coast. Look, Iris, as far as I’m concerned, the farther we are from the ocean, the fewer creatures we’ll encounter. You even said it yourself, didn’t you? In the first week we arrived here, you agreed that the mantises are more likely living by the water.”
“And I still think that’s true.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Iris shrugged.
“I… I don’t know. I just want to make sure you understand your decisions,” she explained, making up an excuse. Iris was honestly not sure which side she took in this debate anymore. She no longer cared where they went, so long as they stayed together.
She sighed and lowered her head.
“What’s wrong?” Dan asked. He soothingly placed his hand on her chin. She looked up at him. “You seem off. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Do I still seem like something is wrong?
“I…” Iris did not know what to say. Should I just come right out with it after all? Is there any sense putting it off? “I… uh…” she continued, still arranging her thoughts.
Dan looked back eagerly.
“What is it?”
Just come out and say it already.
“Dan, I’m pregnant.”
Even through his rugged beard, Iris made out an emotion she could not put to words. It was like joy, shock and worry all rolled into one. She waited quietly for him to say anything. His hand left her chin. He took a step back, almost stumbling.
“You’re sure?” he eventually asked, through muttered words.
Iris smiled and nodded her head.
“I am now,” she answered.
“I never thought… after our first time… it’s just, what are the odds?” Dan continued, hardly piecing together a full sentence.
Iris did not know how to respond. She stood there and waited for him to say something else, anything else. She had not realized how nervous she was until now. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her body.
Dan placed both of his palms on his head and took a deep breath. When he removed his hands, his face lit up with happiness. His eyes reddened.
“We… we’re having a baby!” he exclaimed. He raised his hands in excitement and jumped up. It reminded Iris of the moment he released his helmet for the first time after leaving the HPE. She could not help but smile back. “But wait,” he suddenly said, stopping in an instant. His face immediately transformed from one of excitement to worry. “What if you get sick? What if something happens to us?”
“Then we deal with it,” Iris replied. She could tell he was concerned, and rightfully so.
Dan was quiet. He looked down and subtly nodded.
“I… I guess you’re right. We’re raising Kaitlyn and Misha here, so I guess we can… you know, raise our kid the same way,” he said. It was like he was answering his own question while he was speaking. “I, uh, you know, I’m happy for you, Iris. Happy for us, I mean. This is great. This is a happy moment. I never thought, never thought I’d be… you know…”
“A dad?”
He nodded silently as tears came down from his eyes. Iris had never seen Dan behave like this, so out of control and emotional. It was like he just said everything that came to mind and jumped from one emotion to the next.
Iris leaned in and embraced him. He embraced her in return. They kept this position for so long that Iris’s jumpsuit was beginning to get wet from Dan’s tears. But she still held onto him, not wanting to let this moment go.
“This… this is a great day,” Dan said, eventually pulling away. “With so much sadness and so much fear, it’s good to have a ray of light in these uncertain times.”
Iris stroked the back of his head. His thick hair tangled in her fingers.
“That was very eloquent,” Iris replied, trying to fake a casual tone. It was hard for her to contain herself.
The comment made Dan chuckle. He wiped some tears from his eyes and leaned in, kissing her on the lips. His morning breath was terrible, but Iris ignored it. She kissed him back and held him close. It felt good to be so close.
“Iris, I want to be there for our child. We will raise this kid together. It will be the first child born in the New World,” he explained as he leaned back from the kiss. “We’ll give him or her a good life, even out here.”
The first child born in the New World. Iris had not considered the significance of that until just now. This was going to be more than just a baby. This was going to be the first baby, the first of what could become a new colony or a new civilization. The thought was daunting.
“Dan, I’m glad you’re excited, but you should calm down. You’re scatter-brained,” Iris said, holding onto his shoulders now. She stared him in the eyes. “Take a deep breath.”
He did as she asked.
“Feel better?” she wondered.
He nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I feel like I was just saying a bunch of things.”
“You were.”
“Well… I’m just excited. It’s hard for me to know what to say. It’s good news, but it’s not going to be easy.”
