"The Scavenger Bride"
Chapter 37: Worst Possible Timing

Harry and Jane's wedding day. Mom and Dad's wedding day. Shelley as a baby. My first birthday. Our first summer together after Mom and Dad died. Shelley and me, on a field trip in high school. Shelley's high school graduation; mine. Shelley's wedding; mine (those were polaroids). Daisy's birth announcement. Daisy's first birthday. Christmas. My college graduation. Our picnic at the beach.

The tears were so great, I could barely see the pictures I collected as I went around my house, stuffing them into an old carry-on, along with old clothes of Daisy's that Meg had fished out of the attic. We'd need them - the clothes and the photos - for our little girl. She needed to know what it was like to love. To love and to be loved. To be a part of something greater than herself. When the bag was stuffed full, I zipped it up and put it by the door.

Dan and Meg were seated on the couch, silent as the grave; Herbert stood by the window, pale as a sheet. He was completely broken. I knew that, from this day forward, he would never be the same…. none of us would.

"What are we gonna do?" I sniffled, wrapping my arms about myself. My face was swollen from all the crying I'd done. I glanced over at Dan; he was comforting a weeping Meg, but I could easily see the wheels in his head rolling.

"We were all here, having eaten dinner. All of us. We were getting ready to watch a movie when a madman broke in and killed the family. We managed to stop him."

"What about George?"

"We won't mention him," Dan shook his head. "I'll destroy his body tonight. Right now, in fact."

"And the wounds on Hill's neck? How will we explain the bites?"

"I'll think of something….. one of us, defending the others by any means necessary."

"My work…" Herbert murmured.

"I'll take care of it, Herbert. I….. I'm so sorry."

I began to pace, through the living room, towards the foot of the stairs, when suddenly, something funny hit me. I looked down at my feet to find I was in a pool of water, and my legs were wet. "Oh, my God." The sharp pain hit me then, right in the pelvis. "Oh, God-" The others were up on their feet in seconds as I felt myself going down.

"Imogen?" Dan grabbed my arm, and Herbert was holding on to me, having vaulted one of the living room chairs. I stared at him.

"Herbert, it's happening."

"Now?!"

"I know, I know. Of all the times, right? Shit!" I clutched at my side as another wave of pain came at me.

"How far apart are they?" Meg asked.

"Seconds."

"What?! That fast?"

"I must've been in labor this whole time and not realized it. C'mon, get me upstairs, will ya?"

I was in my room in seconds; Herbert was barking orders as Meg and Dan rushed around furiously, trying to comply. Warm water, disinfectant, scissors, Betadine. Every single towel we could find. They put four layers underneath me. The pain was overwhelming; I was so close to delivery, we all knew I wasn't going to make it to the hospital, and this meant I was going to have to do this without any sort of pain meeds. Every bone in my body felt like it was snapping.

"Imogen? Darling. Listen to me." Herbert's face came into view. He's never called me that before. And I somehow managed to smile. "Listen," he repeated. "You're gonna have to push now. Can you do that for me? Meg is over there, she's ready. Are you ready?"

"I think so," I panted.

"Okay. Push! Go!"

I gritted my teeth as the most electrifying and ripe wave of pain flushed over me. I screamed and had to stop.

"Good! That was great!" Meg shouted. "You're almost there, sweetie, you're almost there. One more. Come on!"

Herbert took my hand up in his; I held on tight and gave another push. "I can't!" I howled, collapsing back into the bed. I was drenched in sweat. "Herbert, I can't, it hurts. Please, it hurts so much."

"You're doing so well, Imogen," Herbert stroked the side of my face, clearing my hair out of my eyes. He smiled at me. "She's almost here," he whispered.

"That's right, sweetie," Meg grinned up at me. "I can see her head."

"Really?!" I smiled.

"Again." Meg gave a curt nod. "Again!"

Gripping at Herbert's hand again, I hunkered down and gave one more big push. It was the worst of them all, and it felt as if I was going to detach. I screamed again, and there was a large, dull, 'pop' feeling from my pelvis, and suddenly, I could hear her crying. I could breathe at last, and the endorphins rushed over me. Meg was laughing, and Herbert was grinning.

"It's your little girl, Imogen," Meg was weeping, and she held up a tiny little wriggling mass of ten fingers and ten toes. She cut the cord, cleaned out my baby's airways, cleaned her up elsewhere, and bundled her up for us. Herbert put his head against mine, and I was crying. I couldn't believe she was here. I wasn't ready - I didn't even have a name for her. But we'd figure that out. For now, I just wanted to meet her. Herbert and I held her; Meg had checked the time and everything, and she scribbled down the little girl's information on a sheet of paper she'd found in the closet, alongside the Polaroid camera my family had used at my wedding. Meg snapped a picture of us, and when it was printed, she shook it dry, handing it and the paper to Herbert.

"What's the paper?"

"Makeshift birth certificate. It's official, since it's signed by a legitimate doctor." She smiled proudly. "You can get one printed up anywhere with that paper."

"I'm showing her to Dan," Herbert smiled. "Is that okay?"

