Chapter Two

The dead leaves of fall crunched underneath my feet as I made my way through the dark forest, with a beast hot on my trail. I knew I was out of luck the moment I heard his guttural growl a few inches behind me. My mind kept screaming at me to find an escape route, but I came up with nothing, only when I came across an open meadow did, I see my chance. I quickly ducked to my left, into a deep ditch. The small rocks in the sand scratched my flesh as I propelled my body forward. In this ditch I was safe, he was too big to enter. The light on the other side suddenly looked more appealing than anything I have ever seen before.

Loud footsteps made me freeze in my spot, the dirt falling on my new all-stars almost made me groan as I tried to be as quiet as possible. The beast looked nothing like he did in the pictures of the book, he looked more bigger, scarier, and murderous. His body was covered in thick black hair, with dangerous nails sticking out at the ends of his paws, nails that could kill a bear with one blow. I heard his heavy breathing. It felt as if he wanted me dead, because when I gasped, he attacked.

I screamed as I felt his claws dig into the skin of my waist, tearing the innocent flesh. He threw me against a big oak tree and kept me in place with his claws. I gasped a few times, trying to regain my breath after the impact of not only my body against the tree but also the impact of his body on mine. Some would think that a beast's breath would stink but not this one, his breath was more pleasant than the air on a rainy day. The only thing that was not appealing was the drool that hung down his lips, that was nasty.

''You are mine,' the beast yelled down at my face, the heat radiating off his breath fanning my tear-stained face. More tears made themselves known when he sniffed my neck, imposing on my personal space.

''You're hurting me,'' I stammered with tears streaming down my face onto his claws.

Suddenly he looked down to where he held me captive, he withdrew his claws from my waist and looked at his nails. There was fresh blood on them. He closed his claws and slowly backed away from me. When he was a safe distance away from me, I fell to the ground, sobbing with my hands on the newly made wounds.

His breathing increased and when I looked into his eyes, he growled and punched the same tree I was sitting under, successfully cracking the tree in half with splinters scattering everywhere.

''No!'' I screamed at him, trying to stop him from doing it again. He looked shocked by my outburst and slowly made his way towards me, taking one step at a time.

He started to mumble something in denial, and that is when it hit me. He could not speak, because he was a primitive animal. That, however, did not explain my situation at all, because I could not be imagining things like this.

''No,'' I cut him off, my sobs still vibrating through my chest. He reached out, his bloody claw making its way over the soft flesh of my cheeks, ''No, no,' I pulled away, almost breaking my neck in the process.

"'Arabella?'' I softly heard the voice of my mother all around us, breaking the tension between the beast and me. When I turned my head over to the beast, he was no longer standing where he was a few seconds ago, ''Baby?''

''Hmm,'' I softly mumbled, still unable to say anything with my dry throat. Once I started moving, the pain in my lower back made me groan out into the crisp air.

''Honey, are you okay?''

''Hmm,'' I started and turned my head slowly to look at the person in front of me, ''Mom?'' I croaked out, flinching once again. My mother left my side, scrambling through her purse and once she found her phone, she looked at me.

''I'll ask John to bring you some water,'' she said and started typing away on the screen.

Nodding, I turned my head to look outside the window, the bright blue air streamed into the room, lighting up the white walls. Wait, white walls?

I frantically looked around the unfamiliar room. Two chairs, one bed with white bedding, white walls and a single wooden door in the middle of the biggest wall occupied the petite bedroom. A hospital? My mother put her hand on my shoulder, easing my nerves for a second.

'''Ara, relax. I will explain everything in a bit. I am just waiting for John.''

The soft satin pillow greeted me as soon as I put my head on it again, but my mind was working overtime, trying to solve this mystery that was my life. My mother held a sympathetic look when she looked down at my stomach, my frown was evident as I looked at her, not quite understanding why she looked at my stomach.

Before I had the chance to ask her the door opened, revealing John with a bottle of water in his hand. When he saw me awake, he smiled at me and my mother, his dimples showing, ''Thank God,'' he said, walking towards me, '' I thought you would never wake up,'' he handed me the translucent bottle.

The water burned as it travelled down my oesophagus but after a few sips, it turned into a soothing sensation. I was too busy enjoying my water to realize that my mom and John were having a hushed conversation.

