Terror

Chapter One

The sky was still clouded in darkness. It was all pitch black, as if you were out at midnight playing manhunt. The snow still covered the ground, but the temperatures weren't freezing.

Jason wasn't a weatherman, but he guessed the temperature was zero. It wasn't freezing enough that they'd get hypothermia like some did during the storm. It wasn't the neutral temperature when this all started.

When adults were around, the sun used to shine without fear or danger. Staring around the dimly lit campground, he sighed. Most were sleeping while he sat awake outside, hearing the odd voices talking.

"You can't just sit out here waiting for your housewife to return." Jason looked over to see Scarlett waddling toward him as he stood from his chair, in which she sat. "I'm pregnant, not in a wheelchair."

"I'm not expecting..." he trailed off.

"No, I'm expecting," she said, pointing at her stomach.

Despite Scarlett being noticeably pregnant, she still appeared as beautiful as she always has. He knew he might sound desperate, but it was something he knew would never change about her.

"I have to pee a lot. I don't vomit anymore, which is fantastic," she stated, wearing her challenging smirk.

"Ah..." he trailed off, uncomfortable with the words.

"Would you like me to explain all the other strange changes with my body?" Scarlett asked, her eyebrows raised.

"No, no!" he rushed as she laughed. "What rank is it?"

"Highest."

The ranking system was something Scarlett was able to measure. It was part of the mutant powers some of them had, but only two people were high ranks: him and Greyson, but nobody was a higher rank other than Ashley or Divina.

"You cannot tell anyone," he whispered.

"I wasn't just going to yell to everyone that my mutant child is probably thinking of crawling out of my stomach." Scarlett's sarcasm took Jason a moment to grasp.

They've been divided into two sides for six months. It's been peaceful for once, which normally doesn't happen. Oftentimes, there seems to be some type of conflict between him and Greyson or with whatever Ashley has planned.

"It started kicking at five weeks, which is earlier than normal babies. That's not the worst part, but I can do things it must be able to do. I'm still a low rank, but..." she said, meeting his gaze.

"What are you talking about?"

"I once went to grab a towel, but it came to me instead. You know how I used to hear the voice? Now, it doesn't say much anymore."

Jason knew that this child would save them in some way. It could stop them from facing Ashley, the true monster. She hadn't attacked or caused any harm in the past six months, but Jason feared Scarlett knew something.

"Like extreme mutant powers?" Jason asked.

"Yes, which pregnancy is quite a bitch," Scarlett said with a smirk, grabbing a piece of dead grass from the ground, which grew wider. "This is one."

"It grows things like Divina?" he asked.

"Along with shrinking objects, but I don't know what other killer powers it has," she sighed, dropping the piece.

"Has Ashley located the baby?"

"I doubt it, but she will eventually. The baby definitely has multiple plans up its sleeve, especially with protection, and that we shouldn't worry. It has said it senses things."