Working Chapter 5 of my Is it for us alone? novel in progress

Foreword to this one as it’s one that I definitely am going to expand on and even make into a couple of chapters.  Essentially, I had an idea in my mind for a woman giving birth 

Linn awoke to her husband’s ear resting on her pregnant bump, listening to the movement of his soon to be born son inside his beloved wife. She could not help but be utterly touched by her husband’s tenderness and love, so she lay in silence watching him, hoping to just enjoy the beautiful scene of a budding family. It was perfectly serene, but then it was also impossible. These days with the constant gloom hanging over the world, scenes such as this one no longer existed. So Linn sighed, knowing she was lost in her own dream and only hoping she would not awake for a while longer.

As soon as she had realised the dream, her brain betrayed her and sent a signal to move her out of that beautiful twilight world. That world where her husband was alive to share the joy of their soon to be born son and that son would be allowed to grow old and flourish in a world that wasn’t perfect, but full of hope and opportunity. They had found out they were with child seven days before the earth shattering news disseminated across Scandinavia and the rest of the globe. By that time they had already decided they would keep the baby and they had no intention of turning back, even though many told them they were crazy for bringing a child into a doomed world.

They had considered all of this and in the end had decided that it may be fairer to destroy the egg before it becomes a human being, but there was something in them that selfishly wanted to raise a child. Whenever asked why, they responded that the Scandinavian Alliance had the resources to survive for decades, possibly, and that young people would be required to bring some hope to a seemingly doomed world. “Just because there isn’t a solution now doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the future.”

Their voices were never so confident at this statement and those they told it to only laughed, but they stuck with it. It is something about repeating this statement that eventually led them both to actually believe it in the end. From timid excuse, to staunch belief they found something worth living for. In the hour of wretched doom for their society they had found that elusive raison d’être that we all search for at some point.

Having found their raison d’être, Linn and her husband discovered that you are often faced with decisions that a less determined person could easily deal with in a more selfish fashion. It is not that regretted their newfound path in life or that they resented the child that brought it all about – not at all – but rather that they understood some level of discomfort was required in order to fulfil what they now considered their destiny.

With a heavy heart it came that Linn’s husband joined the Scandinavian Alliance assault force – the so-called SAAF that would attempt some action to prevent the planned genocide by the Triumvirate. The idea was not that they would stop it themselves, but that they could give their lives in order to give those at home the time they needed to find some way of combating this the looming menace.

Linn and her husband were now part of this minority group that actually believed there was some future and that it was worth sacrificing what little they had left of their youth to fight for this. This group contained many parents who wanted a true future for their children, but also those who simply would not give up their society, their lives, without a fight. Those who stayed in the city stuck together to support those who were fight however they could.

It was discovered that not all of the Triumvirates shields were as yet active. The SAAF found holes I the shield in the arctic regions of North America and the plan was to lead an incursion team to fight a guerrilla battle against the Triumvirate, including destroying as many shield generators as they could.

After a short farewell, Linn’s husband ventured off on this mission and she knew deep down that he would not return. With any stroke of luck his son would live to see a world rebuilt.

Linn went about her daily life helping the SAAF in whatever way she could and waiting for her son to be born. It was an odd life, wandering about living a steady existence while those around you simply slipped into a series of pre-apocalyptic hedonistic acts designed to celebrate life, but that only brought out the worst in all mankind. With no word from her husband and those nine months gone by, Linn lay in the hospital with those few who still cared, but without her love.

After a short labour a baby girl was born, but no scream was heard. Linn avoided believing the worst and then the world went dark.