Tumia

At Last

"She's not breathing!" I heard a deep voice scream as bright lights flashed past me.

An oxygen mask was over my face, pushing air into my lungs. My head felt heavy and drowsy as I stared at the moving figures shouting at each other.

A woman looked down at me, tears in her eyes as she held my forehead. "Keep pushing, Thalia," the voice commanded as my eyes closed again.

When I woke up, the bright lights were back, and a loud machine was beeping nearby. I could only move my eyes, and I saw Dr. Evans and Vorian.

Vorian was slamming his fist against the wall, shouting with tears streaming down his face. Why was he crying?

"I'm so sorry, Vorian. The baby..." she said, shocking me.

A baby? I tried to move my arm, but it felt impossible. I wanted to scream and ask what they were talking about, but my throat burned, and no words came out.

The machine began to beep again, and the doctor ran over to check it. I was breathing heavily, tears pricking my eyes. What did they mean by baby? I shouted in my head before everything went dark again.

When I woke up, everything was dark. My eyes refused to open, and I could only hear faint voices.

It felt like a recurring nightmare, waking up to hear different things and not understanding why I couldn't shout for help or move. My whole body hurt so badly.

"Is she dead?" a low voice asked, and I shouted for help, but nobody heard me.

There were more words, but I couldn't understand them all. I just wanted to wake up and see everyone, to hug Vorian. I wanted to be alive.

Two weeks later

I blinked my eyes open in a small room. Lifting my body, I looked around and realized I was on base in one of the infirmary rooms.

My throat felt dry as I looked at my body. I had needles in my arms, and my head was pounding like crazy.

The door opened, showing light from the hallway, and I closed my eyes quickly as it burned.

There was a loud crash on the floor, and I opened my eyes to see a crying Eldrith limping over to me.

"You're alive!" she shouted, scared to touch me.

I didn't know what had happened, but I nodded at her words. She screamed, pressing a red button, and no longer than five minutes later, Dr. Evans ran inside.

She seemed, shocked to see me. "How many fingers am I holding?" the doctor asked.

"Three," I said, and she smiled, checking the machine and the needles all over my body.

"Thalia, we thought you were dead," Eldrith cried, wiping her eyes.

Looking around, I was still lost on what had happened. How long had I been out? My memory began to jog as I recalled certain conversations.

It all came back to one memory, and my eyes widened. "How is the baby?" I asked frantically, causing everyone to pause.

Dr. Evans cleared her throat and looked at me. As she opened her mouth, the door swung open, and a stressed Vorian walked toward me.

He pulled me into a tight hug, and I melted into it. Dr. Evans began to push everyone out of the room, leaving us alone.

I smiled at Vorian, missing his smell and touch. "How is the baby?" I asked again, the only thing on my mind.

Vorian swallowed hard and sat down beside me. "Thalia, you've been... you've been unconscious for two weeks," he began, causing me to stare at him, shocked.

"Your lungs were damaged," he whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks as he explained what had happened. "And you miscarried," he added, causing my hands to slip from his.

"I lost it..." I whispered to myself. "How old?" I asked, fighting back tears.

"One month," he said, and I nodded.

"And the corporal? Halle? My father?" I asked, wanting to know what had happened.

"The corporal is dead, and the rest are in prison. I... I'm so sorry for not telling you about the plan," he began. I could only nod, my heart heavy with sorrow, unable to find the words to respond.

My mind went back to the baby we lost. I tried to push it back and act like it was nothing, but my chest grew heavy. I knew I was sick and ignored it. I killed my own child. I didn't realize I was crying until Vorian wiped my tears.

"Oh," I said, my smile breaking as Vorian cried again.

We both felt the same pain... the loss of a child. "I'm so sorry, Thalia," he said, placing his head on the bed.

"I should have noticed you were sick... I should have seen the signs!," he shouted at himself.

My sniffles grew louder as I wanted to burst into tears. "You did nothing wrong," I whispered because I was the one who caused it.