by Rainy Kaye
I shouldn't care. I hadn't wanted them here. But now I'm terrified. I don't know how to—
I grit my teeth against another contraction and cry to myself. Pain rips through me. I must be dying. My body trembles through every limb, and nausea quakes my stomach. I try to get out of bed. Maybe there's still enough time to get to a hospital. I'll take the keys to Pa's truck from the hook by the door and—
Another wave of pain slams through, and I lean back into the bed. The pain is like a fire slicing me in half, and the contractions are right on top of each other now, barely giving me a moment to breathe or even think.
I'm not going anywhere. I can't even get back on the bed. Everything is happening too fast and, at the same time, the pain seems to stretch on for eternity. I just want to have my baby safely—have her and get her far away from this place.
"Mama!" I holler. "Please, Mama!"
Sobs echo from the other room, and I realize I'm crying, too. It's just me now. Me and the Darkness and my baby, my Anna, coming into the horrifying world that doesn't deserve her.
Buy Come, the Dark by Rebecca Hamilton on Amazon.
