Carmen's P.O.V.
Unbearable pain shot through me as I writhed on the bed. I couldn't see anything, but I could still feel. Darkness had overcome me a few seconds ago after a rather violent punch to my kidney. I didn't get this. How is the baby kicking me? Especially this hard! I thought that wasn't even possible until they are at least four or five months old. The baby kicked me again and again and eventually I couldn't even scream anymore. I couldn't hear or see anything and I was beginning to panic. Where was Austin? Is he okay? I need him!
Breathing got harder and harder. I eventually was struggling to draw in a single breath and my heart was slowing drastically. Was I dying? How? Just because the baby was kicking me? I felt heat flash through my body and then ice shot down my spine. It was unbearably cold. I can't breath! Oh god, I can't breath! Why can't I breath?! I thought frantically, trying to inhale. My chest felt so heavy and my throat was completely close up. I couldn't even open my mouth.
The ice in my veins got to a freezing point, completely numbing me. It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into me. I tried to scream, I tried to move, but I was completely paralyzed. What's going on? My head started to pound painfully as I got colder and colder. I longed for the brief heat that I had felt just a second ago, longed for any kind of warmth. It never came.
Time passed and then I couldn't feel my legs anymore. They were gone, nowhere to be found. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. I tried to move them, but it was like they didn't even exist. Like someone had cut them off. This feeling spread through my fingers, trickling up my arm, dancing down my spine. I was going completely numb. I couldn't feel anything. The darkness just got impossibly darker, pressing down on me. I tried to push it away, but it was too strong. I must be dying, I thought. That has to be what is happening. I'm dying. My baby is dying. I'll never see Austin again. I'll never get to hold my sweet little baby in my arms. This was the end.
The black pressed down on my again, getting heavier and heavier. I found it almost impossible to resist, but I tried. I don't know why. I didn't really have a reason, but I did. There was Austin. I had to survive for Austin. I tried to keep his face in my mind, but it got harder and harder until he faded away completely, leaving me all alone. I was alone, with only my willpower keeping me alive. That was quickly weakening. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hold on. I didn't know if I even wanted to. But this suffocating darkness frightened me. I didn't want it to come any closer.
I was losing, though. Just as it was about to overpower me and crush me forever, I saw a bright white light. It wasn't like looking directly at the sun or straight into a flashlight. This light was warm and soothing. It was comforting to look at and it started to chase away the ice. I started to reach for it, wanting to bring it closer. It was so dim at first, but it started getting closer and closer until white was all I saw. And then, as I watched curiously, my mother and sister stepped out of the light. My mother was smiling at me and my sister was bouncing by her side, holding her hand tightly. She waved when she saw me.
'Mom?' I thought, marveling at her beautiful, glowing face. She was wearing a long white dress and her red, flaming hair- the same color as mine- flowed down her back perfectly. She was so beautiful.
Her face was loving as she looked at me. For a minute we just stared at each other and then her voice rang out. "Carmen," she called to me in a voice that stunned me. It was so soft, like a caress. It was flowed perfectly and I listened intently as it echoed in the distance.
"Carmen, sweetie, you have to wake up. You have to open your eyes. Austin needs you," she said in her angel voice. I blinked in surprise. She knew about Austin? How? Has she been watching me? "You have to survive. It's not your time to join me and your sister. Open your eyes, sweetheart," she said, reaching out to stroke my face. Her fingers lingered lovingly on my face and I felt tears spill down my face at her touch. I missed her so much. I loved her more than anything in the world. I didn't speak. I couldn't. All I wanted to do was stare at my mom. I wanted to stay with her forever.
