“You’re just in time, she’s been in labor for almost twenty-four hours.” He turned, expecting them to follow him. “Something isn’t right. The baby hasn’t dropped into the birth canal.”
He hadn’t thought about revealing the bunker to them. His attention had been so focused on getting Kris the help she needed and grateful it had been so close. It wasn’t until they stood at the rock outcropping and both Arland and Laurie stopped talking abruptly.
“I should have known you had a bunker.” Arland patted his back.
The rush of fear that had overtaken Blake must have caused a change in his expression, because Arland immediately reassured him.
“Your secret is safe. No one will know about it. It won’t go beyond Laurie and myself.” Arland looked to Laurie, who nodded.
“Let’s just worry about your wife and bring that baby into the world,” Laurie said, touching his arm.
With the mention of Kris, Blake had pushed his misgivings behind him.
The memory played in him while he watched the midwife, Laurie, work with Kris. Watching her assured movements and hearing her calm yet authoritative tone took the pressure off him. He knew he had done the right thing by bringing her here. Labor already progressed, the baby’s head even showed down below.
“We’re almost there, Kris. A few more pushes and you’ll be holding your baby,” Laurie soothed his wife.
He repositioned himself to take more of Kris’s weight. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“You have more grit than anyone I have ever known. You can do this.” He kissed her head, overcome with emotion. “I love you, Krista.”
She nodded, her panting unable to produce words.
“Let’s get her into a more upright position. Blake, you will need to take most of her weight.”
Blake positioned himself in front of Kris.
“Have her put her hands on your shoulders so she is kneeling but pressing on you with her upper body.”
Blake helped Kris into position. Feeling her weight on him was reassuring.
“Good. Okay, Kris. These last couple pushes will be the ones,” Laurie encouraged.
As another contraction came, Kris bored down on him. She turned so red that he feared she would pass out. Instead, she let out a cry of pure strain and effort. One that seemed to say, I will do this!
With that push, Blake craned his neck so he could see the baby’s head. He dropped his forehead to Kris’s. “I’m so proud of you. You’re doing this. Our baby is almost here.”
The next push did it. The baby dropped into Laurie’s hands. Kris panted and cried in his arms. He let the tears stream down his face, too. She made it. She did it. Kris brought their baby into this world...this post-apocalyptic, no hospitals, no doctor world.
Yet, the baby didn’t cry.
The realization hit him like a bullet to his chest. He hugged Kris tighter to him while frantically looking toward the limp baby in the midwife’s arms.
Laurie quickly unwrapped the cord wound around the infant’s neck. The baby’s skin, blue instead of pink, made Blake’s blood run cold. He didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t want Kris to know.
Laurie cleared the baby’s mouth and pressed gently down on the tiny chest.
Come on. Come on, Blake inwardly chanted.
Tucker stepped up to the still infant.
“That’s my sister,” he said in awe.
“Honey...” the midwife started.
Kris writhed in his arms. “Why isn’t she crying?” When she laid eyes on the tiny infant, blue and still, she broke down in wracking sobs.
“Wake up, Sister. Mommy needs you now. Wake up.” Tucker bent down and kissed her forehead.
At the moment he pulled away, the baby’s eyes blinked open wide and then squinted. Her little fists began twitching until they beat the air. Then the bunker echoed in her squall of protest.
Kris stopped crying, rubbed her eyes, and then reached for their daughter. He had a daughter! A beautiful little girl.
Kris nestled her into her arms, holding her close and whispering soothing sounds.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Arland whispered, drawing Blake’s attention to him. He had forgotten the man was there in the dark recess of the bunker, his face pale but eyes steely.
“Here comes the afterbirth,” the midwife said, but Kris hardly even scrunched her brow with the pain of the last push.
Laurie kept busy taking care of things and ensuring Kris didn’t need stitches or anything else. Blake hardly paid attention. His wife and his daughter enamored him. When Tuck came up to be a part of the first family meeting, Blake wrapped an arm around him.
“You were right, Champ. Look at your miraculous little sister.”
“I told you. Next time, you’ll believe me.”
“Yes, Tuck.” He kissed the boy’s head. “Next time I will believe you.”
Blake saw Laurie watching them. He knew that she now would not only know where their bunker was, but also that his son had a gift. A tingle ran down his spine, but he pushed it away and instead lost himself in his daughter’s open, curious eyes.
~*~
Kris couldn’t believe she held her daughter in her arms. Thankfully, she had attached right away and nursed like a champ, eager and relentless. Just like her brother. She kissed her daughter’s head, breathing in her scent and memorizing it.
Tucker lay next to her, curled up with his hand wrapped around his sister’s little foot. Even when she kicked and punched the air, she kept that one foot still, as if she needed the contact with her brother as much as he did.
A tear slipped from Kris’s eye. The bond between them already had grown. A bond they would need to survive this new world...together.
She looked up into Blake’s eyes while he watched her. He had hardly moved since their daughter arrived. He had fallen in love with her already. A smile curled Kris’s lips. What a daddy’s little girl she would be. She would find the weakness in this big tough guy she had promised to spend the rest of her life with.
