Chapter 619: Pregnant Woman
Chapter 619: Chapter 619: Pregnant Woman
"Doctor, have you seen this child in the convoy?"
He took out a piece of paper with frayed edges from inside his coat. On it was a charcoal sketch of a girl around ten years old. The paper was a bit dirty.
Evelyn Ford took the paper and studied it carefully. "Is this your daughter?"
"Yes, she’s my daughter. My name is Clay Gable, and my daughter is Samantha Gable. Her nickname is Dotty. When the earthquake hit, I was at work at the pharmaceutical factory, and she was in a shelter. I was later taken to the main square for treatment, and we got separated. I searched the square for days but couldn’t find her. Doctor, could you please keep an eye out for her?"
The man’s eyes glistened with tears as he spoke of his daughter. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but the escorting soldiers had forcibly carried him into the train car.
Evelyn memorized the face of the child in the drawing and nodded at Clay Gable. "I’ll keep an eye out for you. How old is she?"
"She’s twelve, but she’s malnourished and small for her age. She looks more like she’s eight or nine."
Evelyn gave him one of her special pills. "Until you find her, you need to take responsibility for yourself and stay alive. That’s what a father should do."
Clay Gable wiped away his tears and nodded emphatically. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought you were going to refuse me."
Evelyn didn’t say anything more. After giving a few more words of advice, she left. Back in her train car, Evelyn quickly sketched the girl’s face from memory, adding Samantha Gable’s personal information next to the drawing.
"Joy, what are you doing?"
Evelyn handed the finished sketch to Wendy. Her artistic skill was excellent; the drawing was nearly identical to the one Clay Gable had.
"Who’s this?"
Evelyn told Wendy what had just happened. After hearing the story, Wendy sighed with sorrow.
"So many people went missing after the earthquake. I hope this girl is in the convoy. Her dad must be so worried about her."
"I know."
"The convoy leader has a megaphone. Why don’t we ask him to call out the girl’s name? If she’s in the convoy, she’ll come out when she hears it."
Evelyn shot down the idea. "No, that won’t work. If we do it for one, we’ll have to do it for another. The megaphone is for important announcements. If everyone starts bothering the convoy leader with personal requests, the group will descend into chaos."
Wendy tapped her head. "Right. I wasn’t thinking."
Evelyn gave Wendy a bag of snacks. "Your idea is actually a good one, but it would only work before the apocalypse. These people out here are living in constant fear, hunger, and cold. The smallest thing could push their emotions over the edge and trigger a riot. Especially now, when so many are grieving the loss of their families and the pain of this exodus. We can’t make a big show of looking for one person’s family member. That would be an abuse of privilege, and the consequences of flaunting privilege like that would be disastrous."
"Joy, if you hadn’t told me all this, I never would have realized there were so many hidden complexities to consider." Wendy rested her chin in her hands, looking at Evelyn. "Am I just too stupid?"
Evelyn reached out and flicked Wendy’s forehead. "You’re not stupid. I’m just older and have been through more, so I have this experience. All right, pull yourself together. It’s probably going to be a busy day."
At one in the afternoon, the light rain stopped. A rainbow suddenly appeared over the distant mountains, and a buzz went through the crowd again. Evelyn rolled up the tarp and leaned against the railing with Wendy to watch the rainbow.
Evelyn took several photos of the rainbow, planning to share them with Ronan Kendrick.
"The rainbow’s out, Joy! Books say that seeing a rainbow after a storm means all the bad things are over. This is great! I have to tell my dad I saw a rainbow today."
Evelyn took an unused phone from her space and gave it to Wendy so she could take some pictures to share with Officer Graham. Their spirits lifted. Wendy made a wish on the rainbow: that she would become an amazing doctor, that Officer Graham would stay healthy, and that all the members of their big family would never be separated.
Evelyn recalled the last time she’d seen a rainbow. It felt like many years ago, also while she was on the run. Time seemed to fold in on itself; Wendy had grown from a little girl into a young woman.
At four in the afternoon, someone suffered a sudden medical emergency, and Evelyn grabbed her medical kit and went to the rear of the convoy.
They couldn’t save the person. She performed CPR for three minutes and administered a special pill, but they still died.
People died in the convoy every day. Everyone was used to it.
At seven in the evening, a pregnant woman’s water broke in one of the trucks up ahead. Evelyn, Wendy, and three other doctors rushed over.
The truck didn’t stop. The expectant mother was extremely thin, but her belly was huge. Everyone was worried about whether she could give birth safely.
"Where’s your husband?"
The woman shook her head. "He died during the earthquake, protecting me."
Everyone fell silent for a few seconds. One of the doctors comforted her in a low voice, and the woman managed a faint smile.
"I still have my baby," she said. "Doctor, the baby is healthy. I can have a natural birth."
Evelyn examined her. The baby was in the correct position, and she was already five centimeters dilated. It was time.
The delivery went smoothly. In less than an hour, a tiny baby girl was born.
Watching her daughter, who was crying loudly, the woman finally broke down in tears. "Doctor, her cry is so loud. Does that mean she’s very healthy?"
Evelyn helped clean her up. "Yes, she’s very healthy."
Several other pregnant women nearby watched the mother and her baby with envy.
The convoy provided special care for pregnant women and infants. At dinnertime, the person distributing food brought her an egg and two blocks of brown sugar.
If a mother couldn’t produce breast milk, she could report it to her group leader and receive a packet of soy milk powder.
The group leader said that children represent hope and must not be neglected, and that pregnant women, who endure so much, deserve even more special attention.
"Bringing a child into a world like this... it’s a sin."
"Who knew there’d be an earthquake? Who knew we’d have to flee our homes? If no one has children, the human race can just wait to go extinct."
"Obsessed with breeding. Adults can barely survive, but you’re still worried about continuing the family line. A bunch of feudal relics. That poor kid, having parents like you. Born into a life of hunger and cold."
"She has the right to have a child! It’s none of your damn business. If you’ve got a problem with it, why don’t you get sterilized?"
"Only animals get sterilized! Who the hell are you cussing at?"
"I’m cussing at you! You got a problem? Come and hit me. I dare you. You’ll be kicked out of the convoy immediately."
...
Hearing the baby’s cries, the people in the back began voicing their opinions. A few of them, with conflicting views, had started arguing. Just as it looked like a fight was about to break out, the group leader walked over with a whip in his hand. The chattering crowd scattered in an instant.
Evelyn returned to her truck and, taking Wendy with her, ducked into her space.
She had just delivered a baby without a protective suit, and she was splattered with a good amount of blood. The smell was overpowering; she had to wash up immediately.
"Joy, childbirth is terrifying."
Evelyn couldn’t agree more. For some reason, her thoughts drifted to Annie’s mother—the woman who had died in the rubble of a collapsed apartment building just after giving birth to Annie.