A sound of laughing could be heard in the small, cozy home on the outskirts of Lawrence. Crickets filled the winter night air with their music as an owl watched the house with wide, knowing eyes. Christmas lights were along the roof and around the door, and a warm yellow light was shining from the upstairs corner window.

Inside, a man and a woman laughed as they flicked paint at each other. They were in the process of painting a room a creamy yellow. Teddy bear and stork decorations were out in the hallway, along with a crib, changing table, trunk of toys and rocking chair.

Robert Thompson grinned and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, kissing her playfully. "Careful, now." He teased. "Make sure you don't wake him up."

Leigh Thompson pulled away with another grin. "Make sure we don't wake her up." She corrected, rubbing her swelling stomach.

Robert shrugged, relenting to his wife's rule. "Fair enough." He said with another smile, kissing her forehead. "Are you sure you don't want to know what it is? We can always go back and ask the doctor to do the sonogram anyway."

Leigh nodded firmly. "I'm certain. I want it to be a surprise."

Robert shrugged again, and looked around the chaotic room. "Looks like we made a mess of this." He said with a sheepish laugh.

Leigh crossed her arms with a smirk. "You started it." She said.

"Sure I did." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving traces of yellow in his dark brown hair. Leigh burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of it, and he sighed with a smile. "I'm gonna get showered and go to the store real quick. I'll be right back."

Leigh nodded. "I'll try to clean up the mess you made." She said. As her husband left, she rubbed her stomach again with a faint smile. Even after about five months, she couldn't believe that she was actually having their baby. It seemed too good to be true – they were finally starting a family. They both had good friends, good jobs, a great house, and a great marriage. They lived in a small-town community with great schools and great kids for their child to be friends with. She was almost waiting for the catch.

Robert quickly showered and scrubbed off the paint, then threw on some clothes and trotted downstairs. "I'll be right back!" He called as he grabbed the keys to the car.

"I love you! Be safe!" Leigh called from upstairs.

"I will!" He grinned and closed the door.

.

A wind howled outside the house. Leigh hugged herself and bit her lip nervously. She always worried about Robert, but something about this – being alone in the house, having him gone – just felt… it felt… odd. It felt wrong, somehow. She shivered and rubbed her arms, dismissing it on mood swings making her feel paranoid.

She dipped the brush into the paint and added another stroke with a flourish. "I hope you like yellow." She said, painting with one hand and resting her hand on her stomach. She started to hum a song, then stopped when she felt a kick. She laughed and dropped the brush, resting both hands on her stomach. Yes, the baby was kicking against her full-speed now. "I'm here, baby." She said with a smile. "Mommy's here."

There was a sudden knock on the door. Leigh jumped, her heart racing. She crept down the stairs and moved to the door, almost scared of what she would see. She looked through the peephole… and saw an old, bent-over woman who looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Leigh opened up the door immediately. "Ma'am, are you alright?" She asked worriedly. She helped the woman inside.

"Thank you, dear." The woman croaked. "My… my car broke down some way down the road, and I… I had to find help since no one was passing by. Oh my, my feet are tired…"

"Here you are." Leigh helped her sit down in one of their armchairs in front of the fireplace and next to their Christmas tree. "I'll go get you some coffee, then we can call for help."

"Oh no, dearest, that won't be necessary." She said. "Just the coffee, please."

Leigh bustled into the kitchen and made some instant coffee. She poured a little glass of cream and got the container of sugar before going back into the den. "Here you go." She said, sitting across from the old woman, who eagerly drank her coffee without adding any sugar or milk. Leigh herself had a glass of warm tea, which she had to keep her hands warm more than anything. As she sipped at it, she examined the old woman. Her back was hunched and weathered from age. Her hair was scraggly and white, her face like old tanned leather. "Where did your car break down?" Leigh asked. "Maybe I-."

"Surely a young girl like you doesn't live alone." The old woman said, cutting her off with her eyes fixed on the table.

Leigh cleared her throat. "As a matter of fact, I don't." She said. "My husband lives with me, and we're expecting our first baby."

