doomsday. [ yellowjackets ]

quarante et un.

xxx.

chapter quarante et un.
chapter forty one.

1996.

xxx.

While half of the group was helping lay Shauna down on the cot, trying to prepare to help her give birth, Alex was holding on to the edge of the fireplace's frame; her hand covered her mouth like she wouldn't be able to control what came out of it if she moved or straightened. She could hear Shauna's strained groans and harboured breaths as she begged, " Oh, my god, please, someone get it out of me! "

           " Are you..good? " Travis questioned Alex as he held several rags in his hands to give over to Misty and Akilah, but seeing the girl's contorted face made him stop. " You're not about to throw up, right? "

          " Travis. " Lottie called wearily, rising from where she knelt beside Theo's body, the shorter girl still unconscious despite the chaos that had erupted in the cabin within a matter of seconds. The boy moved on with reluctance, walking over to the others with the supplies. Lottie bent down a little, resting her hand against Alex's back as she tried to get a good look at her face.

        When Alex was able to meet her eyes, she instantly felt reality sink in her gut. The short haired girl let out a burdened exhale, dropping her head and letting her dark tendrils of hair fall in front of her face.

       Across the room, the rest of the group either surrounded Shauna or stood a few feet back as to not overcrowd, one of which being Tara. The blonde held her fist against her mouth, unsure of how to help, but there was a droning sound in her ears that seemed to buzz in a rhythm she didn't recognize.

        " Why the fuck is this taking so long? " Shauna demanded, and, as if a punishment for complaining, she was hit with a sharp pain and let out a loud wail.

        " Should we, like, boil water? " Mari suggested, a very panicked look evident on her face as her forehead glistened with a sheen layer of sweat, " That's a thing people do, right? "

       " Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. " Akilah agreed, approaching them with more cloths, " We need to keep things clean. "

       Shauna groaned again, and, from the brunette's side, Dana could see Misty's face screw up, her eyes squeezed tight. Natalie shook her head as she said, " Uh, these are contractions, right? Should we be timing them, or something? "

       " Yeah, that last one was just over a minute. Is-is that long or short? " Gen questioned, looking up to Misty for an answer or guidance, but the blonde seemed to be completely zoned out as she now stared straight ahead, unmoving. " Misty! Should I be timing the in-between or no? "

       " I-I don't know, I just..I need..I need to.." Misty stammered, cracking under the pressure, much to the dismay and disappointment of the others as they shared incredulous looks; she had been preparing for this for months, Misty had claimed she would be able to deliver Shauna's baby as well as any midwife, yet here she was, falling apart.

       " Okay, I think when it's this regular and intense, she's in labor labor and the baby is actually coming. " Akilah supplied, filling the hole Misty left in their certainty.