Divulgence ✹ Septicgab

Ten

It was starting to all come back to me. It was just like when we first met here, except now.... it wasn't just the two of us. We had a child... a child we had to protect and bring home for good.

The rules of the world, although twisted, were simple: die or make it out alive. Evelien was clinging on to life, and as she kept bleeding, her tears stopped falling.

"Seán.." She groaned. "Just... go.." I took her hand in mine as she spoke. "Take Amelia with you, and get out of here. I'll make it out of here on my own.." She coughed a bit of blood. "I love you.." And with that last breath, she was gone. Her body started to fade out of existence, giving me hope that she would make it back home.

"Dad.." My daughter came up behind me. "Is she..?" I nodded. "But.."

"She went home..." I said, sniffling back a few tears. "Just like we will."

"What do we have to do?"

"Your mother... she taught me everything I know..." I smiled. "But you've grown up here, so shouldn't I be asking you that?" She chuckled. "Let's get going."

~

Time went on, and each day, my father trained me like my mother trained him. I became very skilled with a gun, an axe, and my physical strength increased drastically as I worked out whenever I could. It wasn't until my seventh birthday when I felt ready enough to battle anything on my own. He wasn't comfortable putting me in the line of fire until I could prove myself to be capable.

Bang

Bang

Bang bang

"I need a reload," I called out, throwing a Molotov into a crowd of monsters. My dad grabbed my gun and reloaded it, sticking his already loaded weapon into my holster.

-

The time had come. Amid the final battle, the biggest test of my strengths had come at me full force, but I never imagined what would happen....

"Amelia!" My dad fell to the ground. "You have to finish it!" There was red flooding from his body, exposing a large gash across his stomach. "I believe... in you.." I wiped away my tears just in time to miss seeing his body fade away. Before I knew it, I was lunging towards the monster who killed my father. Within seconds, my axe was dripping in blood of the First Hunter... I was pissed... I was out for revenge.

~

My eyes opened to see the ceiling and walls of a hospital room. Next to me, another hospital bed held my future husband. He had a bloodstained gash across his stomach, exposed due to the doctors having to cut his shirt. It was all going to be over.... except for one thing...

"Where's my daughter?" I asked a nurse that came in to check my vitals. "Where is she?"

"Miss Smolders, I'm... I'm sorry, but-"

"Where is my daughter?" I demanded answers. The nurse looked through my papers, then left the room without giving me any answers. "Hey!" I screamed.

"Evelien.." Seán groaned. "They... they explained what happened."

"What?" I was confused. "What are you talking about?" He stared blankly, but I could feel a sense of pain coming through as he opened his mouth to explain.

"Our records..." He said. "They explain it all.... but.... Amelia was.. she was never actually ther-"

"No. I don't believe that."

"We haven't had a daughter," Seán continued. "But... I overheard the doctors saying something about you.." He started to smile. "You're pregnant, now."

The nurse came back in and apologised for leaving abruptly. "Miss, I figured it would be easier for your fiancé to break the news, rather than myself telling you." I looked down at my stomach. "You're about eight weeks along.." I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "Would you like to see?" I nodded.

-

The nurse left then came back shortly after, wheeling an ultrasound machine to my bed. She squirted some gel over my stomach and started to scan.

"There.." She said. "There's your baby.." I was stunned. "Would you like to hear the heartbeat?" I nodded, then looked at my fiancé. He nodded as well. The heartbeat was loud and strong. We both started to cry at the sound of our child's life. "It's a bit too early to know the sex, but we can do another ultrasound in a couple of weeks to determine that." I nodded.

-

Seán and I had to stay in the hospital for a couple more weeks for treatment and counseling after the trauma we experienced, but it was nothing like it was at St. Luke's. This hospital was a legitimate source of healing and support, and by the time I was able to get around on my own in the halls of building, it was time for my next ultrasound.

"Would we like to know the sex?" The same nurse that did my initial scan was back. I looked at Seán to see his reaction to her question before we answered. He was smiling, his eyes becoming misty as he nodded.

"Yes.." I said. The nurse spun the monitor to face us and showed where the fetus's genitals were, and it was confirmed. "Baby McLoughlin... is a girl." Seán and I looked at each other again, tearing up.

"Amelia.." I said in a soft tone. "Amelia Gabrielle.. McLoughlin.."

"You've already chosen a name?" The nurse asked. We started to giggle. "Did I miss something?"

"You wouldn't understand," I said. "But it's.."

"It's a name.. of a special person we came to know and love.... and now..." Seán softly rubbed my growing baby bump. "We'll get to love her.."