“I understand,” Iris responded. “I’m just glad you want to be there for our baby. That makes me proud.”
“Of course! What else would I do?” he asked, lifting his arms up in the air. “It’s like you say, we have to stick together.”
So he does want to keep us together.
“Yes,” Iris replied, “together is good.” She grinned.
Neither of them said anything after that. Iris heard some muffled noise in the distance. It occurred to her that she had not been paying any attention to what was happening around her. She decided to turn away from Dan for just a moment.
To her surprise, the field was full of joy. Everyone in the group was standing and applauding. The cooks stepped away from their deer and cheered. Ophelia ran up to her with a grin on her face, yelling something that Iris could not interpret. Only Selena remained seated, watching over her sleeping daughter.
“I’m so happy for you!” Iris finally understood as Ophelia ran her way.
Iris opened her arms and Ophelia jumped into them. She almost knocked her down.
“Oh, watch it!” Iris responded.
“Sorry, was that too fast?”
“A little.”
“I’m so glad you told him! That’s awesome!” the girl said, apparently not concerned that she’d almost knocked Iris down.
“You knew?” Dan asked.
Ophelia let go of Iris and nodded with a big grin on her face. Dan smiled back.
“Who else knew?” he wondered.
“Nobody. I told her last night while you all were sleeping,” Iris explained. “That’s when I figured it out.”
“And you waited until morning to tell me?” Dan asked.
Iris nodded back.
“I did.”
“You should have told me sooner!” he said. “That news is… well, I hate to sound like I’m repeating myself, but it’s great!”
Iris chuckled. He did sound like he was repeating himself.
“I was going to tell you first thing, but…”
Dan’s face suddenly showed signs of worry.
“Oh, the deer,” he said, figuring it out. “Oh shit, Iris, I’m so sorry. That comment must have been totally out of place. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize!” He grabbed her hand. “Iris, you have to know I didn’t mean it,” Dan continued, not dropping his apology.
“I know, I know! You don’t have to keep saying it,” Iris explained. “It’s fine. And it’s a good point you made. I need to watch out. I need to be careful. Because in these next few months, I’m going to be vulnerable.” Admitting that came surprisingly easily, though that did not make the fact any harder to accept.
“I understand,” Dan said. “But don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there for you!” Ophelia added.
Iris looked back at them and realized that she was starting to cry. She had never felt so proud of her new companions.
Her new family.
I can’t believe it, she thought. This moment is real. This family is real.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Dan cheered as he turned to face the other survivors. “Good morning forest-dwellers! Let’s get that deer ready! This is a day of celebration! Today we eat like kings!”
The field erupted in cheer.
In the midst of a dark hour, it seemed some happiness could still be found.
KAITLYN’S HEAD WAS STILL WARM. Her face was flushed and mucus flowed out of her nose like water from a leaky faucet. At least she was healthy enough to stand again. Grey removed his hand as she hobbled to the nearest tree. The father smiled and remained still to let her practice walking on her own. When she reached the trunk, she held onto it and vomited all over the mossy ground.
Grey leapt forward and held her by the shoulders. He did not expect her to throw up. She had hardly eaten in days. What was left in her stomach to purge?
“Are you okay?” he asked as she finished gagging.
She lifted her head and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her already dirty jumpsuit.
“I’m sorry. I threw up,” she explained.
“I know. I saw. But how do you feel?” he asked again.
“Better. My stomach doesn’t hurt. I like that I can walk now.”
“That’s good. That’s improvement!” Grey said with a grin.
Over the last day, Kaitlyn had been getting a lot better. The red ulcers on her skin had faded away. She was drinking more water, spending more time awake and even walking around. Unfortunately, as Kaitlyn got better, Selena got worse. She was now coming down with the same symptoms. Grey expected she would not be the last.
“Daddy, am I better now?” Kaitlyn asked as she moved away from the tree.
“Your head is still warm and you look pale. You still need to rest, but you’re getting there,” he answered.
“When will I be totally better? I don’t like being sick. Will it take long?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Grey replied with a shrug. “Hopefully it won’t be much longer.”
“Does mommy have what I had?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“Did I get her sick? Is it my fault?”
