30

Stella

The grass between my toes felt warm from the summer sun, and my ankle felt so much lighter without the chains. It was such a relief that they trusted me again so I could be up walking around and getting some fresh air.

Although I honestly hadn't really wanted to walk much lately. I have been so exhausted, from the illness and the pregnancy itself. It made sense that I didn't have energy.

But today I felt good enough to go for a walk. I had been wanting to explore Emberwood, because I hadn't seen much of anything outside my room at Jovie's.

As I looked around, I realized that I had somehow gotten outside of Emberwood. The tall fence was behind me, and all around me, trees had been cut down, leaving short stumps in a grassy field. No one else was nearby. Not even Max or Ripley, and I hadn't thought to bring my walking stick.

The sky overhead began to darken, and the air began to cool. Wind blew through a bush close by that was adorned with vibrant berries, and I noticed that something was crouching behind it.

"Hello?" I called out as I walked closer. "Is someone there?"

They didn't respond so I went around to get a better look and found a little boy. He looked to be about seven, with shaggy dirty blond hair. His eyes were bright emerald, and his nose was broad and running slightly. The most remarkable thing about him, though, was that his skin was the ashy green color of a zombie.

He was crouched down facing me, holding a human foot and calf in his hands, munching on it like it was corn on the cob. His mouth was covered in blood, and hunks of flesh were stuck between a gap in his front teeth.

He held the leg out to me, offering to share, and my stomach suddenly rumbled. I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten, and at that moment, I felt like I would literally starve to death and die if I didn't eat something right then.

I knelt down in front of him, and I bit into the meaty flesh of the leg and took a bite. It was hard to chew, but the flavor was so delicious, better than anything I had ever had before. It was sweet and invigorating. It tasted exactly like being alive was meant to feel.

I grabbed onto the leg with both hands, chowing on one side while the little green boy chewed on the other. Together, we were ravenous animals, and I couldn't have slowed down, even if I wanted to.

Then suddenly, there was this horrible pain inside me, and I doubled over. Everything felt like it was clenching, and the baby thrashed against my stomach.

I woke up screaming in my bed. The room was dark, except for the twinkling string lights, and I could see Max rushing to my side from the floor, grabbing my hand.

"Stella you're okay," he told me soothingly. "It was only a nightmare."

"No, no." I shook my head as my abdomen contracted, and in between my legs felt wet and sticky. "The baby is coming."

" Now ? It can't be now. It's too early!" Max insisted, his eyes wide and terrified.

"I don't think the baby cares, because he is coming now!" I shouted at him.

Ripley had been sleeping on the floor, but she ran out of the room when I started crying. Those same exact noises summoned both Jovie and her assistant Eden.

"What's wrong?" Jovie asked, alert with her housecoat billowing around her.

"She says she's having the baby!" Max shouted, sounding both alarmed and incredulous.

"I am having the baby!" I insisted through gritted teeth as another contraction took hold.

"Okay. How far apart are the contractions?" she asked.

"They do not feel very far apart to me."

Jovie kept talking to me in a calm voice, and Max let me squeeze his hand as hard as I needed to, but most of what happened after that was a blur of pain and sweat. When I squeezed my eyes shut, I would see the zombie boy from my nightmares and feel that terrible hunger deep within me.

And when I opened my eyes again, it was Jovie and Max telling me to push and to breathe, but everything hurt, and I felt like I was being ripped apart. Somewhere deep down, I was so terrified and so excited to meet the baby, but mostly all I felt was pain and wishing it would be over.

"The baby is crowning!" Jovie shouted, and by then, the morning light was coming through the window, and I didn't think I could go on for much longer.

"You're so close, Stella," Max told me enthusiastically. "You're doing great! Our baby is almost here!"

I gave it my all, and I pushed until everything went black.

And then I heard the sound of a baby crying. My vision cleared and I could see Jovie, holding a tiny, bloody baby between my legs.

"How is he?" I asked. "Is he breathing?"

"He is a little girl," Jovie corrected me with a smile. "And she's absolutely perfect."

And then she laid my newborn daughter on my chest, and the happiness and relief was so intense and overwhelming, it was painful. All I could do was hold her close and sob.