He bent down and kissed her. A kiss that spoke to Kris in ways words could never touch. All anger and resentment disappeared. They would start fresh today. Build this new life together. Now a family of four.
The midwife washed at the counter, meticulously cleaning all the items used in the process. She had taken the soiled sheet and replaced it with layers of towels. The water boiled on the stove, and she dropped in some herbs before replacing the cover.
Arland walked over to her then, letting his hands rest and massage her shoulders. Laurie leaned back into him. In that moment, Kris realized Arland had found love once again. The thought warmed her heart as she refocused on her little miracle.
When Arland came over, he slapped Blake on the shoulder and then touched their daughter’s little fist. “Have you decided what to name her?”
Kris gazed down into her daughter’s wide eyes, eyes that seemed to hold all the knowledge of the world and beyond. Wise, old-soul eyes. Kris leveled her gaze with Blake’s. Then she looked back down at her daughter.
“Her name is Mercy. Mercy Grace Chantry.” She had asked to be granted mercy, and now, she had. She held Mercy in her arms. Life would be changed forever. It wouldn’t be easy surviving with an infant, and yet the little girl in her arms filled her with peace. A peace stronger than fear. A peace that would give them strength to thrive in this new world. A peace that granted them Mercy.
********
Thank you for reading installment three of Grant Us Mercy. I hope you enjoyed the story of Mercy’s arrival and the reuniting of the Chantrys and Arland.
Stay tuned for the next installment of Grant Us Mercy where the action gets hotter and the Chantrys have a massive decision to make.
Want to read the first chapter of Installment Four now? Keep reading. A sneak peek is included soon!
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You just read how Arland made his reappearance. Blake had imparted some of his knowledge with the meek scientist in Installment One. In Installment Three you saw a new side to Arland. Want to know what caused him to transform?
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Arland’s Transformation
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Next in Grant Us Mercy
Grant Us Mercy:
Installment FOUR
Does surviving mean dropping your guard enough to rely on others?
With the arrival of Mercy, things have significantly changed. Learning to adapt with an infant in a post-apocalyptic world takes reliance and teamwork.
When the reality of their new world threatens to take everything away from Blake, his decision propels a huge shift in his way of thinking.
Will he choose to continue his lone wolf stance or take a chance on a community?
Join Blake and Kris on this action-packed fourth installment to the hair-raising journey in the post-apocalyptic serial novel, Grant Us Mercy. Every three weeks, the next installment will release and continue the survival adventures of the Chantrys.
Grab now!
SNEAK PEEK!!!
Grant Us Mercy: Installment THREE
Chapter One
Mercy was the miracle that they had needed. As much as Blake would never admit that out loud, he felt it, especially in moments like right now as he held her and her little hand reached up to touch his face. These last few months had been a challenge to say the least. Having an infant in the middle of a post-apocalyptic world was probably the hardest assignment he had ever been faced with.
Mercy cooed and gurgled, happily kicking her feet and telling him everything she thought.
“Oh, really?” he asked, letting her chubby hand clasp around his finger.
“Is my sister talking again?” Tucker ran up to them.
Mercy let go of Blake’s finger and started kicking her legs and waving her arms in excitement. That little girl loved her big brother, and he was infatuated with her.
“Hi, little sis. Are you ready for your first journey?” Tucker asked.
The reminder made Blake tense, his body going rigid with the idea of taking his family into a group setting. He questioned his sanity when he agreed to take them to Arland’s community for their harvest celebration.
Mercy’s face scrunched as she became still and did a new sound, something low and grumbly.
“Oh, that’s a new one,” Blake said. “I’m not sure she’s happy about this trip.”
“It’s okay, sister. I will protect you.” Tucker leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“We will be fine,” Kris said, with a happy, lilt to her voice.
Blake looked up from his children to see his radiant wife. She already looked like she had never been pregnant. That fateful day, though had shifted something in him. He had realized what his life would be like without her, and he didn’t like it. He had also been reminded about Kris’s amazing strength of mind and willpower. If he had been in that situation, could he have pushed on like she had?
Then with Mercy being born not moving, and the kiss of her big brother causing her to take her first breath...Blake shook his head. It was nothing short of a miracle—a true granting of Mercy.
It had reinstated his faith, and he would do what he needed to pass that on to his children.
~*~
Kris watched the mixture of emotions cross Blake’s features. She knew he had misgivings about today, but a promise was a promise. It was the least they could do to show their gratitude for Arland and Laurie. For without them, she and her sweet girl might not still be here.
“Come to Mommy,” she said as she lifted Mercy from Blake’s arms.
The look on his face showed his disappointment at no longer holding his treasured daughter. He laid a hand on Tucker’s shoulder instead, and smiled down at the boy.
“Do you have everything, big brother?”
