Freya’s face is pinched with pain I’ve never endured myself but have witnessed before. “Do you really know how to do it?” she whispers, glancing at the door where Alex just disappeared.
“You’ll be my first human,” I confess while checking her dilation again. “But I’ve delivered many animals before. Does that count?”
“That counts,” she laughs sadly. “Especially when I don’t have a choice.”
“You really don’t.” Then I move on my knees toward her front so she can see me when I talk. “You’re fully dilated, Freya, and it’s time to push. We don’t have monitors, and I’m not a doctor, so we can’t check on the baby and its heartbeat. You have to push with all your might. The faster, the better. Do you understand?”
She gives my serious face a quick assessment and nods. I move back to her behind and yell. “Alex, come over here!”
A scared shitless Alex comes running with a pile of towels in his hands. Right when he’s rounding the corner, he bumps into a table, and a beautiful lamp with big, white feathers on the sides falls on the floor, shattering into pieces. The cord follows, and when it unplugs from the wall with a pop, the lights go out.
“What the fuck, Alex?” we all yell in unison.
“Shit, shit, shit.” A sound of stumbling, kicking, something falling, another curse, and then a bunch of towels drops next to me. Then a loudthudsounds somewhere around us, from what I assume are Alex’s kneecaps. I say a silent goodbye to them, not sure they’ll survive tonight.
“What do I do?” he asks in a hushed voice.
“Get the damn lights back on!” I order him.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Alex starts mumbling while Freya lets out a loud growl.
“Get the fucking light on, Alex!” she yells.
Right at that moment, the front door opens with a loudbang. The light from outside illuminates Archie and Leila running inside while the former stumbles over the threshold and nearly goes down just like Alex has done. Leila lets out a loud yelp. Combined with rushed footsteps and groaning, I suspect they’re stumbling over each other, trying to untangle from the mess they’ve just created.
“What the fuck is happening? Why is there no light in here?” Archie sounds angry.
“Alex dropped a lamp, and it went out,” I explain. “Can you go check on it?”
“On it.” A phone light comes to life, and Archie’s form disappears behind one of the doors I assume is the basement.
“Can someone give me a phone light? Please,” I hiss loud enough for everyone in Little Hope to hear me.
“Oops, yeah.” Leila rushes closer with a light.
“Sure.” Kenneth pulls his phone out too.
“What do I do, Josie?” Alex asks in a panic. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Do we need wood for the fireplace? She might be cold. The baby might be cold. Freya, are you cold?” He jumps to his feet. “I’m gonna chop some wood. Yes, wood. Freya, do you want more wood?” He’s about to take off toward the door.
“Sit down, soldier! More wood is the last thing she needs right now,” I order, and he plants his ass back to the floor, making Leila snicker. I shoot her a glare, and she widens her eyes and bites her lip, trying not to laugh. Turning back to Alex, I tell him, “Give Freya your hand and let her break it.”
“Got it.” He nods and moves to Freya’s face. “Break it, babe. As many fingers as you want—I’ve got ten of them. Then we can move on to toes.”
Glancing at his face, I don’t think he’s joking; she grabs his hand in a death grip, letting out a loud cry.
Upon checking on Freya, I discover that the situation has progressed faster than I anticipated. “Kenneth, bring me clips or scissors and a rope or something.”
He gives me a questioning look before he runs somewhere, and after a sound of rampaging through kitchen cabinets, he brings back big scissors and a turkey rope.
“Soak them in alcohol.”
“Be right back.” He runs back to the kitchen and comes back a minute later with a bottle of vodka and a huge bowl. Dropping everything inside, he pours the alcohol and runs back to the kitchen for whatever else he needs to do. I don’t have time to check on his actions since my focus is on Freya’s… well, vagina in front of my face.
The light suddenly comes back to life, and rushed, loud sounds of footsteps are coming toward us from the basement.
“What’s wrong with her?” Archie drops to his knees by Alex’s side, who turns toward him with a divine smile on his face.
“I’m about to become a father,” Alex says in awe, his lower lip quivering.