''Okay Arabella, are you ready for everything we must tell you?'' John asked, looking at my mother picking her fingernails. He continued as soon as I nodded my head, ''Firstly, you've been in a coma for two months,'' my eyes got big as I looked at my mom, waiting for confirmation. The quick nod she gave me confirmed John's words, '' You were kidnapped, gone for three months without a trace and you are three months pregnant.''

A silent sob wracked through my body, my hand making its way to my mouth, ''What the hell is wrong with you?'' Lisa screamed at John. He looked taken back by her sudden outburst,'' You cannot just tell her that!'' she said, ''not all at once.''

His face fell in the realization of what he just did. My mom stared at him, killing him with her eyes. She stood up and came over to my bed, grabbing my arm in her tiny ones, ''Honey, there is no easy way about this. We have a big decision to make.''

Silence enveloped us before the door to the room opened.

''Arabella, I am Doctor Cole and I have some important questions to ask you. Is it okay if we do so in private?'' the doctor asked, looking from Lisa to John, silently seeking their permission.

''Sure,'' I said, glancing at my mom before she and John left the room. He looked at the file in his hand before he looked at me.

''This might be a lot to take in and I'm sorry, but we have to make some decisions,'' I nodded my head, giving the doctor a signal to continue, '' You were kidnapped for three months before they found you, can you remember anything that happened to you?'' he asked expectantly.

''No,'' I hiccupped, the thought of being gone for three months making its way back into my mind, ''I can't.''

The doctor got a pen out of his front pocket and wrote something on the file, ''You were badly hurt when you arrived at the hospital, and we had to do some tests on you. After a lot of blood tests, we concluded that you are pregnant, three months as of today,'' I quickly looked down at my stomach, finding it hard to believe.

''We have a few options, miss. You can either keep the baby, put it up for adoption or abort. We think it might have been rape but were not sure, and I presume you cannot remember who the father is as well,'' I shook my head, silently letting him know his suspicions are correct, ''I will give you a few minutes to reach a decision. You see this button?'' he questioned pointing to a small yellow button near my bed, ''press this button when you've reached a decision and a nurse will get me and I'll come to you,'' he smiled and gave me a small pat on my shoulder before he left the room, leaving me with the hardest decision I have ever had to make.

All thoughts left my mind as I stared down at my tummy, a small bump was in the place of my once flat stomach, barely noticeable, but there. There was no way I could ever abort a baby, not my own at least. The thought never once crossed my mind. It is extremely hard to explain, but I have this warm feeling in my chest when I think about the baby. Yes, it is a big shock and was unexpected, but somehow, I am okay with what is going on. It feels like I have already made peace with the thought of carrying a child in another lifetime.

''Honey?''

I looked up at my mother, already missing her comforting hugs. She knew how to make everything better without saying a word.

''Abortion?'' she asked, holding my hand in the process.

''Never,'' I whispered.

''I know, baby. I know.''

''I want to keep it,'' I stated. My mother snapped her eyes towards my face.

''Honey, are you sure?''

My eyes began to water, ''It was not rape, mom. I know how weird it sounds, but it is just a feeling that I have."

The door opened and John walked in, he walked in as if he wanted to strangle somebody, ''What do you mean it wasn't rape, Arabella?'' he questioned.

I shrugged, not having a suitable answer, ''It was the beast and now you say that it was not rape? You might as well say that you walked out of your house on your own accord.''

''What?'' I questioned the same time my mom yelled for him to stop.

''She needs to know, Lisa. The sooner the better.''

I could barely keep myself together when he said that. My favourite book was the tale of the Amarok, but he was a myth. He was not real, so I did not understand what he was saying, ''What? The myth?''

John smirked once he heard my question, ''He's not a myth,'' My mom put her head between her hands.

''We need a lot of time to tell you everything and we will do that once you regain your strength,'' he stated and left again.

''I need to talk to that asshole, Honey. I will be right back.''

Once again, I was left alone with a bunch of thoughts haunting me. The smell of something woodsy and aromatic hung in the hospital room, almost like it was following me. For the first time today, I was left alone for more than a few seconds. I took the time to study my small bump. My hands glided over my smooth flesh, feeling for anything close to a baby but it just felt like I had too much to eat.

I was happy, even though I do not remember exactly how I got pregnant. Just imagining a little baby girl running around the house, calling me mommy made my tummy flutter with love. It would be like looking at myself, a younger version of course.