“It’s not your fault, no. You didn’t try to get anyone sick,” he said, reassuringly. The last thing he wanted was for Kaitlyn to feel guilty. She needed to focus on getting better, not worrying about her mother.
“Oh. Okay,” the girl replied.
Grey was surprised to see how calm she was right after vomiting all over the ground. But when he considered what she had been through over the past few days, he supposed her behavior was not that strange. Compared to how she had been, she must have felt great today.
“Is Iris’s baby going to get sick too?” she asked.
“Hopefully not,” Grey replied.
“How come she is having a baby on the surface? Why didn’t she have a baby sooner?”
“Sometimes we can’t control these things,” Grey answered, trying to give as little information as possible.
“We should be able to,” Kaitlyn replied. “When is the baby going to be born?”
“Several months from now. Do you think you can wait that long for your new cousin?” he asked.
“Maybe. Is that a long time? How long is a month?”
Grey sighed.
“We’ve been on the surface for probably a bit longer than a month now,” he explained. Saying it out loud was almost scary.
“That long? It feels like we’ve been here forever! I wish the baby came out sooner,” she replied.
“Me too,” Grey said with an exhale. “Me too.”
Grey knew that the members of his escape pod would be excited to learn the news about Iris and her baby, but he did not know how the Navy members would take it. After all, Iris and Dan’s relationship would have been considered illegal in the station. Their baby was an ethnic cross-breed. Fortunately, when Iris revealed the surprise, the Navy members were happy and accepting. Just when things were getting their darkest, they suddenly had something to celebrate. The news could not have come at a more opportune time.
But the news also brought some new worries. Grey knew having a pregnant woman in their group would slow them down. Not to mention, once the baby was born, raising it would be a challenge. Part of him wondered if they were up for it.
“Daddy!” This was Misha’s voice. She sounded excited.
Grey turned around to face her. She ran to him with open arms and a smile on her face. She nearly tripped on her way over.
“Misha? What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised.
Far beyond Misha, Grey could make out Sixtine slowly walking over. She was holding onto trees for balance. She looked down to the ground as she walked and took every step carefully.
“I wanted to see you. Mommy is still sick and she wants to be left
alone!” Misha explained as loudly as she could.
Misha finally reached him and jumped into his arms, giving him a big hug. He held the hug for a few seconds and then crouched down before her.
“I told you to stay with Sixtine. She can watch you when I’m busy.”
“But what were you doing?”
“I was helping your sister. She’s still not feeling well. She doesn’t need to be around a lot of people right now,” Grey explained.
Kaitlyn walked over and stood next to her crouched father.
“Misha, go away! You’re not supposed to be here,” she said.
Grey turned to face her.
“Now Kaitlyn, that wasn’t very nice. There are nicer ways to ask for things,” he explained.
“But you just told her to leave!”
“What I said was very different,” Grey tried to say, but he could tell she was not having it. She started pouting. At least she’s feeling good enough to act out.
“Why don’t you want to see me?” Misha wondered. She started jumping around.
“I didn’t say I don’t want to see you. I just wanted to make sure your sister is feeling okay, that’s all.”
Sixtine finally caught up to the three of them. She wobbled as she stood. Grey watched her carefully.
“Sorry. She ran off,” the tired woman said as she reached the group.
“It’s fine. How are you?” he asked, getting right to it.
“A little out of breath, that’s all.”
Grey didn’t believe it. From the looks of it, something else was going on.
“Sixtine is boring!” Misha cried. “I want to be with you.”
“That’s not nice to say, Misha,” Grey replied.
“But it’s true!”
Stranded on the surface with dangerous creatures trying to kill us and I still can’t avoid bickering kids, Grey thought to himself. In a weird way, the thought made him chuckle.
“Alright girls, both of you, calm down. I need to talk to Sixtine for a moment,” he said.
“Both of us? But Misha was the one-” Kaitlyn started.
“Both of you!” Grey repeated, interrupting her. He stood up and took a few steps toward Sixtine, keeping both of his kids in sight. “Seriously,” he said, quieter now, “how are you?”
