The Ark ~ Year 2131
A very pregnant woman with cinnamon colored hair looked sullenly down at Earth from the window in medical bay. "I'm sorry," she whispered to no one in particular while rubbing her swollen belly. She knew this day would come, no matter how hard she tried to deny it wouldn't. There was no escaping it. The Ark has very strict rules for a reason and she knew that, better than most. She just didn't want to admit it to herself or anyone really.
She was weeks or days away from giving birth and only had so much time to think of a solution. Her mood should happy since the pregnancy was going well but she couldn't seem to even manage a simple smile. The Ark's strict one-child policy was all she could think about these days, ever since she found out that she was carrying twins. Something that should be absolutely impossible and she would know, as she is on track to becoming the Chief Medical Officer onboard the Ark.
"Abby," a voice called out from behind her successfully breaking the woman's trance. A man, her husband, with light brown hair and blue eyes wrapped his arms around her while continuing, "We'll figure something out, I promise."
Abby let out a sigh, "I hope so Jake. I'm just so scared. You know the law." This had been troubling her for some time and she hasn't been able to think of a solution. She was beginning to lose hope as she began to realize she might have to give up one of her little girls. She just hoped it wouldn't be for her death like the law states.
She had managed to keep everyone but her husband in the dark about having twins due to her medical profession but she knew it wouldn't last forever. She knew that as soon as they were born one of them would have to die and she was going to do everything in her power to prevent that. She had even picked out names for them, Scarlett and Clarke. Two beautiful names for the girls she'd do anything to protect.
Jake rested his head against hers and gazed out at Earth, "Earth… If only it were habitable and then we could live peacefully together. The four of us together forever with no laws to say otherwise."
On May 10th of the year 2052, seventy-nine years ago, life on Earth was destroyed during the nuclear apocalypse. The only survivors of the catastrophic event were those aboard the twelve space stations that make up the Ark today.
Over four hundred people survived that day by escaping into space to those twelve stations from different nations: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Uganda, and Venezuela. Eventually each individual station came together and joined forces in order to survive. Today the Ark is home to over 2,659 people, stretching life support to the breaking point. Hence the very strict one-child policy the Council created amongst other laws put in place to "maintain" the population.
"That's it! Jake you're a genius!" Abby exclaimed as she took in what he had said, "Earth, that's our solution." Her eyes were shinning with excitement but he just looked at her with extreme confusion. Nothing she said had made sense to him. The Earth isn't survivable and isn't supposed to be for another hundred years or so.
She could sense his confusion and continued, "Just hear me out! We could all go to Earth and be a family like you said. We could do, just pack everything up and disappear. I'll give birth on Earth and our daughters will live long lives together." She desperately wanted both of her daughters to live, desperate enough to think of such a risky and insane plan.
"Abby, are you hearing yourself? You want to steal a dropship and use it to go to a radiation filled planet that no one has been on for seventy-nine years?" his voice filled with doubt and disbelief. She couldn't have been serious.
Her shinning eyes dulled and her face fell back to its usual sullen look. Abby knew is sounded ridiculous but she was willing to do anything if it meant saving the lives of both of her children. "You're right, it's stupid. It would never work and we don't even know if we can survive Earth. I just don't know what else we can do to save them both," she said as she turned away from her husband.
Jake didn't want to lose one of his daughters either but this idea was outrageous. If they got caught then they'd all be dead and if they made it, well, who knows what Earth is like anymore. He saw the look of defeat in his wife's eyes and knew he had to do something. Jake closed his eyes and tried to figure out if it would even work. He could get access through his job as an engineer but would it even work. "Okay," he said as he opened his eyes, "we'll give it a try. It's insane and very unlikely to succeed but we've got to try everything. And I'm not giving up on our daughters."
He knew he might regret this decision one day but the look on his wife's face was priceless. She lit up with such happiness that she almost outshone the sun. They were going to try and make it happen. They were going to try and go to Earth.
The next week was chaotic as Abby and Jake Griffin tried to secure safe travel plans for their future family, which was harder than they had anticipated. In their hopeful thoughts they had completely forgotten about how coveted and protected the dropships really were. So far the only option Jake had been able to find was a small escape pod that might just work. It was on the small side, only able to fit two, and not ideal for a very pregnant Abby to be in but he kept an open mind.
The week after that Jake began to secure access to the small escape pod incase they couldn't find anything else when the unexpected happened. The contractions began.
Abby and Jake were in their bed asleep when it began jerking Abby awake. She though it might have just been a dream when they continued. She still didn't think anything of it, as she wasn't due for another two weeks. Abby got out of bed to walk it off when a gush of water came out. "Jake," she shakily said as she realised what was happening, "Jake you need to wake up right now."
It was happening. They weren't false contractions; they were very real and very painful. "JAKE," she yelled throwing a pillow in his face. His eyes shot open, "What?"
Abby grimaced in pain, "It's happening. Now. Right now." It took Jake a few seconds to comprehend what she was saying and quickly leapt out of bed. They hadn't been planning on giving birth on the Ark so Jake wasn't quite sure what to do. Abby, on the other hand, always had a back up birth plan. She was fully prepared to give birth right here in this room and there was no stopping her. These babies were coming out now.