"Oh, yes! Go, let him see her." I kissed his cheek, and he was out the door with our little bundle in tow.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Meg said quietly. It wasn't long before everything was done and done; the mess on the bed was massive, but it could be dealt with in time. Herbert came back in after a few minutes.

"She's six and a half pounds exactly. I weighed her on the scale in the bathroom." He smiled proudly, but I could tell something was wrong. I took our little girl from him so she could eat, and Herbert excused himself again so us ladies could have some privacy. My little girl was so stuffed from her first meal that she passed out, and slept like a champ. I watched her sleep for a few moments; Meg, silent as the grave, cleaned up further.

"Thank you," I said quietly, watching her tie up one of the trash bags. She looked up at me.

"You're welcome." Her voice was soft, somber. She pushed strands of blonde hair from her face with the back of her wrist, leaving the trash bag in the corner to dispose of later.

"I mean, for everything." I paused. "I can't believe he called you two. I'm so sorry."

Meg's shoulders slumped, and her chin dropped to her chest. She sniffled, and finally composed herself. "Your entire family was just murdered. Your cousin was murdered in front of you. You had to….. bring her back and then put her down again." She was weeping. "And now-" her face contorted in grief. "You bring your little girl into the world, amidst all this gore, and I can't help but think you are the most resilient woman I have ever met in all my life."

"Meg….." The tears poured from my face. I choked on them to keep from making any noise and waking up the baby. "I'm so glad he's dead," I shook my head. "I'm glad Hill is dead, I didn't want my baby in a world in which he existed. He was evil. And I'm glad he's dead." I couldn't tell whether I was crying or laughing at that point, and Meg, sobbing, was next to me on the bed, holding me and my baby.

The boys, having been alerted by the sound of crying, came back in then. Herbert sat on the other side of me on the bed, and he watched our baby bat her little arms in her sleep. Dan watched her from the end of the bed. "She's beautiful, Immi."

"Thank you, Dan," I wiped at my eyes. Meg handed me a clean rag, and I muttered a 'thanks.'

Dan cleared his throat. "Um. So listen. The amount of screaming going on here tonight; we may be secluded, but we're not alone. Someone is bound to have heard us. We have to go."

"What about the bodies?" Herbert asked. "You're going to need help."

"No, no, I can do this. I mean, so long as we destroy Hill and George. I can tell the police Hill made off with you and Imogen. They won't go looking for him then."

"How will you do it?"

"Oh… the fire out back is still going. I'll keep it going." He wasted no time, immediately going to work. Herbert got up and watched out the window; I could see the fire flare up in his face from the yard. Then there was a curious and questioning look on his face, when suddenly the fire flared up again, far bigger this time. Herbert's jaw dropped. His head darted around so his eyes could meet mine. "He brought Hill's car around and set it on fire."

"Good." I smiled. Meg went to get us food from the kitchen. It wasn't long before Dan joined us. "Herbert? A word?"

My partner excused himself and joined Dan in the hall. I stopped eating for a moment to snoop. In my arms, my little girl squeaked and squirmed. I kissed her cheek.

"Herbert, we have a problem. So I managed to destroy Hill's car. I turned on the radio downstairs. There's a riot at the hospital. It seems as if Hill re-animated some bodies from the morgue, and they've gone crazy all over Innsmouth."

"My God… How many?"

"They're saying nearly two dozen."

"How are we going to stop them?"

"We can't, Herbert, you know that. Not alone. We may have to let this one work its course. And… not only that, but we could very well say that George was one of them, and that Hill was killed by him. They wouldn't suspect."

"But didn't you get rid of the bodies already?"

"Mm, no, just the destroyed reagent. I heard the radio then, and came straight back up."

"So where does this leave us? Shouldn't we be in the clear?"

The silence that met Herbert's question made my skin crawl. There was something Dan wasn't telling him. "Someone at the hospital saw Hill there. Heard him mention your name."

"What? How do you know this?"

"Hannah Carson. I called her. She works at that hospital. She told me she was the one who saw Hill. Heard him say your name."

"What did he say?"

"He said…" Dan cleared his throat.

"Dan, what?!"

"Ssshh! I don't want to upset the girls. Apparently he muttered something to himself about how your work was now his. A few people heard it, including a cop. They're gonna investigate, Herbert. And after what happened to your father….."

"Oh, God, and the journalist…."

"Journalist? What journalist?"

"Never you mind, Cain. We need to fix this. What are we to do?"

"I need to get you three out of town. Meg and I can cover back here."

"Out of town? What, like Boston?"

"I'm thinking a little further than Boston, I'm afraid."

I started trembling again. I glanced to Meg; her eyes were wide. "Herbert?" I called for him.

My partner was at my side in seconds, with Dan hot on his heels. "What's wrong?"

"Is it true?" I glanced up at Dan. "Are we really gonna have to leave the country?" Herbert's head fell, and Dan's gaze dropped.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is true," my friend nodded. And just when the tears had started to dry, they began all over again.

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MUSIC:

Moby's "Division" is a sad, instrumental piece that will certainly break your heart. It fits here very well, especially as Imogen goes about the house to collect memories of her family…..