Turn for the Worst

Chapter 64

"Emma?" Arthur shouts, very concerned about the trail of blood on the floor.

"Arthur... the baby!" Emma says, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

With his heart pounding, Arthur bolts through the cabin with all his winter gear still on and nearly slips into the blood on the floor. He stumbles up the stairs in a frenzy, his mind racing about the child, but also Emma, if she and the baby die... Everything will be for naught.

He finds the bathroom door open just a crack and nearly loses his lunch at the seemingly gory scene in front of him. Emma sits on the floor, pretending to be in pain and trying to mop up the blood.

"Dear God!" Arthur gasps.

Emma looks up at her captor with as much helplessness as she can muster, clenching her hands into fists as to not show him the cuts that were really causing the blood.

"The baby..." she whimpers.

"Is it...is it?" he gasps as he actually kneels down in a puddle of blood to be at Emma's level.

"I...I don't know," she sobs. Inside her head, she's praying that this will work. It must otherwise, there may be no hope to escape at all.

Arthur puts his hand on her belly and Emma isn't sure what will happen next. If the baby doesn't respond, he may think it's dead and not bother taking her to the hospital. If that's the case, he might figure out that she planned the whole thing and do something terrible to her. If the baby kicks a lot, he might figure out that the baby is fine and this was all a setup and as punishment, rape her again. She cannot win either way. Fortunately, the baby gives off some kicks, a few that are not as strong as they should be. This could show Arthur that the baby might have a chance of survival and take her somewhere, anywhere to try and save it. It was as if the baby recognized the situation and was playing along.

Emma's heart pounded in her ears, waiting for a response.

"It's still alive..." Arthur says. His stomach turns about what he must do. That is his child in there after all and if he doesn't get Emma to a hospital, he might lose it. At the same time, he runs the risk of being discovered and arrested for his crimes.

Emma continues to moan and pretend to be in agonizing pain, forcing Arthur to make his decision faster. Sweat beads on his forehead and his heartbeat hits overdrive. His head is spinning with the decision while Emma is likely bleeding out and outright dying in front of him. It's about the innocent life inside her that matters. His child. He'll have to risk it.

"Can you walk?" he asks her.

Emma does her best to pretend to be weak and wobbly on her feet. She even holds the counter to sell it.

"Lean on me, we have to get you to a hospital..." Arthur says reluctantly.

Emma certainly does not want to lean on him, he smells of sweat and cigarettes, but she's so close to freedom, she does as she is told. She continues to moan and wince in pain. She puts her arm around his neck, careful to hide her cuts, he gives her the support to get out of the bathroom and down the hall. Emma smiles inwardly and decides to make him suffer a little bit, she makes her body go almost entirely limp, weighing him down considerably to the point that he's panting. They move very slowly until they reach the stairs. Finally, Arthur just scoops Emma up bridal style and carries her down the stairs and out the door. He carries her to the awaiting truck and puts her in the passenger seat. He then fumbles to get the truck started, but once it roars to life, Emma feels so much relief that she wants to shout out, but must keep the painful façade in order to make sure this works.

"Just hang in there," Arthur pants as he steers the truck in the direction from which he came. Emma just keeps moaning and groaning, keeping everything believable. She turns to look out the window for the first time in months without bars restricting it. It looks like a nice forest, especially with the snow drifts, but Emma had only seen it from captivity. Now she was almost free that her heart was going to explode with joy.

Arthur's mind is racing, he decides that the only reason to keep Emma from talking is to be next to her for as long as possible, keeping an eye on her and preventing the secret from being blown.

...

An hour and a half later, Emma sees civilization and people for the first time in forever, she tries not to smile as Arthur turns onto the main road and she sees people walking along the street. She wants more than anything to jump out of the moving truck and run to the first person she sees and tell them to call the police. However, with the baby at risk and that Arthur might turn right around and try to run her down, she keeps the painful sounds going.

"We're almost there," Arthur says as he turns towards the town hospital.

He pulls into a parking space and then gets out, runs around to the passenger side, and pulls Emma into his arms. She can't stand his smell and tries to hold her breath.

Arthur bursts through the front doors of the hospital and runs towards the front desk. The receptionist behind it is very shocked, especially by the blood.

"Please help!" Arthur begs. "My wife is close to miscarrying."

The word "wife" makes Emma's stomach twist in disgust but she makes a little bit of a more painful noise to show that her situation was "dire." The receptionist buzzes for the nurses and several of them come running, with a wheelchair.

"Put her here," the male nurse says.

Arthur does so and then the group of medical professionals turns towards the emergency room area and possibly surgery. Emma's heart is soaring in her chest. The problem is that Arthur is running right alongside them, trying to keep up. He says various comforting phrases to "calm" her, but instead, it makes her sick.

Once they reach a set of doors, one of the female nurses grabs his shoulder and tries to keep him from going any further.

"Sir, please let the professionals handle this."

"But she's my wife!" Arthur says, very anxious about what Emma was going to say once he was out of sight.

"Sir, she'll be crowded and she's in critical condition, allow the doctors to take it from here."

"But..."

As Arthur argues with the nurse, Emma is pushed through the doors and finally rid of the horrible man. She finally lets out a sigh of greatest relief. It was happening, it's finally over. She was free!

"What's your name darling?" another nurse asks.

"My name is Emma Swan. I'm not really in pain, but I've been missing for four months."

Thank you for your patience, Emma is finally free!