CHAPTER 10

We've been walking in the same direction for the past two weeks. Everything is taking longer because of me. They seem to think that if we didn't stop so much we might be almost home but because of the ever many breaks, we're still quite a distance off; and now at seven months and a half pregnant, many breaks are needed.

"Tobias, can you please help me up?" I asked him tiredly, stretching my arms up towards him. We've just taken yet another rest from walking and had some water; and now we're ready to set off again. It's sometime in the late afternoon, which means the next time we stop will be for the night.

We began to walk in the same direction for about another hour. As we neared the area where we planned to rest for the night, I got a sharp tightening feeling in my lower abdomen. I gasped and clutched my stomach. I immediately stopped walking and Tobias paused with me, feeling the tug on his hand. His eyes instantly filled with concern.

"Tris, what's wrong?" he questioned, coming back to me and placing a hand against my stomach. From behind Tobias I saw Thom glance back at us and then called for the others to stop.

As soon as the tightening feeling had come, the sooner it went. "Nothing, it was just a cramp." I reply, rubbing my belly. I sigh in relief as I feel the baby begin to move again.

"Are you sure?"

Before I can reassure him, Edith has wandered over to us. "Is anything wrong?"

"Tris says she's getting cramps…" Tobias sighed, rubbing his eyes. I felt sorry for him; he had been up many nights with me when I couldn't sleep and was also getting stressed as the months that led up to my nine month deadline came closer.

Edith crossed her arms across her chest, studying my swollen belly. "What did these cramps feel like?"

"Like a tightening in my lower abdomen." I said as I moved my hand to the underside of my round stomach.

She nodded, understanding blooming across her face. "They're Braxton Hicks contractions."

Tobias seemed to splutter. "I'm sorry but what?"

Edith shrugged simply, completely relaxed. "Braxton Hicks contractions—they're nothing to be worried about, they're simply just a preparation the uterus does every so often, keeping itself good so it is ready for when you really go into labour." It felt like a burden had been lifted off of my shoulders and now I could finally relax. "You should get some rest though, you look exhausted. We'll be stopping just up there for the night." I nodded.

As we closed the distance between ourselves and the camp that the rest of the group had begun to set up, I began to wonder. "Edith, how much further do you think we have to go; how much longer?"

She thought for a second, looking out into the distance. "It's hard to say but at the pace we're going at about now, I'd say we have about another month ahead of us." I slumped against Tobias and he slipped his arm around my waist, supporting me from behind.

By the time we had gotten back to the camp site, I was far from exhausted. I felt like my feet wouldn't hold me much longer if I stood for another minute. Tobias began to set up our tent and every time I offered to help, he would refuse and tell me to just sit there and rest. That was easy to do.

That night, we all sat around a campfire and passed around the cans of food as to tradition. Edith and her people had begun to become accustomed to the way the Factionless ate. It had been an hour since I had had the Braxton Hicks contraction and nothing else had come again—apart from the baby's sharp kicks. I was the first to go to bed, then Tobias and then everyone seemed to just go as they liked.

"Tobias?" I whispered as he crawled into the tent and removed his shoes.

"Yes, Tris?" He removed his belt and crept up towards me.

"Could you please get one of the spare blankets for me?"

He nodded and turned towards our bags which were by the door of the tent. Rummaging through them, he heaved a blue one out and spread it over me. He lied underneath it with me, wrapping me in his warm arms. "Are you cold?" He murmured into my ear. I nodded and with some difficulty rolled onto my other side so that my back was facing him. He kissed the back of my neck and whispered, "Good night, Tris."

"Good night."

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It's still the same night and I've barely slept. The baby just continues to kick me in the ribs and now I have no reason not to believe it's a boy because he seems very content to play soccer in my stomach, and my ribs are the goal posts. Tobias fell asleep long ago and I can't blame him. If I could, I would have as well.

Another blow to my abdomen came and I inhaled sharply at the brief discomfort. I felt Tobias stir behind me, but he didn't seem to wake up. However I lied as still as I could, just in case he was awake.

"Ah!" I grunted as another powerful kick came to my ribs. I felt Tobias stir behind me again and slapped my hand to my mouth.

"Tris?" he mumbled, still half asleep. I rolled in his direction and he shifted a little to make room for my big stomach. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, he's just playing soccer—and kicking me in the process."

"Mmm…" he murmured, placing his palm against my stomach. The baby kicked lightly at his hand and I giggled.

"He knows who you are." I rested one of my hands above his, while the other rubbed my belly soothingly.

"Mmm—" he paused for a second, thinking. "How many weeks along are you again?" He asked sleepily.

I answered straight away. "Seven months and a half, which is thirty weeks along." He sighed and I knew he was thinking what I was thinking: I'm getting closer to my due date and we're still out in the middle of nowhere.

"Tobias, Edith said that we have about another month to go and I'm not due in a month, close to a month but not in a month."

His eyes seemed more awake and his mouth was set in a frown. "Exactly, Tris." Tobias' voice came out as only a whisper, as if he was defeated. "Exactly… you're close to a month. We don't know for sure how long we're going to be out here for; we could take longer than a month…" He removed his hand from under mine and began to rub at his eyes.

The boy beside me began to turn away from me but I reached out and laid a hand on his bicep to prevent him. "Please… don't…" I begged for him not to turn away from me. He looked at me with such sadness that I burst into tears.

"Oh, Tris, no, I'm sorry…" he soothed, trying his best to bundle me in his arms with my swollen belly. "Don't cry, shh… I didn't mean to upset you…"

Eventually, after what felt like hours, my tears came to a stop and I was left with hiccups. "I'm sorry, it's just my hormones. I just, I feel kind of vulnerable at the moment. Everyone knows how I'm going; if I'm tired or thirsty, by just taking one look at me. I hate it."

Tobias twisted to face me again and he ran a finger across my cheekbone. "But Tris, that's a good thing. It means we can keep an eye on you because you're seven months pregnant."

I sighed, "I know—"

He must have felt me tense beside him because he began to question me urgently. "Tris? Tris, what's wrong?"

In the darkness I smiled sheepishly, even though he couldn't see it. "I just—really need to pee." I began to sit up, my fingers fumbling around in the darkness for the torch.

He chuckled softly. "Do you want me to come with you?"

I shook my head. "No but you may have to help me with standing up…" In a moment I was up on my feet and wandering off into the darkness of the night with only the stars', the moon's and my torch's light to guide me; and Tobias was probably going back to sleep within our tent.

As I was heading back I heard a shuffling of leaves and then a loud growl as something large and black slunk out from behind a couple of bushes. Never before had I felt so helpless than this moment when I had no weapons on me and I was heavily pregnant.

I inhaled sharply before crying out, "Tobias!"