Hidden

Hidden Part 2

Carrie's POV

I woke up with a start, gasping and trying to inhale as much air as I could possibly get into my lungs. The nightmare had come back once again, engulfing me in the circumstance of losing Bree or Bianca.

The nightmare was always the same. A faceless stranger sauntered into our house, and when he left, he was sweeping away one of my babies.

My babies. I shuddered. I was lucky to be alive, after such a gruesome night yesterday. But it was all worth it. They're both alive, as am I. A wave of warmth swept over me momentarily, but dissolved as I remembered the laws, the check-in I would have to do with my baby to let a machine calculate exactly what amount of food would be needed for the child to live, and most of all, the fear of tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, when my husband would go walking out in the biting wind, carrying a single baby to check in for the files.

A single baby, to survive. The twins, to split in half.

I murmured softly to myself, trying to ignore it, but it was impossible. All of this was so real, so now, that there was absolutely no way that I could shove it aside. I had to deal with this crisis before it got out of hand.

I walked to the swaying cradle, where two babies were squeezed together in the tight space.

I looked at them. They looked back.

"Bree," I whispered, pulling out the one with the mark just above her forehead, covered by wisps of quickly erupting dark hair. Setting her down, I looked at Bianca, who lay calmly, staring back at me as naturally as breathing.

A tear rolled down my cheek, landing on Bianca's forehead, right where the birthmark on Bree resided.

And a thought struck me, nearly knocking me over with all it's simple complexity.

They're twins. They're identical.

They were still one person, connected by a bond I knew nothing of. The same. And for one, wild, crazy moment, I wondered if they could switch places. If they could be the same person in two bodies.

I wondered.

My husband, Bray, gently rested an arm around my shoulder.

"We are not giving them up. Not one of them," he said stubbornly, echoing my thoughts. He had looked into their eyes, their identical bright blue eyes, full of curiosity and more importantly, of life. Surrendering one of them would be like giving up in a war before the battle had even started.

So we stood, the rain trickling down the window, our arms around each other, staring in wonder at these two little babies. Our two little babies. And we looked each other in the eyes, reading the thoughts behind it, and finding the same answer.

The battle was about to begin.

And our family was going to win.

***

Again, this is kind of an extension to the prologue...

But I DID upload, so I'm glad. I hope you are too. :)

And I'm REALLY sorry about not uploading in quite a while...I've been busy with school/homework/other things that I wish I didn't have to worry about. I'm really, really, really glad that the first part got so many comments/ votes! :D

Can you do it on this one too?

Feel free to give me feedback! I'll upload soon, I PROMISE! I'll start writing the next part soon! LOVE YOU! :)