Colonel Seeders' Mail Order Bride, Hank

35 Michelle

The cramps turned out to be fatigue. After a short nap, she went out, collected some berries, laid a few traps and then started a fire to make herself some berry-tea. She found the recipe in one of Hank’s books.

She pushed down the sadness that wanted to surface again. Soon she would be able to think of him without the pain. She just needed time.

She didn’t have time to wallow in sorrow. Her babies would come in a few hours and she needed to regain her strength. Sleeping in her dragon form had helped to heal some of her wounds.

Her leg still bothered her, but it would heal in time. The wound that she thought he made with a needle seemed to big. She lost her boots and the hunting knife when she shifted, but the bunker she made into her new home had some supplies that helped to make other things like a sharpened stick to eat with, a bottle cut in half served as her cup and a flat log that she scraped and scrubbed to eat off of.

All she needed was to lay out the furs for her babies to sleep under and meat that she hoped she would catch soon.

She didn’t have to wait long. Minutes after placing her traps, a deer staggered out from the trees and laid itself down near her door, screaming in pain. It looked like it’s gut had been ripped open, but not to the point where everything dropped out of her. She huffed a few times, blowing puffs of dust up from the ground and turned to Michelle with so much pain in her eyes.

Michelle walked up to it and sat down beside her, rubbing a hand over her side.

“I’m sorry this happened to you. I wish I knew how to heal you so I didn’t have to kill you.”

She pulled the small knife she’d found in the bunker out of the rope belt that kept her pants over her stomach. The deer laid her head down and then blew out her last breath, saving Michelle from taking her life.

Maybe she just wanted someone to be with her when she died. That though made her feel better about carving her up for her meal. Sort of. She still hated the sight of blood and the smell of intestines.

After gutting and cleaning the deer, she skinned it the way Hank taught her, but had to hack at the flesh since her knife did not compare to the one she lost. Next she washed the skin in the river and laid it to dry close to the fireplace. She sliced through the meat to cut a bunch of human sized steaks, a few knuckles for a stew and a leg to roast when she felt really hungry.

The left overs she blasted with dragon fire so that she could leave it for her new beasty friend. She wanted to believe that it sent the deer to her so that they could share the meat, knowing that Michelle would roast it for… Him? Her? She had no idea, but she felt grateful, even though she only imagined it.

So with her meat roasting over the fire, her new friend fed and the bunker looking more like a home ready for four new babies, she went to the river to wash all the blood from her clothes and body.

She only had the one set that she shoved into her bag after having the dream. Though she did not want to believe that Hank would send her away, she still wanted to be prepared. She also packed a few clamps, a tiny scissors, a suction device that looked like a basting tool that she would use to clean out the babies airways. She had the water ready to heat up to clean them, and herself, so she felt confident that nothing would go wrong. Hopefully the birth of her four babies would go just as smoothly.

After eating and having her tea, she made sure that everything was locked up before settling down for a nap. At least she would have enough energy to give birth to four babies.

She woke up to darkness, a lot of pain and loud screeching.

The smell of death and blood filled her lungs with each deep breath. Vampires.

The wet blanket under her stuck to her naked legs. Her water must have broken while she slept. The vampires could probably smell the amniotic fluid, driving them crazy. She needed to clean it up before the babies…

Her first contraction came unexpectedly. She breathed through the pain, in through her nose and out through her mouth, until it passed. The second came seconds after the first. Something was wrong. The doctor said it would be at least a minute or two after each other until she was dilated enough to push out her babies. The third made her cry out.

Something cracked and she looked down the hall to the door. It still held fast, but a piece had broken off the top of the door.

“Hawk?” she called out.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Somethings not right and there’s vampires at the door. I’m scared,” she admitted.

"I’m telling Dad to come help. Tell me now if you don’t want him there.”

“I don’t want the babies to die. Please help me.”

She cried out again and the banging and screeching grew louder and more urgent.

She had no idea what labour was meant to feel like, but surely it should not be that painful. Her back felt numb, her chest ached and every inch below her stomach felt like it was being ripped open.

“Hawk, hurry please. I don’t know how long the door will last.”