The intensity of the next contraction took me by surprise, and I sat up straight, my knees bent and widely spread, I straining against my restraints. Unsure of what I was even saying, my mouth formed every obscenity I’d ever heard in my life. When it was over, I collapsed against the cushion, bawling, whimpering for my husband. Pressure between my thighs provoked me to reach down. Something soft and wet, covered in hair was barely peeking out from inside me. The baby was beginning to crown. I looked to the demon. He didn’t even seem to be on alert. Jared wasn’t even close.

I closed my eyes, making a concentrated effort to relax all of my muscles. Even when the pain came again, I refused to give into it. I refused to push. When the agony became too much, I held my screams inside. Any tensing on my part could push out the baby, and that was something I refused to do until I saw my husband. The waved crashed into me, and I lowered my chin to my chest, bit my lip, and stared intently at the wall across the room. I would. Not. Push.

My body shook uncontrollably. Just as the pain subsided, movement outside the windows caught my attention. The guard at the door made a noise and shifted. He was nervous. Jared was here.

The shadows of the shells weaved back and forth. There was a large explosion, then a blotch of crimson sprayed against the mud on the glass, highlighted by a ball of fire. The glass broke, and my husband pushed through, his eyes wild but focused. He immediately attacked the guard at the door, filling the creature’s head with an entire clip of bullets. Once he fell to the ground, Kim ran into the glass opening. She made her way to the door, and closed it, holding her palms flat against the metal.

“I got it!” she said. She was covered in blood, and noticeably injured.

“Are you okay?” I called to her.

She smiled. “Never been better. You just worry about delivering that ba—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a shell burst through the broken glass and pointed his gun at Kim. She turned, her eyes wide.

“No!” I screamed.

Jared charged the shell, but was too late. The bullet burst through Kim’s chest, blowing her back against the door.

“Kim!” I cried, watching her limp body slide down the door to the ground. Her eyes were open, but she was dead before she hit the floor. “Kim!”

“Nina!” Jared yelled, running to me. He slid on his knees and released me from the restraints, and then slipped his backpack from his shoulders, opening it and pulling out supplies.

Before I could speak, the overwhelming spasms engulfed me. I wailed, but I wouldn’t push.

Jared checked between my legs, and his eyes grew wide. “He’s crowning, sweetheart. Push.”