Never Let Me Go

♥️Chapter 4♥️

One month later

Hunter was nervous. Duna had been sick for the past three days. At first, they had thought that she just had the stomach flu, but now, Hunter wasn't sure. Duna had gotten the flu a few times before, but it was always over by the following day. Could she be... no, Hunter, don't think about that! He told himself. Duna returned and told Hunter that she was going to make a quick errand. Hunter was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch.

Hunter was awoken by a surprised squeal. "Hunter, come here!" Duna shouted. "I'll be there in a sec!" He shouted back. He dragged himself off of the couch and sleepily walked over to Duna. "What's going on?" He asked, still half asleep. Okay, I've researched different ways to say this, so here goes nothing, Duna thought. "I have no clue how you're going to react to this, but, well, uh, I'm pregnant," she said nervously. She didn't know what to think or what to do. Hunter looked about ready to faint, so Duna decided to try to carry him into their bedroom. She carefully laid him on the bed and, after a moments hesitation, she laid down next to him, and she began to cry. We're going to be outcasts if we have this baby, She thought to herself. I need to talk to Dr Diggins, she decided. He may be a bit scatterbrained, but he was smart nonetheless.

Duna heard a knock on the door, and she opened it to see Dr Diggins standing in front of her. "Hi Dr Diggins," Duna said, "I was just about to leave to see you," she said. "Oh. Hang on, you seem troubled. Do you want to go somewhere else to talk?" Diggins asked her. "If we can, I'd like to," Duna replied. They walked over to the Fossil Center and went into Diggins' office. He hurriedly cleaned off the couch so that they could sit on it. "So, what seems to be the problem?" Diggins asked. "I, well, uh, um, I'm pregnant," she stuttered. Dr Diggins looked both ecstatic and worried. "Hmm... firstly, congratulations. Secondly, this could pose a bit of a problem on the island," he said. "I know, I was thinking of leaving, actually," Duna said, avoiding making eye contact with him. Diggins looked shocked.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed. "What about Hunter? Surely you'll take him with you," he said. "I have to leave by myself," Duna murmured. "Huh?" Diggins asked, looking confused. "I said that I have to leave by myself," she said, louder this time. Diggins was stunned by what she had just told him. "I can't bring anyone with me, I'd only be putting them in danger," Duna said. "Duna, Hunter has faced danger countless times. How could this be much different for him?" Diggins asked. "You don't get it, do you?" Duna asked him, "I hate that i have to do this, believe me, I do, but everyone is going to hate me now. Even H-H-H-Hunter," Duna said, beginning to cry at the thought of what she would be leaving behind.

"Duna, if it hurts you this much -" Diggins began, but Duna cut across him. "I love Hunter, and I would never be able to forgive myself if he got hurt because of me! I have to leave so that he stays safe! He is the only person in this world that I care about! I can't take it anymore! He needs to stay safe, and he certainly won't be safe if he comes with me! He may have faced great danger, but he has never seen anything like what I have, and besides, I don't want him to see what I do, because I love him too much to force him to see it," Duna shouted at Diggins. Without another word, she ran out of the building and into the woods behind the city.

Hunter woke up to someone frantically shaking him. He looked around and saw Dr Diggins. "What's going on?" Hunter asked him. "It's Duna. She ran away," Diggins said grimly. "What?!" Hunter exclaimed. "Duna ran away," Diggins said. "Why on Earth would she do that?!" Hunter asked. "She's afraid. Afraid that everyone, including you, is going to hate her because of her pregnancy," Diggins said. "How could I ever hate her?! I love her more than anything!" Hunter exclaimed. "I know that, and she feels the same way about you. She just wants to keep you safe," Diggins explained. Hunter sat down on the bed and sobbed uncontrollably.