Dandelion Gone (COMPLETED)

Epilogue

4 Months Later...

The air seemed a bit more dewy where Jessica was. In the forest, of course, it was dense, but this, this wasn't like any other place she had hunkered down in. With the livestock that was situated there, and the river not far North, it was the perfect place for her. Food, water, shelter. That was all she needed. Of course, she needed to eat more than she could, because the constant episodes of throwing up were only making her hungrier.

She jerked violently toward the ground, holding her abdomen, yellow liquid spewing out of her mouth. She held onto the tree next to her for support. Groaning, she leaned against the tree and slid down, wondering why this was happening to her. That's when her gut churned, then it sent a shockwave up her spine telling her to run. Knowing that her gut was the only reason she made it this far, she listened to it and darted behind the tree in the opposite direction.

"He's over there!" A voice yelled.

Jessica ran faster. She eventually got far enough ahead to where she was able to climb a tree and sit on a low enough limb to be able to watch the mysterious people. Footsteps were growing rapidly towards her and soon, a group of five men ran into her vision. They stopped just underneath her, looking for any signs of movement.

"He's gotta be around here. Fan out! Search the area, any sign of him, bring it to me immediately." A booming voice commanded.

A string of 'yes sir' was emitted to, what Jessica guessed, their leader. She watched the boy carefully and knew what she had to do to escape. She inched herself forward on the tree limb and jumped down onto the muscular boy, sending him to the ground. She got up and ran in the opposite direction of where the guards went. But before she could make it past the tree, she was sent to the ground as well. She was flipped over by the boy and instinctively sent her fists after him.

"Stop. Stop! Jess?"

Jessica froze. How he knew her name, she had no idea; until she realized.

"Gally?"

"Why did you leave?" Asked her brother, Aris.

"I told you," The girl began, "There's nothing for me here."

Minho squinted his eyes. He knew Jessica well, he knew that she looked people in the eyes no matter what, he knew that when she lied, she gulped before she started to speak. Jessica was one of his best friends and it killed him when he found out she left.

"You're lying," The Korean said.

"I'm not-"

"You are," He cut her off. He kneeled and got to her height, "Tell me the truth, Jess. I can tell when you're lying."

Jessica locked eyes with him for a moment and finally caved.

"I can't look at this place without thinking of how much he would've loved it," she said, her eyes beginning to water.

Minho sighed and brought her into his arms, "It's okay, you have us now."

Jess sniffled, then heaved.

"Are you okay?" Brenda questioned, concerned.

Jessica only nodded, continuing her heaving episode. She knew that she was going to barf, so she pushed back the crowd and found a metal bin in the corner of the room. Her stomach did what it did best, and conjured up the familiar yellow substance.

"Jessica," Thomas said, "Has this been happening the entire time?"

Jessica nodded.

"Jessica," Sonya began, "When I was little, I remember when my mom was hosting my little brother. She had her good days, but the days when they weren't so good, she had these moments where she would heave, then throw up," she said, coming to stand by Jess's side, "It's been four months since you've left and I know it's none of my business, but, for medical reasons, did you and Newt..."

Jessica thought back to that day and remembered every detail of it. The way he was so passionate and gentle about it to the way he moaned every time she tugged his hair or scratched his back.

"Jess?"

Jessica looked up to the Korean boy, then to the blonde-haired girl with a look of worry, "You're not saying I'm...?" 

"So, you're results will differ with color." Said Lilian, the village doctor.

"Why would they differentiate with color ?" Jessica asked the girl.

Lilian stood tall, about five-foot-seven, she had ginger hair and brown eyes. Her cheeks had indents in them, dimples, that were easily distinguishable. 

"Before the world went, I was really interested in anatomy," she said, "My mom, she had the symptoms of pregnancy, but we couldn't afford to go to the doctor to be sure. So, I looked up how to be sure online, and I did it. I mixed it in with chemicals and it was positive. Urine has chemicals in it as well, but when you're pregnant, there are added chemicals. So I have to mix your urine in with the chemicals to see if it's positive or not."

Lilian held up a beaker of, what seemed to be, water. Lilian held up a plastic cup and pour the contents of it inside of the beaker and stirred it around with a popsicle stick. The color started to change rapidly into a turquoise color, causing confusion to erupt in the room.

"What does blue mean?" Aris asked

Lilian smiled and turned to face Jessica, "Well, Jessica, I am proud to say," she paused, "You're going to be a mother."

2 Months Later...

The barfing subsided around a month and a half later. Her belly was growing larger by the week and still, she had no idea how she was going to manage her future. Jessica still had no idea whether the baby was a boy or girl, considering their lack of technology, but she had hoped it would be a boy. Every day people would stop by to check on her by the hour, and every day she said that she was fine, even when she was in the most unforgettable pain imaginable. She would sit at the top of the hill staring down at the Safe Haven, and the peace it brought with it.

When footsteps would interrupt the silence, she would look over and see him. He was in an unusual outfit, a white, pristine, button-up, with khaki pants, and black loafers. His hair was styled in a way, she fell for him all over again. He always smiled at her and stood there watching her. When she looked away and looked back, he would be gone.

1 Month and a Half Later...

The day started off to her being in excruciating pain. People rushed into her hut at the sound of her screams. They feared the worse, but in reality, a miracle was happening. She grunted every time she was told to push harder, and when the pain stopped, she sighed a sigh of relief and wondered exactly what had happened. She sat up and got off the bed, smiling at her fellow companions, but they weren't moving. Neither was she. Her confusion was evident, but the truth was not. She saw herself lying on the bed unconscious. 

"Come," said a familiar voice.

She turned to the left and saw a familiar face, Newt. He exited the room, and she followed in pursuit. Cloth scraped her leg as she walked, looking down, she noticed she was clean, the clothes she was wearing were too, a white gown, down to her knees, and black strappy wedge heels. She moved the curtain and was amazed at the sight. It was the Glade, but there was a group of people in the center. Newt and Jessica walked up to them. The boys were wearing similar outfits as Newt, and the girls were wearing similar outfits as Jessica. Jess scanned over the crowd and pinpointed familiar faces. Alby, Chuck, Winston, Clint, Zart, Ben, Ollie, Teresa, Mary, all of who had died.

"I don't understand," Jessica spoke.

Newt turned to her with a smile, "Welcome to the city of light. We've missed you."

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows, soon realization hit her like a bus.

She had passed away during childbirth.