Dystopian zombie era

Chapter 18

Darcy

I don't know what time it is but it's still pretty dark. I wake up feeling nauseous with a craving for chocolate. Everyone else is still asleep and I desperately need air.

Jay's head is in my lap and I try to lift his head before I get up, placing his head on the bean bag. Thankfully he doesn't wake up. It's really dark and I can barely see anything. I lean against the closest bookshelf, rubbing my bump. I keep feeling the bile come up my throat but it never comes out.

I glance down the passage and see the doors barricaded with a few chairs. There's no way I can get out now. I find a corner near the door and slump down with newspapers next to me. At least if I do vomit, I can vomit on the newspapers.

I close my eyes but I can't seem to sleep and before I know it, the sun shines through the doors onto the shelves.

I close my eyes again, hoping to get some sleep.

"Crap! Where's Darcy?" I hear Jay ask frantically accompanied by shuffling. There's a few groans and I open my eyes and lean back against the wall. "I'm fine!" I call out not wanting to stand up. I hear footsteps before Jay finds me. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was nauseous as hell and hungry." His thumb caresses my cheek. "Oh baby." I lean into his touch.

"Maybe we should get food before we leave. I'm sure there's a store nearby."

"Should all of us go?" I don't really want to go out but we need food. "No. Only some of us. You're staying here."

"So are you." He sighs. "Darcy-"

"No. You're staying here and that's final. I don't want to lose you Jay."

"I'll go talk to Duncan." I nod and he walks away. Soon after, Coral appears. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah." She sits down next to me. "Me neither. After what Lex did to those people..." She shudders. "Do you get nightmares?"

"Never used to but after what we witnessed, some nights are harder than others." Her expression is hard to read. "I'm so sorry." She brushes me off. "It's nothing." We sit in silence and soon Duncan, Lex, Silas and Ruby make their way to the front doors. Silas and Lex start moving the chairs away. "What's going on?" Asks Coral. "We're going out to look for food." Answers Silas as he moves the last chair away.

"But you don't have any weapons." She says. Ruby flicks her knife out and Duncan peers through the glass doors. He looks both sides before he gestures for Lex to open the doors.

He opens the doors slowly and quietly. Ruby goes out first, followed by Duncan, Lex and Silas. A realization hits me. "Where's Jay?"

"Last time I saw him he was at the back." I try to get up. Coral scrambles up and helps me. She walks with me to Jay. "We need clothes. For the baby. We need things for the baby. Diapers, milk, a pacifier just in case."

"Crap. You're right."

"But how will we get that? And where? They already left, we can't tell them to bring that as well." Says Storm. "I'll go." I volunteer. "No, I'll go." Says Jay. I have no idea why I care so much all of a sudden. Maybe that's a harsh way to put it but I never really thought of getting diapers and clothes for the baby. "I'll go too." Says Storm. "So will I. I have three daughters so I know what to get." Says Brandon and I'm slightly surprised.

He never wants to go out. "You guys don't have to go out now." I say quickly. "No, you're right. We need that stuff." Says Jay. He looks at Coral and Scarlett. "You'll be fine right?" They nod. "Don't take too long. If you can't find anything then leave it." He places a kiss on my forehead and then they're gone.

Coral makes me sit on the bean bag. "Do you think you'll be able to find a cure? Are you smart enough?" She asks Scarlett. "If I can't find one, I'll make one. It should be easy." Answers Scarlett pushing her glasses up her nose. "And how exactly would it work if you had to make one?"

"Hmm, I imagine injecting the serum in an infected person. I doubt it will work if the person is dead."

"But aren't they already dead?" I ask. "I guess I'll have to find out what got them infected."

"So you'd need an infected person to like... experiment on?" Asks Coral. "Yeah. I need to examine the virus first before finding a cure."

"So we'd have to bring an infected person along with us when we leave?" Questions Coral. "No. I'm sure there'll be infected people at the hospital." I answer. Coral groans. "This is such a nightmare. How did we even end up here?"

"I... I had a memory. A flashback of some sort, I think." They look at me with wide eyes. "What? About what?" Asks Coral.

"I was at Jay's house and I was taking a pregnancy test. After that we went to a gynaecologist to confirm the pregnancy."

"No way. When was this?" I fiddle with my fingers. "Yesterday."

"It's strange that we have no memory at all." Mumbles Scarlett resting a hand under her chin. Suddenly a wave of intense pain rushes over me. I curse and take a deep breath. The pain seemed to knock the air out of me. "You okay?" Asks Coral. "Yeah I'll be fine. I think it's hunger pains."

"They better get here fast." She says. After that we sit in silence. The waves of pain continue and I resort to walking around and just keep myself busy. "You sure you're alright?" Asks Coral. I nod, not in the mood to talk. I decide to look at the bookshelves for something interesting to read. I settle on a romance book and sit down on the bean bag.

I squirm everytime the pain hits and I feel Coral's eyes on me. Suddenly I hear the doors open and she jumps to her feet to see who it is. "It's Ruby and the others." I sigh in relief. I hope they brought lots of food.

Scarlett gets up too while I stay put, rubbing my belly. Coral comes back with a bag of gummy bears. "Here, eat this so long." I thank her and hurriedly open the packet as my mouth waters. I pop a few into my mouth and chew slowly.

Wow, it feels like ages since I last had these.

The pain doesn't subside though and only seems to grow stronger in waves. "Where are the others?" Asks Duncan as he dumps bags on the ground. "They went out to get stuff for the baby." Answers Coral. "Are you kidding me? Why worry about that now?"

"Because she's gonna give birth soon and the baby needs clothes." She snaps before turning back to me. "Are you sure you're fine? You don't look fine?"

"I am." I assure her. "I just need to eat." I stand up and feel a gush of liquid run down my thighs. My eyes widen and my heart begins to pound.

No.

"What?" Asks Coral. Duncan curses. "I think her water broke." I look down to see my pants wet and some liquid on the ground. "Oh no." Whispers Coral. "No, this can't be happening. Jay isn't here and Halley said I was thirty one weeks pregnant." I say frantically and almost fall on the bean bag as another wave of pain hits me.

Coral helps steady me. "What do we do?!" She calls out frantically, getting the others attention. "What's going on?" Asks Ruby. I notice her left cheek stained with dry blood. "Her water broke!" Coral cries out. Her panicking is making me panic.

"No it didn't. It couldn't have." I say trying to regulate my breathing. Ruby rushes to my side. "How do you feel now? Are you getting those things women get? What are they called?"

"Contractions." Answers Coral. "Yeah. Contractions." I shake my head. "Where's Jay? I can't do this without Jay." I bite my lip as another intense wave of pain crashes over me. "Sit down okay? We'll figure something out." Says Coral gently pushing me down. I sit down and cradle my bump.