I was shocked at what he said.

There were no warnings.

If it wasn’t for her belly you wouldn’t have even known she was pregnant.

I couldn’t believe it and from Ezra’s face, he couldn’t either. I ran over to give as much assistance as I could.

I didn’t have any clue what to do I just followed Ezra’s instructions on what to do and held her hand as she squeezed it.

Sweat was dripping down her face from the pain.

Ezra kept telling her to breathe and tried to look calm, however, behind his mask of calm that he managed to put on I could see a layer of nervousness showing through his eyes.

We had no way to help the baby if there were any complications and we had no what to cut the umbilical cord.

It was a struggle to keep a calm face with all of the possible problems however, I had no choice. Her cries went on late into the night.

I had heard that labor can last long time days sometimes and if it did we would have complications.

After checking for the baby Ezra said

“It looks like the baby isn’t coming out anytime soon. she seems to just be having contractions for now”

Dread filled me as I thought of this.

She was screwed I didn’t know what to do.

It felt almost fake as if this was planned all along.

It felt way too convenient for her contractions to start on the night before we left.

I didn’t worry about it too much as I thought it was the stress taking over the mind that caused me to think this way.

As night bled into day the time was getting close to here.

There were only a few hours left until freedom and it couldn’t be a worse time.

We had a sick person and a pregnant lady.

I don’t imagine that a child would make it much easier.

A quick thought of abandonment bled into my mind before I quickly rushed it away.

After a brief talk, we decided that Ezra would take Annabelle and that I would carry Cheryl.

Jack looked sad that he couldn’t be of any use however he wasn’t fully grown and didn’t seem to have the capabilities of holding someone except Wilson who he was in charge of.

The hours passed by quickly as we took care of Annabelle and Cheryl.

Soon I heard the familiar sound of metal.

Annabelle seemed to be fine for a bit and Cheryl was asleep so use three guys went out to figure out our direction and how to do this.

We asked Wilson if he wanted to come with us however, he seemed worried about Annabelle.

As I went outside I took a deep breath and felt my shoulders relax.

I didn’t even realize that the situation had caused me tense up so much.

I was so focused that I didn’t even have time to think about my nerves.

No, that there was a moment of silence all of my worries came flooding in.

I couldn’t cast them out however Ezra pulled me out of my thoughts as he put his hand on my shoulder.

He leaned in so that Jack couldn’t hear and said

“You’re a good kid Dante, however, when you are carrying Cheryl you come into danger don’t hesitate to abandon her in an instant don’t even give yourself time to think about it. Use your instincts alright. Promise me that.”

I was shocked at his words however, they made me understand the gravity of the situation. What he said was right.

If one of those monsters from before came at us there was no way I would be able to survive while holding someone.

I nodded to Ezra to show my understanding as my eyes started to drift towards Jack.

I thought about him and his sister.

Then I thought about my mom and how much I wanted to see her.

All I felt I could do was mutter under my breath an apology.

As we walked around and surveyed the situation I realized how hard it was going to be jumping over pig bodies.

This felt like an obstacle course however there was no winning.

It felt impossible.

I tried to grab onto whatever small pieces of hope I could grasp to and I held them tight inside my mind.

It felt as if even a single slip of thought could send me spiraling into despair.

I talked with Ezra about what we would do and when he could Jack would try to explain things using his hands however, I didn’t know sign language and we struggled to communicate.

As we talked I tried to keep myself at the moment as any miscommunication in the plan could possibly lead to death however, I kept wandering back to my mind palace.

I wanted to see my mom. I wanted to go back and relax in my apartment or go drinking with my friends.

Even my shitty nine to five felt like a fantasy paradise.

I thought about everyone who had died. Amar, Bruno, and Matilda. Even the bear monster filled my mind.

I didn’t think about it much but after they died I never found their bodies again.

As I was thinking of these strange thoughts a strange person filled my mind. The albino girl.

Even when we were leaving I never understood anything about her.

She never came back almost like a ghost.

One moment she was there and the next she wasn’t. My mind slowly stopped wandering and I came back to reality.

At this point, it seemed that Ezra’s and Jack’s minds were both wandering.

You could see the nerves on their faces.

As we were standing around a thought entered my mind that managed to slip out into words.

“Huh, It’s been a pretty long hour.”

As I said this Ezra’s mind came back and he looked up at his face and it paled as he spoke

“It’s been more than an hour.”