Apocalypse

8: The Bra

"How could that happen?" I asked.

"I don't know but right now I need to stop her bleeding." He handed off the screaming child to me.

It was small, very small. It was covered in burgundy blood but I saw grey skin underneath, it did die.

I handed it off to Jim and told him to bring it into the nursery we had prepared for it.

I walked down to the lake. I couldn't watch.

It was so peaceful down here. The small ripples of waves lapping against shore. The cry of seagulls echoing over the small body of water. The trees swayed with the calm wind. There were no worries down here.

It seemed like seconds I was down there before Ryan came down and sat next to me in the cold water.

His hands were covered in blood. He washed the tools he had used for the surgery.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"She is stabilized, for now." He said as he rinsed his hands.

"And the baby? How did her uterus lining get ripped?"

"When did she last come in contact with a creeper?" He asked.

"There was that one that you shot. But how could it get to the baby?"

"Did she swallow it's blood?"

I tried to remember. The blood that spewed out of its mouth when she was screaming.

"A very small amount." I answered.

"Anything that she swallows goes to the baby first. Eating creepers or their blood can infect you."

"I thought you eat them?"

"I eat dummies. Creepers are dangerous."

This was all so confusing.

"When it died, the food supply never got cut off for it. Anything that Debbi consumed, so did the baby."

"But how was her uterus ripped?"

"It was a creeper. Creepers are smart, it probably clawed at her uterus and gummed at it. It only takes a small cut to rip it. It is very delicate."

Tears came into my eyes. All Debbi wanted was a child. Her and Jeff had been trying so hard. My godchild was a creeper.

"I'm really sorry." Ryan said.

"I should've been watching her. I should've shot it." My voice cracked.

"Don't blame yourself."

He scooted closer to me.

I wanted to scoot closer to him but I jumped up.

"I have a fiancé."

And with that, I stomped back up the hill.

***

It gnawed at the wooden post.

Its bloodshot eyes were blank. Mindlessly eating away at the hard wood.

It brought tears to my eyes. Debbi didn't want something like this. She didn't deserve anything like this.

"What are we going to do about it?"

I turned and Jim stood behind me, watching the child eat away at its crib.

"I don't know." I leaned into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. He smelled like cologne.

I pulled away. "Are you wearing cologne?"

"Um, yeah why?"

"Luther said it was for special occasions."