Chapter 33
CHAPTER
I WAS GENTLY FLOATING as the ebb and flow of the tide rocked me back and forth.
The dark waters cradled me in their embrace, like a mother holding her child.
I was slumbering in my mother’s womb, and I had nothing to be afraid of; my mother would always be there to hold me, until I was ready to come forth for my birth.
Birth!
My eyes popped open as a slice of pain shot right through my midsection. An invisible hand grabbed my insides with its tight, unrelenting grip and squeezed with all its might. I felt like I might burst.
“Aarrgghh!” I tried to thrash my arms and legs about, but something was holding me down. My eyes darted around, taking in the confusing scene. It seemed my captors had been hard at work while I was unconscious, because things had changed.
I was in the same adjustable bed, through now I faced the center of the room, with the wall behind my head.
Straps across my upper body kept me solidly held down; my arms were still tied to the metal railings on either side of the bed.
In the crook of my left arm, a needle had been taped in place, connected to an IV that was pumping a clear liquid into my veins.
The scratchy ropes that had tied my ankles into the stirrups had been replaced with hospital-grade Velcro straps.
My legs were bent at the knees, and spread open.
At the sound of my screams, Nurse Colleen, who had been fussing with her little pushcart of supplies, rushed toward me. Madison, Max, and Nora came thundering in from the back bedrooms.
“Well! She has quite a pair of lungs on her. It certainly sounds like things are moving along, doesn’t it, Colleen?” Nora said.
“Yes, I think it’s time we check her progress,” Colleen answered.
I watched her pull on a fresh set of latex gloves.
She walked over to the foot of the bed and rested her hands on my bent knees, looking me in the eyes.
“Watch how I’m breathing, Miss. Just breathe through the pain.
” She started a pattern of short, labored breaths that sounded like hee hee hoo, hee hee hoo.
After a moment, the vise-grip around my insides started to loosen, and my muscles slowly unclenched.
The tidal wave of pain had hit its highest crest and was now slinking back underneath a calm, flat surface.
I felt beads of sweat on my forehead; my heart thumped hard in my chest, echoing in my ears.
“Now, Miss, I’m going to see how far along you are now.
Try to relax, this may be uncomfortable.
” Colleen moved her hand down in between my legs.
I felt a dull, probing ache as her fingers slid inside of me, pressing on my swollen cervix and rooting around.
“I’d say she’s about six centimeters dilated.
” She removed her hand and slipped off her latex gloves with a taut snap.
“Good.” Nora put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and rubbed them supportively. “Shouldn’t be too much longer now, right?” She looked back and forth between Madison and Colleen.
“Hopefully not. We’ve made excellent progress so far, considering it’s been only five hours.” Colleen answered.
I was asleep that long? What little strip of sky I could see through the blinds on the windows was black.
“We should probably start dialing back on the oxytocin now, since she’s passed the five-centimeter mark,” Colleen advised.
“No,” Nora snapped. “Let’s keep progressing. Like I said—we don’t want to prolong things any longer than we have to.”
“Well, I suppose we can keep it going a little longer. But once she gets to eight centimeters, we’ll definitely need to stop the drip, so she can begin pushing as soon as she’s fully dilated.”
“Fine.”
I felt my body start to contract again; the massive wave of pain was back. It crashed over me, threatening to drown me. I tried to take a deep breath and bear down against it, but try as I might, I couldn’t take a full breath. My mouth flew open and another agonizing wail escaped.
My eyes shut tight as my face contorted with the pain.
When I opened them, Madison was staring at me, watching.
It almost looked like she had a faint grin on her face.
Was she enjoying my pain? I focused all my rage on her for a moment, intensifying the strength and volume of my scream as my eyes bore hatefully into hers.
After a moment, her grin finally broke and turned into a frown.
She covered her ears with her hands and walked toward Max.
They started whispering to each other, then took each other’s hands and disappeared down the hallway. After a moment, Nora followed them.
The pain subsided again after a moment, just like it had the last time. It seemed to be coming at regular intervals. With frightening clarity, I realized that this was really happening.
I was in labor.
Six centimeters dilated … more than halfway there. There’s probably no stopping it now. My baby is coming … tonight.
The realization overwhelmed me. A sob escaped my throat, and tears gushed out. I couldn’t wipe them away, because my hands were tied.
This is crazy. I have to get out of here, to a hospital!
I knew I only had a few minutes before the next contraction would hit. I looked around frantically, trying to learn what I could from my surroundings.
I’d heard them say we were in a cabin. But where? Was there a resort or campground name on anything? Not that I could see. Maybe it was a private cabin—but if it belonged to the Clark family, wouldn’t there be family photos or other personal touches? That must mean this is a rented cabin, right?
As for the layout of the cabin, I was definitely in the living room.
Blinds covered the two big picture windows, and the front door was deadbolted.
To my left was a small sitting area with a coffee table and a few armchairs.
Off to my right was a small kitchenette and then a hallway that must lead to the bedrooms—at least two, I figured.
One where my captors were hanging out, and one where Jenna was lying unconscious. I yanked at my restraints again.
How in the world am I going to get out of here? Then the next contraction hit, blinding my brain to coherent thoughts of any kind.
As the contraction passed, I opened my eyes to see Colleen watching me, concerned.
“Colleen … Colleen,” I said, in between gasps as I tried to catch my breath. “Please.”
She came closer. “You’re alright. I know the contractions are painful, but so far, your labor is going very well, Miss.”
I took advantage of the fact that the other three were out of the room for the moment.