Instead of the usual flurry of congratulations and questions, the old woman just smiled somewhat sinisterly. "Isn't that nice?" She said. "Tell me, dear, what do you want it to be?"

Leigh turned her cup of tea in her hands. "Well, I want a girl, and my husband wants a boy. But we're waiting until it's born to find out, and we'll both be happy either way-."

"If you could choose right now, which would you?"

Leigh felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She slowly wrapped her arm around her stomach as if to protect it. "I don't know." She said.

"Come on, every mother wants either one of the other."

She hesitated. "… I guess… I'd like… a…" She licked her lips. "I really don't know. Ma'am, I mean no offence, but I-I'm not comfortable talking about my personal life like this."

At that moment, someone hammered on the door. Leigh jumped, but before she could stand up it opened to let in Robert. "I'm home!" He called, then spotted the old woman in the chair focusing on her coffee. "Who's this?" He asked cautiously.

Leigh stood up. "She needed help with her car." She said. "Uh, ma'am, I never got your name."

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear." The old woman smiled crookedly at Robert. "Well, handsome young man, why don't you join us? We were just discussing children."

Robert glanced at Leigh, then took her hand and slowly lowered her into the armchair before dragging another chair over to sit beside her. Leigh cleared her throat and squeezed Robert's hand. "Do you have any children, ma'am?" She asked tensely, wanting to turn the subject away from her child.

The old woman smiled wistfully. "Oh yes." She said… sadly. "Yes, at one time, I had quite a few children." She sighed. "But that was long ago. I suppose the young are always rebellious against their parents. One day, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Robert glanced at his wife and cleared his throat. "Ma'am, do you want us to call a tow truck for you?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, don't bother. I just need someone to help me push it to a gas station, since I can't do it myself. Would you help me with that, Robert dear?"

Robert was about to answer when her reply sunk in. "I never told you my name." He said slowly. Leigh's face became pale and drawn. He slowly stood up, his six-foot-one frame blocking the lights from the Christmas tree, his body tensing up. "How did you know?"

"I'm a very good guesser." The old woman said with another eerie smile. "Wouldn't you say, Leigh?"

Leigh gasped and gripped the arms of her chair, her eyes wide and her heart racing. "Get out of my house." Robert demanded in a low voice. "Now!" He yelled when she didn't move, only smiled serenely.

"Now young man, that's hardly a way to-."

"I don't care who you are! Get out and get away from my family!"

She looked up and grinned as he started to move in front of Leigh. Leigh screamed as the old woman's eyes turned milky white and static crackled in the air. "As you wish." The old woman hissed.

Then the couple were knocked back by an explosion and started to fall.

.

He was falling.

He was weightless.

He was thirsty.

He was hurting.

"You must learn, boy…"

He was falling…

Robert's back hit the hard ground, the air whooshing out of his lungs. He coughed and gagged, gasping for breath as he rolled onto his side, red and black spots dancing across his vision. "Leigh." He panted, his voice hoarse and raspy. "Leigh! Where are you!"

"Robert!"

He pushed himself to his feet and doggedly jogged over the rocky terrain towards his wife, who grabbed him in a tight hug, shivering and crying. "Shh." He murmured, rubbing her back in a circle. "It's alright. We're together. It's gonna be alright." He pulled her back and cupped her face in his hands. "Is the baby alright?"

Leigh nodded. "I didn't land very hard." She said. She knotted her hands in his shirt and looked around. They were in a dark, cavernous cave. The more she looked, the more her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she started to see columns and stairs and fallen rocks. "Where are we?" She whispered. "How did we get here?"

"I don't know." He looked around as well, looking for anything that could him any hint where they were. When he found none, he sighed and put his arm around Leigh's waist. "Let's go." He said.

"Where?"

"We're going to try and find a way out."

She nodded and leaned into Robert, and the two of then started to pick their way over fallen boulders and columns, heading towards a massive staircase in the hopes that maybe, they could find their way out. They were like two tiny ants in a huge, huge world.