Chapter 65
Rain stared at her for a moment, knowing that was one truth about her friend that she could not argue with. Mist wanted to be a mother--just not a Mother. She wanted the chance to grow her child in her womb, to raise her baby, to know her own creation. It was one of her main driving points for joining the rebellion in the first place, that and freeing Walt, and her indisputable sense of right and wrong.
“It’ll be all right, Mist. It’s just… it’s going to hurt. A lot. I know you can handle it. I’ll make it stop as quickly as I can, okay?” Rain had to ignore the tears that threatened to fall with each word. She hated that she was about to put the best friend she’d ever had through a living, breathing, biting hell, but she had no choice.
Mist nodded slowly. Behind her, the door opened, and a voice she didn’t recognize hit her ear. “What’s amiss?” an older woman asked.
There was no time for that. Rain stood and snatched a large medical bag from the woman whose mouth dropped open and her eyes bulged. Esther put her arm around the midwife and began to explain in soft whispers as Rain dug through the bag for what she needed.
The speculum was crude, unlike anything she’d ever seen before, but it would have to do. “Esther, light,” she said moving the blanket out of the way and positioning the device. Esther took one of the flashtubes from the medical bag and fidgeted with it for a moment until she turned it on. The light was blinding for a second, but then she managed to turn it down.
It would be nearly impossible for her to actually see what she was doing, even with the light. She’d have to feel for the tiny piece of metal that was currently wreaking havoc inside her friend’s body. Then, she’d have to manage to isolate it, and remove it, without the asshole doing too much damage to her hand. Now would be a great time for a pair of cut resistant gloves, like she’d have if she was doing this at home, but since she didn’t have any at the moment, she would take whatever was available.
Looking in the midwife’s bag, she found a pair of gloves that were slick, sort of like glastic, but a little more like rubber and a bright blue. Those would have to do. Maybe she could draw the piece out of it latched on to her. She was just about to get started when the door opened again.
Walt rushed in with a huge stack of towels balanced on top of a bowl of water. “I got your stuff, Rain. Now what?”
“Perfect,” she said, gesturing for him to put it down on the floor next to her. She would need the water, but the bedspread was too far gone for the towels to be of any use now. “Walt, you’ll need to go stand outside with Adam and Seth, okay?”
“Why?” he demanded. “I want to be here, with Mist.”
“Because I can’t concentrate with you in here!” Rain shouted, wishing she could’ve been a bit nicer, but the words were already out, and he was backing toward the door. “Sorry.” she muttered.
Esther had her arms around him, the light shifting as she moved. Rain waited. “It’ll be fine. Rain knows what she’s doing, and Mary has delivered hundreds of babies. She’s very familiar with women’s anatomy.”
Walt stopped protesting and left. As soon as the light was back, Rain took a deep breath and went about her work.
Mist bit back a scream as Rain reached inside to find the missing piece. Blood coated her gloved hand, making it both slick and sticky at the same time. A look at Mist’s face told her she couldn’t take much more. With her other hand, Rain pushed down on her abdomen, trying to move her anatomy into position.
She felt it. The tiny razor sharp piece of metal that had broken off when she’d pulled the strands of her IUD was there, almost to the uterus, digging in to every organ, every layer of fat, muscle, sinew, whatever it could slice as it ping ponged around Mist’s innards. Grabbing hold of it with the forceps had been the initial plan, but once Rain had a finger on it, she managed to squeeze it tightly enough to keep it from moving. Then, looking away from Mist’s face so she wouldn’t have to see the agony she was about to cause, she pulled it out.
The scream that escaped Mist’s mouth was enough to make Rain scrunch her eyes closed. It didn’t last long, but it was horrendous, a sound she would never forget for as long as she lived. Once the piece was out, Rain dropped it into the bowl of water. It continued to spin, searching for something to clamp onto.
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