“My name is Savannah Mitchell. Listen—everything they’ve been telling you is a lie, Colleen.
” I tried to lean toward her, but my restraints wouldn’t allow it.
“Max and I dated for a little while at the beginning of the year. He lied and told me he and Madison were broken up—then I found out I was pregnant. Now Madison is insanely jealous and wants to take this baby away from me, because she can’t have children of her own.
But this is my baby. Please—please don’t help them do this. ” Tears were streaming down my face.
“They told me you’re their surrogate—that they paid you a lot of money, and now you’re changing your mind and wanting to keep the baby for yourself. But you can’t do that—if you signed the agreement, then it’s not your baby.”
“That’s a lie, Colleen. Max and I had a consensual relationship. I didn’t know he was married. They also kidnapped my friend Jenna. She’s unconscious in one of the back bedrooms. They used chloroform on her—”
“They knocked someone out with chloroform?” Colleen flinched in alarm.
“Yes. And Madison has a gun—it’s right over there in that black leather bag.”
Colleen glanced over her shoulder at the bag.
As she did, I felt my body tensing up again with another contraction.
I bit my bottom lip and took a deep breath through my nose.
Though my arms were held down, Colleen put her hand in my right fist and let me grip it tightly, coaching me through the pain with labored breathing.
I noticed she was speaking a little more loudly than usual; I realized it was so Nora, Max, and Madison would hear her tending to me and realize they weren’t needed.
It worked—they stayed in the other room, away from my screaming. After a moment, the contraction passed.
“Colleen—it’s not safe for you to try and peek in the other bedroom, but go peek in the duffel bag. Please. You’ll see the gun, and then you’ll know that I’m telling the truth. Neither of us is safe. You have to help us both get out of here. We need to get me to a hospital and call the police.”
Colleen glanced over her shoulder again to make sure no one was coming. Then she tiptoed over to the duffel bag and unzipped the outer pockets. I saw her eyes bulge as she obviously spotted the gun.
Visibly shaken, Colleen rezipped the pocket and moved away from the bag, as though she wanted to put as much distance between her and the gun as possible.
“There is a gun in there!” she whisper-screamed.
“I told you! Madison said they’ll use that gun on me if I don’t cooperate and let them take my baby.” Tears were falling freely now, in a mix of fear, desperation, and relief that I was finally getting through to Colleen—I hoped. “She could turn on you too, Colleen. We need to get out of here.”
Unfortunately, before I could press the issue any further, Nora reentered the room.
“How are things coming along? Are we ready for my grandson to make his appearance?”
“Progressing nicely,” Colleen answered, masking the fear and concern she had shown a moment ago with a stony expression.
“Boy, I’d forgotten how long these dreadful births take. It took Madison thirty hours to show her pretty little face when I was in labor with her,” said Nora. “Well, she and Max are resting in the other room for now. All the screaming is getting to her, I think.”
Irritation bubbled beneath my skin, but it was soon forgotten as another contraction took over.
I balled my hands into fists and tried to breathe through the pain like Colleen had shown me.
I couldn’t keep the scream in, though. Eventually the noise drove Nora out of the room again. At least there was that.
I’ll scream this whole place down if it will keep her away from me.
As the contraction passed, Colleen approached the bed.
“Where are we? Where is this cabin?” I asked her, spots dancing before my eyes from all the heavy breathing.
“What do you mean? You don’t know where we are?”
“No! That’s what I’m trying to tell you!
They kidnapped me. Madison knocked me out with a baseball bat back in my apartment.
Next thing I knew, I woke up here, tied to the bed.
I was not in labor when this started—I’m only thirty-seven weeks.
My due date isn’t until November eighth.
” I laid my head back on the pillow, still reeling from the pain and exertion.
“My God.” Colleen shook her head. “If I had known … I’m so sorry, Savannah.”
“How did you get involved?”
“I’m a labor-and-delivery nurse at a hospital in the city, but I work as a midwife on the side to earn a little extra money.
Mrs. Clark got my name from a friend who used me.
I couldn’t believe it when she offered me twenty-five thousand dollars to help with her daughter’s birth, as long as I was discreet, and willing to drive a little out of the way to this cabin.
” Colleen checked the IV drip and took my blood pressure.
“I live in the city, and this was about a ninety-minute drive for me. We’re in Samuel P.
Taylor State Park. She said her daughter had her heart set on being out in the woods for the birth—closer to nature, or something like that.
For that kind of money, I didn’t question it—I probably should have.
But I have a lot of bills to pay off after the bottom floor of my house flooded last year, plus my son is starting college in the spring, and that’s going to cost an arm and a leg. ”
Samuel P. Taylor—I know where we are. I recalled the park being in Lagunitas, tucked pretty far back in a secluded area. Perfect for their evil plan.
“Colleen—please help me get out of here.”
Her eyes darted around the room. “I agree, we need to get you away from them—but I don’t really want that gun pointed at me any more than you do.
What if they come after me for helping you escape?
I have a son who needs me, too.” She met my gaze with a fear equal to mine.
“Not to mention—you’re in no condition to travel right now.
Your contractions are only a few minutes apart, and it won’t be long before you’re fully dilated. ”
“But I can’t have this baby here! Not like this—and I can’t let Max and Madison steal my child and leave town. Listen to me, Colleen—take the gun from Madison’s bag. Untie me and we’ll use the gun for cover to escape the cabin. You drove here, right? You can get us to the nearest hospital.”
Colleen glanced over her shoulder again. Then she met my eyes. Her expression was frightened but determined.
“Okay. Let’s get us both out of here.”