Cruel World (The Tribe Book 1)

3. The Baby's Coming

"Did anyone see you come in?" Amber calls from the top of the stairs, cautious of the newcomer.

"Nobody sees me if I don't want them to," Bray rebuts.

"She can stay can't she Amber?" Salene asks. "I think you should ask Alleia that," Amber replies quietly, but Trudy hears.

"What, can't decide for yourself because Alleia made herself leader?" Trudy snarks.

"Actually no, because we all view her as our leader. She has the most contacts, alliances with other tribes already in place, she gave us a home, cares and looks after us, and I'm sure the others see her as a sister or mother figure."

Surprisingly, Lex is the one who said that. We all look to him for a second, and he looks back at me with a small smile, which I return, placing a hand on his shoulder for a second, before taking it off and turning back to Trudy.

"I'm not cruel to turn away a pregnant girl, and I'm very aware how much of an asset Bray is to our tribe, so it's up to you. Would you like to stay?" I ask. "Yes. Please," she decides, almost reluctantly but agrees when she turns to Bray and he nods.

"Okay, if you'd like and if its ok with you Salene, Sal can take you up to the café for something to eat? By the way Sal she is vegetarian so something like beans or some fruit in the fridge would probably be best. Is that ok with you Trudy?" I check, receiving a brief nod.

"Kids could you guys go run and play, and I'll come grab you later. Stay out of the sewers and stay where we can here you if something happens please." With that, they run off with Bob, and Bray helps her up the stairs with Salene.

I turn to Lex and Amber, as Dal and Jack wandered back into Jacks place.

"I don't like the idea of her staying here, with how much the baby will scream when its born, but I trust you Alleia, and if you think we'll be okay, I'll follow your lead," Lex comments, and Amber sighs in agreement.

"Now it's just a matter of finding the stuff to get her through childbirth, do we have any medicine that will help her, and supplies?" She asks me.

"Yeah I've got a bunch stashed away, and I know where a lot of towels are from the old homeware store, and we have rubber bands, scissors, plenty of first aid stuff. The only thing will be the noise and cleaning up after, particularly if she tears," I say, Lex getting a bit grossed out.

"Do you guys really see me as leader?" I ask Lex.

"Yeah, we've all talked about it, you've done so much for us just in 2 days," he replies.

"Okay, well if that's what you guys want I'd be happy to, but I'll be asking you two and Bray when I need more opinions. Lex, I want you and Ryan to be in charge of security, have a chat with Jack and Dal about getting some security systems set up in the sewer. Amber, can you and Bray be scouts for supplies when we need them? And maybe set up a roster for cleaning and helping out around the mall, I want everyone on there, even Trudy, just once she has the baby she might need some lighter chores that don't require standing." I request, and they both nod, splitting off to start some of that.

I make my way up the stairs and into the café, seeing Trudy sitting there with Sal's hand on her belly. I make myself known and go sit with them.

"So we need to make up a room for you, I'd recommend one close to the café and the stairs, but up here so you don't have to go so far and tire yourself once now and once the baby is born. Is that ok?" I ask Trudy and she says yes.

She picks a room 2 doors down, a little small old flower shop that I cleared out months ago, planting things on the roof and trading a little bit with some of the tribes if they wanted some. The herbs and stuff are both upstairs and in the old offices, the ones on the roof for cooking, and the others for medicinal purposes when needed.

"I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know anything about raising a baby or how to look after one," Trudy admits, on the verge of a breakdown. I sit her down on the bed and give her a hug.

"And you shouldn't know. In an ideal world, we're too young to even think about kids, let alone in this mess. But I know at the very least you'll have me and Bray to help look after the baby and help you deliver it. And if you want, I could get in contact with Zoot and he can help with supplies, Ebony doesn't even have to know," I tell her, and she looks at me nervously.

"I don't want to tell him. Not yet at least, we'll see what happens," she proposes and I agree. "Get some rest Trudy, yell if you need someone," I tell her, as she lays down to take a nap.

I walk out and down towards my room when I'm stopped by a voice.

"It's nice you two are putting aside your grudges," Bray calls, walking towards me, following me into my place. I sit down on my comfy arm chair as he sits on a piano stool.

"I never had the grudge Bray, she was jealous that I was close to you, she was obsessed," I sigh, rubbing my face tiredly. "By the way, everyone seems to think that baby is yours, but I know it's Martin's. You need to talk to her about that," I mention.

"Yeah I don't exactly know how to bring that up," he responds, sitting in front of my legs, placing his head on my lap for me to play with his hair, like in the old days. I begin braiding his hair, grinning as he laughs at my actions.

"Are you two together or..?" I ask.

"I don't believe so, there's nothing between us, but she seems to believe there is and won't listen when I tell her no," he sighs.

I leave the topic at that and we begin to catch up, as I let him know everything that's been happening, such as the alliance with the Locos, and he tells me about his travels with Trudy, as we wait for her to wake from her nap and call for someone.

Eventually, he gets up, and begins mindlessly playing a guitar quietly, and for a moment, just a moment, it feels as though we were back in school, hanging out in the music room or at Bray's after school.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trudy eventually calls out, and Bray is the one who goes to her, as I continue into the café to start on dinner. I decide to start making a stew, that way there's plenty to go around, it's healthy and we may even have leftovers. I grab a big pot out and begin to chop up a bunch of potatoes and other veggies, placing a bunch of tinned beef on the bench to add in later.

The kids come in when they hear noise to see whats going on.

"Hi Alleia," the girls say, Paul signing. I greet them back, signing back to Paul with a smile. They sit at a nearby table, playing a card game and keeping me company while I cook. A fond smile sits on my face as I continue, eventually getting everything in the pot, and leaving it to simmer for about 30 minutes.

"Hey kids?" I call to them and the girls look up, Patsy nudging her brother.

"Can you help me clean some dishes and pull out bowls and spoons for everyone please?" I ask/sign, and they get to work.

I wash the knives and put them away to avoid accidents, and then let them know where things go. Once it's all done, I sit down with them, and they bring a book and ask to read to me.

After another 20 minutes, we finish reading and they help tell everyone dinner is ready. Everyone comes in as I finish dishing up, and for once everyone is able to sit nicely together and have a meal, everyone talking together.

Amber volunteers to clean up the dishes, and with that I go help Salene wash the kids, as we have working showers because we installed a tank and fixed the water system so that we connected to the mains supply, and got them ready for bed. I read them a story for about 10 minutes before they all drift off, Salene already in her bed asleep. I quietly tuck everyone in and turn out the lamp, heading downstairs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning everyone else got up and had food before I got up, letting me rest. I begin climbing the stairs when all of a sudden Bray yells out.

"Alleia! Trudy's water broke! The baby's coming, now!"

Episode 3 done! Yes I know it doesn't exactly match the episode but this is what I want in the storyline. Let me know what you think and please vote for the chapter!

Liv.