Jake helped her get back onto their bed and propped up into position. The pain was clear on her face as Abby tried to maintain just enough composure as to not alert their neighbors. They didn't need anyone interfering and discovering their secret. The sharp shooting pains were unbearable but she knew she couldn't make too much noise for the safety of her daughters.
She used a pillow to muffle her screams as she pushed like her life depended on it. Jake was a nervous wreck but knew he had to stay strong. His wife needed his help and so did his daughters. He did his very best to provide Abby with support and he waited for his daughters' arrival.
When he saw the first one's head crowning he thought he was going to faint but pulled himself together. He kept talking to Abby and reassuring her with positive remarks throughout the whole ordeal. Abby wasn't listening to the words but his voice was very soothing amongst all of the pain she was going through.
She pushed as hard as she could, wishing they would just pop out and the pain would be over. She pushed harder and harder when a cry broke their silence. "You did Abby! I knew you could, she's absolutely beautiful. You got to keep pushing though, one more to go. You can do this honey," Jake said as he cut the cord and wrapped his first born in a towel beside him.
Sweat was dripping down Abby's face as she kept on pushing. She wasn't going to let up now as she feared that someone might hear her first baby's cries. A few minutes after the first, Jake saw the head of his second daughter. "I see her Abby! One more big push and its all over. I'm so proud of you."
Abby pushed harder than she ever had before and screamed one last time into her pillow. A second set of cries erupted from the room as Jake held his second daughter close. He looked at his wife with tears in his eyes and just smiled. He couldn't believe they had done it.
Jake handed the two over to Abby who was absolutely exhausted. She began to breastfeed the two when Jake half asked/half joked, "So, which one is Clarke and which one is Scarlett?" Abby let out a soft laugh as she whipped her matted hair from her face and looked down at her girls smiling. The first-born had dark peach fuzz hair and beautiful golden eyes while the second-born had golden peach fuzz hair and eyes as blue as Earth's ocean.
"Scarlett," she said as she kissed the dark-haired baby who smiled up at her. "And Clarke," she continued as she kissed the golden-haired baby who giggled in return. Jake couldn't have been happier, he was the father of two beautiful baby girls and the husband of an unbelievable strong woman. Now he just had to find a way to keep them safe until they could attempt to head for Earth.
Abby was still exhausted and a mess but she also couldn't have been any happier. Everything was going extremely well, even if it wasn't according to their plan and earlier then they had expected. She looked at her two daughters with bright eyes when she felt another stab of pain.
Pain that should be over now, something wasn't right. Her face went pale and she realised something must have gone wrong during the birth. "Jake," she whispered suddenly losing strength, "Something's not right."
Fear quickly replaced his joyfulness as he noticed the pool of blood forming beneath his wife. Something was most definitely wrong and they needed help fast. "I need to get help, there's so much…" Jake failed to finish his sentence. He didn't know what to do because if he went for help he risked everything they had been trying to protect. "I don't know what to do," he whispered with tears in his eyes.
His weakened wife smiled sadly at him, "I need you to be strong, okay? Everything is going to be alright but you have to go get help. We can't do this on our own anymore. I know you'll think of something to save our girls but I can't leave. I won't make it to Earth, let alone much longer without help." She kissed little Scarlett on the forehead one last time before handing her up to Jake. She trusted him to save both their lives and hers.
Jake knew he had to make a quick decision here and he knew what she wanted him to do. She wanted him to alert medical bay and then take Scarlett and escape to Earth together. It'd be the only way to save everyone but he didn't want to leave Abby. She was the love of his life and he couldn't just leave her on his own. But he couldn't just leave Scarlett on her own either. It was going to be the hardest decision of his life and he had to make it by the time he reached the medical bay.
"HELP!" he screamed as he flew through the medical bay doors. "Mr. Griffin?" someone questioned from a corner of the room.
"It's Abby… She gave birth early, there's lots of blood, please help, she's in our room… Please hurry," Jake struggled to say as he tried to catch his breath. Everyone on staff immediately ran off to go help Abby so they were too busy to notice little Scarlett held close to his chest. Their secret was safe for now but he had to act fast.
He continued on his way to the escape pod trying to avoid anyone out this late at night. He didn't need anyone to stop and ask him questions now; there was too much riding on this moment. Jake reached the escape pod and broke down crying.
"I don't know what to do little Scarlett," he whispered through tears at the little girl staring up at him, "Your mother needs me more than ever now but I can't leave you all alone out there either. If I go missing they'll start asking questions and I fear for what might happen. Please forgive me Scar, I hope we meet again one day."
Jake held the little girl close and kissed her one last time before placing her inside the basket he found nearby. He found some paper as well and wrote…
To whoever finds my little Scar,
I beg someone finds my little Scarlett as I hate myself for abandoning her like this. Her mother and sister need me now more than ever and this is the only thing I can think of to save my little girl. Please take good care of her and let her know that she will never be forgotten and always loved. I pray we meet again soon.
He placed the note inside the basket holding Scarlett and placed it inside escape pod. He would never forgive himself for doing this but it's the only way he can ensure everyone's safety. As he watched the pod launch he just prayed for a miracle, that his little Scar would be okay.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think as it's a crazy idea and something I've never written about before. (I've also never written in this POV before either so sorry if things sound wrong.) I can't wait for you to see what I have planned! Much love for giving it a chance3