“Yep, got my sling. I’m getting really good at it!” He held it up before he stuffed in into the pouch he had started wearing anytime he went outside. “My bow and quiver are over there with my pack, just in case we see some things to hunt on the way. And,” he patted his thigh, “my knife that you gave me for my birthday, as always, is right here.”
Her son looked like a mini version of her husband. He had spent more time with Blake since she had Mercy, and she could see the change in Tucker. Part of her heart ached knowing she was losing her sweet, little boy. The other part knew the change would benefit his survival. It was just so hard to let go.
“I’m proud of you, son. You have been providing your family with meat.” Blake ruffled up his hair.
“I try, Dad.” A shadow filled his eyes.
Kris knew that Tucker still did not enjoy taking the life of animals, but he did his best to embrace his new role in the family. He had brought home several squirrels and rabbits now. Not only did it provide meat, but moccasins for his sister, and she worked on a pair for Tucker right now. His poor toes were jammed in his boots and his soles wouldn’t hold up much longer. As it was they were held together by twine.
She fit Mercy into the wrap, holding her close to her body. When Blake found the baby wrap and cloth diapers stuffed in the attic right after Mercy was born, Kris had been overcome with gratitude. She thought they had gotten rid of them after Tucker had grown out of them. That one find changed their situation from surviving to thriving.
Wearing her daughter like this, she could do everything she used to. In fact, Kris was more productive than she had been the months before her delivery. She shouldered her bag and adjusted the weight. With Mercy growing, the weight she carried increased, but her strength did as well.
The trip to Arland’s camp was about five miles of up and down hiking through forests and meadows. It would take them most of the morning to get there. Tucker’s endurance had increased with their little forays out into the forests to hunt, so it shouldn’t be too exhausting for him.
They now hunted as a family. According to Blake, that wouldn’t change if it could be helped. Him arriving and seeing her and Tucker in the situation he perceived it to be, scarred him. He had clung tight to them ever since. Rather than it being overbearing, they had settled into a comfortable cohesive family. Something that brought peace to Kris.
She knew enough about life and marriage to know that this honeymoon period wouldn’t last, but she sure would enjoy it while lasted.
She snuck a glance at her husband as he checked his pack for the second time. Part of her wondered if today would push him past his threshold, and she might see her grace period fade away. The set of his jaw definitely warned her it might be so.
Yet, when he looked up and caught her stare, he smiled.
The worry in her melted away. Mercy cooed and snuggled in. Tucker reached up and took her hand. He wore his backpack and had his bow slung over his shoulder.
“Ready, Mom?”
When did he stop calling her Mommy? It tore at her heart a little, but she still smiled down at him.
“Ready, Sweetie.”
Blake scanned their property one last time.
“We’re not leaving forever, Blake. Just one night.” Kris wrapped her free hand around his arm and leaned into him.
He reached around and pulled her and Tucker into a family hug that encompassed Mercy.
“I don’t like this. You know that.” Blake squeezed them before letting them go and donning his own, very heavy-looking backpack.
“It will be here when we get back, Dad.” Tucker took his hand, completing the connection between them.
&n
bsp; Excitement bubbled up in Kris. She couldn’t wait to show off Mercy to Laurie. The midwife had come for a visit six weeks ago with gifts of herbs to help milk production, and some ideas for natural absorption for diapers. It was at this time that Arland convinced Blake to come to their festival.
When Blake had agreed, Laurie had told her about her son, soon to turn four, and the other children at the camp. Kris couldn’t wait for Tucker to be able to play with other children again. It had been a year since he had that chance.
~*~
The closer they got to Arland’s camp, the tenser Blake felt. He was walking his family into an unknown situation. What had he been thinking? Just because Arland and Laurie had proven themselves, doesn’t mean this camp would be safe for them.
He glanced back at Tucker. The boy had pushed through. With less than a mile to go, his face held a determined expression, but Blake could see the exhaustion in his movements. Blake needed Tucker at his best when they arrived.
“Let’s take one last break before we get there.” Blake stopped at a rock pile and released his pack from his aching shoulders.
He took Tucker’s off as well and set it against the rocks. Kris leaned up against a rock and loosened her straps as well. Mercy fussed at the stop in movement.
“Shh, girl. Let’s get you out of there for a few minutes.” Kris pulled their daughter from the wrap.
At a little more than three months, Mercy had begun to really interact. Blake took her from Kris’s arms, enjoying the smile and exciting cooing when she saw him. He walked her around and pointed things out to her.
“Tree. See the rough bark that looks like a puzzle?” Blake talked to his daughter.
“That means it’s a pine tree.” Tucker answered. “See the long pointy needles? Those are its leaves.”
Mercy reached out for the pine needles that Tucker held. She grasped a few and immediately put them in her mouth.
Blake laughed. “Not yet, girl. Those pine needles are edible, they aren’t for you just yet.”
“Yeah, and they can make a tea. Have I told you about how Dad saved me by escaping the bunker to get me some needles for tea when I was really sick?” Tucker asked his sister.
Grant Us Mercy (Book 3): Grant Us Mercy Page 9